9 September 2024
Dear Colleagues,
We are writing to share some exciting news about ASIS&T. The Board has made the strategic decision to partner with an association management company (AMC) to provide non-executive staffing to the association. While Lydia will remain our full-time Executive Director, ASIS&T has engaged Global Management Partners (GMP) to provide all other staff support for membership, meetings, publications, etc. GMP is an accredited, full-service association management company that provides professional management services to various member organizations and societies.
The move into an AMC staffing model is being undertaken as a growth strategy for ASIS&T. While our full-time dedicated staff of three has been excellent at providing for the day-to-day staffing needs of the association, we have long lacked the expertise in marketing, sales, educational development, and social media needed to grow both membership and non-dues revenue. Staffing through GMP will provide ASIS&T with access to a broad and deep range of talents and skills that are not available among our staff of five. In addition, working with an AMC provides economies of scale in contracting for audit services, software packages, legal fees, etc. It provides a succession plan if Lydia is unable to perform her duties at any time. And finally, it frees up Lydia from the day-to-day oversight of staff to allow her to focus on strategic planning and new strategic objectives.
This decision came after considerable discussion and research on the part of the ASIS&T Board of Directors. In fact, the ASIS&T Board has been discussing the AMC model on and off since Dick Hill’s retirement in 2017. Many associations move into an AMC from a free-standing staff model if they are in financial difficulty, but that is not the case with ASIS&T. We are in a strong and steady financial position. However, the next strategic plan will focus on growth…growth of programs, services and, most importantly, growth in revenue. The past strategic plan focused heavily on growing programs and services to enhance member value at no additional cost to the beneficiaries. We are hoping now to grow programs and services that will generate non-dues revenue from non-members as well as members while maintaining our high level of benefits and services to members. To do this, we need a variety of skills and talents not currently available on the ASIS&T team.
So, in short, this decision was made to ensure the long-term growth and sustainability of ASIS&T. While the current staffing structure is adequate to maintain the status quo (assuming no further degradation of revenue from JASIST), it is not adequate to move the association forward in a meaningful way and ensure that we will continue to endure for years to come. This need not be a permanent change. If we are successful in growing revenue, we will have adequate resources in the next few years to reestablish a stand-alone staffing structure with enough breadth and depth to continue growing the organization.
The selection of Global Management Partners came after a four-month selection process. An RFP was sent to the 115 members of the Association Management Company Institute. From that we received sixteen proposals that were vetted with a final four companies selected for interview. The Executive Committee interviewed the four candidates and settled on Global Management Partners for various reasons, not the least of which was their understanding of and experience with global members and global meetings. GMP has experience working with groups of academic researchers and understands the imperative to disseminate member research to colleagues, the public, and the practice community.
The existing ASIS&T staff—Cathy, Pam, and Garrett— have been critical to our success over the last several years and it will be difficult to say goodbye to them. This decision was not taken lightly, and we are making every effort to ensure their transition is a smooth one. We will take time at the Annual Meeting in Calgary to thank them for their tireless service to the association.
The process of transitioning to GMP will begin soon and take place between September and the end of the year. We hope it will be invisible to most ASIS&T members. Those that serve on committees or lead SIGs and Chapters will have new staff support but otherwise the transition should not impact programs or services in any way.
The ASIS&T Board is excited about this transition and optimistic that our members will benefit as a result. We welcome your input and feedback as we work to make ASIS&T even more member-centric and responsive. Please reach out to Lydia with any questions about this announcement.
All the best,
Crystal Fulton, President
Lydia Middleton, Executive Director