01/19/2021

How the Pandemic Will Change Association Advocacy

A look at how GR pros are changing the ways members engage

It's become cliché by now, but the COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything, including how association government relations teams do their work. Looking ahead, when things settle into whatever the “new normal” will look like, what will we take from this experience? How will our jobs be different?

ASAE’s Government Relations and Advocacy Professionals Advisory Council (GRAPAC) Thought Leadership and Content subgroup had a discussion around these questions and reached out to our respective networks for their input. We discovered the following insights.

Virtual Increases Engagement

Although something is lost in not having in-person meetings, most of us have pivoted to virtual fly-ins. However, a virtual meeting can get more engagement from members who typically are unable to fly into D.C. Also, by scheduling a series of “virtual fly-in” meetings, association members are able to meet with a member of Congress, rather than their staff, as was typical during in-person fly-ins. That has been impressive to our members and increased the perceived value of the program within the association.

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