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Organizational Updates
November 16, 2009 Dear SCIP Members: I am continuing my updates to you on the evolution of SCIP. In my last letter, I wrote of change, and change will be a constant theme over the next few years we move the organization forward. Implementing change is difficult and its effects are often hard on everyone they touch -- the organization as a whole, members, staff, and your elected SCIP Board of Directors who are leading this change. The SCIP Board meets monthly to consider the ongoing steps necessary for the organization to move forward. The Directors make decisions which have a financial, cultural, and even physiological impact since they often create an operational mode which by necessity differs from those in place at various times over the past 24 years of SCIP's operation. All involved are dedicated to making carefully considered decisions which will improve the trajectory of the association and the services it provides you, the membership. Three movements forward In the last 30 days, the Board made three important decisions for your society. The first approved a slate of three eminently qualified candidates for election to the two open seats of the 2010 Board of Directors. These candidates are: - Michael Bernachi of Dunkin Brands Inc.
- Peter Shaw of Midwest Employers Casualty Company
- Paul Kissinger of Thunderbird University.
The election is now open and will run through November 30. Please take the time to review the candidates' qualifications posted on the website, and to vote for the individuals of your choice. The Board's second action amends the SCIP bylaws in accordance with the membership vote which merged SCIP with the Frost & Sullivan Institute. David Frigstad and Wyman Bravard were added to the Board of Directors and will represent the Institute. Combined with the two newly elected Board members, all of these individuals bring a broad base of business experience to the organization and will help SCIP meet the requirements of its ever-changing environment. The Board's third action upholds its commitment to deliver added value to your membership without increasing its cost. In 2010, all current and future members will continue to receive the same benefits you have always received from your SCIP membership, plus a minimum of three free educational e-broadcast per year. Additionally, in response to your requests to help budget for SCIP membership and activities on an annual basis, you will be able to purchase custom packages of SCIP membership, events, and webinars on a discounted basis. These new packages will be on the website on November 30, 2009. Chapters To serve the changing requirements of our local domestic chapters, the Board created a Chapter Task Force in the spring of 2009. This task force is led by Kelsey Hare (Board member), and includes Fred Wergeles and Tim Barak (chapter chairs), and Robyn Reals and myself (SCIP staff). The task force members are focusing on finding innovative ways to increase chapter meeting flexibility and venue choice, minimizing the cost to members, partnering with related organizations, and providing enhanced networking opportunities. SCIP 2010 conference We are rapidly preparing the budget and program schedule for SCIP10. As usual, the opportunity to speak to the largest gathering of CI professionals in the world created a great deal of interest. We expect to have the program slate fully developed and displayed on the website by the end of November. We have listened to past conference attendees requests, gathered through evaluations and surveys, for more interactive time with your peers. As a result, the SCIP 2010 conference will expand the direct dialogue between CI professionals by designating 22 of its approximately 50 sessions "PowerPoint-free" zones. In a networking environment, CI experts will share their knowledge directly with you and respond to your interests. No longer will you simply be the passive recipient of hearing the speaker repeat what is on pre-packaged slides, but you will actively participate in creating your learning environment. We have begun the formal marketing of the conference and quite a few members are taking advantage of signing up for SCIP 10 with 2009 budget dollars. If we can help you with a package for your team's attendance at the event, please feel free to contact the SCIP office and let us find how to serve your needs. The early registration price is $1250 for members, with the full price at $1500. Full and half day workshops are at the same price as last year, $955 and $588 respectively for members. International 2009 The first SCIP Latin American Competitive Intelligence Summit was held in San Paulo, Brazil on 22-24 October, 2009. Over 100 CI professionals gathered to participate in workshops and general sessions. As you would expect, keynote speaker Ben Gilad provided very thought-provoking and insightful comments and ideas. On behalf of SCIP, board members Paulo Franklin de Abreu (Brazil) and Adrian Alvarez (Argentina) led the conference and created a strong foundation for future conferences. In addition, SCIP now has a very strong foundation for developing a chapter in Brazil. The 14th European Competitive Intelligence Summit took place in Amsterdam on 4-6 November 2009. Ably chaired by Joseph Rodenberg, the summit was supported by an outstanding program committee. The excellent program attracted 200 delegates and featured an exhibit hall populated by 16 organizations which deliver a broad array of products and services to the CI community. Professor Stephane Garelli delivered a scintillating opening keynote address. His global review was sobering when one considered the amount of stimulus money that has flowed from the coffers of the G 20, primarily funded via budget deficits to avert a financial meltdown. To balance this observation, Garelli's global review also included the positives that are now entering the financial global system and he provided a balanced but upbeat forecast for the future. Over the course of the three days, the summit delegates had the opportunity to learn from CI experts who presented over 27 sessions and 4 workshops. Overall, the summit participants exhibited an extremely enthusiastic and positive approach. Looking forward As noted in earlier communications, your Society plans to host four summits in 2010 (North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia) supplemented by seminars, workshops, and chapter and affiliate offerings. In addition SCIP will continue to provide CI education and commentary via electronic newsletters, websites, e-broadcasts, webinars, the Linked In community (which has grown to over 2900 members), and publications most notably an expanded Competitive Intelligence Magazine, now published on a quarterly basis. Does this mean that our financial challenges of 2009 are fully resolved? Not quite. To continue our progress towards operating on a solid operational base, SCIP requires the overall economic global recovery to continue, and corporations to support their employees continued professional development through a moderate level of expenditure for education and travel. However, the actions SCIP is taking in 2009 ensures that your professional Society will survive and prosper in the coming years. As you can see from the programs discussed earlier, we are taking the steps to expand our reach into the global competitive intelligence community and provide you with focused, relevant opportunities to develop your competitive knowledge. As always, we welcome your commentary and feedback, which is necessary for a robust organization. Regards: Ken Garrison CEO SCIP _____________________________________________________________ October 2, 2009 I wanted to reach out and give you an update on the organization and several of the upcoming events. The 2008-2009 economic downturn has been a difficult period in every industry and every country. As we read the economic pundits, each day seems to bring a new statement that the recession is either over or starting to abate. The impact is of course different for each one of us, depending on your industry and country of residence, but a much more positive spirit prevails. SCIP has also been dealing with the effects of the economic downturn, and we have responded with significant changes, including a realignment and merger which positions us to make progress in the future. As the fall of 2009 evolves, SCIP is starting to see positive growth in a number of sectors. We are now experiencing a return to a normal inflow of membership renewals and new members. Several larger corporations have made the decision to have their entire global team join as they prepare to take advantage of competitive opportunities that arise in the near and extended future. If you look at the SCIP calendar you will find a full slate of events this fall. Our chapters are producing an excellent schedule of events for their local SCIP membership, both in the US and around the world. Here’s our expanded and growing schedule of our 2009 global events: October 6-7, 2009 “Competitive Financial Intelligence” Philadelphia PA October 21-22, 2009 “Latin American CI Summit” San Paulo, Brazil November 4-6, 2009 “European CI Summit” Amsterdam, Netherlands November 30-December 1, 2009 “Fundamentals of CI” Alexandria, VA
And coming in 2010 are: March 9-12, 2010 “SCIP 2010 International Conference” Washington DC Fall of 2010-Latin American CI Summit Fall of 2010 European CI Summit Fall of 2010 Asian CI Summit-Kula Lumpur-October 2010 Plus individual workshops and seminars scheduled throughout the year.
To give you a sense of how our members are responding when we reach out to them, note the following responses to our recent initiatives: As is the SCIP tradition, we issued a session and workshop content call for proposals for the SCIP 2010 conference. Within a very short two weeks, we received 109 excellent proposals to speak at the conference, sent in by a wide spectrum of seasoned CI professionals. Now the conference committee will review these proposals over the next two weeks to help us craft the program for next spring. Based on the quality of the proposals, the conference promises to be one of the best SCIP educational events on record. SCIP open a LinkedIn group on July 15, 2008 to reach out to the entire competitive intelligence community. Over the next 13 months this group grew at an average rate of 141 new members per month. In the last 40 days we have seen a dramatic increase in requests to join this group, adding an additional 509 members, bringing our total to 2337 participating in a social networking environment. This sudden growth corresponds with the good news from the economy and we suspect resurgence in the need for competitive intelligence.
SCIP’s Board of Directors is led by dedicated individuals who serve three year terms. We currently have 23 applications for next year’s open seats on the Board, which will also continue a strong global representation. The nominations committee will be reviewing the candidates and craft a slate that will be presented to the membership for a vote on or before November 1, 2009. The SCIP Latin American Conference has developed a very strong set of sessions, highlighted by Ben Gilad as keynote. Registrations are being received at a very brisk pace, and we are projecting a strong first conference. This event also provides the foundation for developing a very strong chapter in Brazil. The European CI Summit in Amsterdam, with the aid of a very active program committee, has developed a fabulous schedule for early November, including a keynote presentation by the head of Nokia’s strategic intelligence group. CI professionals are responding to the program by generating strong registration numbers. In addition an extensive slate of exhibitors and sponsors have signed up to participate in an expanded exhibit hall floor. Now, the opportunity to exhibit and sponsor at the SCIP 2010 event has been opened and we are accepting booth applications. The base booth price will be $5,000, which is in alignment with past conferences. The Board of Directors has also developed additional opportunities for those in the vendor community who wish to participate on the exhibit floor without taking out a full exhibit booth. Building on our 2009 activities, our goal for 2010 is to provide the membership with an expanding range of services including: - educational events, both in person and online through webinars
- an upgraded monthly e-bulletin
- new networking tools and opportunities both locally and electronically.
- a continuation of the SCIP Competitive Intelligence Magazine
As always, we appreciate your comments, questions, or suggestions. Ken Garrison SCIP CEO kgarrison@scip.org 1.703.739.0696 x105 August 28, 2009 SCIP Signs Merger Agreement With Frost & Sullivan Institute On May 15, the SCIP membership voted 94 percent in favor of strengthening our organization and expanding its global reach by merging with the Frost and Sullivan Institute. The SCIP Board of Directors is pleased to report that a final merger agreement between SCIP and the Frost and Sullivan Institute has been reached. This agreement, which finalizes details of the merger's methodology, was approved by the SCIP Board of Directors on Aug. 14, 2009. The merger of SCIP and the Frost and Sullivan Institute will create a unified 501(c) (3) entity prior to year end. The agreement follows the guidelines set by the previous vote ? most significantly that SCIP will remain an autonomous member-driven society governed by a member-elected board of directors. SCIP's strategy and bylaws will continue to be governed by the board of directors. The organization and its programs will continue to operate under the SCIP brand. These are exciting times for SCIP. You will begin to see the benefits of the merger in the coming months. SCIP's footprint increases dramatically with expanded education, conferences, and development opportunities in North America, Europe, and Asia. The merger will create a clearer career path for members within the organization, by enhancing the visibility of competitive intelligence, and providing improved networking, education, and services. This- means more support for members in developing information, networking, and communication opportunities through our merged resources, formats, and capabilities. We're very pleased to share the recent news of our merger. You can always access the most recent information about the changes taking place by visiting the merger page of our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me directly at kgarrison@scip.org.
Additional merger information: June 2 update
May 22 update
May 15 update
May 7 letter to members
Key merger facts
Note from the Frost & Sullivan Institute
SCIP member benefits
Financial background
Due Diligence
Merger support of Strategic Plan's goals and strategies
Frequently asked questions
June 15
SCIP Leaders Detail Steps of Alliance to Chapters
SCIP leaders have been spreading the word about the association’s alliance with the Frost & Sullivan Institute at chapter meetings, giving members and prospective members a full understanding of how the multi-stage operation is progressing.
SCIP CEO Ken Garrison spoke at the Greater Washington, D.C., Chapter meeting on May 28. “This isn’t a process that will happen overnight,” he said. “We’re going to do this incrementally and you’ll see small changes and increased benefits as we go along.”
Additionally, SCIP Board Secretary-Treasurer Scott Leeb addressed a New York City Chapter Meeting on June 9. Board members are continuing to shed light on the complex alliance process at chapter meetings. SCIP Board Member Jens Thieme will conduct a Q&A session about SCIP's merger with FSI at the Swiss Competitive Intelligence Association's summer event on June 25. In addition, SCIP Vice Chair Eduardo Flores-Bermudez will address the DCIF (German Competitive Intelligence Forum) at their June 30 meeting.
June 2, 2009
Dear SCIP Members and the CI Community:
On behalf of the SCIP Board of Directors, I would like to keep you abreast of the next stages of our merger process. As noted in our update of May 18, we began an internal process of all of the SCIP processes, functions, and services to prepare for discussion with our merger partners.
Beginning June 3, 2009, we are holding departmental meetings with our partners on financial strategy, research, CI content, event integration, website, outreach to related communities, sales/sponsorship, and global expansion. In each area we will seek opportunities to improve or develop new opportunities for efficiencies or expansion. When options are developed they will be vetted to ensure that they meet SCIP’s member’s needs on all levels of our membership stakeholders whether they are practitioners, vendors, academics, or students.
On June 5, 2009, the SCIP Executive Committee comprised of Martha Gleason, Eduardo Flores Bermudez, Scott Leeb and Joe Goldberg will meet via teleconference with David Frigstad to begin devising the overall integration process.
As noted earlier this strategy will evolve over months not weeks. The challenge for all of the individuals involved is to maintain a focus on the current schedule of classes, webinars, and events, such as the Euro Summit in Amsterdam, as well as publishing the CI magazine and providing member services, while looking to change the structure of the organization.
The Board of Directors had previously reached out asking members to communicate with them directly if they had questions or areas of interest that needed further discussion. On Monday a very thoughtful letter addressed to the entire board and SCIP staff was received from August Jackson:
To the Board of Directors and the professional staff of the Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professionals:
I am writing to you in response to board member Eric Glitman's invitation to reach out to the SCIP board following the recent membership vote to support the SCIP - Frost & Sullivan Institute merger. While I do not claim to speak for any others, I do know that in sentiment if not in detail I am of the same opinion of many other members of the society. I welcome a frank and open discussion with the staff, board and membership at this time of challenge and opportunity.
Through the past five years I have been an active volunteer for SCIP, including as chapter chair, author, presenter, program committee member and conference vice-chair. I hope that these activities have sufficiently established my "pro-SCIP" bona fides. I have also spoken publicly in support of the SCIP - FSI merger in multiple venues public and private, voted in favor of the merger and am genuinely glad that the membership voted to support the merger.
Today I want to articulate the specific steps, strategies and options that I hope the board and staff will take at this time of opportunity.
I will be brief in this letter, and I am happy to discuss these ideas in detail with any member of the board or staff. I welcome your response.
1. In-depth analysis for all SCIP stakeholders and a clear articulation of the relevant value SCIP intends to deliver to each of these groups. Practitioners, vendors and academics receive different value from membership and participation in the society, and SCIP's strategic plan must recognize these distinct communities.
2. Active engagement of the Competitive Intelligence and related communities through new media, including outreach to members via LinkedIn, Facebook, Ning and other social media. All organizations that intend to engage communities today need to go to where those communities are. The vast majority of the community WILL be understanding, forgive you if you make mistakes and admire thoughtful attempts to evolve.
3. A coherent information technology (IT) infrastructure and governance strategy. The potential from shared services and IT insight from FSI was the main reason I voted for this merger, and my expectations are very high here. For starters SCIP's board should develop an IT strategy in collaboration with the staff and qualified volunteer members (I humbly volunteer). Some of my suggestions for consideration include preference for hosted solutions that avoid up-front capital investment, open data formats, open source and low-cost software, application programming interfaces (APIs) and solutions that offer clear migration frameworks and technology roadmaps. The purpose of an IT strategy is to ensure the ability to deliver cost-effective flexibility for innovative revenue-generating offerings to members.
4. Diversification of SCIP's revenue model. I am excited to hear about the possibility of a conference in Asia-Pacific. This is a great first step to move the society away from reliance on the annual conference. I strongly encourage SCIP's board and members to lay out a diverse set of options to deliver member value and generate revenue for the society. One option that leaps immediately to mind is certification, which is something I believe our profession sorely needs.
5. Transparent governance, including publishing of minutes from Board of Directors meetings, open meetings that coincide with national conferences and regular participation by board members and senior SCIP staff in a variety of social networks and the SCIP blog.
I welcome any comments or questions in response to these suggestions.
Any member of the board or staff should feel free to e-mail or call me.
Sincerely,
August Jackson
In his letter, August asked some very relevant questions with regard to SCIP stakeholders and a value proposition for each of those stakeholders. To provide a broader view of this topic, I would ask each of you to review the SCIP Strategic Plan that was developed from an extensive member survey in 2007and 2008. It was finalized by the board of directors in August 2008 for implementation for the period of 2009-2013. The entire board noted when the opportunity of the merger arose, that the options presented by the merger gave SCIP the very best opportunity to implement this strategic plan and expand on the possibilities defined in the plan.
Additionally, August asks for active engagement through social media and an improved IT infrastructure. Again, this is one of the strong suits our member partner brings to the table and I believe we will see the results of this change of structure in the near future. August makes one other very diplomatic and humble point in volunteering to add his specific expertise in this area. Not only is this commentary appreciated, but we will find a way to integrate August and his expertise in the process.
The fourth point asks for SCIP to diversify its revenue model. Again I would point to the strategic plan that defined that very point. While we all recognize the need, the opportunity to act on the diversification will be significantly aided by the merger. As noted, we have already begun discussion of an Asian conference, are in the process of expanding the Euro Summit, and the certification committee, in conjunction with the education committee, has its second meeting scheduled for June 17, 2009, to deliver stage one of the process.
The letter is closed in asking for a transparent governance process and for staff and board participation in the social networks and the SCIP blog. The board is very conscious of this process. The intention is to publish open letters such as August’s in SCIP’s communication vehicles and a response such offered in this letter. Additionally, SCIP will use the same communication vehicles to keep all members updated on the merger process and developments.
The board and the staff are in unison in asking for the feedback and the commentary. The Society is built to serve the membership, and the involvement of our members through our committee structure or as individuals is critical to the success of the Society. Your participation is very much appreciated.
Regards,
Ken Garrison
CEO SCIP
May 22, 2009
Dear SCIP Members and CI Community:
We would like to take this opportunity to update you on the status of the SCIP merger with the Frost & Sullivan Institute. Stage one of the merger has been completed with the membership vote that approved the merger option. Voting closed on May 15 with 94 percent of the voting members approving the merger.
The next stage is a process which began on Monday, May 18 with an internal review of SCIP processes, functions and services to seek potential synergies that can merge with FSI. The process is to seek efficiencies in operations to expand our marketing base, grow our membership and conference attendance, and examine the opportunity for new and expanded services.
A discussion will begin shortly with the merger team from FSI and the SCIP team to define those synergies and determine an implementation plan. The review, evolution, and implementation of this opportunity will occur in a slow and measured process over a period of months--not weeks. The entire Board of Directors is focused on reviewing each stage and process to find the formula that provides the maximum value proposition to the entire membership. The Board will keep you informed via the SCIP website, the SCIP Voice, and SCIP Online as details become available.
If you have questions or suggestions please contact either Martha Gleason, SCIP Chair, or Ken Garrison, SCIP CEO.
Martha Gleason and Ken Garrison
May 15, 2009 The Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professionals would like to officially announce the results of a member vote conducted on the issue of SCIP merging with the Frost & Sullivan Institute. The vote by eligible members was conducted over the past week and the results are in; the vote was 692 in favor of the merger and 43 opposed.
The result of the vote was a resounding affirmation that the members want a stronger organization with a global reach as a result of the merger. The response to the vote was the largest turnout of voters on an issue in the organization’s recent history. Thank you for your participation.
May 7, 2009
Dear SCIP Members,
Over the past six months the SCIP Board of Directors has been exploring many options that would allow the Society to execute on its strategic goals, continue providing you with the membership benefits you expect, and provide the association with long-term financial stability. The recently held SCIP09 International Conference and Exhibition, while a successful meeting for all who attended, did not generate the planned and required income to support SCIP as a viable organization beyond the second quarter of this year. This leaves us at a crossroad. With no change, SCIP will become insolvent and all of the great work our organization has contributed over the years will cease.
Now, after careful and extensive deliberation, the SCIP Board of Directors has unanimously approved a merger with Frost & Sullivan Institute, another non-profit organization. The focus of Frost & Sullivan Institute is to identify individuals, corporations and governments that are working to contribute to sustainable growth, innovation and leadership in activities beneficial on a global basis. Frost & Sullivan, the consulting company, has licensed the use of its name in perpetuity for one dollar to Frost & Sullivan Institute. The corporations are wholly separate.
SCIP’s merger with the Frost & Sullivan Institute is in line with our organizational strategy, and will create financial security, maintain and grow membership value, and expand the visibility of competitive intelligence to a wider range of corporate senior management. This merger will not change any services you currently receive as a member and will allow you to gain additional membership benefits in the future. SCIP, as an institution and brand, will remain an autonomous, member-driven society.
Since SCIP’s articles of incorporation require the membership to confirm this merger, we respectfully ask you to cast your YES vote to allow your Society to continue to exist and support your competitive intelligence needs. It is imperative that you vote on this issue. The following sections outline in detail how this merger will support the key goals of your organization and why it deserves your support.
Regards,
Martha Gleason,
Chair, SCIP Board of Directors
Thank you for your support of SCIP’s future.
SCIP’s Board of Directors as noted below is unanimously in favor of this merger.
Martha Gleason, Chair of the Board
Eduardo Flores Bermudez, Vice Chair of the Board
Scott Leeb, Secretary-Treasurer
Joe Goldberg, Immediate Past Chair
Ken Garrison, Chief Executive Officer
Adrian Alvarez, Director
Erik Glitman, Director
Paulo Franklin de Abreu, Director
Kelsey Hare, Director
Jens Thieme, Director
Flynt Tuller, Director
If you would like to comment to the Board on this critical issue, please use the following email address: MarthaGleason.SCIPBODChair@scip.org.
Key Merger Facts
The SCIP Board of Directors asks for your support and approval of the merger with the Frost & Sullivan Institute for the following key reasons:
- This merger provides the Society with such valuable opportunities for increased membership growth, visibility, and service expansion that it would have justified acceptance on its own merits, notwithstanding the existing financial situation.
- The merger provides for the continuation of the SCIP organization and brand as the non-profit organization devoted to providing membership value and enhancing competitive intelligence as a profession.
- The merger benefits all of our membership constituencies, as it provides resources to grow the membership and stabilize the Society’s finances. Long term financial sustainability will also support the development of enhanced membership benefits.
- The merger allows your Society to continue autonomous operation, led by a membership-elected Board of Directors. SCIP will benefit from the insight and experience of the two additional board members representing the Frost & Sullivan Institute: David Frigstad, Chief Executive Officer and Wyman Bravard, Chairman of the Board.
- The merger will allow your Society to avoid the economic and structural stresses facing other non-profit associations. Most of the 86,054 non-profits in the U.S. are being forced to reexamine their financial structure and investments, and are contracting services, cancelling meetings, considering cessation of operations, or seeking alternative ways (including mergers) to maintain their operations. In a recent poll of CEO’s of non profits 90% were expecting change of some magnitude in the next year.
A Note from the Frost & Sullivan Institute
The proposed partnership between Frost & Sullivan Institute, a nonprofit foundation, and SCIP provides a powerful opportunity to enhance the benefits SCIP offers its members and to provide some needed financial stability. Let me assure you that the direction of SCIP, its role and relationship to practitioners, vendors, and educators will not be altered. For 25 years, SCIP has provided excellent value to its membership and has benefited from the direction given by its board. We see no reason to change something that works.
We will focus our collective energy on the following:
- Creating a financial strategy which will bring back financial stability to the organization,
- Leveraging the resources of the partnership to bring career development and globalization to the SCIP membership, and
- Expanding the SCIP membership globally through newsletters, training and events.
Best Regards,
David Frigstad
David Frigstad began his working career as a Competitive Intelligence professional working for 12 years for a fast growing bio-medical firm in Denmark. He and Wyman Bravard subsequently opened their own research firm called Market Intelligence, which in 1992 acquired Frost & Sullivan.
SCIP Member Benefits
The merger of SCIP and the Frost & Sullivan Institute will maintain the current services you receive as a member and improve your membership value in the following ways:
- For CI practitioner members, the merger will help create a clearer career path for you within your organization, enhance CI’s visibility and reach within C suite executives, and provide improved and enhanced membership networking, education, and access to services.
- For the CI vendor and consultant members, in addition to continuing the policy of welcoming participation in SCIP’s events on an equal basis, the merger will create enhanced awareness of CI within companies and additional membership interaction opportunities.
- For academic members, the merger will create an environment where your contributions to the profession will continue to be encouraged and supported. The accelerated development of certification will increase competitive intelligence’s visibility to current and future managers. The merger will also provide additional venues to support your research interests and content development globally.
- For members based outside the U.S., the merger will enhance your ability to benefit from Society membership by providing improved local and regional support, content accessibility, networking abilities, and expanded international regional events.
- For all members, the merger will provide additional volunteer opportunities as the Society expands its membership, activities, and services globally.
- For all members, the merger will allow the overall staff structure and expertise to remain in place; including Ken Garrison functioning as the organization’s CEO.
Financial Background
Your Society has been consistently and significantly affected by the general economic cycles, alternately prospering and struggling. As a result, the organization has been unable to build a financial reserve to buffer it during economic downturns. All organizations have been negatively affected by the current economic situation and SCIP is no exception.
Like many non-profits, a high proportion of SCIP’s budget has traditionally been generated by profits from the annual conference and education programs (see our 20082009 annual reports). Reacting to the current downturn, corporations have been restricting travel and cutting training budgets, extending a trend that has existed for several years.
SCIP’s 2009 annual conference, while an educational and networking success for all who attended, has followed the recent pattern of not generating sufficient revenues to support its share of the Society’s traditional budget. As a result, your Society’s ability to continue as a viable organization is being tested. This situation requires SCIP to revamp its current business model. As noted previously, failure to change this model will result in SCIP’s cessation of operations after the second quarter of this year.
Over the last six months, the SCIP Board of Directors has examined many alternatives that would position the Society to withstand the current economic downturn, reduce the impact of the general economic cycles, and ensure the long term financial stability of the organization. The facts are as follows:
and - Insufficient financial resources. Fiscal 2009 began with a negative net worth of $264,000 for the combined financial statements of the Society and the CI Foundation. This deficit results from cumulative budget issues which occurred over the last nine years. A reserve fund to cover unforeseen budgetary situations has not existed for over 10 years.
- Suboptimal budget model. Over the last 25 years, SCIP has operated under a business model that depends on the annual conferences for 50% of its revenue. The current and likely future economy will not sustain this budget model.
- Limited viability. Without a significant change in its financial situation, SCIP will not be a viable organization beyond the second quarter of this year. The 2009 budget contained very conservative profit goals for the Annual conference which were not reached, requiring a separate capital infusion to maintain the Society as a functioning entity.
Due Diligence
The SCIP Board of Directors has explored many options over the last six months that would continue providing you with the membership benefits you expect. Here are several key options that were considered:
- Bank loans. Four banks were approached for loans to bridge the short-term deficit. Because of the organization’s negative net worth and lack of assets for securitization, all declined.
- Governmental assistance. Several government funding entities were approached for potential assistance. None were forthcoming.
- Restructuring. Creating a smaller operation would require a cessation of most member services, resulting in membership loss, and could not be consistently supplemented by volunteer assistance. The organization would continuously cut its membership services until it eventually ceases to exist.
- Vendor support. Receiving the required short-term capital infusion from the current vendor community was not viable due to the magnitude of the deficit as well as to the continuous long-term financial need.
- Merger. SCIP met with the executive teams of several related non-profit organizations and others to explore the possibility of a merger. However, almost all associations were concerned about their own fiscal situation and did not have the capital to risk in supporting SCIP’s operations. (Note: these discussions were held under signed non-disclosure agreements, so we cannot release their names.)
One outstanding merger partner was identified: the Frost & Sullivan Institute, a non-profit organization related to Frost & Sullivan Incorporated. SCIP’s merger with this organization will create financial stability, the opportunity to grow the competitive intelligence profession and the ability to continue executing the SCIP Strategic Plan for the profession, including our global initiatives.
Merger Support of Strategic Plan's Goals and Strategies
1. Competitive Intelligence Profession. The merger will:
- Increase the marketing and advocacy capability for CI by providing access to an expanded global constituency. This broadens SCIP’s membership reach immediately.
- Implement and deliver SCIP certification courses to improve the identification of competitive intelligence as a valuable discipline in corporations. This process will be accelerated immediately after the merger is finalized.
- Enhancing corporate decision maker recognition of competitive intelligence as an essential resource. The merger provides increased visibility to C-suite managers at 20,000 corporations globally. A strong standing of the CI profession within their corporate environments is the most viable, most powerful and sustainable growth factor for all stakeholders and constituencies.
2. Competitive Intelligence Professionals. The merger will enhance best in class career development opportunities throughout the world by:
- Providing members with increased access to career-expanding education and developmental opportunities in related disciplines.
- Creating a marketing base to expand the competitive intelligence network outside of traditional markets and reach new vertical and horizontal groups immediately.
- Expanding current educational offerings in North America, Europe and in 2010 Asia. This includes additional opportunities for face-to-face meetings and electronic delivery of education and information on more efficient platforms with a dramatically larger base of network participants.
- Enhanced membership support to develop information, networking and communication opportunities via the merged resources, formats, and capabilities.
3. Organizational Governance. The merger provides synergistic opportunities to increase the Society’s effectiveness through:
- Implementing a shared services structure to reduce the overall cost of operations.
- Establishing financial stability that provides for membership growth and builds financial reserves.
- Developing new revenue streams from related service opportunities, which would be unavailable without this merger.
Frequently Asked Questions
1) How will SCIP operate after the merger?
SCIP will remain an autonomous member-driven Society. The Frost & Sullivan Institute will have two of the potential 13 seats on the Board of Directors. The balance of the board will continue to be elected by the SCIP membership.
2) How will the association be governed?
The current SCIP bylaws will remain in place and be followed.
3) Will SCIP still be called SCIP?
SCIP’s name and brand will continue to be used after the merger and SCIP’s code of ethics will remain in place.
4) Is SCIP merging with a for-profit company?
No. SCIP is merging with another non-profit entity -- the Frost & Sullivan Institute – and will remain a non-profit association.
5) Does the merger affect the way SCIP handles local chapters?
No. Local chapters will continue to provide SCIP members and prospective members the chance to meet face to face on a regular basis.
6) How does the merger benefit Frost & Sullivan?
"A larger CI community benefits everyone, including Frost & Sullivan, Inc. The main benefit is a greater involvement that the Frost & Sullivan Institute is very passionate about. There is no financial or competitive benefit." - David Frigstad Chairman of Frost and Sullivan, Inc.
7) Are SCIP vendors assured neutrality?
"Yes. There is no change in vendor neutrality now or ever. Vendor support is a critical part of SCIP's success." - David Frigstad and Martha Gleason, SCIP Chair of the Board
Thank your for your support of SCIP’s future.
If you would like to comment to the Board on this critical issue, please use the following email address: MarthaGleason.SCIPBODChair@scip.org. | | |
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