Why aren’t associations more innovative when it comes to tech maturity? What’s holding us back?

For this show, I jumped off the stage at AMS Fest in Washington, DC, and ran to my computer to talk with experts about tech innovation (or the lack thereof) in the association industry. [Sorry for any of the "crowd noise" behind me in the audio]

This topic, studied by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Foundation, sheds light on information technology (IT) maturity levels at associations.

In its survey, only 9% of associations were found to be truly innovative.

So I wanted to know: What are the major causes holding associations back? How do more innovative associations overcome this challenge? Could the key lie in a stronger relationship between the CIO and CEO be the solution, or is there a deeper issue at hand? 

Some questions we discussed on this show:

• What did the ASAE study find about tech maturity at associations? 

• Why do you think more associations aren't on the upper echelon of tech maturity? 

• How valuable is the CEO/CIO (or equivalent) role in reaching the innovative end of tech maturity?

• When the CIO becomes the CEO or Executive Director -- how do you implement this change? What's your relationship with your CIO now?

Panelists: 

• Tim Hopkins, Director, Digital Center, International Association of Fire Chiefs

• Bill Bruce, MBA, CAE, Executive Director, American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

• Ray van Hilst, Director of Client Results, Yoko Co 

About Association Chat

Association Chat is weekly show that takes place live on Tuesdays at 2 pm EST  at https://www.crowdcast.io/kikilitalien. 

You can connect with the association community throughout the week on Twitter using the hashtag #assnchat or through the private Facebook Group community.

Find out more about Association Chat at http://associationchat.com/. 

(*"Cheekily" hashtagged from the beginning! #assnchat – yes, we know what it looks like and no, we aren't changing it.*)

KiKi L'Italien interviews special guests weekly and holds quarterly live events along with creative collaborations with industry thought leaders.

See Past Episodes: https://www.crowdcast.io/kikilitalien

Resources mentioned

ASAE Tech Readiness Assessment: https://www.asaecenter.org/publications/109496-technology-readiness-assessment