Clearly there’s a terrific need for more programs like this one, especially from ASAE and The Center. What’s curious to me is that their own benchmarking data shows more and more associations will be offering elearning, yet it still holds a low spot on the ASAE totem pole. If they’re not careful, someone will step in to fill it!

The fact that associations “are still struggling with the best ways to get buy-in from leadership,” for instance, leads to sourcing and purchase situations where e-learning is not really considered a priority or an integral part of the association’s strategy. It is a project or a one-off initiative, and it gets treated as such by leadership. Vendors, more often than not, are just a seller on the other side of an RFP, rather than participants in a strategic conversation. There are bound to be disconnects when this is the level of communication that occurs.

I think RFP processes themselves, which are so pervasive in the association world, also tend to drive the conversation quickly to features and budget and away from strategy and design. I’ve gotten any number of very long RFPs for an LMS, for instance, from organizations that arguably do not need an LMS as part of their strategy at all–or at the very least need something much simpler than what they envision.

Vendors are a significant part of the problem (and can be part of the solution) in this mix partly because they will so rarely say no to any RFP, even a misguided one. Contributing to this problem is the fact that there are really relatively few vendors in the association space who, if they come primarily from the e-learning world, have take the time to understand associations, or conversely, if they come primarily from the association world, have taken the time to truly understand e-learning.

I have criticized ASAE before for not doing enough to help associations understand and embrace e-learning, which I think has the potential to be an incredible strategic asset for it members. I think the recent conference, however, was a very strong effort by ASAE towards providing leadership. I agree that ASAE and the Center did a great job pulling it together, and I hope that it represents a solid step towards addressing the issues you have raised above, and as part of that, facilitating a more meaningful conversation between vendors and associations. –Jeff

(P.S.—Thanks also for the mention of Mission to Learn!)