Interested in presenting at an ISAE event?

ISAE invites proposals with high-quality content, tailored to the needs of association professionals and supplier partners. ISAE’s aim is to provide exceptional educational programming that aligns with the CAE Domains and core competencies of association management.

Consideration of the Audience:

Target audience includes both senior/executive-level and junior-level association professionals, as well as specialists in areas like events, marketing, and membership.
Aim to cater to various learning styles with programming, including case studies and peer sharing.

Content Needs:

ISAE’s Professional Development Committee has identified key areas of programming, including but not limited to:

Membership growth strategies
Associations 101
Digital marketing strategies
Governance
Legal oversight and risk mitigation
Basics of non-profit financial management
Effective communication skills
Advocacy within associations
Using data for decision making
Event management in associations

View an example of sessions and descriptions

General Education Session Types:

Strategy Academy: 2 – 4 hour in-person events held in the Indianapolis area for ISAE’s flagship cohort program. Designed to challenge participants to become more strategic in their position, career, and the way they approach challenges.
Roundtable/Seminar: 1 – 3 hour in-person events held in the Indianapolis area. Allows for in-depth focus on specific topics.
Networking Breakfast/Lunch: 30 – 45 minutes presentation held at a networking event. Content should focus on trends in association management or provide an uplifting message.
Coffee and Conversations: 60-minute virtual webinars that include presented content and provides attendees with time for breakout rooms and/or Q&A.

ICON 2025 Session Types:

ICON is ISAE’s annual conference, held this coming year on July 28 – 30, 2025 in Fort Wayne, IN.

Keynote sessions: Should speak to all 150+ convention attendees at once. Keynote sessions are 60-minutes in length.
Deep-Dives: These 2 hour, in-depth sessions focus on a specific topic. Audience interaction is very important.
Breakout Sessions: 60-minutes in length, focused on topics that many association professionals are facing in the industry.

Submission Guidelines

Proposals should include a clear title and a compelling session description. The description should focus on the learning outcomes and answer the question:

“Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to…”.

All proposals must be educational and free of commercial intent. Submissions with a promotional focus will not be accepted.

Proposal Evaluation:

All proposals will be evaluated by the Professional Development Committee. Selection will be based on:

Relevance of the content
Originality of the program
Overall quality and care given in the proposal

ISAE heavily values proposals submitted by members of the organization who understand the association community and limited resources available in it.