Schedule

Kick off the conference by building connections, engaging in meaningful conversations, and beginning a learning experience designed to showcase creativity and innovation at every turn. After the facilitated activities, enjoy connecting with peers during the reception portion of the event.

Recharge, refocus, and prepare for a day of learning, collaboration, and inspiration.

Start the day connecting with peers over breakfast while preparing for a day of innovation and discovery.

Innovation starts with curiosity, experimentation, and a willingness to learn. This energizing opening session sets the tone for the conference by exploring why failure is not the opposite of innovation, but a critical part of the journey.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the conference themes and learning journey.
• Recognize the role of experimentation and failure in driving innovation.
• Adopt a mindset of curiosity, learning, and continuous improvement.
• Prepare to engage fully in collaborative discussions and interactive experiences throughout the conference.

Real Data. Real Lessons. Real Innovation. The Innovation Showcase is a live, immersive experience featuring pitches by 5 associations and the crowd favorite, Fail Fest.

Showcase Finalists: 5 Innovation Stories. Five finalist associations share the real story behind a pilot: the challenge that prompted it, what they tried, what they learned, the impact they’re seeing, and where the idea could go next. These aren’t polished success stories — they’re honest looks at experimentation, course corrections, and ideas other association leaders can put to work.

Fail Fest: Failing Forward. Innovation isn’t only about what works. After the finalist presentations, The Showcase turns to a candid panel discussion on failing — the lessons that come from ideas that fail, evolve, or produce unexpected results. It’s an honest conversation about innovation, resilience, and continuous improvement, and about creating a culture that makes experimentation possible.

Refuel, reflect, and continue the conversation.

Innovation thrives when people feel empowered to experiment, take smart risks, and learn from setbacks. In this panel discussion, leaders share how their organizations foster cultures of innovation, create psychological safety, involve diverse voices in decision-making, and approach failure as an opportunity for learning and growth.

Learning Objectives

• Identify organizational practices and leadership behaviors that foster a culture of innovation and experimentation.
• Recognize common barriers that prevent staff, volunteers, and leaders from taking calculated risks.
• Examine how successful organizations balance innovation, accountability, and mission-focused decision-making.
• Develop approaches for encouraging curiosity, creativity, and responsible risk-taking within their own organizations.

Innovation doesn’t stop when sessions end. Take a break and connect with peers before the next session begins.

Every organization experiences setbacks, but the most resilient and innovative ones know how to turn those moments into opportunities for growth. Leaders from local organizations share lessons learned from initiatives that fell short of expectations and how those experiences ultimately informed stronger strategies, better decisions, and new opportunities. Attendees will be invited to contribute their own experiences in this honest conversation about failure, resilience, and learning in real time.

Learning Objectives

• Reframe setbacks and unsuccessful initiatives as opportunities for learning and growth.
• Identify techniques for evaluating failed projects and extracting actionable insights.
• Explore ways leaders can openly discuss failure to strengthen trust, resilience, and innovation.
• Apply lessons learned from unsuccessful initiatives to improve future decision-making and program design.
• Develop practical strategies for moving teams from disappointment and uncertainty to renewed action and momentum.

Association professionals learn best from one another. In this interactive session, attendees participate in facilitated small-group discussions focused on real challenges facing associations today, from member engagement and workforce challenges to innovation, learning, and organizational growth.

Learning Objectives

• Leverage the collective expertise of peers to address current and emerging challenges facing associations.
• Apply collaborative problem-solving techniques to issues related to member engagement, workforce development, learning, innovation, and organizational growth.
• Evaluate successful practices and lessons learned from other associations and determine how they can be adapted within their own organizations.
• Generate practical, actionable solutions to real-world challenges through facilitated peer discussion and knowledge sharing.
• Build connections with colleagues facing similar opportunities and obstacles, creating a network of ongoing support and idea exchange.

A dining experience that pairs award-winning Twin Cities cuisine with the kind of conversation that never quite happens in a conference room. Trade session notes, swap failure stories and let the city’s food scene do some of the talking.

Start the day with purpose, movement, and mindfulness.

Gather with colleagues and new connections for a morning of energizing conversation and fresh perspectives.

Association leaders are being asked to build what’s next while navigating real constraints: pressure on traditional revenue models, evolving member expectations, rapid advances in AI and technology, and teams that are already stretched. But constraints don’t have to limit innovation — they can help unlock it. In this interactive keynote, innovation strategist and bestselling author Dr. Simone Ahuja shares a practical approach to resourceful leadership, grounded in her research and work in the trenches with organizations of all sizes, including associations.

Learning Objectives

• Recognize how constraints can serve as catalysts for innovation and organizational growth rather than barriers to success.
• Apply principles of resourceful leadership to maximize existing assets, talent, and organizational capacity.
• Identify assumptions, processes, and activities that no longer create sufficient value and explore opportunities to rethink them.
• Use experimentation and rapid testing techniques to evaluate new ideas with reduced risk and greater learning.
• Develop strategies for generating meaningful member value and sustainable growth in an environment of evolving expectations and limited resources.

In a world of constant change, the advantage isn’t having unlimited resources. It’s becoming more resourceful with the ones you already have.

Connect with colleagues, exchange insights, and leave inspired to put innovation into action.

In this highly interactive Innovation Studio, Simone Ahuja is joined by four dynamic ASAE Fellows who guide participants through a fun, hands-on experience that uses the space around you as part of the learning. Together, you’ll tackle real challenges facing associations today — finding new paths to growth, reimagining member engagement and value, and making smarter use of AI and technology — and leave with a promising solution, a practical way to test it, and a clear next step for making it happen.

Learning Objectives

• Apply practical innovation and problem-solving frameworks to address complex challenges facing associations today.
• Challenge longstanding assumptions and evaluate problems from new perspectives to uncover innovative solutions.
• Collaborate with peers to generate creative and actionable approaches to common association challenges.
• Assess opportunities related to AI, technology, and evolving member expectations to determine where they can create the greatest impact.
• Transform promising concepts into small, low-risk experiments that can be tested and refined before scaling.

Enjoy lunch while reflecting on key takeaways from the workshop and keynote experiences.

A dynamic storytelling workshop led by a Dakota storyteller. Participants will gain practical storytelling tools and techniques that help transform information into inspiration, enabling them to communicate their organization’s impact more effectively and connect with audiences in meaningful and memorable ways.

Learning Objectives

• Recognize the power of storytelling as a tool for building connection, inspiring action, and communicating purpose.
• Identify the key elements of compelling stories and narratives that resonate with diverse audiences.
• Apply storytelling frameworks to communicate the value of their organization, programs, and mission more effectively.
• Craft authentic personal and professional narratives that strengthen leadership presence and influence.
• Explore how stories can be used to build culture, drive engagement, and support organizational change.

As the conference comes to a close, this session brings together the insights, ideas, and inspiration generated throughout the ASAE Great Ideas Conference. Through facilitated discussion and guided reflection, participants translate learning into action, identifying specific steps they’ll take within their organizations and leaving with personal commitments, new ideas to test, and a clearer vision for fostering innovation, experimentation, and growth. The session closes with an introduction to the Paisley Park Experience — more than a tour, a powerful lesson in creativity, vision, and challenging convention.

Learning Objectives

• Identify the innovation practices, strategies, and perspectives that have the greatest potential impact within their organizations.
• Develop a personal action plan that translates conference learning into specific, measurable next steps.
• Recognize the value of reflection, curiosity, and calculated risk-taking as drivers of organizational growth and innovation.
• Build confidence in leading change and advancing new ideas within their organizations, even in the face of uncertainty and constraints.
• Draw inspiration from the creative legacy of Prince and explore how bold thinking, experimentation, and challenging convention can inspire innovation in their own work.

Meet Minneapolis will provide shuttles to Paisley Park for an evening of innovation and inspiration. The journey will be entertaining and educational.

A master class in creative risk-taking, this experience features a tour and reception at the home and recording studio of the legendary musician, Prince. Explore the creative sanctuary where Prince recorded, produced, and performed — with access to the main floor, studios, wardrobes, awards, instruments, artwork, vehicles, rare recordings, Soundstage, NPG Music Club, Retail Shop & more — followed by a reception with peers surrounded by artistic innovation and creativity.

Full of ideas and inspiration, we head back to the hotel ready to part ways and set the ideas into action!