If you or your company provide educational products or services to the nonprofit sector, be sure to take Ellen Behrens’ short (really) survey on “the biggest challenges and greatest opportunities in this unique market sector.” She is going to share the results, and I think they will also be of great interest to those who buy products and services. Here’s the link – it will be open through the end of August:
The responses are anonymous, but I thought I’d go ahead and share some of mine here:
What do you believe will be the “Next Big Thing” when it comes to products and services for association learning?
I’m not convinced there is a “next big thing,” unless perhaps it is the overall elevation of the learning function and deeper integration of learning with marketing, membership, and technology as a vital, accountable part of the association business model. Web 2.0 has brought a range of competitive pressures. Organizations that are not able to differentiate by providing learning connections and resources that others cannot provide will have a hard time thriving.
What’s your primary business challenge in working with associations and the non-profit sector in general?
Nearly every individual with which we work is strapped for time. Simply getting timely responses and decisions is a continual challenge. In some cases, this situation is truly a reflection of resource constraints. In many, however, it seems to reflect that either (a) the organization is not setting and managing priorities well, or (b) learning initiatives simply are not among the highest priorities.
Describe the one thing you wish association/non-profit leaders understood about your business that they don’t seem to “get” and what you think would make the difference for them.
In the abstract, I think most leaders “get” that the world has change dramatically – that power has shifted to members and customers, for example – but I don’t think there is enough concrete, hands-on experience with what recent technology advances make possible. Personally, as a member of many associations, I find that few really understand that their value to me has plummeted with the rise of technologies that enable me to find knowledge resources and make networking connections on my own. I write renewal checks with increasing reluctance, and some I do not write at all.
Is there anything you’d like to add here [please no sales pitches…. 
]?
Whenever I speak about social media, open education, or other new paradigms that involve significantly less control than legacy models, I can pretty much rest assured that the first questions I get will relate to risk, liability, and the (supposed) value of intellectual property. I don’t want to devalue these questions, but for the most part, these are issues that can be addressed by a combination of common sense, good policies, and the insurance that an organization should be carrying anyway. The bottom line is that organizations are going to have to be willing to stick their necks out a bit if they want to move forward in ways that truly provide value to their members.
Comments are welcomed.
Jeff
