2027 · Associations and events

Three ripples heading for associations and events in 2027

If you run an association, a member body or a conference, there are three things I'd keep an eye on in 2027. For each one I've said what it sets off after it, and one thing you could do about it now.

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Thirty years of foresight. Thousands of clients, 2,800+ keynotes and workshops, 160 industries, 25 countries, and heard by more than a million people a year, on stage and in the media.

Some of the organisations I've worked with

  • NAB
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  • Allianz
  • EY
  • UBS
  • RMIT University
  • Visa
  • Bupa
  • Lufthansa
  • Deakin University

Heard and seen on

“A thought provoking and practical session that gave our industry a useful framework for considering not only what is changing, but what those changes may trigger next.”

Leanne Weier, Manager Client Services, Civil Contractors Federation Queensland, 2026 State Conference

What I mean by a ripple

The first ripple is where everyone looks

When something changes, it sets off ripples, like a stone dropped in a pond, and the first ring is the one everybody sees.

The first rippleThe first ripple is what happens straight away, and since that's where everybody's looking, that's where everybody reacts.
The ripple after itThe next one is the consequence of the consequence, and it can turn up months later feeling like it has nothing to do with what started it.
Your immediate futureAnd then there's the one thing you can do about it now, while the change is still small.

For each of these three I've followed the change a bit further than usual, past the first ripple, and finished with something you could do about it now.

The three I'd watch for associations and events

People come for each other

In 2010 I wrote a postcard from 2020, saying all the talk of virtual meetings being the death of the events industry hadn't harmed it but strengthened it. People still turn up for anything worth getting off the couch for.

The first ripple

Anything said on stage can be recorded and summarised within the hour now, so the program on its own isn't why people turn up. They come for each other, to be in the room and to be seen, and for the chats before, between and after the sessions.

The ripple after it

Your event does the hard work of getting everyone into the one room, and then the deal, the learning or the joining can happen somewhere else, so the room is full while renewals and sponsor returns quietly thin out.

Your immediate future

I'd have a go at saying in one sentence what someone gets from your room that a recording can't give them. Then count how many minutes of your 2027 program go to that, compared with content they could watch at home.

I wrote about this in Postcard from the Future: Events 2020 (August 2010).

The apprenticeship is moving to your door

Firms are taking on fewer juniors, because machines now do much of the routine first-year work, and the middle managers who taught them are thinning out at the same time.

The first ripple

The people who'd have done the teaching are going just as the people who needed it stop turning up, so the learning that used to happen inside a firm has fewer places to happen.

The ripple after it

What members need shifts from CPD points and content towards practice, things like mentoring, peer case nights and a safe place to get something wrong. If the natural places have gone, I think an association can build one, and then it's where the next generation learns its judgement.

Your immediate future

I'd ask five member organisations how many juniors they took on this year compared with three years ago, and who's teaching them now. Then try one mentor pairing, or one "what went wrong" evening, early in the new year.

I wrote more about where a business learns now, in October 2026: Where Does a Business Learn Now?

Your credential is now worth forging

In September I wrote that reputation had become a currency, and currencies get counterfeited. ASIC took down more than 19,400 scams in the 2025-26 financial year, 182 per cent more than the year before.

The first ripple

These days people want to check that you're who you say you are, so employers, clients and members lean harder on your register, your accreditation and your CPD records.

The ripple after it

Your association becomes a target too, with a fake registration page, or an email that looks like it's from your CEO asking members to pay, or a copied clip of one of your speakers. Someone else ends up trading on your good name, and people want to be able to check your register of members in a few seconds.

Your immediate future

I'd time how long it takes an employer to confirm that someone holds your credential. Then send your members one line on the things you'll never ask them to do by email, like pay or log in, so they can spot a fake.

I wrote about trust becoming something you have to show in September 2026, in Reputation Was the Currency. Now It Can Be Forged.

If you'd like to go further

Five ways to take this further

The cover of Before the Year Turns by Morris Misel

My year-end guide, Before the Year Turns

Nine chapters and thirteen worksheets that take you from this year into 2027 and finish with your own immediate futures, the first steps you'll take. The bonus at the back is my year ahead, in ripples.

One copy is A$39, a PDF you read on screen or print.

See the guide

Copies for your members

Two to five copies are A$27 each, and the price per copy falls at every step, down to A$9 each for more than 200. Your organisation's name goes inside every copy at no charge. For a member body, I can also make an edition with your name on the front and a welcome from you inside.

Copies for a team or clients

A free online session, Thursday 19 November

From 11 to 11.45 am AEDT we'll look back at what 2026 set off and ahead to what 2027 is asking of us. Come along, or pass it on to your team.

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Bring the decision you're sitting on and think it through with Mo, the companion I've built from my own way of looking ahead. Your first chat is free, with no sign-up. Twenty founding seats at A$60 a month close on Friday 27 November.

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Your conference, offsite or planning day

Talk to me about your conference, your members' day, an offsite or a planning day. I give keynotes and run workshops, online or in person, and this is the thinking I'd bring to the room.

Email memorris@morrisfuturist.com

Or just keep in touch: my Tuesday email is a short note from me each week on what's coming.

More from me on associations and events

Questions people ask

What should conference organisers prepare for over the next two years?

I think people come to your event to spend time together, and that matters more now that anything said on stage can be recorded and summarised within the hour. Members will want more practice, like mentoring and peer case nights, as firms take on fewer juniors, and your credential is now worth faking, with ASIC taking down more than 19,400 scams in 2025-26, 182 per cent more than the year before.

How can an association make its next conference more valuable to members?

I'd start by trying to say in one sentence what someone gets from your room that a recording can't give them. Then count how many minutes of your 2027 program go to that, compared with content they could watch at home. If you'd like to work it through with someone, come along to the free online session on Thursday 19 November, or talk to me about your conference or members' day.

How should we choose a keynote speaker who gets delegates acting on what's changing?

I'd look for a speaker who finishes on something each person can do, which is how I end every ripple on this page. I give keynotes and run workshops for conferences, members' days, offsites and planning days, online or in person. For a member body I can also make an edition of my year-end guide with your name on the front and a welcome from you inside.

What should our association's next planning workshop cover about membership, events and revenue?

I'd build it around the three ripples on this page: why people come to the room, where the next generation learns its judgement, and how quickly someone can check your credential. On that last one, it's worth timing how long it takes an employer to confirm a member holds it, and sending your members one line on the things you'll never ask them to do by email. My planning day is half a day to two days, with a follow-up a month later and the guide for everyone.

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Morris Misel

Foresight Strategist · Business Futurist · Keynote Speaker
Chair & Industry Fellow, Griffith University Inclusive Futures · Member, G100 Einstein Global Future Think Tank · Top Global and APAC Voices 2026