White Papers

The Role of AI in Strategic Planning

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in strategic planning is inevitable, and whilst associations and nonprofits should be encouraged to use all available tools and embrace and utilise technology, it is imperative that leadership teams understand the potential and the limitations of AI. In addition, we must ensure senior executives and volunteer leaders remain in control of decision-making and are recognised as the owners of strategy rather than simply as interested observers of the development process. In this White Paper, SAM Fellows Elisa Pratt and Andrew Chamberlain explain how AI tools should be used effectively and ethically; and that until AI advances further and strategic foresight becomes automated, it should be used as a tactical tool, that complements the human skills of critical thinking, strategic analysis, reasoning, judgement, and problem solving.



How Microlearning is reshaping education

The modern member is busy, mobile, and looking to learn. Equally, they are short on time, working remotely, and are highly digitally literate. In a world where people check their smartphones nine times an hour, and competition for attention is exceptionally fierce, it is no wonder that shorter digital learning content is becoming more necessary and popular. Zoom fatigue in the wake of lockdown has also meant that average learning session times have decreased significantly from 20 to just over four minutes. Amongst the many methodologies employed to deliver professional education, microlearning has emerged as a frontrunner in transforming the membership sector’s learning landscape; and given the pivotal role of education in associations’ value proposition, in this White Paper SAM Fellows Andrew Chamberlain and Elisa Pratt explain why and how associations can create and curate content that is mobile, media-rich, on-demand, and suited to the modern learner.

The Association Ecosystem

The systems approach to association management is all about understanding the interactions between different elements of a system (the association), rather than each element in isolation. By looking at how the constituent parts of the association function together, managers and leaders can uncover hidden relationships, anticipate unintended consequences, and develop more sustainable solutions for their value proposition, as well as realizing resource efficiencies within their operations. Our latest white paper defines the value of a systems approach to association management, exploring the benefits and practicalities of using a wide lens to recognize how everything is connected and how, to a greater or lesser extent, everything is dependent on the successful function of everything else within the association (the system) to ensure success.