When Velvet Chainsaw Consulting conducted speaker research with 120 associations with research and consulting company Tagoras Inc. in 2013, we found that nearly 77 percent use a call for speakers/sessions process. Associations value member input. One-third of these organizations accept 60 percent or more of the proposals, indicating either a low number of submissions or very forgiving quality filters. About 62 percent close off submissions eight months or longer before the conference. These longer timelines were created when information moved a heck of a lot slower.

Widely used by associations as a tool for crowdsourcing the meat-and-potatoes education content for annual conferences, the call for speakers and sessions doesn’t need to be an arduous process. We’ve compiled the current best practices to achieve efficiencies, which, more importantly, result in better-quality educational offerings.

1. Go blind.

Some organisations do — and more should — institute blind reviews. This puts the reviewers on more equal ground with the paying attendee in terms of how to evaluate which sessions to attend. When volunteers are asked to score a rubric on a submission, ratings can and will be greatly affected by who the submission is from. Mask the speakers name and company. Add a field so that staff can indicate if they’ve spoken before and the session-evaluation scores.

2. Be fresh.

In the submission form, ask if this session has been presented at another industry conference. To differentiate, you want your conference to be the first. Also consider leaving 25 percent of your sessions open for slotting emerging topics two to four months prior to your conference.

3. Get agile.

If you’re like most, you receive 90 percent or more session submissions in the last week of the submission timeline. Take a page from agile tech developers who now do multiple sprints for complex projects. Break up the process into several major themes and open submissions for two to three weeks max for each. This will deliver improved marketing value, increase relevance, and chunk the process for both staff and volunteers.

4. Tighten the timeline.

For most conferences, the call for sessions or speakers should not open earlier than seven months before the event. Any sooner extends the process and, even worse, decreases the chances of relevant, timely session submissions.

5. Avoid spin.

Make it clear that the submission must be made by the person or people that will be presenting. Don’t allow submissions proposed by a corporate marketing department or public relations firm.

6. Embrace micro-peer review.

No single volunteer should ever need to review and score more than 25 submissions. Keep the ask to a limited number and encourage them to be more thorough in their vetting. Consider having staff do the first cut to decrease the number of submissions that are peer reviewed.

7. Curate content.

We find that most submission processes do not attract the most progressive sessions or speakers. Conference committees should be leveraged to identify the pressing problems to solve or opportunities to seize for the conference’s target market. Identify these topics in your call-for-session communications and curate for any remaining gaps.

This article was originally sourced from Velvet Chainsaw.

Here are five factors to focus on to get the most out of your membership data. Also: How one news organization tackled its digital bugs and upgrades with a hackathon.

Most membership-based organisations have a treasure trove of data at their fingertips. But figuring out which data points to analyze to gain the most helpful insights about your members can be tricky.

According to the MemberSuite blog, analyzing these five trends delivers the most impactful insights: demographic data, renewal trends, recruitment information, event data, and the average length of membership.

Demographic data can tell you all sorts of information, including the location of your members and which generation they belong to. “This information can help your team determine a variety of things from the best place to host an event to the best way to communicate with your members,” writes Graciella Jason-Daubon.

You can probably spout your renewal rate off the top of your head. But do you know the similarities among your renewing members, like which channels they renew through or if they’re in similar programs? “If your association is able to pinpoint commonalities between folks that choose to renew, you can continue and improve those practices,” says Jason-Daubon.

The Dallas Morning News had a problem: Over the years, its website built up a cache of bugs to resolve and upgrades to address. It needed new advertising units, author pages, and navigation, among other fixes.

Instead of addressing each problem one by one over months, the News attacked all of these problems in one fell swoop by holding a two-week hackathon, according to Poynter. Internal and external developers holed up in meeting rooms around the office to fix each issue in a sustained sprint.

Does your organisation’s website have a host of issues your team has been meaning to address? A hackathon may be something you should consider.

This article was originally sourced from Associations Now. 

Australia’s two national mortgage broking associations have expressed their concerns around some of the Sedgwick Review’s recommendations to alter broker remuneration.

The final report of the review, released yesterday (19 April), was financed by the Australian Bankers' Association (ABA) and conducted by Stephen Sedgwick AO, it made 21 recommendations to the banks around remuneration – three of which involved the third party channel.

While the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) was pleased that the Sedgwick review found no evidence of systemic harm, the observations and recommendations made around the broker channel did not present realistic solutions, CEO Mike Felton said.

“This is a review commissioned by the banks that aims to deal with the banks’ reputational problems, but as far as the broker channel is concerned does not create better consumer outcomes.”

Peter White, director of the Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA), said the extraordinary thing was that despite the review admitting there was nothing systemically wrong, it still made three recommendations to change broker remuneration structures.

“Why are they trying to pull things apart? You only pull things apart and restructure them if there’s something systemically wrong,” he told Australian Broker.

In the end, the review was one person’s view of the world paid for by the banks without actually being a regulatory paper, he said.

A lack of consultation

Felton expressed frustration that the review claimed to be focused on a customer-centric viewpoint while ignoring that this was a key aspect of how brokers and aggregators functioned.

“The review’s recommendations on the third-party channel appear to be based mostly on anecdotal evidence from its members. It is unfortunate that the review process did not include meaningful consultation with the broader industry in developing this report,” Felton said.

White echoed similar sentiments, saying that the FBAA had not been approached by the Sedgwick review either.

“You’ve got to wonder behind the scenes, what are the real drivers? And I question what those drivers are. Part of our regulatory experience is all about truth through transparency. I think we’ll never see the true transparency that sits behind this report.”

Unreasonable requests?

The MFAA was also concerned that recommendations in the ABA review also went beyond those in the Australian Securities & Investment Commission’s (ASIC’s) report into mortgage broker remuneration, Felton said.

He highlighted the proposal to adjust or remove current broker incentives and potentially introduce a lender fee-for-service approach.

“The ASIC Report does not recommend removing the link between loan size and commission, nor a fee-for-service model nor removal of trail commission – with good reason. A single, lender-funded, fee for service is likely to lead to a degree of standardisation of all fees, which ASIC is not calling for. It may also be considered anti-competitive by the ACCC, and therefore would not be able to be implemented.”

As for the suggestion to align broker payment structures with those of bank staff, this was not going to happen unless the banks started paying the brokers a very strong, competitive salary and remove clawbacks, White said.

These review’s recommendations were “very misguided” since broker commission structures on a global scale create excellent outcomes if structured in the right manner, such as in Australia, he continued.

Furthermore, claims that linked the difficulty in writing a loan to the characteristics of the borrower instead of the loan size were simply incorrect, he said.

“Anyone who’s actually written credit in their lives knows that this is actually not the case. This shows that this person hasn’t done any lending or if they have they really don’t understand what they’ve been doing.”

This article was originally sourced from Australian Broker. 

The first Australian-built satellites to be launched in 15 years recently took off from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The Conversation

Unlike the enormous satellites Australia uses for telecommunications, each of these new satellites is the size of a loaf of bread. But although small, they may provide a key step in enabling Australia’s entry into the global satellite market.

Three types of cubesats are the Australian contribution to the international QB50 mission, in which 36 satellites from different institutions around the world will carry instruments provided by the Von Karman Institute (VKI) to examine the lower thermosphere. This is a very interesting part of the atmosphere for several reasons, such as the way it disturbs GPS measurements.

The cubesats will be first delivered to the International Space Station, and then released into their orbits.

The three teams that developed the Australian cubesats are: one from UNSW, one collaboration between the University of Sydney, the Australian National University and UNSW, and one collaboration between the universities of Adelaide and South Australia.

Once the VKI instrument and support systems (power, communications, and so on) are installed, there is still room for the teams to install payloads of their own.

The UNSW cubesat, known as UNSW-EC0, is running four experiments including a GPS receiver, and two boards testing radiation-robust software and self-healing electronics. The fourth experiment is to test the satellite’s chassis, built using a 3D-printed material never before flown in space.

The launch is significant, not just because it is so long since Australia built satellites, but because it could be the start of something much bigger.

Small is good

Globally, the space industry had an estimated US$335 billion ($440 billion) turnover in 2015. It’s expected to reach US$1 trillion ($1.3 trillion) by 2030.

This is an innovation sector Australia cannot ignore, and small satellites — especially nano-satellites or cubesats — offer Australia a way in.

According to a report last month by Allied Market Research, the small satellite market is expected to be worth US$7 billion ($9.2 billion) by 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of about 20%.

Analyst Spaceworks said in February that by 2023, the requirement for launches in the 1kg to 50kg class will be 320 to 460 satellites per year, more than 70% of them for commercial purposes.

Another analyst Euroconsult last year said there would be more than 3,500 small satellite launches in the next decade, worth US$22 billion ($29 billion) with launch earnings of US$5.3 billion ($7 billion). That’s a 76% increase over the previous decade.

Australia in space

This disruption has the potential to be more important for Australia than for any other developed nation.

Australia is the largest economy in the world not to have a space agency, which I have highlighted before, and suggested ways forward. As a result, Australia has not developed a traditional space industry.

Exploiting cubesats offers an opportunity for Australia to participate in this industry, despite the absence of an agency.

In the same way that the success of Rocket Lab forced New Zealand to establish a space agency, Australia’s success with cubesats could finally see the establishment of an agency here.

A gathering of space minds

The launch of the QB50 cubesats has been delayed several times and was slated for 1am (AEST) on Wednesday April 19.

So by sheer coincidence it will coincide with a gathering in Sydney of the Australian cubesat community — CUBESAT 2017: Launching Cubesats for and from Australia — that will showcase some of the remarkable progress Australia has made in recent years.

This includes three cubesat missions that have constructed satellites — QB50 mentioned above, and a further two from the Defence Science and Technology Group: Biarri (two launches of one cubesat and three cubesats) and Buccaneer (one cubesat).

A large number of Australian startups are looking to operate in the global small satellite market.

Several companies are developing launch capability, including Gilmour Space Technologies in Queensland. Other companies are developing ground segment capability to help manage operational satellites including Saber Astronautics in Sydney. Some are developing cubesat components such as Obelisk Systems in Maitland, New South Wales.

Ambitiously, there are also companies looking to develop cubesat constellations, which are large numbers of satellites with orbits optimised for global coverage for a range of different applications. The Australian leader at present is Fleet from Adelaide.

Government interest

CUBESAT 2017 is the second workshop of its kind. When the first was run, two years ago, there was no way then to anticipate the huge leaps Australia has made in this niche area of space.

Recently, the Space Industry Association of Australia released a white paper calling for a space agency.

There was some encouragement for the community in the response from the federal Science Minister, Senator Arthur Sinodinos, to that call when he said:

I’m quite excited at the idea of us doing more in space.

So there is hope we may see some developments.

In terms of cubesats, it is with great excitement we look forward to where we’ll be in the next two years, when perhaps we can say, with Australian-made assets in space, that the Australian space industry has finally been established.

Andrew Dempster is director of the Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research, and a professor in the School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications at UNSW.

This article was originally sourced from Smart Company. 

Australians can expect to see mangoes from India popping up in the markets soon, with a number of Indian businesses working hard to export fruit this season.

Revised protocols have opened the door for Indian imports, with fruit allowed into Australia as long as it has been irradiated prior to export.

It will not be the first time Australia has imported mangoes, with Mexico, the Philippines and Pakistan exporting small numbers of fruit over the years.

Robert Gray from the Australian Mango Industry Association, said the Indian mangoes would be for sale outside of the Australian mango season.

He said if the fruit met biosecurity standards then the trade should be fine.

"Our position is that, as part of the global trade, if we want access to other countries around the world [to export Australian mangoes], then providing the protocol is safe and not bringing in any pests or diseases, then we're supportive of other countries having access into our market," he said.

Mr Gray said India had started exporting mangoes to the United States as well, but it was hard to know what type of volumes would be sent to Australia.

"While India is a huge mango-growing country, their export business is a bit like ours," he said.

"[India will be] targeting affluent markets, markets where they can place small quantities of very high-value product.

"So India is currently trying to ship 200 to 300 tonne of mangoes to the US a year, and it would be those sorts of volumes at a maximum [to Australia] I would expect."

Australians to get a taste of different mango varieties

One of the Indian companies looking to send mangoes to Australia is Kay Bee Exports.

Speaking to Fresh Fruit Portal, Kay Bee Exports chief executive Kaushal Khakhar, said all shipments to Australia would be by air, and the company would initially focus on exporting the Alphonso and Kesar varieties.

"Alphonso is slightly tricky but handled well it is one of the best varieties in India," he said.

"Kesar is the best commercial variety because it has a good price, good flavour, and it handles very well."

He said the opportunity to export mangoes to Australia first opened up several years ago, but the revised protocol has made it a more viable option.

The Indian mango season runs from March until the end of July.

This article was originally sourced from ABC News. 

The Australian branch of the Investment Management Consultants Association (IMCA) has announced it is searching for an operations manager. The newly created role will have an emphasis on administration and event management.

Mark Thomas, IMCA’s local general manager and company secretary, will conclude his contract at the end of June, after having helped guide the organisation through a period of major change in its operating model.

“The board of IMCA australia wish to formally thank Mark for the energy and enthusiasm he has brought to the general manager role over the past year,” a statement read. “Prior to taking on the general manager role, Mark was [already] a strong contributor to IMCA australia, [as chair of] the seminar committee, and also as a member of the conference committee.”

IMCA chairman Brett Elvish said, “The last two years have been a period of significant change, including the harmonisation of the Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) program globally, establishing a strategic partnership with PortfolioConstruction Forum for the management and delivery of CIMA Certification and member continuing education services, and a new four-year Affiliate Agreement with IMCA International.

Commenting on the new role, Elvish said, “This is a challenging operational role, for someone who thrives on managing multiple activities under the strategic direction of the board and its various committees. The ideal candidate is likely to have experience in the investment and wealth industry, and particularly enjoy event management. They will relish the flexibility and autonomy of establishing new processes and the hands-on operational implementation of an agreed strategy.”

IMCA australia is a chapter of the Investment Management Consultants Association in the US (IMCA International). The association was established in Australia in 2000. Its objective is to promote and maintain a high standard of knowledge and practice among investment and wealth professionals, with the CIMA program and ongoing certification as the core strategy.

This article was originally sourced from Investment Magazine. 

Harrison left his position as Pandora’s VP of Business Affairs and Assistant Counsel in 2015, where he was at the sharp end of the streaming service’s attempts to drive down the revenue share paid to record labels, artists, music publishers and songwriters.

Harrison then joined Sirius XM as VP of Music Business Affairs.

News of Harrison’s hire comes from Washington, where the National Music Publisher’s Association and the Nashville Songwriters Association International are battling for better mechanical royalty rates for interactive streaming.

Nearly 10,000 songwriters have signed a petition supporting their efforts.

Harrison has joined DiMA to oversee the organization’s public policy initiatives and strategic direction, serving as a “central figure in the continued growth of the digital media economy”.

DiMA represents the legal and policy interests of online distributors of digital music, movies and books, and its members also include Microsoft and Napster.

The organisation aims to help its members develop “new and innovative ways to provide consumers with increased access to legitimate online content” by “representing the industry in a wide variety of legal, political and regulatory matters”.

Harrison said: “I’m honored to have been chosen to lead DiMA into the future and am thrilled to work with such an impressive membership.

“THE INNOVATIVE MEMBER COMPANIES THAT COMPRISE DIMA AND ENABLE ACCESS TO THE GREATEST DIVERSITY OF CONTENT ARE A CRITICAL PART OF THE CREATIVE INDUSTRY’S VALUE CHAIN, PAYING BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN ROYALTIES AND LICENSE FEES TO CONTENT CREATORS EACH YEAR.” CHRIS HARRISON

“The innovative member companies that comprise DiMA and enable access to the greatest diversity of content are a critical part of the creative industry’s value chain, paying billions of dollars in royalties and license fees to content creators each year.

“As the pace of innovation continues to increase, it’s more important than ever that all stakeholders work together, and I look forward to leading that effort and ensuring consumers continue to enjoy and engage meaningfully with creative content.”

The DiMA Board of Directors said: “DiMA is excited to work with Chris Harrison to further its mission of advocating for business and regulatory environments that support the growth and success of digital media.

“WE LOOK FORWARD TO HARRISON’S LEADERSHIP TO HELP FURTHER TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS AND THE FAIR, EQUITABLE CONSUMPTION OF DIGITAL CONTENT.” DIMA BOARD

“At a time of unprecedented growth in the digital media industries and huge customer demand for an ever-increasing selection of creative content, we look forward to Harrison’s leadership to help further technological innovations and the fair, equitable consumption of digital content.”

This article was originally sourced from Music Business World. 

Brent Fletcher has been elected as the new President of Housing Industry Association in Queensland.

Warwick Temby, HIA Executive Director said “Brent brings an enormous depth and breadth of experience to the role of President.

“Brent has worked with HIA member Ausbuild since 1994 and is their Planning and Design Manager.

“In this role Brent has had daily exposure to all of the issues that confront HIA members in trying to run successful businesses in the increasingly complex residential building industry.

“Brent’s experience has also been brought to bear on the national stage where he has contributed to HIA’s planning and environment policy development for many years”. 

Brent said “I am absolutely committed to delivering a more efficient and affordable industry for HIA members and their clients.

“Through my involvement with the intricacies of land development and building I am acutely conscious of where complex and ineffective regulation is adding unnecessary cost to the industry’s capacity to deliver an affordable home for Queenslanders.

“One issue that I plan to actively pursue is the dire need for a State-wide housing code to remove layers of red tape and cost that comes from every local council having different rules around what can be built and where. HIA has estimated that the lack of this consistency is costing the Queensland economy around $200m a year, a cost that has to be passed on to home buyers.

“I’m really looking forward to the challenge of addressing this and other housing affordability issues that plague the industry”, Mr Fletcher concluded.

This media release was sourced directly from Housing Industry Association and was written by Warwick Temby. 

The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) is pleased to announce that Eva Scheerlinck has been appointed as AIST’s new Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.

Ms Scheerlinck – whose appointment follows an extensive search – has been in the role of acting CEO since former CEO, Tom Garcia, stepped down earlier this month after nearly five years in the role.

Ms Scheerlinck headed up AIST’s governance and stewardship department for the past six years, and most recently led the development of a new governance code (or code of practice) for AIST profit-to-member funds, which is set to take effect from July 1, this year. She has also been pivotal in driving industry-wide initiatives to improve outcomes for Indigenous Australians, having been the inaugural chair of the Indigenous Superannuation Working Group.

AIST President Mr David Smith said Ms Scheerlinck has deep appreciation of the challenges and opportunities facing the superannuation industry as well as the leadership qualities to ensure that AIST continues to be strong and influential advocate for Australia’s $700 billion profit-to-member super sector.

“Eva is highly-respected across the superannuation industry and beyond for her significant contribution to key policy and governance debates, including her dedication to improving retirement outcomes for low income earners and disadvantaged groups – such as Indigenous Australians,” Mr Smith said.

Ms Scheerlinck said she was excited to be taking on the role of leading AIST, working with the board and staff.

“The year is shaping up to be busy and significant one for AIST, with the launch of our governance code, our ongoing work and ensure smooth implementation of the new super tax changes and, most importantly, our advocacy on default fund selection to ensure that our compulsory super system continues to offer the highest level of consumer protection,” Ms Scheerlinck said.

In addition to her past roles at AIST, Ms Scheerlinck has previous experience heading up professional associations, including six years as CEO of the Australian Lawyers Alliance, a role that saw her named by BOSS Magazine as one of seven top young executives of the year.

Ms Scheerlinck holds a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Law, Graduate Diploma in Community Management, as well as governance qualifications from AIST (GAIST) Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), and the University of Toronto.

This media release was sourced directly from AIST and was written by Janet de Silva.

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