A tight focus, horizontal management structures, concentration on core competencies, and a clear division of duties are more than just buzzwords in today’s business world. They also apply to successful industry associations. We have therefore defined ourselves as a value-adding link in the Internet business chain for our members, and have set clear and realistic borders for our expertise. So, for instance, we are not directly active in the field of creative services or carrier technology, but we seek out co-operation with other groups and associations that are, to complement our offerings.

We have divided the areas that we are active in into thematic streams. One board member is responsible for each stream, receiving input from – among other sources – our topical working groups, each of which has its own coordinator. Exploratory initiatives are a precursor to formal working groups, and are established if participation and cooperation indicates substantive interest on a topic among the membership. The open-forum LocalTalks, which have been quite successful so far, serve as a catalyst for the formation of new initiatives and working groups, and are also intended to attract new members through their focus on cutting-edge topics.

These individual elements, each part of a chain of added value for members, are linked to horizontal themes such as law and regulation, marketing, or the broader category of online service provision (ASP), which can feed into any stream. This structure brings us back to the principles mentioned at the outset, which define a successful industry association.

Naturally, such a structure must remain dynamic, able meet new needs, trends and the evolving interests of our members. To this end we seek out an active engagement with our membership, not least as a way to ensure those benefits that they expect from the association.