A Guide to Intercity Visits: Community Development through Leadership Exchange
Intercity visits are community and leadership development through best practice sharing and high level networking. They provide a unique opportunity to assemble a diverse delegation of business, elected and civic leaders and expose them to innovative ideas and programs by traveling to a peer city. Chambers of commerce in cities of all sizes lead intercity visits on an annual basis, and their communities are stronger to show for it.
ACCE’s newest publication, A Guide to Intercity Visits: Community Development through Leadership Exchange, explains the value of these programs and provides a detailed guide for how to get a program started. If you already lead and intercity visit program, this handy guidebook is full of new ideas to energize your program
Download a A Guide to Intercity Visits
Click to download a copy of A Guide to Intercity Visits: Community Development through Leadership Exchange
Other Intercity Visit Articles
Learning from Intercity Visits, by Joan Mobley, Chamber Executive- Jan/Feb 2005
Making Intercity Visits Profitable, by Joan Mobley, Chamber Executive - Convention Issue 2007
City to City: Best Practies, by Joan Mobley and Ian Scott, Chamber Executive - Convention Issue 2008
Intercity Visit Tutorials
If you are considering starting an intercity visit program but don't know where to begin, these quick podcast tutorials, featuring A Guide to Intercity Visits co-author Joan Mobley, can help answer your questions.
Intercity Visit Impact provides an overview of the value chambers and communities can expect from launching an intercity visit program.
Things to Consider outlines the 4 key questions to ask yourself before launching your intercity visit. Spending time to carefully consider these four questions at the beginning will allow you to shape a program with realistic objectives.
Chambers on the Move
As you narrow down potential destinations for your next intercity visit it is helpful to find out who else as been there recently. Check our Chambers on the Move chart to see where chambers have taken intercity visit delegations in recent years. Contact chambers who have been to your potential destination for some first hand advice about topics, speakers and venues.
Click to download the Chambers on the Move chart.
Connect with Experts - Coming Soon
Whether you are organizing your first intercity visit or planning your tenth, you are certain to have some questions along the way. Use the ACCE Intercity Visit Message Board to connect with experts and get some answers. While you are there, take a minute and share your experience with chamber peers.
Intercity Visit Sample Documents
Intercity visits generate a lot of paperwork. Download and modify these samples to help save time.
Invite Letter - general language and structure to frame your program invitation letter
Budget- one file with 3 sample budgets side-by-side to help you calculate trip participation fees
First and Final Speaker Letters - communications to confirmed speakers