Will Nonprofit Trade Associations Embrace Open Educational Resources [OER]? October 30, 2012 by Jeff Hurt Openness in education is an emergent practice among many organizations and institutions. Open educational resources (OER) affect the practices of instruction, learning, presenting and teaching. Will nonprofit trade associations embrace OER or will they continue to keep educational resources behind a member wall or for purchase only? Defining OER OER are educational materials such as … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , adult education, association, association trends, learning trends, nonprofit trends
Three Reasons Not To Start An Association Certification Program September 28, 2012 by Jeff Hurt “All organizations can develop certification. But not all should!” ~ Mickie Rops, CAE, Credentialing Expert Some organizations think creating a certification program is the sure way to solve some of its problems. Sometime it is a valid way to solve industry-related challenges. Sometimes, it is like using a screwdriver to hammer nails. It just doesn’t … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , association, ceertification, credentialing
Considering Certification: Steps To Making A Decision September 26, 2012 by Jeff Hurt Are certification programs the golden handcuffs to maintain membership levels and to increase revenue? Many association leaders think that launching a new professional credential may also be the key to more money in the bank. Think again if that’s your primary reason for wanting to implement a new certification program. Certainly it can elevate a … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , association, ceertification, credentialing
Are Your Organization’s Learning Opportunities Outdated? May 4, 2012 by Jeff Hurt Is your organization offering learning opportunities that are based on an outdated model? Or have you positioned your organization to offer learning opportunities that are proven to be successful today and align with your participants’ learning? No, I’m not just talking about the linear advancement of technology as applied to learning. Technology is a factor … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , association, association best practices, association trends, conference education, learning, learning trends, nonprofit trends, online education
Are You Still Providing Education Opportunities Based On The Industrial Revolution Model? May 3, 2012 by Jeff Hurt Is your organization still trying to make revenue from didactic forms of education and instruction? Are you using a hierarchical, top-down, command and control delivery model? Are you providing content that seems out of context in today’s every changing global market? If you are, you are showing your age. You are announcing to the world … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model, Conference Education Tagged With: , association, association best practices, association trends, conference education, learning, nonprofit trends, online education
The Need For Speed And Learning Agility May 1, 2012 by Jeff Hurt Your organization’s enduring competitive advantage rests on learning agility. It must be able to respond to new challenges, opportunities, threats and crisis. New, unprecedented complex challenges constantly present themselves. Learning At The Speed Of Change Experienced leaders used to claim that they had seen every problem several times in the past. That’s no longer true … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education, Experience Design Tagged With: , association, association best practices, association trends, learning, nonprofit trends
What Associations And Meeting Professionals Want In Tradeshow Partnerships March 5, 2012 by Jeff Hurt Imagine this scenario. A nonprofit trade association decides it wants to add a tradeshow to its annual conference. It’s never produced a tradeshow in the past and wants to secure a third-party planner to produce the show. Typically, an association tradeshow should have a potential of $150,000 or more in revenue to justify securing a … [Read more…] Filed Under: Business Model, Sponsorship & Exhibits Tagged With: , association, association best practices, meeting planner, meeting professionals, tradeshow, tradeshow best practices
When Conferences Go Awry February 24, 2012 by Jeff Hurt Most nonprofit organizations host some type of annual meeting every year. Generally their bylaws require that they hold at least one annual membership meeting. Similarly, many corporations and associations organize, plan and implement one or more conferences every year that have other goals beyond the annual membership meeting. Some corporations hold customer events to showcase … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , association, conference best practices, conference revenue models, conferences, meeting planner, meeting planning best practices
Education Deserves Some Respect January 12, 2012 by Jeff Hurt In most nonprofit associations, education deserves some respect. Yet it is frequently treated like the Rodney Dangerfield of the association world. To paraphrase Dangerfield, “Education doesn’t get no respect. No respect, no respect at all. That’s the story of education’s life. Education gets no respect.” Members Value Education Typically, education is one of the top … [Read more…] Filed Under: Conference Education Tagged With: , adult learning, association, association best practices, conference education
What Isn’t Going On In Your Conference Committee! August 22, 2011 by Jeff Hurt I understand what is going on in most annual conference committees: personal agendas, conference schedule deadlines, speaker favorites, leaders seeking control, volunteers posturing for their own ideas and power. What I struggle to comprehend is what isn’t going on. What Isn’t Happening It seems to me that annual conference committee volunteers should be serving the … [Read more…] Filed Under: Event Planning Tagged With: , association, association best practices, association issues and challenges, committee best practices, conference best practices, conference tips, conferences, meeting planning best practices
