Core Competencies in Association Professional Development

The world is changing fast; to keep up and succeed, people must learn continuously, which means that all organizations need people who are dedicated to and capable of creating great learning programs. These people must in turn explore, define, and fulfill three roles for themselves: learner, creator of learning, and champion of learning. Furthermore, these people need to understand how rapidly changing technologies affect organizational learning and how learning professionals can use these technologies to enhance learning. To address these issues, Core Competencies in Association Professional Development presents core competencies for association educators, which were developed by the American Society of Association Executives and based on validated research. But the book provides more than a simple explanation of the competencies; it provides people who are new to the profession a detailed look at what s required to be effective educators and offers tools, ideas, and samples to seasoned professionals. Practical advice helps learning professionals put these competencies into practice to develop relevant revenue-producing programs and products. This contributed volume boasts chapters from 16 authors, 10 of whom hold Certified Association Executive (CAE) accreditation, on topics such as strategic and business planning, developing a body of knowledge, designing and developing programs and certification programs, marketing, evaluation, technology in learning, managing relationships, and more.

ASAE is a membership organization of more than 22,000 association executives and industry partners representing more than 11,000 organizations. ASAE members manage leading trade associations, individual membership societies and voluntary organizations across the United States and in nearly 50 countries around the world. ASAE is the preeminent source of knowledge, learning, community, and advocacy for the field of association management. ASAE s publishing imprint, Association Management Press, reflects the ASAE mission by publishing relevant, reliable content focusing on helping professionals tackle their organizational leadership and management challenges.

Kathleen M. Edwards, CAE, is president and chief navigator of CompassPoints, based in Havre de Grace, Maryland. She specializes in guiding association and nonprofit leaders in the role learning plays in organizational success and was the 2003-2004 ASAE Professional Development Council Chair. Terri Tracey, CAE, is vice president of technology and publications at the Institute for Supply Management based in Tempe, Arizona. She was the 2001-2002 ASAE Professional Development Council Chair.