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Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA)

Client Overview

Founded in 1939, the Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) is a nonpartisan association dedicated to advancing scholarship in all areas of political science. MPSA organizes the Midwest Political Science Association Annual Conference, one of the largest political science conferences globally, with over 1,000 panels, averaging over 4,500 attendees from 65+ countries, presented in a hybrid format.  MPSA staff manages the conference entirely with staff resources, without the assistance of a third party event vendor. The association also supports its 5,000+ members with resources like journal subscriptions, grants, and networking opportunities.

The Challenge

MPSA’s custom-built Salesforce Community Cloud AMS (Association Management System) had high licensing costs, limited external support, and required significant staff resources for maintenance. The system’s complexities strained their small team of nine employees, leading to inefficiencies and increasing operational challenges. MPSA needed an off-the-shelf,  user-friendly, cost-effective AMS with robust support.

The Goals

MPSA sought an AMS that would:

  • Allow staff to manage the AMS without specialized skill sets
  • Lower the total overall cost of ownership including licensing and support
  • Feature an intuitive user interface and accessible support resources.
  • Provide accurate financial transaction tracking and reporting.
  • Facilitate user-friendly online event registrations with complex rules.
  • Integrate seamlessly with other systems via modern APIs.
  • Offer robust reporting capabilities for both technical and non-technical staff.
  • Enable self-service membership management and e-commerce capabilities for registrations, memberships, sponsorships, and donations.

The Solution

MPSA partnered with Dennison & Associates to manage the AMS selection process. The approach included:

  • Helping client clearly define highly custom requirements that incorporate best practices and process change recommendations.
  • Validating requirements with stakeholders.
  • Identifying and vetting potential vendors.
  • Issuing RFPs and evaluating responses.
  • Hosting product demonstrations and conducting deep-dive sessions.
  • Reviewing contracts, timelines, and integration compatibility.
  • Interviewing references to ensure reliability.

The Implementation

Dennison & Associates navigated challenges such as ensuring the new system matched MPSA’s custom needs and managing project timelines around annual conference schedules and staff availability. The team conducted thorough due diligence to instill confidence in the selected solution and its ability to outperform the legacy system. The entire process spanned 11 months accommodating the client’s schedule, withbreaks for staff blackout periods and an extended contracting period.  The timeframe allowed  for meticulous information gathering and evaluation.

The Results

The engagement concluded with the selection of a new AMS tailored to MPSA’s needs. Early feedback highlighted the ease of use and potential for improved operational efficiency. Full implementation results will be revisited in subsequent reviews.