Pushing a new philosophy of meetings management that melds content and psychology with traditional logistical planning, 40 international meeting planners, association executives, university instructors and supplier representatives are embarking on the Meeting Architecture 2011 Project to "provide the conceptual, organizational and financial foundations for the long-term implementation of Meeting Architecture as a recognized meeting management discipline."

In May, these meetings industry thought leaders released The Meeting Architecture Manifesto, a document containing an outline for the development of formal meetings management architecture, which is focused on "designing the meeting experience, its content, format and context, in order to facilitate the desired reinforcement or change in participant behavior and thus provide greater value for stakeholders."

The project, which is being led by an international steering committee and advisory council primarily comprised of the manifesto collaborators, aims to build alliances with industry associations, universities and other stakeholders, for curriculum development and securing funds through a formal nonprofit organization.

Leading the effort is Belgium-based Abbit Meeting Support CEO and president Maarten Vanneste, who put down on paper the meeting architecture concept in his 2008 book Meeting Architecture – A Manifesto. Also coordinating the initiative is Elling Hamso of the Norway-based European Event ROI Institute—who facilitated two-day conclaves in Copenhagen in November 2008 and Bal Harbour, Fla., in January—and Janet Sperstad, lead instructor for the Madison Area Technical College meetings management program.

Where other industry certifications and disciplines involve such logistical aspects of meeting planning as procuring venues, travel accommodations and food and beverage, meeting architecture is focused on integrating audiovisual, branding, content, design, experience and technology, then factoring in such social sciences as psychology and sociology to support meeting objectives, raise the return on investment and maximize the outcome of physical or virtual meetings of at least 10 people for at least a half day, Vanneste said.

Traditionally, associations and corporations have had a separation between many planners, with some primarily working on logistical planning and others on the content and experience aspects. Some see meeting architecture as a bridging of that gap.

"In some ways, this may already live in some corporations and perhaps more in associations just because of the way they are structured in working on education, design and delivery," said independent planner and chief strategist of Eisenstodt Associates Joan Eisenstodt. "As people within organizations begin to understand it, they say, 'This is something we can do, and I'm going to be the person who will take that and move that ahead.' It's always difficult to change culture. I see this as changing everything that we've done for eons."

While the meeting architecture concept has been comprehensively written only recently, aspects of the discipline have been applied to meetings for years. However, creative agencies, meeting planners, event marketers, production companies and other suppliers have done so without standards or sharing of best practices. The manifesto pushes to build the discipline on an open platform.

"To not have that available publicly is a huge waste," said manifesto signatory Banz Ledin, CEO of event attendee communication, measurement and networking technology provider Spotme. "The other aspect is the huge potential to move from cost-cutting to delivering-value discussions. Logistics and hospitality are so commoditized that the pressure to cut costs is huge."

Ledin said some meetings built on the architecture concept have greatly increased effectiveness. "We have the potential to double the value that our industry creates," he said. "We should step up to that challenge and show that we are already delivering great value, but there still is great potential."

Originally published Nov. 16, 2009 This page is protected by Copyright laws. Do Not Copy