There’s a Change in the Air
There’s a change in the air, and it isn’t just the weather. As seasons change, so too must organizations. Most people agree that the two pandemic years were ones of unanticipated – and sometimes forced – change. Some changes were more difficult than others. But we discovered it was possible to work and learn remotely. We found previously unexplored ways to sustain ourselves and our livelihoods. And we learned to live without some of the constants in our lives.
For IPMBA, the constant we learned to live without was our conference. From 1991 until 2019, the IPMBA Conference happened every year; not in the same place or over the same dates, but it was an annual affair. When it was cancelled in 2020 and 2021, we mourned it, but we filled in the gaps with regional training courses and projects. The latter brought about two major changes: the third edition of the Complete Guide to Public Safety Cycling and the accompanying Instructor ToolKit (Instructors: see page 49). This was no mere update; this was an overhaul of our textbook and our Police, EMS, and Security Cyclist curricula to keep up with changes in the world of public safety cycling. It was a most welcome change.
2022 saw a return of the IPMBA Conference, this time without the word “annual” in the title. It was our 30th Conference, and it followed the model adopted in 2017, when we blended the “pre-conference” and “conference” together. That was a big change, but we got used to it.
When the IPMBA Board met in early 2022, the future of the conference was a hot discussion topic. After years of having agencies vie for the privilege of hosting it, we find ourselves with few prospects. Upon querying past host committee members, it became clear that hosting it in its current format is a burden. As a result of budget cuts and personnel attrition, most agencies no longer have the resources required to support the event, which was described by one host agency as “a conference within a conference”.
And so, another change is in the air. There are many details to work out, but the plan is to develop two models: one consisting of the certificate courses and one comprising the workshops portion. These will alternate each year and enable host agencies to select the model that best fits their facilities and resources. Each model is expected to include opportunities for our industry partners to participate, perhaps an outdoor demo one year and an indoor exhibit hall the next. Both will enable our members to gather among friends and colleagues and experience world-class, public safety cyclist training.
While we recognize that this change may be difficult for some to embrace, we anticipate that it will expand our horizons and make hosting an IPMBA Conference a more attractive and realistic option for the agencies upon which we rely to make it happen. More information will be available as the models are developed, but in the meantime, if you are interested in hosting a future conference – of either type – email events@ipmba.org for more details.
Hope to see you in 2023! We’re working on it!