Susan Robertson, incoming Board chair, provided Council members insight into the future of CIC, as Bonnie Fedchock handed over the gavel to Susan to lead the organization in 2017.

As another year comes to a close, the Convention Industry Council is looking ahead to the future. CIC is excited as they are on the presuppose of a fresh start with an upcoming rebranding and updated strategic plan. The CIC board under the leadership of new board chair Susan Robertson, CAE (ASAE) is discussing opportunities on how and where to add value to the industry, and strategies to provide better benefits overall to all stakeholders including the CMP community. Most importantly, as CIC considers its long-term goals, how can CIC contribute to the profession itself, and work side by side with complimentary organizations in the US and throughout the world? 

CIC is currently in a very unique position to focus on the specific values that are needed to grow as an organization. This can be done by aggregating and leveraging our current landscape and utilizing a very unique lens to identify what matters most to the meeting, exhibition, events, incentive and convention industry and to our profession as a whole. 

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1. Consolidation:  We’ve all watched as many organizations from all sides of the industry are consolidating: from airlines, to hotels to technology providers. On the hotel side, the consolidations of the larger organizations like Marriott and Starwood are widely known and making news headlines; however, it may not be as widely known that about 15 other hotel companies have merged in 2016 between brands management companies and ownership groups. All of this increasing activity has implications for what we’re doing within our own organizations and events. 
   
   
2. Hybridization: Companies are increasing their business units and are performing multiple business functions within the same industry, which is impacting how organizations provide services and benefits to their members. As the industry is growing and evolving and our stakeholders are changing, challenges arise to continually remain relevant particularly in relation to membership, which is driving the importance and need for diversification of membership categories. 
   
   
3. Emerging Markets:  This topic covers many aspects including certifications, membership, and overall business models.  Organizations are obtaining new members or expanding business into places they have not had members or customers previously, in turn translating to an expanded audience at meetings and needs to cater to on a global and glocal level. Planners are considering how they can ensure that their existing ethical and professional standards are being followed while also honoring local customs or cultural aspects of that particular country, particularly when those standards were developed or based on US regulations and practices.
   
   
4. Security and Cost Pressure: Organizations, venues and planners are all planning for security risks, crises and emergencies, and considering how to budget for them. Cost pressures continue to increase, and while budgets are rising for the first time over the past 12 to 18 months, there are also rising costs of inflation and F&B costs.  Planners are already dealing with cost pressure before trying to deal with the security issues as well as changing economic conditions. 
   
   
5. Legislation: Legislation as it relates to social issues continues to occur, and as meeting professionals, we are all going to need to adapt.  The landscape is changing, so as an association, corporation, supplier, DMO, government agency or third party how do we provide leadership and provide confidence to our industry so that we can get through this period of uncertainty and emerge stronger? 
   
   What happens when a specific ruling or change directly impacts our business or members? How will this effect attendance and our bottom line? Our members must have the foresight to be able to plan and look at the long-term impact and implications both within our organization and beyond. 
   
   
6. Personalized service and education: All sectors of our industry are receiving more and more demand for personalized services: from content, to membership to meetings themselves. To meet the increased demand for personalized services, an organization must have the resources to develop personalized content not just at meetings but across the board. There is also an increased need to analyze the data that is best suited for each sector/member/attendee/business unit. To stay relevant, we cannot stay in the era of top down, one size fits all, which has to become part of the agenda for the evolution of the whole professionalism of the industry. 
   
   
7. Technology is also a large piece of this, especially in regard to content, with all of the dimensions adding their unique value. We access so much information on our mobile  devices, so in a sense we are controlling our own experience every day and so how do we as organizations get in that game? 
   
   This also extends to interacting with the growing global audiences as there is an enormous appetite around the world for professional education, clear standards, and clear guidelines. With that there is also a hunger for that education, standards or credential to be specifically tailored to the local environment while being internationally valid.
   
   
8. Relevance: The geopolitical and economic conversation is really more of an ongoing reality than a trend. The reality is that our industry’s constantly changing and so the true question is: how are we adapting? Meeting professionals have the responsibility to remain relevant in what they are providing as the industry as the world rapidly changes around us. There is a need to have a clear strategy in how to stay in front of the changes and adapt because if the world is changing faster than we are, then we’re falling behind and constantly trying to keep up.