Sitting at the heart of their industry, trade associations are the 'official voice' looking to put forward the collective view and position of its members. Not only do they speak on behalf of their members to government, agencies, regulators, the media and other opinion formers, but they self-regulate and police, deliver training and development, conduct research and organise conferences and events.

With more than 1,250 to choose from, there's a body out there for everyone.

But are they worth it? Are the benefits of membership worth the often significant fees and all the additional contributions of time and expertise? How do you actually measure that value? If you are a member, how can you make sure you are extracting every last drop of worth? Put simply, are trade associations worth it?

To help answer these questions and more, Apella Advisors Partner Andrew Brown is joined by two former titans of the trade association firmament. Huw Evans who was, for seven years, Director General of the Association of British Insurers and Ian Wright, seven years CEO of the Food and Drink Federation. Ian was also Corporate Relations Director of Diageo plc for 14 years.

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This edition of The Little Questions podcast is presented by Andrew Brown.

Apella partner Andrew Brown is a former Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Ageas Insurance. He has more than ten years' experience leading the corporate affairs functions for global firms across a range of regulated and unregulated sectors, developing considerable experience in issues, crisis and change management. Formerly Director of Communications at Drax Group plc and Group Corporate Affairs Director at Regus plc.

Find out more about Apella Advisors at www.apellaadvisors.com and you can get in touch by emailing [email protected]

This podcast was produced by www.thepodcastcoach.co.uk