Tuesday, December 5th – COVAA Day 2 (and happy International Volunteer Day!) – Midday journal

We have reconvened at the Colorado History Museum (noting happily that the weather is bright, sunny, and in the 50s!).  After a brief recap of last night’s session, we heard a report on the Pre-Congress Survey we conducted and to which 236 people responded. Read the full survey report.

Next, Christine Nardecchia gave a presentation on research she did on the options for the structure of a national organization.  She focused on two types:

• Associations:  Broadly defined, common interest, can be individual and/or group members.  Members typically have two memberships:  a) at local or regional level and b) at national level.

• Federations:  Somewhat more defined, common interest in building consensus in field, usually a “union” or membership by group, region or state.

She highlighted three associations:  Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM, www.shrm.org), Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP, www.afpnet.org), and International City/County Management Association (ICMA, www.icma.org).  

She then explained three federations:  International Association of Athletics Organizations (IAAF, www.iaaf.org), International Federation of Accountants (IFAC, www.ifac.org), and World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), www.wfeo.org).

The common denominators of all are:

• Highly-defined focus
• Succinct products and services
• Clear focus on strategy
• Perceived as THE authority for field and profession
• Strong advocacy relationships
• Exclusive in nature
• Most are hybrids

So the delegates have been charged to be “architects,” creating a structure that meets today’s environment and needs.  Elaine next led a Keep, Drop, Create brainstorming exercise to prepare for the major work assignment of the morning:

Imagine it’s 2010.  Write 5 outcome statements in the present tense that describe “who you are” as a profession with a national entity.  Do not focus on activities (conferences, websites, etc.), but on purposes, “constitutional” or chartering issues, and model structures. [All statements must be common ground.]