As an ever-evolving organization, the IACP is always looking for innovative ways to engage our members and attendees. At this year’s recent 2024 IACP Annual Conference and Exposition in Boston, Massachusetts, a brand-new IACP HUB design was rolled out.
The IACP’s foremost value is “members first,” and everything the IACP does begins with their needs in mind. The HUB, the IACP’s information showcase at the annual conference, focused on customer service—and members’ and attendees’ experiences were of the utmost importance to the IACP staff members.
Beginning with the end in mind, the IACP asked what issues are the most important and pressing to police officers today? What can the IACP offer them so that they can take themed resources back to their departments to help their local efforts? From there, a series of themes were developed to include agency services, leadership development, officer safety and wellness, community-police engagement, the intersection of public health and safety, violent crime, and IACPnet and IACPlearn.
The vision for the HUB was to highlight the services and resources the IACP has for the policing profession within these themes through engaging discussions with staff. Rolling slideshows at each themed counter provided an inviting visual and was one of many aspects included in the redesign. The IACP staff created new and visually appealing postcards and other resources featuring QR codes, and these were placed at each of the themed counters. More than 250 boxes of tools and resources were shipped by truck in the weeks leading to the conference. The Quick Hits lounge featured seating and numerous sessions relating to attendees’ professional development and personal objectives. Topics were varied, ranging from Identifying and Applying for Federal Funding for Police Initiatives to Traffic Safety and Road Policing to Reducing Violence through Community Collaboration. In addition, members and attendees were offered professional development opportunities while visiting the HUB, including résumé reviews, mock interviews, and media training. To hear the voices of attendees, the IACP offered a large canvas called Why I Wear the Badge, allowing attendees to express themselves and inspire others. Literature racks were packed with documents, toolkits, brochures, and more—all at no cost to the attendees. Another popular HUB feature included a photo opportunity featuring Police Chief magazine covers highlighting famous Boston locales.
The IACP’s foremost value is ‘members first,’ and everything the IACP does begins with their needs in mind.
To garner excitement and interest, the IACP placed a series of “Did You Know?” signs, window clings, and meter boards throughout the convention center. These provided quick bites of information on a wide variety of topics, with the goal of drawing in as many attendees as possible. The IACP staff were on hand at each themed counter during the duration of the Exposition Hall hours on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.
The IACP staff worked tirelessly behind the scenes planning each detail of the HUB and preparing to make this the best experience possible for members and attendees. In the months leading up to the conference, there were many discussions and meetings offering learning opportunities for staff. The key is to engage members and attendees, so in addition to new documents and resources, staff continued to break down silos by creating “cheat sheets” on each of the themed categories. Officer safety and wellness or traffic safety may be number one in a staff’s portfolio at work, but at the HUB, all categories and topics were studied so the IACP would know how to best support attendees. There were required staff trainings to learn how to speak succinctly and engagingly about the work of the IACP, and staff crafted tips and strategies on how to engage members and get them excited about all the IACP has to offer members. Staff held practice sessions with one another and were extremely enthusiastic about the new and redesigned HUB.
The IACP wants to know what you think. Let the IACP hear what worked and what could be improved so next year’s HUB in Denver, Colorado, can be even better! d
Please cite as
Rosemary DeMenno, “Members First,” IACP@Work, Police Chief 91, no. 11 (November 2024): 64–65.
