The Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP) is a global nonprofit membership organization for everyone involved in creating and managing business knowledge. Our mission is to enhance the success of our members through leadership, education, advocacy, and networking. Specifically, SCIP provides education and networking opportunities for business professionals working in the rapidly growing field of competitive intelligence (the legal and ethical collection and analysis of information regarding the capabilities, vulnerabilities, and intentions of business competitors). Many SCIP members have backgrounds in market research, strategic analysis, or science and technology. Established in 1986, today SCIP has chapters around the world, with individual members in nations around the globe. In addition, SCIP has alliance partnerships with independent affiliate organizations in many countries.

• European Summit & SCIP Italia Education Day
  October 20 - 22, 2008
  
• Competitive Financial Intelligence
  June 17 - 20, 2008
  Fast-paced and highly interactive, this example-laden course will equip you to dissect domestic and international financial statements – Profit and Loss Statements, Balance Sheets and Cash Flows – and discover a) just how well your competitor is actually performing, and b) what future strategic moves are financially feasible. Analyzing financial statements is a key – but too often omitted – skill required for effective competitive intelligence. In just two days, Dr. Rogers’ enthusiastic up-to-date presentations, reinforced with actual in-class case studies, will provide thorough in-depth grounding in statement analysis and the skills to expose secrets your competitor would prefer you not know.
• Fundamentals of Competitive Intelligence
  June 16 - 17, 2008
  Two full-day workshops offering the beginner and intermediate level CI professional, a comprehensive professional development program to sharpen your skills in CI research and analysis techniques.
• Iowa Chapter Half Day Meeting
  June 3 - 3, 2008
  Trade shows, conferences, conventions, and other events are excellent places to learn about your competitive environment: market trends, new technologies, market opportunities, competitor plans and products, and much more. Collectively they provide opportunities to gather the most competitive information in the shortest time for the least amount of money.
• Introduction to CI Analysis
  May 27 - 28, 2008
  Introduction to CI Analysis: This workshop will take participants through each of the three steps required for successful intelligence analysis: identifying/anticipating questions; answering them rigorously; delivering answers effectively. A combination of lecture and case study work will afford participants to experiment with tools and methods presented. Presenter: Kenneth Sawka, Managing Partner, Outward Insights LLC.
• SCIP UK Meeting in Conjunction with Intro to CI
  May 27 - 27, 2008
  To compliment SCIP's 2 day course entitled, "An Introduction to Analysis" on 27th and 28th May in London, the SCIP UK Networking Event Series will present a practitioner perspective on analysis through the use of "closed" case studies.
• Atlanta Chapter Meeting
  May 23 - 23, 2008
  Primary intelligence gathering often results in the most current, up to date information, and when networks are carefully built and nurtured, they often prove to be a repeatable pool of information.
• Wisconsin Chapter Meeting
  May 22 - 22, 2008
  Do you have a strategy? Many firms say they have a clear competitive strategy when in fact they are following little more than a series of sound-bites – for instance, “we want to be a global player,” or “we aim to be the company of choice for clients in our industry.”
• Using Social Networking to Enhance CI Programs
  May 22 - 22, 2008
  Confused about web 2.0? Not sure how to use social networking sites and what you have to gain from them. Attend the latest SCIP webinar to gain the edge you need on your competition. Webinars from SCIP allow you to connect to CI experts from anywhere in the world—all you need is a personal computer with an internet connection and a telephone. SCIP invites you to learn the "latest and greatest" tips and techniques in this upcoming webinar. Using a MAC? No problem. Instructions are included on the log in information.
• Boston Chapter Meeting
  May 21 - 21, 2008
  This presentation will review the Economic Espionage Act of 1996 comparing and contrasting espionage which is criminal with competitive intelligence which is legal.

View Events Calendar >

• Global Market Intelligence Survey
  Global Intelligence Alliance released the new report "Global Market Intelligence Survey 2008," the most extensive global Market Intelligence study conducted to date. Responses were collected from 439 participants on five continents by the Member companies in the Global Intelligence Alliance network. The survey has been published under the GIA White Paper series, and it uncovers linkages between organizational decision-making and Market Intelligence operations. Differences in MI by industries and regions were also measured along with key success factors of MI. May 9, 2008 More >
• Information security - protecting your data is not just a cyberspace issue anymore
  Office equipment and devices that hold information - either temporarily or for long periods of time - can be accidentally or intentionally transferred to criminals who wish to make a quick buck by directly using or selling this. Your office photocopiers and those found at stores like Kinko's can now be added to the list of items that can leak your company's personal data. These multi-function printers usually contain small hard drives that can be removed and accessed by virtually anyone who has a computer and a hard drive data cord. (blog) N.A., May 8, 2008 More >
• Top 10 reasons for monitoring brands in social media
  If you are watching your industry and the keywords used to describe it you will probably be the first to know when a new competitor appears on the scene. From a competitive intelligence perspective you may also wish to be alerted any time a competitor's name is used. Knowing this may highlight opportunities to reach out to potential customers who have indicated they are trialing a competitor or dissatisfied with a competitor's product or service. Competitors will also often talk about subjects they are strategically interested in and being able to stay on top of those discussions allows you to anticipate potential future moves. (blog) David Alston, May 8, 2008 More >
• CI = patent analysis + patent mapping
  Patents are now being considered as one of the major source of technological and competitive dirt. Computer and internet technologies made it unusually easy to access these beefy informational sources. Patent analysis can have consequential value for a company in compact and predicting the development of the competitive technology view in its industry. (blog) John Barrera, May 6, 2008 More >
• CI using patent analysis
  Do you want to unveil your competitors' plans for product development and market entry? Your competitors inadvertently make much of their strategic plans available to the public when they file for patent protection. A careful analysis of patent filings can reveal the technologies your competitors are championing, the markets they are pursuing, and the literature they are reviewing in their research. (blog) David Wanetick, May 5, 2008 More >
• Financial intelligence requires a deeper look
  Understanding the financial fitness of a company is essential to proper due diligence. Companies targeted for M&A or involved in litigation may not want to reveal their true financial condition. A company's public relations team may put on a happy face, but to know the true health of a company you need to look at their public filings and financial statements and understand the implications of the different business ratios. (blog) Tim Powell, May 7, 2008 More >
• Monitor web site changes
  Monitoring changes to Web sites can be an important part of legal practice, whether for litigation, competitive intelligence, current awareness, or any number of other reasons. RSS feeds and email alerts make potentially laborious process much easier. Instead of going out to the web site every day, you can automatically receive notification of any changes. (blog) Bonnie Shucha, April 2008 More >
• Online CI tool sites
  These 22 competitive intelligence tools will help you understand the online marketing strategy of your competition. (video) More >
• CI from Linkedin connections
  If you're one of my Linkedin connections, you might have noticed that my connections are not viewable publicly. I chose not to reveal my connections for a very simple reason: I have joint venture plans of a very confidential nature, so an astute competitive intelligence specialist would easily infer, from the CEOs or other executive-level persons I'm connected, what my future plans are. (blog) Peter Nguyen, May 5, 2008 More >
• Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity agency
  The new Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity agency has been tasked with developing technologies so far out that not even the Defense Department would fund them. IARPA will be split into three program offices, and those really explain how we parse the problems intelligence research is focused on: Smart Collection, Incisive Analysis, and Safe and Secure Operations. Those three thrust areas span the space of the intelligence problem. Sally Adee, "Q&A with IARPA director Lisa Porter," May 2008 More >