Association Management in the 2020's: Decade of Action

Association Management in Times of Turbulent Change

Welcome to this blog celebrating Lejeune’s 60th anniversary. In the run-up to the anniversary conference on Thursday 31st October, we have published a series of blogs, reflecting on the six decades of Lejeune Association Management. For each decade, we will discuss the context of world history, economic, social, and governance developments, and how our office has continuously evolved in response to these changes.

Part 9 - The 2020s: Decade of Action Chaos after Covid, rising tensions, transitions, GenAI, and GenZ

The 2010s were marked by major crises with significant consequences for politics, citizens, and businesses, but the adaptability required then pales in comparison to what the 2020s have demanded so far. Since 2020, we have experienced more external changes than would typically occur in an entire decade. The Covid-19 pandemic brought life to a standstill, halted economies, and exposed the fragility of globalisation. It became clear that the pandemic was a preview of what climate change could bring. Covid-19 marked the beginning of a period of structural adaptation and transition, where cultures and systems are undergoing fundamental change. As transition professor Jan Rotmans from the Netherlands puts it: "We are not living in an era of change, but a change of era."

The EU, governments, and sector associations play a crucial role in this process because collective challenges, during successive and even simultaneous crises, exceed the capacity of individual actors. Since Brexit, Covid, and the war in Ukraine, trust in the EU and sector associations has grown. At the same time, uncertainties in society have increased due to economic and ecological shortages and social tensions. In the 2020s, short-term challenges (migration, housing, staffing, basic security) compete for priority with long-term issues like climate change, sustainability, and system transitions. According to Rotmans, chaos is necessary for real change. In his view, sector associations have played a delaying role in necessary transitions. However, according to the author of this blog, with their connecting "soft skills" and pre-competitive collaboration, they can indeed play a significant role as drivers of sustainability. Covid-19, in that respect, was a wake-up call.

Image created with Dall-E

Covid-19: The World Turned Upside Down

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 a pandemic. It wasn't until 5 May 2023 that the ‘All-Clear’ signal was officially given. In the interim, the world was simultaneously paralysed and turned upside down. Dutch historian Geert Mak even felt compelled to publish an addendum to his book Great Expectations, which explored the fulfilled and unfulfilled promises in Europe during the two decades since 2000, shortly after its release.

Lockdowns had far-reaching consequences. While previous pandemics were more contained, Covid-19 spread rapidly across the globe in 2020, facilitated by globalisation. Many countries shut down their economies and went into quarantine. The Netherlands followed quickly, entering lockdown on 16 March 2020. Global production chains were disrupted. Governments were forced to take drastic measures to safeguard medical care and essential goods. European member states each implemented their own measures, creating a complex landscape of national rules. Europe seemed to be back at square one.

Sector Associations as Crisis Hubs

Sector associations became crisis hubs for their members, offering hotlines, almost daily online member briefings, and consultations with governments. In B2C sectors such as hospitality, retail, hairdressing, tourism, culture, entertainment, and other SMEs, intense lobbying took place for financial support to cover lost income, as well as special arrangements for opening hours and workplace safety. In the B2B sector, the focus included recognising industries as part of essential infrastructure, securing support measures, and ensuring cross-border transport through "green lanes".

Associations also helped members by providing platforms to share knowledge and experiences, offering guidance on preventing workplace infections, transitioning to online sales, and adopting best practices for remote work. During the pandemic, associations proved their added value as collective havens, which was "rewarded" with increased membership across the board.

The Virtual Sector Association

The biggest change for sector associations was the sudden halt to physical events, the lifeblood of many organisations. Numerous meetings were cancelled or postponed, with catch-up only beginning two years later, leaving a lasting impact on the events industry. To continue functioning, associations rapidly invested in digital infrastructure. Virtual meetings on platforms like Zoom and Teams increased, enabling projects to progress faster thanks to remote-working volunteers.

In the Netherlands, temporary legislation was introduced to allow Annual General Meetings (AGMs)—the "crown jewel of association democracy"—to take place digitally (a proposal is currently underway to make this permanent from 2025). Associations transformed into "broadcasters" to share knowledge and events online. This required not only technological adjustments but also a new, more journalistic approach to communication, which was more interactive and reached a wider audience through livestreams, video, and podcasts. Online conferences and webinars attracted two to three times as many participants as their "live" predecessors, though the revenue model remains uncertain.

The National Recycling Forum - National Recycling Congres in 2020 complete online

Post-Covid: Regained Freedom of Movement, Retaining the Benefits of Digital Collaboration....

From early 2022, Covid-19 measures were gradually eased and fully lifted in 2023, bringing great relief and a sense of reunion (or, for newcomers, a first introduction) at events after nearly three years of working from home and travel restrictions. Many postponed meetings took place in 2022 and 2023, enabling trade associations to recover losses and collect deposits paid before the pandemic.

By 2024, however, online meetings via Teams and Zoom have become indispensable, and hybrid meetings are now the norm. The service sector is catching up with the manufacturing industry in terms of productivity, aided by tools such as Teams, SharePoint, and recent innovations in generative artificial intelligence (or GenAI), including ChatGPT (by OpenAI), CoPilot (by Microsoft), and Gemini (by Google). These tools are also boosting the productivity of trade associations, which have embraced the challenge of integrating them into their workflows.

Large member companies, in particular, recognise the benefits of virtual collaboration, as it reduces their environmental footprint and minimises non-essential travel. Nevertheless, personal (non-verbal) communication and networking remain more challenging online. Innovations in AI may eventually overcome even this final hurdle

… But Greater Challenges Loom

Although the pandemic appeared to subside in early 2022, the recovery of production chains remained difficult due to ongoing shortages of raw materials, components, and labour, driving up prices and wages. Economists initially viewed this as a temporary phenomenon, but the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, alongside causing a humanitarian tragedy, triggered an energy crisis and accelerated inflation, as Europe was heavily dependent on Russian gas and oil. This disrupted the fragile post-Covid recovery. The recent escalation of conflict in the Middle East has further heightened instability.

In the “Great Election Year” of 2024, the political spectrum is shifting to the right. Voters' fear of an uncertain future is translating into a longing for the certainties of the past. Despite increasingly extreme weather conditions worldwide, long-term sustainability is fading into the background, reforms are stagnating, and migration, inflation, and economic security dominate the agenda. Industrial policy, strategic autonomy, and energy and resource security are now priorities for European and national governments.

The report by the Draghi Commission, published in September 2024, on Europe’s future competitiveness, raises concerns about the Green Deal. It advocates for reduced regulatory pressure, enhanced collaboration, a significant increase in joint European investments, and climate policies that support clean growth, innovation, and productivity to strengthen competitiveness against China and the United States.

The anticipated return of Donald Trump as President of the United States casts its shadow over geopolitical relations, trade policies, and sustainability efforts. It is expected to accelerate attention towards Draghi's recommendations.

Mario Draghi presents his report on the future of the EU's competitiveness. Source: Europe.eu..

Pre-Competitive Collaboration at the Sector Level

Despite, or perhaps because of, the sombre global outlook since the pandemic, there are positive prospects for trade associations. The new generation, Gen Z, engaged 'digital natives', focuses on diversity, societal progress, innovation, and sustainability, operating under the principle that ‘knowledge shared is knowledge multiplied.’ The shift to online platforms has facilitated interactions with governments. Covid-19, the Green Deal, and the National Circular Economy Programme have stimulated new collaborations within and between trade associations and governments.

As highlighted in the previous blog, the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system serves as an example. Under this system, producers and importers are held accountable for the entire lifecycle of their products, including design, collection, and recycling. By making such an EPR system, including the corresponding EPR levy, universally binding, governments can create a level playing field within industries, ensuring that ‘free riders’ are also held to account. These developments have strengthened trade associations as platforms for sustainability and corporate social responsibility. Increasingly, there is discussion of ‘ecosystems,’ referring to the collaboration, exchange, and mutual dependence of businesses within (circular) chains when it comes to innovation and knowledge sharing.

The relaxation of competition rules by the European Commission supports this collaboration. Trade associations have become more decisive and agile. The Governance and Supervision of Legal Entities Act (WBTR), introduced in 2021, ensures care and transparency, although the (justified) tightening of financial oversight regulations has occasionally had unintended side effects on the efficiency of non-profit organisations and charities. Other laws and regulations also compel sectors to develop joint solutions and standards, as seen with the Act on Combating Sham Employment Arrangements, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation, and the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.

Crisis as Opportunity: Connectors Over Trailblazers

The multiple crises and the resulting chaos present an opportunity for trade associations. Transition professor Jan Rotmans, a speaker at the Lejeune Jubilee Congress in 2024, argues in his book "Embrace the Chaos" (published during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021) that today’s world requires fewer frontrunners and more connectors. Frontrunners, he suggests, often race ahead of the pack and forget to look back at those left behind. In his view, the coming period will be about building bridges between ideas, projects, and people.

Transitions cannot be imposed from the top down; instead, they are driven by individuals and organisations that, through servant leadership, are able to forge connections and scale these up ‘from the bottom up.’ According to Rotmans, achieving change requires a critical mass of just 25% to eventually bring the undercurrent to the surface.

Keynote presentation of Jan Rotmans at the anniversary congress on 31 oktober:"Embrace the Chaos"

Conditions for Successful Change

For sector associations, it is a challenging yet promising opportunity to act as connectors and leverage this movement, once again proving their relevance. In the article “Change Management: How Do You Get an Association Moving?” published in VM Magazine in 2023, Peter Tack, founder of professional association management in the Netherlands, succinctly outlines four conditions for successful change: necessity (we MUST do it), vision (we WANT to do it), resources (we CAN do it), and action (we DARE to do it).

The article cites two practical examples from Lejeune, while the nominated initiatives for the Mans Lejeune Award 2024 also provide valuable “best practices.” These examples confirm that factors such as external stimuli or pressure, action-oriented policies, clear agreements, concrete and measurable goals, transparency, unifying leadership, broad support, and receptiveness can significantly increase the success rate of initiatives. Equally important is the willingness of organisations and members to collectively rise above their individual interests.

Office Lejeune: A New Generation, New Challenges

Lejeune looks forward to connecting with its clients to shape the future and address challenges in collective collaboration and sustainability. The Lejeune Sustainability Matrix, supported by AI, is designed to assist trade associations in this endeavour by transforming the abstract United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into concrete industry programmes.

Meanwhile, Lejeune itself is also undergoing a transition, as the agency stands on the brink of yet another generational shift. The experienced professionals mentioned in previous blogs have already made their mark. In recent years, four new colleagues — Pablo Englebienne, Lennert Vermaat, Luc Lejeune, and Karla Pastor — have joined the team, bringing with them a wealth of knowledge and experience in (international) industry collaboration, sustainability, and circularity. Young, talented professionals such as Celesta Maas and Floor Hoenderop have also risen through the ranks, alongside seasoned experts like Hélène van ’t Hoff.

Together with Brenda van der Burg, Valerie Meijer, and the recently appointed colleagues Thara van Giezen and Mitch Kromhout, as well as all current team members mentioned in earlier blogs, the team is ready to embark on the journey towards the next milestone.

In the next and final part of this series, we will take a closer look at the future.

Jules Lejeune

Six Decades of Lejeune Association Management. Read all the blogs via the links below: