Rethinking the Transaction: Designing Associations for Participation and Belonging

If we were building associations from scratch today, what would we do differently?

Recently, two ideas got me thinking about associations in a new way: Holly Duckworth’s TEDx talk on third places and James Young’s work on designing for community. Together, they led me to a simple question: If we were building associations from scratch today, would we organize them around products and services or around participation and belonging?

For decades, associations have become increasingly sophisticated in how they deliver value. Those advances have helped organizations scale their impact and better serve their stakeholders. Yet I wonder whether, in the process, we have become so focused on delivering value that we spend less time thinking about how people experience connection, contribution and community.

Please select this link to read the complete article from ASAE's Center for Association Leadership.