What services can you provide to collaborative communities?
In a nutshell, we offer all the services you would need to create, structure and operate a technology alliance. We primarily operate on an annual retained basis, with services scaled to the needs of each particular client. To get a better picture of how you might engage with us based on the current stage your consortium is in, see our engagement matrix.

Why should I outsource to an association management company like Global Inventures instead of hiring staff?
There are several main advantages that specialized association management companies (AMCs) like Global Inventures have over a dedicated staff. The first is experience: since we manage many groups and have years of background, we have developed best practices that short-cut the learning curve. Secondly, we are able to share staffing across multiple clients, making our association management services less expensive than hiring full-time dedicated staff in many situations. Finally, like in any outsourced arrangement - whether it is a law firm, ad agency, accountancy or IT provider, managing a single vendor is more time efficient than managing employees.

Aren't there lots of companies that do what you do?
Yes and no. There are thousands of associations around the world and hundreds of AMCs that specialize in managing those groups. However, the vast majority of non-profit associations are for interests outside the area of "high-tech" (for example, charities, advocacy groups and trade or professional associations). There are specialized demands presented by technology standards communities both in subject matter expertise and operational infrastructure that differ from other associations.

What's so unique about high-tech consortia?
There are too many to mention here! One major challenge is that although the members of a standards effort are working together toward common solutions that benefit the industry in general, the membership is usually made up of companies that compete in the marketplace, and often have diverging viewpoints and competing priorities. We help our clients orchestrate decision-making at the Board level with experienced Executive Directors and keep day-to-day activities humming with tight operational procedures and fair working group policies. Other examples of our clients' unique requirements include: a high sensitivity to issues involving protection of intellectual property rights and avoidance of anti-competitive behavior; managing compliance and certification programs; providing secure web management and versioning tools for developing and revising collaborative specifications; and so forth.

How are you different than your competitors in the technology alliance management space?
Some of our competitors started out as general PR agencies or marketing consulting companies and "fell into" managing technology collaborative communities. Not Global Inventures - we were established from the beginning as a full-services, high-tech alliance management company. We certainly offer strong PR and marketing capabilities as part of our portfolio of services but, simply put, alliance management is what's baked into our DNA. Very few firms have this experience, and no one can match the nearly 15 years of experience and in-depth knowledge that Global Inventures has.

What are the advantages to the collaborative community of using your services?
Alliance members are volunteers who all have full time 'day jobs" with their respective companies. This makes it impossible to handle all the day-to-day tasks of handling the operational dealings of an association and still get 'real' alliance work done (meaning the development and adoption of their standards). Global Inventures provides all the back office staff, consulting expertise, project management, and online tools for the alliance, freeing up the membership to do their work. Technology moves very quickly, with new standards being developed regularly as others fade away. We're fully conversant with the lifecycle of technologies and the politics of the collaborative communities associated with them, and have developed a targeted set of methodologies and tools to mange the various stages of an alliance lifecycle.

I just need help with an event I'm planning. Are you geared for that?
Of course, and this is one of our key values to our clients. We have the flexibility to scale up and down depending on the needs of our clients. We have experience with everything from managing single events to complete, turn-key association management, and we are often brought in to provide project support or consulting for corporations or self-managed consortia.

Who are some of the member companies of your clients?
We work with the who's who of semiconductor, networking, communications and consumer electronics. We also work with loads of medium, small and start up companies too, and they get treated with the same respect and service qualities as the "big dogs." To get a better idea of who makes up our client communities, go to our client's web sites or click here.

How is your pricing structured?
Each client and each engagement is different. We will work with you to develop a structure to match your needs. Several of our clients are on a flat monthly plan but we also offer hourly or pay as you go plans, and everything in-between.

How do I get more information?
The best way is to contact Kerry Christensen, who can answer your specific questions. Kerry can be reached at or +1.925.275.6686.