September/October 2017

NSPE Today
State Society Leaders Approve New Membership Model, Prepare for New Era

NSPE state society leaders overwhelmingly approved a new business model on July 22 that aims to build a stronger, unified, and more focused organization for professional engineers and those on the path to licensure.

The 81–10 vote at the House of Delegates Assembly in Atlanta is the culmination of a year and a half of work by NSPE members to address the inefficiencies and redundancies that became part of the federation as it evolved over more than 80 years. The goal is to provide all members with consistent, high-quality service; simplify the Society’s business operations; and unite chapter, state, and national organizations.

Approval of the model continues the strong momentum that NSPE has been recently building. In just the last few years, the Society has:

• Built an active and successful advocacy program to protect the PE license;
• Enabled greater networking among members through the launch of the popular online Communities;
• Set a three-year business plan to prioritize and align resources with organizational goals, objectives, and strategies;
• Established unified branding that has been adopted by 27 state societies; and
• Implemented technology improvements that have enhanced member access to information and increased efficiency in operations.

The new model amounts to a significant cultural and operational change for NSPE. It was developed with input from association management experts McKinley Advisors and members from across the country who examined the structure and operations of organizations like NSPE.

Simplifying NSPE’s structure focuses resources where they are most needed and uses the strengths of the state and national partners to deliver a better membership experience. “By matching resources and the division of labor between national and the state societies to each state’s capacity and needs, we can ensure a consistent level and quality of membership value, regardless of where the member resides,” NSPE Executive Director Mark Golden wrote in the May/June PE.

The national society will be responsible for administering membership (at a unified price of $299), including the full suite of member benefits available to individuals developed at the national level. State societies will continue to enhance the value they provide through local member engagement, advocacy, and outreach activities. NSPE will help to increase value in states that currently have a lower capacity, so that the quality of membership across the country is more uniform.

Learn more about the membership business model in the Leadership Toolbox.