A Scholarly Society’s New Collaborative Community –A Case Study in Social Networking
The AAACommons:
Tracey E. Sutherland Executive Director American Accounting Association
About the American Accounting Association
•8300 members, most are professors (23% from outside U.S.)
•Publish 15 scholarly journals, expanding some and in process of adding at least 1 more.
•One is open-access (Current Issues in Auditing)
•16 Interest Sections, 7 Regions
•Hold between 25 and 30 meeting per year of various groups
•Key Focus – Harnessing technology for development and distribution of intellectual property, teaching, and conducting scholarship
Impetus for New Strategic Directions•Decreasing number of full-time faculty positions (down 13.3% since 1993)
•Shortage of PhD students in accounting pipeline
•New technologies challenge reasons for membership •Membership no longer necessary to receive journals•Face-to-face meetings are useful but there are emerging alternatives•Economy may challenge access to meetings
•New technologies may bring new reasons for membership•Globalization (23% of members are outside U.S.)•How to connect those not attending to content and networking at meetings
Our mission is straightforward. . .
We bring together the academic community to further accounting education and research and to
advance the discipline and profession of accounting.
Developing a Shared VisionAAA Executive Committee
Council/Section/Region Leadership
Creating the mission through four focused areas of activity
Expanding Knowledge and Idea
Development
Expanding Knowledge and Idea
Development
Promoting Effective Learning
Promoting Effective Learning
Informing and Influencing
Policy & Practice
Informing and Influencing
Policy & Practice
Advancing Faculty Careers
Advancing Faculty Careers
Where do we need to better connect?• Teachers
– 1st Annual Conference on Teaching & Learning (Annual Meeting 2008) – next CTLA – 2009 in NYC
– AAACommons• Teacher2Teacher• Teaching “Lock-box”
• International colleagues– Optimize meetings – AAACommons– Community/Networking -- AAACommons
• Researchers– Empowering new ways of creating content– Research Hives -- AAACommons
AAACommons – the Timeline
•Beginning with planning session in December 2007•Beta launched in just 7 months!•We don’t recommend it – but we’re glad we did it
•Spring 2007 – AAA Strategic Planning Project begins
•Summer 2007 – Intellectual Property Task Force recommends seeking collaborative platform
•December 2007 Development Team workshop•Key success factor – the design method emerging from this workshop – “persona analysis” could be a good addition – for next steps
Methodology: Initial DesignLead by Julie Smith David – Editor, AAACommons
Director, Center for Advancing Business through ITArizona State University
3 “Finalists”
3 “Finalists”
17 Possible
17 Possible
• In every cell of the stakeholder matrix– Or key cells
• What are current activities?
• What are pain points?• What would
stakeholders LIKE to be able to do?
• Be creative!
Key ActivitiesKey Activities
• Consider all possible Web 2.0 characteristics– They might spark
new activity ideas
• For each activity, think about whether there’s a tool that would work
Web 2.0Opportunities?
Web 2.0Opportunities?
Summary Opportunity Matrix 2: Possible activities by Web 2.0 characteristic
Note: This is a prototype – not a document that we explicitly created.
Identifying Member Value
• Identifying opportunities that have the highest value proposition
• Noting Web 2.0 capabilities needed• Identifying projects that would be possible
after the initial investment• Integrating projects to maximize value to
members• Using that analysis to develop the RFP for
vendor/partners
Timeline - Continued•December 2007 Development Team workshop
•Winter/Spring 2008 analysis and planning
•May 2008 Council Meeting AAACommons demo•Key Success Factor - CRITICAL importance of the development “sandbox”
•July 2008 – HiveLive platform selected
•August 2008 – Launched at 2008 Annual Meeting•High impact implementation
•Fall 2008 – AAACommons Editorial Board created•Key Success Factor – for CREDIBILITY
•Oct. 08 – May 09 – Rollout in Section/Regions Meetings
Rollout Progress - Communities
Some views of the AAACommons
Tracey Sutherland Executive Director American Accounting Association
Demos of the AAACommons
Tracey Sutherland Executive Director American Accounting Association
Tracey Sutherland Executive Director American Accounting Association
Private Research Communities
Tracey Sutherland Executive Director American Accounting Association
• Key Member Values– Teacher2Teacher
• Resources & Methods• Opportunity for Peer Review of Educational
Materials– Research “Hives”
• Individual scholars and co-authors• Opportunity to invite non-members
– Optimize meetings– Single-Sign-On
• Connecting people to all their content
Tracey Sutherland Executive Director American Accounting Association
Source: whole presentation: http://www.forrester.com/Groundswell/ladder.html
Our Main Constituents
Source: Groundswell. Forrester. http://www.forrester.com/Groundswell/profile_tool.html
• Learnings/Challenges– We have more Spectators and Joiners
• And believe our members are suited to being Collectors and Critics
– We are content people – our community platform partners challenge that thinking
– Generational differences– Establishing meaningful metrics– Leveraging established communities– Future issues
• Governance barriers to developing Groups (aka communities)
Tracey Sutherland Executive Director American Accounting Association
• Key Success Factors Recap– Design method workshop
• Strategy first• Explore and learn – use for RFP development
– Developmental Sandbox• Look and feel that fits your culture• Finding the right partner/vendor
– Establishing credibility• Leadership – Strategy• Establishing the AAACommons Editorial Board
– Time – People and Trajectory ( and patience!)Tracey Sutherland Executive Director American Accounting Association
“Social networks will be like air
Tracey E. Sutherland Executive Director American Accounting Association
Your friends, your family, the people you care about, the people like you, will be available anywhere and anytime.”
Charlene LiSXSW Interactive Conference, March 13, 2009
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