AC Forum has several active strategic collaborations, which primarily focus on alliances for thought leadership and advancing association and congress management. These have been developed in line with AC Forum’s current strategic plan and corporate relations policy.
Once again, AC Forum will have a hosted buyer group at IMEX Frankfurt in May 2024.
There are three different AC Forum hosted buyer group options so members can select the option that best suit their needs.
Find more information in the member-only section.
AC Forum collaborates with IPCAA on knowledge exchange and education, holding webinars and sessions on topics of mutual interest and of benefit to members of both organisations.
The collaboration agreement between AC Forum and the LCE is for an educational event on a topic of shared interest annually, in an LCE member venue.
The topic is selected to be of mutual educational benefit and the programme is co-created by a joint committee of the LCE and AC Forum and targeted to senior management of AC Forum members and LCE members.
The first event, at the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow, was around the topic of ‘The Language of Leadership’, while the second in the series, at MiCo in Milan, offered the opportunity to train and develop skills in ‘Persuasion in negotiation’. The third edition, on ‘Web3 Learning Expedition – Impacts of Web3 in the Event & Congress Industry’, took place in Paris.
The fourth event took place at Palexpo, Geneva, in April 2024, and offered participants an opportunity to come together, to exchange and to strengthen their leadership as they gain a deeper knowledge of ‘Leading and influencing in turbulent times’.
Find more information in the member-only section.
AC Forum’s and PCMA’s strategic partnership seeks to strengthen both organisations through collaboration, advocacy and advancing professional development of their community by co-creating and organising activities mutually beneficial to the respective membership, facilitating the exchange of knowledge and intelligence between the respective membership, and enhancing the profile of association professionals and the business events they organise as true drivers of social and economic change. Further details of the Strategic Partnership Benefits for AC Forum members are available in the Member-Only section.
In 2021, AC Forum and PCMA partnered on a research study, funded by PCMA Foundation, into digital events. The full report, “Digital Events Outlook: Insights, Behaviours, Best Practices”, and Digital Event Planning checklist can be downloaded here.
Collaborative Learning Experiences (CLE) & Joint educational initiatives
We collaborate with other organisations to deliver key collaborative learning experiences (CLEs) and other educational events for our members. Aligned with our forward-thinking approach to education and recognising that the format in which people want to learn has changed, we aim to link strategic and operational considerations together. Mindful of this shift, we are committed to seeking out innovative learning opportunities and organising joint learning activities with partners, which align with our four key principles: education – specifically in terms of learning from each other and external experts, excellence – raising standards in association and congress management, innovation – sharing good practice and expanding thinking, and neutrality – providing a forum free from commercial influence.
Our progressive collaborations present a different value proposition to members, combining education and discovery, which reflect the societal changes in learning and personal development by challenging members to move out of their comfort zones and discover new opportunities and challenges put into context with external partners.
