AWTC members consistently share how valuable it is to learn and connect with peers. AWTC Peer Collectives take that value deeper, offering consistent, meaningful interaction and support to help advance your professional goals.

Association technology professionals like yourself, who know that advancing technology in associations is critical to help deliver on the association’s broader mission. These will include professionals from a mix of experiences, levels, and organizations. Our goal is for each group to have a mix of industry partners and association professionals.

You will receive a confirmation email indicating that your application has been received. AWTC Peer Collectives will be formed based on preferred meeting times, start dates, and, where possible, a mix of job levels and functions.

Timeline

• Deadline for application: June 30, 2025
• Applicants are notified if they have been placed into an AWTC Peer Circle by July 11, 2025
• The fee to participate in an AWTC Peer Collectives is $299 per person ($200 for returning participants).
• A scholarship to reduce the fee to $99 is available for those in need.
• We will stagger start dates and anticipate scheduling your first meeting between August and December 2025.

We try to accommodate preferred meeting times, start dates, and create a mix of job levels and functions.

We will do our best to avoid placing people from competing companies or the same company in the same group. Please keep in mind that there is a limited number of participants, and we are also accommodating preferred times and start dates to meet.

About a week after you are assigned to your group, we will email you the details of the date and time of your first meeting and coordinate the dates of future meetings.

There is no need to prepare anything for the first meeting. Please be present for the entire meeting, eliminate distractions, and participate. The goal of the first meeting will be to get to know your AWTC Peer Collective members and learn about each other. We’ll also review community agreements and the plan for future sessions.

There are two types of sessions:

1. Facilitator-led groups
   The first two sessions and the New Year’s session will be facilitator-led, where the facilitator will guide the meeting. As the groups get to know each other, expect the content to be facilitated by the group with a flexible structure provided by AWTC. This is a place to bring your challenges, tough questions, and discuss ideas to advance professionally.
2. Peer-to-peer led groups
   The bulk of the sessions will be peer-to-peer-led groups. A general structure and rotation of topics will be provided by the facilitator along with pre-recorded tips and tricks you can access at any time. We will also ask that each member from the group be responsible for facilitating, planning, and scheduling one group meeting. A sign-up form will be available, and more details will be provided.

As your group progresses, some reflection and light preparation may be required to help you get the most out of each session. Additionally, plan for peer-facilitated sessions where group members take turns organizing the group, based on a general structure and facilitation guide template from AWTC. So, you will be responsible for organizing and facilitating one session for your group. AWTC will offer easy-to-follow templates, guidance, and suggested activities.

• A "Facilitation Tips and Tricks" bonus video will be available on demand.
• During the second session, the AWTC facilitator will guide participants through facilitation guide templates, provide ideas for icebreakers, and address any questions they may have. You can also ask another group member to be a co-facilitator, so that you have someone to bounce ideas off when planning the session, and alternate tasks during the session. Remember, this is a safe space to experiment with support from your group and push yourself out of your comfort zone.

• There are nine sessions total. The first session will last for 2 hours, and the other eight sessions will be 90 minutes.
• Additionally, you are responsible for organizing and facilitating one of your group sessions. This will require about 30 to 60 minutes of preparation. You can use the guidance, templates, and suggested activities provided by AWTC.
• You may be asked to come prepared with some reflection exercises that take about 30 minutes.
• We also encourage you to maintain informal contact with your group between sessions via Slack or any other method the group decides to use for communication.

The group is co-creating the experience and bringing their key topics to share with the group. A general structure for each session, including templates with icebreakers, suggested topics, reflection exercises, case studies, and professional and personal challenges, will be available.

Topics may include:

• Promoting Yourself and Your Team: Discuss strategies to help you and your team gain visibility and the recognition you deserve.
• Share your learning: Share your favorite book that gave you insights that still show up in your work life today.
• Relationship Building: Describe two tough relationships at work and what you learned from them
• Informal Tech or Team Audit: Conduct an informal tech assessment of your organization or team to identify strengths and weaknesses, and seek advice on how to improve
• Build your expertise: Craft ideas for submission for an upcoming conference. Commit to building them out and submitting them before the deadline.
• Presence: Review your professional wardrobe and what you want to convey with it.

AWTC will provide suggested topics. However, if your group has more relevant issues to explore, please feel free to do so instead.

We encourage you to continue connecting after the official programming concludes. You may also join a new AWTC Peer Collective the following year to continue to strengthen your professional community.

The concept of AWTC Peer Collectives is at the core of our mission and what makes AWTC special. We are investing in professional support to ensure a thoughtful, structured, and well-organized program. The fee offsets the costs of administering, building, and maintaining the program.

Because AWTC wants to make this program accessible, scholarships to reduce the fee to $99 are available, offsetting a substantial portion of the program fee.

Participation in an AWTC Peer Circle is a unique professional development opportunity, allowing you to expand your professional network, advance your skills, and get industry expertise to solve problems. This website outlines the program's goals, structure, and operations, and can serve as a resource for your employer to understand the benefits.

Yes, all sessions are virtual.

If you have questions or want to learn more, join the Small Group Experiences channel on AWTC's Slack. You can also email us at info@awtc.tech.