03/30/2022

How a Listening Tour Improved Deliverables and Communication

What you can learn when you stop and listen

Since 1999, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) has conducted an annual development survey—a national benchmarking survey measuring the impact, costs, and staffing of fundraising at its member medical schools, teaching hospitals, and health systems.

In 2020, the survey underwent significant transition. Almost everything was new—program leadership, data stewards and collection and reporting platforms.

Just a few months after our new program team took over, we hosted the annual meeting of the survey’s advisory committee—a group of 10 chief development officers (CDOs) from member institutions. During the meeting, a new committee member who was well-established in the field questioned the survey’s value and took the meeting agenda in a different direction.

Please select this link to read the complete article from ASAE's Center for Association Leadership.