Insights that Drive Action
Using Foresight at Work
Foresight is the practice of intentionally scanning the environment, spotting emerging shifts, and using those insights to guide everyday decisions. For associations, it’s not a standalone exercise—it’s a core part of how leaders plan, adapt, and deliver on their missions. Drivers of change provide the research-based insights that make this ongoing practice possible.
What are Drivers of Change?
Drivers of change are research-based insights that help associations understand the major forces shaping their operating environment. They highlight what is already observable in today’s world—emerging signals, new pressures, shifting expectations—not predictions and not trends alone.
Each driver explains why a particular force matters, how it might influence associations and their members, and what leaders should watch for in the years ahead. They are designed to spark strategic conversations, support long-range planning, and help organizations prepare for multiple possible futures
Spotlight
New Drivers of Change
Capture emerging signals and evolving realities shaping the association environment, offering timely, research-based insights to help association leaders stay informed, adaptive, and future-focused.
Energy Systems in Transition
Private Equity Reshaping Industries
Truth Under Pressure
Updated Drivers of Change
Reflect new developments, shifting conditions, and fresh insights from the association community—keeping each driver current, actionable, and aligned with the evolving association environment.
Updated Drivers of Change are automatically added to the Essentials Collection and are also available for purchase as a complete set in the Just the Updates Collection.
Explore the Six Thematic Areas
Drivers of Change are organized into thematic areas that reflect core association practices and the forces shaping how associations operate.
Content, Learning, and Knowledge
Data and Technology
Demographics and Membership
Economic Conditions
Society and Politics
Workforce and Workplace
How We Develop a Driver of Change
ASAE Research Foundation uses a rigorous, collaborative process to ensure each driver is relevant, reliable, and meaningful to associations:
1. Environmental Scanning
In partnership with futurists at Foresight Alliance, we continuously monitor the environment—across technology, workforce dynamics, policy, economics, culture, and beyond—to identify observable changes and early signals gaining traction.
2. Building the Candidate List
Potential topics are evaluated using clear criteria, including rising importance, anticipated impact over the next 5-10 years, distinctness from existing drivers, and relevance to associations and their stakeholders.
3. Internal Review
With insights from the ASAE ForesightWorks Advisory Group, we review, refine, and prioritize the strongest topics—ensuring they reflect association needs and incorporate diverse perspectives.
4. Focus Group Validation
Association professionals test the draft drivers by sharing insights from their own experiences, sharing how these changes are unfolding in their environment, how the changes might affect their members or mission, and what opportunities or challenges do they see. Their input helps refine the narrative and identify practical actions associations can take.
5. Final Development
We synthesize research and practitioner insights into a clear, accessible brief that includes practical actions associations can consider, a summary of the change, key signals and indicators to watch, relevant forecasts, critical unknowns that could shift the trajectory, and potential alternative futures.
6. Continuous Updating
Drivers of change evolve. We update and expand the collection regularly to reflect the shifting environment.
How to Use the Drivers of Change
Drivers of change are designed to be practical tools that fit directly into your organization’s everyday decision-making. Associations can use this information to:
Drivers are not predictions—they are tools to help associations prepare, adapt, and lead with confidence in a changing world.
Helpful Resources
ASAE ForesightWorks Essentials Collection (Fall 2025)
