Association learning is designed primarily to meet members’ professional development needs, but outside audiences may be “an untapped market for associations,” says Tracy King, MA, CAE, CEO and chief learning strategist at InspirEd. And licensing may be the way to reach them.

Associations “hold the subject matter expertise of the industry,” she says. “Corporations are seeking to license high-quality training and routinely turn to academic institutions, consultants, and continuing education corporations. Professional associations should be dominating this space.”

Over the past year, more associations have been “seeking [additional] channels for their content as they look to increase the number of participants,” says Richard Finstein, CEO of CommPartners, an e-learning technology provider. “Offering or licensing content to third parties is a way to extend an association’s reach in a way that is well received by online learners.” Doing so increases the association’s exposure—and perhaps its revenue, he says. “I believe knowledge is core to what an association offers.”

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