Call for Content — Business Summit 2027

About Business Summit

The IEC Business Summit is the premier event for electrical industry professionals to connect, collaborate, and engage with top leaders in the field. This annual event offers a robust lineup of educational sessions tailored to business owners, focusing on effective leadership and business success. Attendees also benefit from valuable networking opportunities and dedicated time for IEC committees to convene and plan for 2027.

The value of education at Business Summit:

• Gain Strategic Insights: Attendees will receive expert-led educational sessions designed to equip business owners with practical strategies and leadership tools for driving growth and long-term success.
• Stay Ahead of Industry Trends: Learn from seasoned professionals and thought leaders who offer real-world perspectives on emerging challenges and opportunities in the electrical industry.

Call for Education Content

This year, we encourage tailored sessions that address the challenges and opportunities most important to business owners and IEC leaders. We welcome submissions that:

• Feature innovative solutions by presenting cutting-edge strategies that attendees can apply directly to their businesses or workforce.
• Offer strong business cases supported by research or data.
• Showcase forward-thinking approaches and trends in the field.
• Feature engaging, creative program formats.
• Share real-world case studies that highlight practical applications.

Each proposal should aim to provide actionable insights that empower the business owner and inspire meaningful progress in the industry.

Instructional Design Guidelines

Proposals should:

• Be grounded by effective learning principles.
• Aim to transfer knowledge and develop new competencies.
• Foster discussion, encourage active audience engagement, and be outcome-focused.
• Build upon participants' prior knowledge and experiences.

Attendee Audience

Business Summit educational content primarily serves electrical contractors and leaders within IEC. Proposals should clearly specify the knowledge level and prior experience the attendees should have in the content area to ensure the session delivers maximum impact.

About the Review and Session Selection Process

IEC strives to be inclusive and diverse when reviewing session proposals. The review process combines the collective input of peers, volunteer leaders, and professional staff to ensure that members of the community have a significant voice in co-creating conference programming. Together, members and staff create an educational program that is timely, relevant, and targeted to attendee needs.

All content proposals go through an initial review process when they are evaluated by the IEC Events Advisory Committee based on the following criteria:

Submission Guidelines

• You are limited to submitting two total proposals, so be thoughtful about what you submit.
• Each proposal can have a maximum of five total speakers.
• Accepted speakers are expected to register for the conference at the discounted speaker rate and cover their own travel and accommodations. Exceptions may be considered on a case-by-case basis based on the speaker's expertise, presentation topic, and specific requests.
• Submissions will be considered based on the quality of the session description and learning objectives, experience of the proposed speaker(s), and alignment with the targeted educational topics.
• Please DO NOT include any reference to your name in the session title, description, or learning objectives. Only provide speaker information when asked for details such as name, bio, and speaking history.

Important Dates

• Call for content opens Friday, July 31, and closes Friday, November 6.
• Conference Session Notifications: Late November 2026

Topics

As you create your proposal, please consider the following topics, which are focus areas for the conference program. While proposals may address more than one area, you may select the one which is the best fit. The example topics noted below are intended to help you develop/plan, but we welcome and encourage additional ideas.

Business Development

• Financial Foundations: Focusing on reading statements, cash flow for profit, diversifying revenue, renewable energy installation, EV charging, maintenance contracts, succession planning
• Future-Proofing Your Business: Preparing for industry changes, regulatory updates, and advocacy
• Business Growth Strategies: Expanding a team, bidding for larger projects, entering new markets
• Contract and Legal: Contract clauses, legal compliance, protecting your business
• Effective Leadership: Leading teams, managing conflicts, inspiring innovation
• Team Communication: Conflict resolution, active listening, stronger teams through communication
• Productivity: Time management, tool organization, workflow
• Project Estimating: Materials, labor costs, bid prep

IEC Chapter Staff Community

• Member Engagement and Retention: Strategies for chapters to keep members engaged through tactical approaches and creating community
• Recruitment: Strategies for targeting and attracting apprentices effectively, as well as retaining employees
• Financial Management: Fundraising, sponsorship agreements, and financial reporting
• Advocacy: Legislative outreach, campaigning, how to advocate at a local and state level
• Marketing and Branding: Chapter visibility in the community, social media trends
• Building Strong Teams: Training programs, leadership development, volunteering
• Event Planning for Chapters: Budgeting, logistics, marketing, and attracting new members
• Technology: CRM tools, digital platforms, and operations
• Membership Growth: Recruiting new members, growing your chapter, merit shop voice

Emerging Technologies

• Prefabrication
• Renewable Energy
• Integration of New Technologies (AI)
• Electric Vehicles
• Digital Transformation (Building Information Modeling (BIM), SaaS Solutions, etc.)

Learning Formats

Learning formats support a range of instructional methods that give attendees more control over setting priorities and choosing the right content, materials, and methods that match their learning styles and objectives. The online submission form will ask you to select all session formats that are appropriate for your proposed session.

• Learning Lab (60 minutes): A formal presentation usually given by one or two content leaders.
• Panel Discussion (60 minutes): Unscripted conversation and analysis with one moderator and two or three speakers with varied backgrounds.
• Workshop (60 minutes): A highly interactive session where participants actively engage in exercises, discussions, or hands-on activities to build practical skills.
• Ask the Expert Session (60 minutes): A subject matter expert answers audience questions with minimal formal presentation.

Proposal Process & Selection Criteria

The Events Advisory Committee (EAC) seeks innovative ideas and subject matter experts to deliver cutting-edge content to attendees. Proposals submitted by IEC members and individuals within the IEC community will receive priority consideration. IEC aims to increase engagement by encouraging submissions from dedicated volunteers and active leaders within the community.

Questions

If you have any questions, please reach out at anytime.

Kari Messenger, CMP
Director of Events, IEC National
kmessenger@ieci.org