Future of Association Events and Conferences

June 02, 2020

AES

Association Executive Services recently hosted a webinar that discussed the future of association events and conferences in Australia in a COVID-19 world, featuring a panel of legal, insurance, health and association events experts.

This webinar covered a wide range of topics and discussed many of the complex layers and aspects that come into play when planning an association event or conference in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON ASSOCIATION EVENTS AND CONFERENCES

This webinar was particularly pertinent as the recent AES Survey on the Impact of COVID-19 on Associations found that:

66% of associations cancelled their events

58% of associations postponed their events

23% of associations have experienced a drop in membership renewals

This is significant because, for many associations, events make up a large proportion of their revenue. Moreover, many associations have experienced a big drop-off in sponsorships. This has meant that several associations are undergoing restructuring in order to prepare for the fallout of COVID-19 over the next several months.

Additionally, when asked when their association is planning their conferences or events:

50% cancelled their events

40% postponed their events to the end of the year

35% have moved all their events online to become webinars or virtual conferences

Andrew Hiebl, who is the CEO of the Association of Australian Convention Bureaux noted that, for associations, events are significant in a myriad of ways: “These aren’t events for events’ sake. These events are about trade and none of that trade activity is occurring anymore. It’s about face-to-face collaboration and the outputs of those face-to-face collaborations; the innovation that occurs because of these people meeting.”

LIABILITY AND RISK REGARDING EVENTS AND CONFERENCES

One of the biggest concerns regarding events and conferences that may occur in the wake of COVID-19 is the risk of liability should an outbreak occur at the event or conference.

David Federici, who is the director of Focus Insurance Brokers, noted that, in the short-term, most insurance policies will have blanket exclusions on infectious diseases, including COVID-19. This includes events and conferences that abide by social distancing guidelines.

“Hopefully over the next few months, the insurance industry will be able to provide a bit more clarification in regard to what they’re prepared to cover and not over. At the moment, I certainly wouldn’t be planning on running an event with the idea that the insurance is going to be the panacea to all claims,” Federici said.

Similarly, John Crosby, who is a Barrister and Solicitor at Crosby and Associates, noted that if an association were to run an event in 2021 in a COVID-19 environment that excludes it from insurance, and an outbreak were to occur, the association is personally liable to be sued.

However, Crosby did note that, “There have been some changes to the Corporations Act and some associations that are public companies, will be covered by those changes. These include an extension of the insolvency and liquidation aspects of the Act, so that associations can’t be sued, or at least notice issued, if any debts are less than $20,000.”

THE POTENTIAL FOR A VACCINE

The webinar acknowledged that there has been a lot of conversation in the media regarding the development of a vaccine to treat COVID-19, and that this vaccine may allow for a return to normal operations, including for association events and conferences.

Dr Tyani Chan, who is the general manager of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Immunology Inc., noted that, while vaccine development can sometimes take up to ten years, the global effort and urgency to develop a COVID-19 vaccine means that a vaccine could potentially be developed in the next 12 months.

However, Dr Chan noted that beyond the development of a vaccine, the production and distribution of a vaccine must also be considered.

When considering what will happen if a vaccine is developed, Dr Chan said, “I do think we’ll be able to return to normal, but it will be an adapted form of normal.”

In regard to events, she elaborated to say, “The main thing we need to think about is density of people in a confined space. So, if we had ways to lower the risk of a virus spreading, that would be the way forward.”

When outlining the ways that the spread of infectious diseases could be mitigated at events or conferences, Dr Chan suggested that keynote or plenary sessions be shortened and that seating may be arranged so that every second seat is empty.

EVENTS AND CONFERENCES IN THE FUTURE

Andrew Hiebl noted that there is a need for a distinction between mass gatherings and the government’s restrictions regarding them. For example, compared with other mass gatherings, association events and conferences are much lower risk as they are able to implement an increased level of hygiene as well as enforcing social distancing protocols.

Hiebl also noted, “Something really important about business events is that through the registration process there is a basic element of contact tracing that is available that we can do in these very well planned, highly managed activities. So again, that’s part of the removal of risk – if there was some form of contact or spread of COVID-19 within an event, we could very easily contact trace, which can’t be done at other big events such as music festivals or sporting events.”

Ultimately, there is a need for clarification in the coming months from the Government as well as insurance companies regarding the risk and liability associated with events and conferences.

While a lot of associations are moving to virtual conferences, there is still a big hole in the middle of these associations’ activity lists, with the need to fill in some way that engages with members.