11/13/2025

Three Strategies for Managing Association Conference Abstracts

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Organizing an association conference comes with its fair share of complexities. Between coordinating venue logistics, tracking registrations, overseeing exhibitors and countless other tasks, your team has its hands full for several months leading up to the event. However, one of the most important planning processes is also among the most challenging (and overlooked): abstract management.

A streamlined, data-driven approach to abstract management helps you fill your event schedule with qualified speakers on various topics, which enhances the conference experience for both attendees and presenters. Let's explore three strategies for improving how your association manages abstracts.

1. Develop a Clear Call for Abstracts

When writing your call for abstracts (also known as a call for presentations, papers, or submissions), your goals should be to set presentation expectations and attract a wide range of speakers whose insights will resonate with conference attendees. As OpenWater's abstract management guide explains, you need to provide prospective presenters with all of the necessary information to submit abstracts that are clear and consistent with what you want to see.

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