What are the main challenges and opportunities ahead faced by SCIP

As SCIP members should know, I am running for becoming one of SCIP’s board of directors. I believe that this website can be an excellent means to make known my points of view on the challenges and opportunities faced ahead by SCIP.

a) SCIP will be faced with probably the worst recession it has ever faced. This was not apparent in the recent conference in Rome, as with some 266 registered persons was very well attended. But it is something inevitable. I believe that we should give our members more on line training because training will be left a very small budget (if at all) and therefore no money will be spent on travel expenses. This will also be an opportunity to expand our international community, as SCIP has been lagging behind expanding internationally. Small changes will also be needed in this regard, as even the schedules of these events are thought for the US and not for the international community.

b) Even though SCIP has improved the applicability of the training offered. It still has to be improved. Right now, companies and attendees will immediate pay-back of the investment. Therefore, cases and clear applications have to be put down to earth, so attendees can apply the gained knowledge the very next day they come back to work. I believe any person attending my sessions at SCIP conferences can tell that they were very applicable, because I spent a lot of time on the “how to”.

c) SCIP’s offering is still mostly focused on the new to the profession person. I believe SCIP should have more offering for the experienced practitioner, and accompany the member throughout his/her entire career.

d) SCIP has a tiny share of the international competitive intelligence community. Even though all countries will be affected by the global financial crisis we are experiencing now. I believe that this tiny share is an opportunity for SCIP to take advantage, as it will allow it compensate the members it might lose (as budgets tighten and association fees are cut off). But it needs a plan for doing that. I have been working on that and have experience building a CI community in Argentina.

e) The financial crisis has also to be considered as an opportunity to make CI and its benefits more known as a means to get companies interested in having a CI department. There is space to do that even in the US, where the penetration of CI, I believe is higher than anywhere else. Therefore, it is up to SCIP and its PR work to be there. I have experience dealing with the media in Latin America and got they to publish me, as many times I wanted. And, for free!

If you believe I am right in what I say, please vote for me. If elected, I will do my best to get, with the help of my then fellow board members, SCIP in the right direction and out of the woods of the international financial crisis.

Best regards and thanks for your time and hopefully your vote!

Lic Adrian Alvarez
Founding Partner
Midas Consulting
+54-11-4775-8983
www.midasconsulting.com.ar