Networking
Online Forum: I am investigating software that will allow us to conduct more robust, members-only forums on any topic the member wants. The idea behind this is to allow members to communicate with other members about problems, tech questions, new markets, etc. I think this will take more than technology – we’ll need to promote it to the membership heavily, and probably seed the forum with discussions we originate. I’ll suggest that a committee of members be formed that oversees this forum, encourages participation, answers questions, and passively moderates the content.
APDSP Network: Separate from the forum mentioned above, the APDSP Network will be a way for members to confidently share projects with other members in different geographies or who have different services. I think we should keep this simple – we create a section of the website that contains the “resumes” of firms that want to participate, divided by geography and service capabilities. When a company needs a partner firm, they can search this section to identify likely partners, and then communicate directly with them (i.e., we will not play go-between; the parties will work directly with each other, not through the website). In coming years we can enhance this by holding in-person events where companies can network face-to-face to make themselves known to other members, thus making it more likely they will be selected.
Executive Forum: Not in 2016, but maybe in 2017 we should consider our next face-to-face event. Details do not need to be shared with other members now, but let’s keep thinking about this in the background.