If, as various gurus say, the future of innovation is an open one where diverse parties collaborate to make the world a better place, then where do innovation conferences fit in?
Consider for a minute the two extremes on offer today. On the one hand, we have corporate conferences where delegates pay top-dollar prices to listen to some innovation guru “live by satellite” (presumably via YouTube), are fed mushroom vol-au-vents for lunch (for some inexplicable reason these conferences never include evening social events…) and then have to listen to presentations on how successful the presenter’s company is (the “rah rah” presentation) or on Henry Ford, the Walkman and the iPod (the “Innovation for Dummies” presentation)! On the other hand there are serious academic conferences where everyone is far too clever and cannot communicate without the aid of some complicated graph or other.
I propose that a successful future is one where academics and practitioners can meet, speak the same (or at least similar) language and learn. To make a genuine difference beyond their own "worlds" i.e. in a genuinely open future, then this is what must follow.
When I say meet, and we are talking of the future, I do mean meet in a physical sense and not in the world of Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Xing, Second Life, wiki this and blog that. Of course technology has a role to play and has innumerable benefits but we must harness technology without succumbing to the temptation of believing in a purely technology driven future. Just as the PC never delivered the paperless office, Second Life et al. will not deliver the "personless" conference.
It is the reliance on the human need to interact that is shaping the International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM) conferences. ISPIM membership and attendance has grown by 25 % every year for the last 5 years. Its message is clear: we have fun running ISPIM and we want people to enjoy our events. Enjoyment is the strongest stimulant for networking, shared experience and creativity that exists.
So what does that actually mean? Well we need good quality content with a stimulating structure during the day. We are getting there. Now less than 60% of abstracts that are reviewed are presented in the final event, and we will be raising the bar every year. We have restructured sessions to be shorter, snappier, with much greater interaction and facilitation. And of course our social events, the ISPIM trademark, will continue to be of the highest quality, formal and informal and creating experiences for delegates that they could not have as an individual or as a tourist. It is important to us that delegates experience the “wow” factor as this is something they can take away with them and share with others. Oh, and we will never increase the conference price to beyond its current level compared to other events.
So, if ISPIM is right, the future of innovation conferences is one of open borders where people connect through shared experiences that lead them work together on innovation.
Watch this space…
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