This article originally appeared in the March 2014 issue of MRIA’s Vue magazine
Whether you live in Canada, USA, Australia or Great Britain, chances are you look to one industry association for guidance on standards and education in marketing research. Did you know that many, but not all, of these associations are run as not-for-profit businesses? In this article, leaders from four not-for-profit marketing research associations discuss how they make it work.
Anastasia Arabia, President, MRIA
As a volunteer president of the MRIA, it is a privilege to have a role running a not-for-profit association.
I believe that the overriding factor for success when leading a not-for-profit is a commitment and passion for what you are doing. This type of role can be very rewarding, but also demands a lot of time and attention. If you are not fully engaged and passionate about the mission of your association, not only will your resolve falter, but you will not be able to inspire and impassion other volunteer leaders and by extension the membership at large.
As an owner of a marketing research firm, I believe it is important to run a not-for-profit association, such as the MRIA, like a business – with an eye on the bottom line to ensure we can offer services that are important to members. Revenues should support our mission statement and allow us to follow through on initiatives in MRIA’s strategic plan.
Strategic planning with input from members allows the board and executive to determine our focus and where to direct revenue. For professional associations, and it’s especially true for MRIA, this direction is usually in areas such as standards and education, as well as providing networking opportunities such as conferences. Standards are especially important because they are the backbone of our industry and the foundation that supports everything we do.
MRIA’s biggest asset is our diverse, engaged, smart and passionate board members. Consensus building and input from many different stakeholders on any given issue is the norm. The importance of mutual respect, a willingness to listen and work toward a common goal cannot be understated.
Continually and clearly communicating with members and stakeholders is also critical in a not-for-profit – it sounds simple but it is an area many not-for-profits continuously work to improve.
Perhaps the toughest part of being a volunteer leader at MRIA is being able to let go. On the one hand, a one year term is just the right amount of time to dedicate to the position when you have a full-time job. On the other hand, one year is not enough to see all of the initiatives you helped develop come to fruition. Letting go can be tough. But as a very wise past-president told me when I started: “Letting go can be tough – but think about it in terms of steering a ship. You won’t get to port on everything, but you will set the direction for the next president.”
Jill Donahue, Board Chairman, MRA
The Marketing Research Association (MRA) was established as a non- or not-for-profit entity in 1957. As the industry has changed and grown, so has MRA.
When you are a non-profit association, you can concentrate on the reason why your group was created – to be a partner for those involved in this dynamic industry. Over the years, subjects and technologies come and go, but the need for strong consumer and marketplace feedback never lets up.
It is with those intentions that MRA has a laser focus on its vision and mission. Our vision is to be “the preeminent association promoting, unifying and advancing the insight, opinions and marketing research profession.” Our mission is to “vigorously support and advocate for our members’ professional growth and success.”
Being a non-profit allows you to think about the best interest of your members. Perhaps the best example of this is advocacy, which comes in “four flavours”: government affairs, media, business and professionalism. As an advocate MRA makes no money, but it is vital to the profession’s growth and success, and the interest and passion we bring to each are the hallmarks of a successful not-for-profit association. For us, it is about re-investing in the industry in order to provide the products and services that will move our members and the industry forward.
In-person conferences and online events have become a mainstay for MRA to stay connected to our members. It’s a platform to share knowledge, business ideas and build friendships. It’s also a unique platform to listen to our members so we can continue to update and create new products and services that will strengthen their professional growth and consequently the growth of their business.
As we grow our online training library of lectures and webinars, it has strengthened our ability to provide those resources to all of our members, regardless of location and budget. Those are the successes any non-profit is looking for – a way to have an impact on all of our members.
Having a positive impact was also the inspiration for MRA’s Professional Researcher Certification program. This continuing education program not only offers a certification that distinguishes its holders in the marketplace, but it also gives members an easy venue to find and participate in subjects that will keep their skills on the cutting edge. This program is a great example of listening to the needs of our members and creating an innovative solution that benefits individuals and companies.
In this new and ever-changing digital age, connections are easier to make but harder to sustain. Non-profit associations are continuing to find ways to work smarter and harder in order to be responsible with the funding our members provide. Partnerships with other non-profit associations or like-minded industry supporters have been a wonderful way to stretch our resources and still provide impactful learning events. It is about moving smartly forward with our goals in mind.
Most non-profits are created by people with a shared goal or interest. Our association is no different. It is the members that make any non-profit successful. After all, that is why we exist and why we continue to thrive.
Szymon Duniec, President, AMSRS
The Australian Market and Social Research Society (AMSRS) is a not-for-profit corporation. AMSRS’ mission is to promote and develop the market, social and organisational research profession for Australia by providing standards, professional development opportunities and member services, and by representing the profession to external stakeholders. AMSRS’s non-profit status has had a considerable influence on its structure as well as how it functions, at both a strategic and operational level.
In September 2012, AMSRS’ members overwhelmingly voted to adopt a new constitution and streamlined organisational structure. A key driver of this reform was the desire to adopt best practice governance arrangements for a modern non-profit member organisation, including a small and directly-elected board of qualified directors, an audit committee and a clear separation between strategic and governance oversight of AMSRS (board responsibility) and its operational management (CEO responsibility).
For strategic decision-making, the AMSRS board (which I chair) takes the non-profit status into account, and it is sometimes a key consideration. For example, the Board’s budget strategy is founded on the principle that AMSRS should only aim for surpluses (profits) to the extent that they are necessary to support a prudent level of financial reserves for the Society, and use any excess profits to fund additional member services and benefits.
At an operational level, AMSRS employees aim to adhere to the following values which are prioritized ahead of return on investment and the profitability of individual activities:
- Ethics – we strive to act with integrity, honesty and transparency;
- Quality – we are committed to better practice;
- Service orientation – we are focused on delivering value to our members; and
- Accountability – we report on our performance to members in a transparent manner.
Of course, this does not mean that the financial and non-financial costs of service delivery are unimportant operational considerations. AMSRS is committed to making the most effective use of the time and funds contributed by members; rigorous cost control is a key way in which we deliver on this commitment.
AMSRS’s non-profit status also underpins its ability to entice its members to volunteer their time. AMSRS depends heavily on member volunteers, including its directors, committee members and many others. Members are motivated to volunteer primarily because they feel that they are making a direct contribution to their profession and fellow members. It would be very difficult to sustain this level of commitment if AMSRS was a for-profit entity.
In summary, AMSRS’s non-profit status is essential to the ongoing success of the organization.
C. Frederic John, Vice-President, ESOMAR
ESOMAR is a global research professional society that has grown significantly since its founding in 1948. From its inception, ESOMAR forged strong links among professionals engaged in marketing research, social research, and polling, not only within the business world but the academic community as well.
As a not-for-profit, we serve both our members and the research profession as a whole. Our key activities involve establishing standards, advocacy, and facilitating the exchange of information. The ICC/ESOMAR Code of Conduct is now accepted as the basis for ethical standards in dozens of countries. In fact, it was recently adopted by the Canadian Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (MRIA), with appropriate amendments to meet legislative requirements. In addition, we are continuously preparing guidelines for emerging practices.
We also devote considerable energy to promoting the value of research to government officials and regulators, co-ordinating our efforts closely with national and regional associations.
While historically an individual member association, now approaching 5,000 members, we have recently added a corporate membership program for both suppliers and buyers of research.
As a non-profit, we are self-sustaining, striving to deliver the highest quality programs, materials, and activities within strict budgetary constraints. Our purpose is not to generate profits, but to avoid losses and plow any surpluses back into services for our members. Besides members, the society has an elected council that acts as a governing board and a highly professional staff based in our Amsterdam office. But the key to our success lies in the contributions of time and expertise made by volunteers, including the council itself, country representatives, members of event program committees, and speakers and panelists, among others.
Like many research associations, we are focused on dramatic changes in the industry that go far beyond those related to new sources of data or means of data collection to encompass new ways of understanding human motivation and the distillation and utilisation of insights. We are also focused on changes within the market research function, including the professional skills required, and the evolving roles played within corporate structures.
ESOMAR will continue to evolve as the world does, but will maintain our commitment to promoting the core ethical principles that have guided our work since our inception. In fact, we expect this ethical underpinning, especially in terms of the need to protect privacy, to become even more critical in the future.
