| Model |
Description |
Pro's |
Con's |
| Global HQ |
Single global HQ with staff in one primary location serving a global membership base. |
All staff and resources are concentrating in one location providing ease of management coordination, communication and collaboration.
|
Lack of feedback "from the field" and appearance that the organization is disconnected from the membership and its local issues. |
| Chapters |
Chapters are semi-autonomous units of the organization based on geographic territories and minimum member counts.
|
Pushes accountability and relevance closer to the member, allows for some customization for local needs. |
Common disputes between large and small chapters versus "headquarters" include: resource allocation, delegation of authority and brand management. |
| Federation |
Organization whose members are completely autonomous associations, usually at the National level around a common industry or profession.
|
Requires minimal financial and human resource contribution. Represents a broad geographical base and therefore usually has some political weight at the international level. |
Typically underfunded, overly bureaucratic and more focused on political issues over technical or professional issues. Can be very slow to make or implement decisions as major issues must also be decided at the Board level of the individual members.
|
| Affiliation |
Similar to a Chapter but based on a signed agreement where the parties retain independent identities.
|
Allows closer collaboration and appearance of a larger network without necessarily incurring large investment or liability issues.
|
Lack of complete control over brand management issues. Requires a high level of trust or auditing to ensure parties are staying compliant with the affiliation agreement.
|
| Partnerships |
Collaboration between two or more parties to achieve a specific set of objectives usually over a specific time period and governed by a written partnership agreement. |
Can be a very useful structure to achieve a specific objective, especially where the partners compliment one another and offer mutual value. Allows greater flexibility than other business models. |
Requires a deep understanding and proper selection of the partner. Requires a well written partnership agreement including a description of how to manage and ultimately dissolve the partnership. Often formed when one or more parties has a weakness. Partnerships can fail more easily than succeed.
|
| Franchise |
The licensing of a brand and intellectual property to a third party for use in a specific manner and within a defined territory. Governed by a franchise agreement.
|
Can be a very useful way to tap into entrepreneurial organizations to sell specific products for the association with limited investment and market risk. |
Requires careful selection of the franchise partner, a well written franchise agreement including specific description on the ownership and handling of all intellectual property and brand management. Also requires a strong management and audit component to ensure the franchise agreement is honored properly.
|
| For-Profit |
The association establishes a wholly owned for-profit subsidiary for a specific territory (such as a country or a region) |
The association maintains 100% control over the entity and therefore reaps the full benefit of its activities. Can be very useful for countries where the establishment of a not-for-profit association is very difficult such as the Russian Federation or mainland China.
|
Requires significant investment in human resources, infrastructure and management time. Will have an impact on the associations Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT)and exposes the association to liabilities in the target jurisdiction (employment law, local tax issues, business registration and reporting requirements).
|
| Regional Offices |
The association establishes regional service centers to deliver membership and other services for a specific geography, either nationally or regionally (such as for "Europe" or "Asia Pacific"). May be own staff or outsourced.
|
Establishes the association as an international organization, provides local members with a contact point in a local time zone and usually local language. Provides "on-the-ground" feedback and intelligence to the association to better serve its international membership. |
Requires a significant investment and a commitment to manage the remote offices. Difficulties arise from challenge of managing staff at a distance including time and language differences. Other issues include financial risks due to currency differences, local laws and requirement to tailor product and services to local needs. |
| Outsourced Services |
Delegating the delivery of services internationally to third party providers including PCO's (professional conference organizers), AMC's (association management companies) or specialist consultants.
|
Services are provided for as per a professional services contract by a local supplier that assumes the majority of the risk and liability. A well placed supplier can provide quality services more effectively and efficiently in a given market or geography. |
There can be a lack of control or limited recourse if the services provided are not at a required level. There is a limited number of qualified suppliers of professional services for associations internationally. |