Guest Author: Tim Ebner, Associations Now
A new study says associations are developing better practices for pursuing innovation, but it’s often a top-down effort. Here are three ways you can generate change that starts with your members.
Would you call your association innovative? According to a recent study conducted by Marketing General Incorporated (MGI) in partnership with the National Business Aviation Association, more association professionals say their organization is moving ahead with innovative ideas that can be implemented and measured for success.
In a survey of 234 association professionals conducted earlier this year, 31 percent said they had begun a formal program geared toward innovation in the last five years. That’s a 4 percentage point increase from two years ago, when the survey was first conducted.
However, there’s still room for growth: 70 percent of respondents said their association was only slightly or moderately innovative, and most often it’s a top-down effort driven by a CEO or other executive leader, says Tony Rossell, senior vice president of MGI and the report’s author.
