Relevancy Summit E-Book

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Building and PreservingAssociation Relevancy

Into the Future

34 December 2007

Research Triangle Park, NC

ISA Headquarters

Summit Report


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Building and Preserving Association Relevancy Into the Future 2

Table of Contents

Introduction

Executive Summary ...........................................................................................................................3

Participating Organizations ...............................................................................................................4Steering Committee ..........................................................................................................................5

The Planning Process ........................................................................................................................5

Working Groups ................................................................................................................................6

Attracting and Retaining Members/Prospective Members

Under Age 40 and In Under-Represented Groups.....................................................................................8

Defining and Creating Expectations for a Truly Global Organization

and Achieving a Fully Integrated Business ..............................................................................................32

Cultivating Leaders From Within the Volunteer Ranks...........................................................................49

Ensuring the Success of Individual Membership Organizations for

the Next 100 Years, and Recognizing and Focusing on What

Industry/Government Will Want from Engineers/Scientists in the Future ...........................................66

Special Thanks .............................................................................................................................................81

Appendix ASample Leadership Development Survey ........................................................................82


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Executive Summary

On December 34, 2007, leaders from fifteen scientific and engineering associations,

representing more than three quarters of a million members, gathered in Research Triangle

Park, North Carolina, to assess and build upon model programs addressing key challenges

faced by the association community today.

The goal of the summit is to develop a valuable resource for the community to

communicate current programs and practices that address these topics, and to create plans

for expanding and further developing existing solutions to benefit additional organizations.

The genesis for the summit was born in the CESSE (Council of Engineering and Scientific

Society Executives) CEO Roundtables, which have been time constrained and intermingled

with additional learning and networking opportunities that prevent executives from fully

focusing on specific problem resolution. With a core group of committed associations, astand alone event places emphasis on action and furtherance of inter-society discussions.

The summit gave organizations a chance to propose and implement solutions, share results

with the larger community, and plan for future collaborations.

The summit report summarizes the topical themes and relevant discussion regarding best

practices and proposed solutions. It is imperative that all associations consider what they

could and should be doing to keep their organizations relevant in the future, and this report

serves as a starting point in developing a roadmap for the ongoing journey.

In addition to the dissemination of this valuable information, the summit participants

will continue to communicate the successes and failures of any programs or actionable

items resulting from the summit. The event was the foundation for an ongoing network to

test and evaluate new programs that will allow all organizations to maintain relevancy for

decades to come. Efforts will be made to integrate the summit topics into future meetings

and activities of the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives (CESSE).

More information about CESSE can be found atwww.cesse.org


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ACIAmerican ConcreteInstituteBill Tolley

AFEAssociation ForFacilities EngineeringLaurence Gration

AIChEAmerican Instituteof Chemical EngineersJohn Sofranko

AIHAAmerican IndustrialHygiene AssociationSteven Davis

AmericanPhytopathologicalSociety

Steve Nelson

ANSAmerican NuclearSocietyHarry Bradley

ACSESSThe Allianceof Crop, Soil andEnvironmentalScience SocietiesEllen Bergfeld

ASCEAmerican Societyof Civil EngineersPat Natale

ASM InternationalStan Theobald

ASMEAmerican Society ofMechanical Engineers

Virgil Carter

The AutomationFederationMichael Marlowe

AWMAAir andWaste ManagementAssociationAdrianne Carolla

Estuarine Research FederationJoy Bartholomew

ISAInstrumentation, Systems,and Automation SocietyPat Gouhin

PMIProject ManagementInstituteChuck Lage & John Engman

SAMESociety of AmericanMilitary EngineersBob Wolff

SBSSociety forBiomolecular Sciences

Chris Giordano

Sigma XiLinda Meadows

SWESociety ofWomen EngineersBetty Shanahan

Participating Organizations

Dozens of organizations and individuals were involved in the planning and/or participation

for this relevancy summit. The input and dedication from each organization was invaluable

in assessing the current challenges faced by the scientific and engineering community and

without their expertise and commitment, this report would not be possible.


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Steering Committee

Virgil CarterExecutive Director, ASME

Chris GiordanoExecutive Director, SBS

Pat GouhinExecutive Director, ISA

Pat NataleExecutive Director, ASCE

John SofrankoExecutive Director, AIChE

Stan TheobaldExecutive Director, ASM International

Bill TolleyExecutive Director, ACI

The Planning Process

In late 2006, a steering committee was assembled to coordinate efforts and develop aprioritized summit program focused on pressing challenges. By April 2007, a general

agenda had been developed and an invitation to participate was sent to the larger scientific

and engineering community through a CESSE list serve. Utilizing input from past CESSE

CEO Roundtables, the steering committee analyzed challenges that had been previously

identified by the community and examined additional trends and concerns. A short ballot

was prepared and further analyzed during the summer of 2007, leading to the identification

of a meaningful number of relevant topics that could be discussed in depth.

In August 2007, the committee solicited model presentations from the CESSE community

on effective programs that had been established and implemented to meet the following

challenges:

Attracting and retaining members/prospective members under age 40 and in

under-represented groups

Obtaining, and maintaining the energy of, volunteers focused on new activities,

sunset existing activities, or responding to emerging cross-boundary technological

developments

Defining and creating expectations for a truly global organization

Achieving a fully integrated business, eliminating silo mentality and activity

Cultivating leaders from within the volunteer ranks Competing with billion dollar publishers and responding to new business models

from print publisher to data warehouse and media-independent delivery of

products

Ensuring success of individual membership organizations for the next 100 years

Recognizing and focusing on what industry/government will want out of

engineers/scientists in the future


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The original intention of the summit was to assemble a working group for each breakout

session and hold documented working meetings to develop proposed solutions (beta

programs) focused on the identified themes. Available resources and interest forced a

modification to the plan, however. Ideally, each problem would have a roughed out

solution that would be owned by one of the participating organizations. The discussion

during the summit was engaging and necessary, but fell short of realizing organizational

commitment. This will be a priority for future meetings.

Based on organizational strengths, weaknesses, culture, size, risk tolerance, and other factors,

each organization should consider which solutions are right for them to implement as a

beta program. While it is hoped that all or most of the thematic areas will be of interest to all

organizations, we can all mitigate risk if we strategically pick and choose which areas are most

critical for us at the present time and where we are willing to implement beta programs.

We ask that readers who feel compelled to begin a journey based upon the challenges

and thoughts presented in this document communicate with the association community

through CESSE to showcase their efforts and present their lessons learned so that others

may benefit from their efforts. We will make an effort to solicit beta program owners and

request that each volunteering association monitor progress and submit a status report

and lessons learned section to all other associations so we can learn from each other and

identify appropriate programs for each of our organizations to implement.


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Working Groups

Seven organizations offered model presentations on six of the eight predetermined topics.

Based on estimated attendance and a prioritized level of interest, the steering committee

tabled two of the topics until a later date. The tabled topics were:

Obtaining, and maintaining the energy of, volunteers whose work is directed

at new activities, sunset existing activities, or responding to emerging cross-

boundary technological developments

Competition with billion dollar publishers, and responding to new business

models from print publisher to data warehouse and media-independent

delivery of products

Attendees at the summit also decided to consolidate similar topics, so

Defining and creating expectations for a truly global organization

and Achieving a fully integrated business, eliminating silo mentality and activity

were merged into one working group, as were

Ensuring the success of individual membership organizations for the next 100 years

and

Recognizing and focusing on what industry/government will want out of

engineers/scientists in the future

This left us with four working groups to conduct breakout sessions under the topical

headings listed below.

Attracting and retaining members/prospective members under age 40 and in

under-represented groups

Defining and creating expectations for a truly global organization, and achieving a

fully integrated business

Cultivating leaders from within the volunteer ranks

Ensuring the success of individual membership organizations for the next 100

years, and focusing on what industry/government will want out of engineers/

scientists in the future

After all model presentations were given, three concurrent breakout sessions were

conducted in the afternoon session on the first day. During the morning of the second day,

based on popular demand, the participants collectively tackled the Attracting and retaining

members/prospective members under age 40 and in under-represented groups challenge,

as this topic was seen as the most pressing by the group.

The model presentations from each organization are presented below, along with a

summary of the discussion that took place in the working groups.


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Attracting and RetainingMembers/Prospective Members

Under Age 40 and In

Under-Represented Groups

All organizations agreed that a key challenge we face as

a collective group is attracting and retaining members

and prospective members under the age of 40 and in

under-represented groups. Patrick Natale, P.E., F.ASCE,

CAE, Executive Director of the American Society of Civil

Engineers, and Betty Shanahan of the Society of WomenEngineers gave the following presentations focused on

solving this important challenge.


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The attendees, serving as a working group for this issue, identified the relevanceof recent efforts by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) andtheir publication The Decision to Join. More information on this publication and

ASAE can be found at: http://www.asaecenter.org/Marketplace/BookstoreDetail.

cfm?ItemNumber=26918. The description for the book states:

The latest research publication from ASAE & The Center, The Decision to Join: How

Individuals Determine Value and Why They Choose to Belong, mines the motivations of

nearly 17,000 individuals to give you insights that lead to a true competitive advantage.

From membership marketing to strategic planning, The Decision to Join influences every

aspect of your organization. Break through any doubt about why people belong to

any association. Youll never look at membership the same way again. Youll gain more

confidence that your organizations value is positioned to appeal to what really matters.

(2007, 126 pages, ISBN 9780880342865)

The next volume in the series is The Decision to Volunteer, which will examine why some

individuals volunteer with organizations and why others dont. Decision to Volunteeris

expected to be released at ASAE & The Centers 2008 Annual Meeting & Exposition, August

1619 in San Diego.

The group identified that some associations provide the majority of member value from a

localized section level and others provide it from a more global, headquarters perspective.

For SWE, providing members with an alternative to isolation is a key value of membership.

It is important to identify the right kind of communications, and the group agreed that

simply creating more communications is not the answer. Younger members create and

maintain relationships through virtual interactions. SWE is launching virtual communitiesto support the members in the Millennial generation (age 26 and under) who expect to

have virtual access to their organizations leadership and fellow members. ASCE referenced

their Presidential Blog that has been well received and advised that each organization

monitor their potential web traffic by subscribing to the popular Google Alerts service.

Google Alerts are e-mail updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.)

based on your choice of query or topic. Example uses of Google Alerts include monitoring

a developing news story, keeping current on a competitor or industry, or getting the latest

on an association event or activity. More information about Google Alerts, including how to

subscribe to the service, can be found at http://www.google.com/alerts.

ASCEs presentation also pointed out the importance of identifying and cultivating

evangelists to spread the word about your organization. For example, to attract students, a

close tie to academic community must be made with attention paid to the recognition and

motivation of faculty that serve as advisors to the students. The faculty advisors must be

cultivated and recognized and ASCE offers an annual workshop for faculty for this purpose.


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In recent years, ASCE cut student dues and went from 5,000 student members to over

25,000. Although initially this meant they had to make up the lost revenue of $140,000

(student dues were $20), they have found this tactic to be effective in attracting more of

tomorrows leaders. ASCE is also working on redeploying their web site to focus on engaging

students in ASCE activities. It is estimated that this overhaul will be an approximately $3

million investment. They have already moved to exclusively on-line student applications

and delivery of products, increasing efficiency and reducing costs.

ASCEs Board recently made further improving student transition into full membership one

of the Societys six strategic initiatives, further emphasizing the importance of this issue to

the organization.

Reaching the Next Generation: Effective Communication and Programming

In order to attract and maintain the next generation of leaders into our societies, it will be

imperative to understand the general characteristics of their generation, referred to as the

millennial generation. We must study their values, find out how they differ and how they are

similar to previous generations, and find out what they want out of a professional affiliation.

We need to understand how they interact, both formally and informally, and how they

communicate and dialogue. What type of interactive models can we provide that mirror the

way the younger generation interacts now?

A reference was made to a white paper prepared by Deloitte Consulting titled Who Are the

Millennialsa.k.a. Generation Y? For additional information on this paper, contact:

Leah A. Reynolds

National Practice Leader, Generational Change and Total Rewards Communication

Deloitte Consulting LLP

313-396-3107

[email protected]

Concern was raised over an apparent lack of support from employers to allow younger members to

participate in activities. Associations must find out how companies can reconstruct themselves to

adapt to the needs of younger members and communicate this through corporate channels.

With the millennial generation, the first task will be to present them with value that the

association can provide to them but then it will be necessary to engage them in other activities.

They are pros at multi-tasking and will take advantage of what they need, when they need it, but

have little patience for anything less. They want to know what resources are available to them for

employment and growth, this is an opportunity for associations to step up and meet the need.


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The younger generation likes fun activities, and many organizations are finding ways to

capture their attention through innovative events. ISA discussed their recent activities in

hosting a networking party for Young Automation Professionals referred to as YAPFEST.

In conjunction with their annual meeting and exposition, they hosted a two hour party

including food, beer, a rock band, give-a-ways and networking with professionals. It has

now been conducted on three different occasions and draws in several hundred people, all

under the age of 30. It has recently been expanded internationally (Denmark) with equal

success in bringing a new energy into Society activities.

Engineers Without Borders was identified as a good way to encourage engineers to participate

in projects around the world, and as a good source for young engineers. Engineers Without

BordersUSA (EWB-USA) is a non-profit humanitarian organization established to partner with

developing communities worldwide in order to improve their quality of life. This partnership

involves the implementation of sustainable engineering projects, and, appealing to the

millennial generation, focuses on training internationally responsible engineers and engineeringstudents. More information on EWB-USA can be found at: http://www.ewb-usa.org.

ASCE recently entered into an affiliation with EWB-USA and is providing a number of

association management services to EWB-USA to support its ongoing operations. EWB-USA

is seeking this and other kinds of support for its mission from the non-profit community.

Millennials love mentoring students. The idea of putting students together with mentors

can be a meaningful engagement, although concerns may arise regarding matching the

right mentor with the right student or younger member. One main challenge is to get

leaders to help mentor the younger generation.

We must investigate new ways to reach the younger audience, in a world where pod casts

and speed dating are regular activities. How can we provide information in a format that

is available to the younger generation, so that they can access it whenever they need to,

whenever they can? The group agreed that we need to find out how they want to participate,

and let them participate in their own way. If we can not serve them and keep them engaged,

they will move on to find more fulfilling affiliations.

Tapping Motivation: Understanding Career Motivations and Goals

of the Next Generation

The group also discussed the importance of understanding why students and other young

professionals choose their professions. Its important to understand where this audience

comes from, and where they want to go, so that we can make a better connection to the

value provided by a professional organization.


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It will be important for associations to provide a mechanism to engage early career

professionals with leaders of industry. At the same time, associations must increase their

relevance to corporate executives by cultivating a relationship where the association is seen as

a partner and a solution provider to the industry. In building this relationship, we must focus

on the future projected employment needs of the company and the deficiencies identified in

the current workforce to build programs to bridge the skills and knowledge gap.

The idea of presenting a career roadmap was discussed. A career roadmap would showcase

the opportunities available to professionals through professional organizations at every

stage in their careers. This roadmap would highlight the products and services of the

organization along with other resources and intangible benefits that might come with

networking and leadership opportunities. The analogy was made to having an agent and

how an association can help an individuals career progress if that member takes advantage

of what the association has to offer.

It will be important recognize the achievements of early career professionals and students

and keep them engaged with the association. The association should also work to make sure

they are recognized for their achievements with their employers.

Beyond Dues: Engaging the Younger Generation in a Meaningful Way

In an effort of collaboration, engineering and scientific societies should take inventory of

messages and positions that have been developed and distributed to encourage younger

generations (or women and minorities) to join society activities. We must come up with

an on target positive message as to why younger generations or under-represented groups

should join our societies. Is the message that we are sending out right now attracting them?

Reference was made to research funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and

carried out by a committee of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). The final report

of the research was titled Because Dreams Need Doing: New Messages for Enhancing

Public Understanding of Engineering, and it was published in January 2007.

Associations face the challenge of dealing with transition in the work force. How will we deal

with losing retirees with experience, as we gain younger degreed professionals and younger

PhDs? Is the new generation going to volunteer in the same way as our seasoned volunteers

have? What are some ways in which younger generations volunteer? How can we find out what

they are willing to do? As an association, should we consider shifting the way we do business to

suit the level of volunteerism of younger generations or under-represented groups?


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Special Circumstances: Dealing with the Unique Needs of Todays Members

The millennials are a generation that does not know how to exist without technology.

Multitasking is all they know and we have a short window of time in which to capture their

attention, hence the popularity of the internet, pod casts, and text messaging. If we dont

stimulate thought and interest, they will move on, perhaps never to return.

Partnerships with younger professionals and under-represented groups may present a

new form of networking that has considerable value to the millennials. These partnering

opportunities should not be limited to activities within an association but should involve

multiple professional societiesextended networks beyond what we currently have been

able to realize. While we once thought of certain groups as competitors, we should now

examine the potential of having them as partners. How can we share and build alliances

with other societies? Is it viable to establish joint dues programs where an individual

can join one or more organizations through one payment? This is a way for the youngergeneration to experience and benefit from multiple groups. This line of thinking led to a

discussion on the role of members and examining what a professional organization might

look like that did not have members. Would their ongoing ability to provide solutions to the

marketplace be inhibited? The group concluded that while it is complex, it may be possible

to serve the market and the professionals within it without requiring membership or

without paying dues.

The group also discussed the policy of waiving or reducing dues for unemployed members.

Should societies continue to provide training as a solution for those who are unemployed?

Do we run the risk of undervaluing our membership societies if we waive dues? Is someone

who makes a sacrifice (paying dues) a better contributor/member then someone

who does not? Research has shown that engagement is a substantial factor correlating

to retention rates. The more active the member, the more likely they are to renew their

membership.


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Creating an effective and truly global organization requires

a consistent strategy and a deep understanding of what a

global organization actually is, what it takes to get there, and

what an organization can expect to encounter along the way.

Globalization is one of the most important business models

an association can consider, and achieving a fully integratedbusiness is an additional model that many organizations

struggle with today. Removing silo mentalities and activities is

a challenge in many organizations because of the models that

weve used to operate our societies in the past, and because

of natural separation between products, services, and staff.

John D. Engman, Director of Organization Markets at the

Project Management Institute, delivered a presentation

about PMIs global initiatives and strategies, and Chuck Lageof PMI gave a presentation on removing the silo mentality

from business operations using a balanced scorecard

methodology.

Defining and CreatingExpectations for a Truly Global

Organization and Achieving a

Fully Integrated Business


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Developing a Global Strategy: Asking the Right Questions, Identifying the

Right Metrics, and Defining Success

The globalization presentation given by John Engman of PMI gave the group some background

on the organization so that it could better understand its globalization plans, experience, and

advice. PMIs governance structure includes a board of directors with seven directors from the

US and nine directors from four additional regions of the world. The headquarters office is

known around the world as the Global Operations Center, and their official language is English,

but they have advocacy offices with modest staff in multiple locations around the world.

PMIs focus is shifting from individuals to organizations, and theyre currently working to

bring several separately incorporated entities together. Their organizational business model

stresses a pricing model based on value first, rather than cost.

PMI recommended that an association considering globalization begin with a series ofinternal questions to help develop strategy. Questions could include: What do you want to

do when globalizing? What does it mean to be global? What is your motivation for going

global? Who are your current/potential members (individual and/or company)? Who are

your current/potential association and industry partners and what are their strategies?

Engman also stressed the importance of studying the impact of NOT going global. Can an

organization afford to stay American? Credibility outside of North America must also be

studied, and depending upon the industry or profession and the targeted international

opportunities, the United States stigma could be positive or negative.

There are numerous alternatives for global structures that must be paired with the

organizations motivation for going global and the metrics that will be used to determine

success. There is not a one size fits all model. Important questions about global structure

include: Will there be chapters/sections locally and what governance/authority/business

acumen will be expected of them? Who will look at opportunities for affiliation, not only

with like organizations but other synergistic entities?

The approach that an organization follows should include identifying target countries

and determining an estimated level of effort that will be deployed. The number of current

members in the country should be known along with future estimates and anticipatedgrowth rates. Remember, there are infrastructure challenges to overcome, along with legal

issues, currency exchange rates, finances, tax implications, and on and on. Based on the

answers to all of these questions, the association can determine what success looks like

for their particular situation. There will most likely be different measures of success for

different countries/regions, even within the same organizations global strategy. Business

plans for each region should be developed and implemented.


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How Global is Global: What Does Going Global Really Mean?

It was reported that 70% of membership organizations are headquartered in the US.

So, what does it mean to be global? Is providing services such as education and training

enough, or do we need to maintain membership around the world? Are organizations

prepared to service members around the world with a competitive model? Will your

organization have employees in other countries or will you franchise your operations?

An additional consideration in this area is the organizations governance structure. As

American-based associations begin to make international inroads, the US face of the staff

can become an issue if not managed properly. An association should consider their staff

diversification planning hand-in-hand with international growth so that culture differences

are understood, accepted, and incorporated into future plans. Lessons can be learned from

for-profit multinationals that have overcome many of these hurdles and implemented

centralized and decentralized approaches to staffing and offices. An organization becomestruly global when it does not need staff with an international title and the global

operations center can handle members from around the world in their native tongue and

consistent with native customs.

Complexity Reigns: Opportunities and Challenges in a Global Organization

As activities become more complex and involve more people and more components,

project management becomes a necessary skill. Organizations must also look at modifying

products to meet cultural expectations, including language barriers. Can an association

afford to say that English is the only language in which they conduct business? With what

frequency must organizations hold meetings outside of their home country and how

will they handle logistics and manage expenses? Can associations partner with local

sister organizations in particular countries that can serve as a go-between to foster

communications and build collective synergy in the market?

One of the main benefits of globalization is its ability to broaden access to the best talent

and resources. This allows for the establishment of a top-notch network to facilitateknowledge creation and dissemination like never before. Members can access other

members and content that would otherwise not be available to them, causing a pull rather

than a push for the professional society. Affiliating with other organizations can be an

effective way to quickly build content and network.


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There are also many significant challenges encountered when trying to localize products

and services in a foreign land. Interrelated regional organizations can help, but language

barriers must be effectively countered. The technology behind translation sites and

translation software does not appear to be mature enough at present to catch nuances that

can be very dangerous when overlooked or misinterpreted.

Global vs. International: Whats the Difference?

The group discussed significant differences between global and international organizations.

Consensus was that international meant between companies while global referred to

around the world. PMI was referenced as an organization with members doing work around

the world and having globally developed standards and stringent activities with worldwide

involvement. It was pointed out that simply delivering services in another language is notglobalization, and that we need to be sensitive to Americanizing the world and bringing

America to other places is not what true globalization is about. Changing minute details of

products and services based on the country in question is not getting the job done, and we

must fundamentally understand that we can learn from other countries and other cultures and

that we have a responsibility to open up two-way communication and delivery channels.

When an organization is truly global, the location of the headquarters should be irrelevant.

Some noted a distinct difference in the globalization of science versus the globalization of

engineering, and pointed out the differences in terminology and education techniques. Others

felt that running an association is the same, regardless of the product that members deliver.

Differences in cultures will also play a role in the types of structures organizations choose

to create in different regions of the world. For example, China does not have membership

organizations, because the major driver for the Chinese culture is community. Culture within

a profession has more commonalities. The needs and wants of the professional are similar in

different countries, but must be approached in different ways based on the culture.

The association trinity of purpose is knowledge, community, and advocacy. The group felt

that credibility must be added as another dimension. The group discussed the importance

of local chapters/sections in other countries to an organizations global credibility. Some

associations have seen success with a mixed model, maintaining chapters in some places

with affiliates in others. Currency is generally handled in US dollars, despite the location of

the affiliate or section, due to tax implications.

Professional associations may also become a union by law in some countries.

Responsibilities and liabilities for a union are very different and must be understood in


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advance. The influential role of the government should be understood in any foreign land

and organizations need to be prepared to deal with the expected bribes that are common

practice in many lands.

As an example of handling chapters in other countries, PMI explained that they collect

money from all chapters, and chapters get grants to hold meetings in their respective

countries. The chapters must be incorporated locally in order to hold a meeting, which is

accomplished with an MOU focused on allowable activities, financial instructions, etc. PMI

then rebates the chapter dues back to the chapter for various programming initiatives. The

group discussed the added value of international credit cards, which help with currency

conversion and payment options. It was noted, however, that many outside of the US do not

hold international credit cards.

As far as global offices are concerned, it was noted that board members often want global

offices in their backyard and around the world, but that is not feasible for any organization.Each association must carefully evaluate their ability to afford globalization. Many

factors come into play, including the organizations stomach for change, persistence, and

dedication, along with the direction that the industry they represent is going.


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As members of many organizations retire, and the industry

struggles to find younger professionals to take their places,

the volunteer culture at many organizations will take a

serious hit. It will become crucial for organizations to learn

how to cultivate not only volunteers, but true leaders who

can inspire the next generation and lead their organizationsinto the future. SAMEs Bob Wolff and AIHAs Steven Davis

gave presentations on this important topic.

Cultivating Leaders From Withinthe Volunteer Ranks


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Building on the model presentations of SAMEs Bob Wolff and AIHAs Steven Davis,the working group discussed the challenge of the graying of the profession andthe declining leadership pool.

Jeffrey Cufaude ofwww.ideaarchitects.orgput together a leadership training program with

AIHA to build the leadership skills of members engaged in association activities. The program is

held at Hamburger U outside of Chicago, and AIHA invests $75,000 every other year to provide

this leadership opportunity to 40 leaders who are selected from a rigorous application process.

AIHA staff spends approximately 400 hours per year coordinating and planning the leadership

institute event that last 2 days. Since the program runs every other year, AIHA is planning to

develop a 1 day program for graduates to take during an off year.

AIHA has focused on students and early career professionals, and this activity has led to 3

of 16 Board of Director slots being allocated to the young leaders. The program has been

very successful, and they are now pursuing corporate sponsorship to continue the program.The training is not unique to AIHA and has a program focusing on four main elements: 1)

Interpersonal perspective 2) Organizational perspective 3) Collaborative teamwork efforts

and 4) Managing your future.

While AIHA and SAME have developed programs, and others have similar activity

underway, it was felt that this might be a real opportunity for synergy and collaboration

between organizations and potentially even open up a new business model for CESSE.

The working group felt that based upon recent studies of the millennial generation, we need

to build causes around advocacy and find ways to include current students in training and

education opportunities, thus increasing the likelihood of a life-long commitment to the

society. It was also noted that working up the ladder to a leadership role is not of interest to

the millennial generation, and we must figure out how to overcome this challenge.

Mentoring is an effective training mechanism and offers a long term network, so the group

felt that organizations should seek a balance between students/early career professionals

and industry leaders. Early- and mid-career specialized opportunities are needed, with a

combination of lectures on career development and roundtable follow-up discussions.

Past successes have been realized by using peers and volunteers to conduct training along

with academia and consultants. Minorities should be emphasized and education should

bring together diverse cultures and backgrounds to provide an adequate appreciation for

the challenges faced by any multinational corporation or international society. Affiliation

with a well known university would also add prestige to such a program. A 3-year Kellogg

program was referenced that might provide guidance for developing an association

leadership program that addresses diversity.


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It was noted that associations often provide training on governance but leaders go away

with no enhanced leadership skills. A leadership institute should be focused on developing

leaders, and learning should not be limited to understanding how the association operates.

While an understanding of the association is an important component, it may best be

handled through another training opportunity or added on as a distinct but separate

component of a leadership institute.

Many organizations may have a centralized headquarters location that would be ideal for a

training institute, while also allowing for efficiencies in cost. McDonalds Hamburger U was

also proposed as an ideal venue with a great set up.

In 1983, McDonalds invested $40 million in Hamburger University, a 130,000-square foot

facility on an 80-acre campus located at McDonalds Corporate Offices in Oak Brook, IL.

This industry-leading facility includes:

13 teaching rooms 300-seat auditorium

12 interactive education team rooms

3 kitchen labs

State-of-the-art service training labs

Today in the U.S., there are 22 regional training teams and additional HAMBURGER

UNIVERSITY campuses in Sydney, Munich, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Brazil. All

apply Hamburger Universitys Global Learning Approach, which allows training materials

and tools to be integrated into different languages and cultures. More information on

Hamburger U can be found at: http://www.mcdonalds.com/corp/career/hamburger_

university/our_facility.html

For the AIHA program, personalized invitations and a formal application process lend to

the overall credibility of the program. Costs may be subsidized by sections, employers, or

corporate sponsorships.

Pre-event materials help set the stage and webinars are effective in providing a fundamental

knowledge base to build on in a face-to-face setting, which emphasizes the networking

component. As part of a distance learning program, archived seminars can also be

incorporated into a reference library. An electronic component of the training also allows

more international participation where time zones might be an inhibitor or where language

comprehension takes more time than in a real-time lecture.

The working group felt that a joint effort had great potential and that the first step would

be to conduct a brief survey, allowing for an inventory of current programs to be created.


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It may be feasible for CESSE to take the lead in putting together a joint training institute

where each society could determine how many slots they would utilize and how they would

determine which members to send. While no business case was analyzed on site, it was felt

that the potential might exist through a combined effort to assemble a better program at a

lesser cost than any one organization could manage alone.

The working group encourages CESSE to consider sending out the sample survey found in

Appendix A and to discuss the potential for coordinating such a program.


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Times change, and individual membership societies may

need to adapt to changing times in order to maintain

relevancy for the future. In addition, associations maybenefit from a renewed recognition and focus on what the

industry and the government will require of engineers and

scientists in the future. With a strong strategy, associations

can re-position themselves to better address the problems

and challenges of the future. ASMEs Virgil Carter and

SAMEs Bob Wolff gave model presentations about

activities and initiatives in this important area.

Ensuring the Success of IndividualMembership Organizations for the

Next 100 Years, and Recognizing

and Focusing on What Industry/

Government Will Want from

Engineers/Scientists in the Future


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Gen X and Y (Millennials) Boomers: Who Are These People?

It is generally recognized that there are substantial cultural and age differences among

association members and customers. Rather than thinking of members and customers

as a unified, homogeneous group, successful associations in the future may be those

that recognize and address these cultural and age differences. While there are similarities

among the various generations, there are clearly unique differences in the expectations and

needs of the generations. These characteristics deserve more study and understanding,

incorporating results into ongoing planning, operations, and governance.

For example, it has been suggested that during the career of a Baby Boomer, their first

priority is to the profession (career development), their second priority is to family and

personal satisfaction, and association participation falls to third for active members and

even lower for non-active members or non-members. As the Millennial generation enters

the workforce, it is expected that the first and second priorities may be swapped while stillleaving the associations in third place. However, because of the inversion of the first two,

the expectation from the third priority may be different than in the past.

The X and Y (or Millennial) generations may have less available time, less discretionary

resources, and less desire for extended volunteer careers and leadership ladders than their

Baby Boomer predecessors. Thus associations may need to change their membership and

leadership opportunities to allow emerging generations to drop in and drop out or

lead specific time-limited tasks as their interest and available resources allow. It is unclear

if the drop in-drop out pattern is generational or age-based. Regardless, it seems that

the younger members and customers have substantially different expectations for their

relationship and participation in associations.

Stiff Competition: Fighting for the Same Market Share

Associations appear to face ever stiffer competition for participation and resources.

Examples of competition include reduced time and resources of younger members

and customers as well as external competition from the Internet and from for-profitorganizations (FPO) striving to replicate traditional association programs, services, and

revenue. To respond, associations may need to refine their innovation and governance

models in order to become more nimble and diversified. New models of innovation and

governance may be needed that more effectively address both short term issues (wants)

and long term vision (needs). Traditionally, it has been difficult for associations and

volunteers to focus on long term goals and objectives. It has also been challenging for


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many associations to have an effective portfolio management model, with consistent new

program and service development, and with annual retirement of programs and services

that have lost value.

Associations may struggle to maintain unique reasons for existence, while satisfying diverse

member wants, causing a tension for the right balance of diversification in new offerings

for prospect markets and continued offerings for existing constituencies. This may place an

increased emphasis on the importance of market analysis for decision-making.

Active portfolio management, based on voice of the customer, may better enable

associations to assess existing programs, products and services, while making decisions on

innovation and new program, product and service development. Associations may also find

that greater attention to change management leadership may be essential, as the pressure

for changecultural, demographic, technical, and economicmay continue at ever

increasing rates.

Just as in our for-profit counterparts, the business model behind association strategy and

operations may determine the long term viability and health of the organization. The old

association credo may still be true: no margin, no mission. Non-dues revenue streams

may be expected to become a much more essential measure of association success than in

the past, particularly if/as member dues-revenues decreases.

Some associations are beginning to report that rather than pay dues, lapsed and non-

members prefer to pay full retail prices for programs and products that clearly offer

value to their individual needs. As a result, some organizations may move to unbundling

traditional member-only benefits, allowing members and customers to pay for what they

want or how much they use on an a la carte, retail basis. While membership count has

always been a significant measure of association success, membership numbers and dues

revenues may deserve reconsideration, if the limited participation, personal benefits

orientation of the X and Y (Millennial) generations continues to be the norm. This situation

is magnified if employer support of dues continues to be minimized. In such situations,

membership may be less of a successful business model and sales of association valued

products may become more and more of a key performance indicator and resource for

future association success.


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Conclusions: Success in the Next 100 Years

Competition for available time and resources may continue to be a problem to the extent

that personal, employer, and family demands on individuals discourage membership

participation in associations. It may become critical for associations to structure volunteer

opportunities around available time with realistic expectations communicated and

committed to in advance. It may also be even more important for future association success

to recognize that there are finite limits to volunteer time and involvement. Successful

associations, in the future, may be those that have improved and more effective volunteer-

staff partnerships, which minimize duplication and redundancy of important competencies

and necessary work efforts.

Leadership opportunities for young members may need to be reviewed and modified.

Young members, seeking leadership opportunities, may need new opportunity models, with

real authority and responsibility. These new leadership models may require training andeducation, including mentoring and leadership development. The early-career members

may benefit from rethinking the definition of a membership organization and aligning it

with their professional needs and personal interests.

The issue of membership benefits deserves renewed consideration. For example, are

similar benefits open to non-members? What is the impact of members who come and

go as they desire? Can an individual be a volunteer for a day and then disappear for a year

before desiring to become a volunteer again for a week-long educational opportunity? We

may wish to rethink the value and definition of a member for a successful future.

For a successful future, associations may need to improve forward-looking processes

in order to better see and prepare for future opportunities and threats. If the world

is constantly changingknowledge, communications, advocacy, technology, global-

economicsassociations cannot have status-quo strategic and operational processes.

Forward looking processes such as environmental scanning, competitive intelligence,

continuous improvement, continuous strategic thinking, etc., may be essential in order for

associations to be innovative and entrepreneurialto accommodate the need to quickly

and efficiently respond to opportunities or threats. Association governance structures may

need review in order to support this approach to innovation and continuous improvement.More emphasis than ever may need to be placed on forecasting the future and the

opportunities for renewed association relevancy.

To keep pace with the rapidly changing virtual world, organizations may consider Web 2.0

paradigms to support members and customers in their quest to enhance personal and

corporate knowledge and community. This can be done through establishing new sources

for knowledge creation and access, communities for networking as well as advocacy efforts.


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It remains to be seen how employers (academic, industry, or government) may support

employees participation in associations. At present, we have seen a declining level

of support from employers due to lack of perceived value. This contributes to limited

young member participation in addition to the declining participation of mid- and late-

career professionals. Can employer support for associations be increased? Associations,

concerned about members, dues and non-dues revenues may need to re-consider the

value proposition they offer to employers, as a means for employers to support increased

employee participation.

Are there new approaches to membership? Should an association provide service

to a community of practice without regard to individual membership status? Just how

important will the numerical count of dues-paying individual members be in the future?

Will employer or other interest group corporate memberships provide a means for

increased association support for larger numbers of volunteers? Are the thousands of free

memberships on Myspace, Face Book, etc., a model for future associations? Feedbackfrom the constituent base is an important ongoing process and must be efficiently utilized.

At the same time, associations should carefully study the emerging membership models in

a variety of virtual and real world settings to ensure that the future association membership

model remains relevant and viable.

If existing associations cannot identify and/or change to meet needs, new associations

and for-profit organizations may emerge. This may further stretch available resources and

decrease the relevancy of the existing organization.

Finally, partnerships, alliances and mergers provide opportunities for member-facing

and service-facing collaboration and greater efficiencies among professional associations

that may benefit members and customers. These opportunities may deserve aggressive

efforts to form mutually beneficial relationships that will increase association value in the

marketplace. To accomplish this, associations may need to develop forward-looking data-

based processes as a core competency of their business model. Governance structures may

also need to understand and respond to generational differences and establish a long term

vision for the organization, allowing a level of authority and responsibility to be transferred

from the previous generation to the next.


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Special Thanks

Each working group was assigned a secretary/recorder from the ISA staff, who participated

in the discussions and organized the final content for this report. Special thanks to:

Kristy Becker

Laura Crumpler

Rodney Jones

Mike Marlowe

Logistical arrangements were also provided by ISA staff:

Debbie Eby

Loretta Floyd

Kim Gordley

Production of this publication was completed by ISA staff:Jennifer Infantino

Colleen Casper


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Appendix A

Sample Leadership Development Survey

Our intent is to understand the best practices of associations and societies for development

of future volunteer leaders.

Training for future leaders may include developing skills in human resources, budgeting,

team work, cultural sensitivity, etc. The focus is on general leadership and not organization

specific operations.

1. Does your society provide leadership training?

2. If so, describe: _________________________________________________________

3. If not, why not:

a. No time

b. No resources

c. No perceived value

d. Other? __________________________________________________________

4. Frequency of training: __________________________________________________

5. Duration of training event: ______________________________________________

6. Total participants (annually): ____________________________________________

7. Budget (annual): _______________________________________________________

8. Format: Distance Learning Face-to-Face Other

9. Facilitation: Professional Staff led Volunteer led

10. How do you acknowledge participation?

a. Certificate

b. Letter to employer

c. Other

11. How do you measure success? ___________________________________________

12 Would you be interested in participating in a general leadership institute youre

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