Rethinking Association Events by Fostering Year-Round Engagement and Community

Rethinking Association Events by Fostering Year-Round Engagement and Community

An article in Associations Now highlights a new report, Future-Ready Events: A Blueprint for Connection, Growth, and Innovation, that reveals a shift in how associations and other event organizers are approaching attendee engagement and community building. 

Produced by Fuse, JDC Events, and Bear Analytics and based on a survey of 69 professionals across the association, nonprofit, and corporate sectors, the findings underscore a growing demand for deeper connection and shared experiences at events, prompting many to reconsider the traditional structure of their event portfolios.

According to the survey, cultivating engagement and participation is viewed as the cornerstone of community-building, with 81 percent of respondents identifying networking opportunities as their primary strategy. However, year-round engagement remains largely aspirational. 

The article cites JDC Events CEO Jennifer Collins saying that many associations still center their engagement strategies around a single large annual conference, a model exposed as vulnerable during the pandemic. This gap highlights a missed opportunity to build sustained, meaningful interaction beyond the main event.

Professionals ranked networking sessions, workshops, and educational events as more effective for community-building than traditional elements like panel discussions or inspirational keynotes. This suggests a shift in attendee preference toward formats that offer practical, hands-on engagement and peer connection. Additionally, while small majorities are using AI for content creation and data analysis, fewer are applying it to personalized learning experiences, though interest in this area is growing.

Meaningful community doesn’t form automatically at conferences but must be intentionally designed. That means rethinking programming to foster year-round engagement, leveraging smaller, responsive events, and exploring AI tools to enhance personalization and relevance.