Author: Kerry Cosby

Kerry Cosby has worked in non-profit management for 15 years, managing a business development group, conducting data analytics and country/regional analysis around the world for international organizations. He has opened, managed and overseen offices in the Former Soviet Union, the Middle East and China. He has been published in Foreign Policy, and The Globalist, and has written on topics such as political and country risk, data analytics, association management, global business development, and international politics.

Jul
09

GEOSPATIAL ANALYSIS AND PREDICTING THE FUTURE

What does it mean not to be behind the geospatial curve? In the previous article we say that the State Department was left behind in the conversation about how to handle the war in Afghanistan. They were behind the geospatial curve. So, Most importantly, the phrase means an organization does not simply look at its work in the […]

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Jun
27

DON’T FEAR THE G-WORD: UNDERSTANDING YOUR ORGANIZATION THROUGH COLORFUL MAPS

The words “geospatial analysis” sound intimidating. But let’s be honest: the ability to look at an organization’s work across the country or around the world is pretty powerful. Despite its pretensions, “geospatial analysis” simply means using maps, graphs and statistics to visualize and understand member and customer behavior across geographic locations and make better business decisions. […]

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Sep
10

What Predictive Analytics Can Do For Your Association

Predictive analytics are a powerful and proactive tool to prepare our associations for the future. The following animation walks you through using a predictive analytics model effectively. If you’d rather see it in writing, the transcript is below! As markets are changing, companies are seeking business in new areas of the world. Associations are left to […]

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Jun
07

Political Black Swans: Ignore Them at Your Association’s Peril

In 2003, widespread protest broke out around me in Azerbaijan, a country formerly part of the Soviet Union.Violence erupted just a few blocks from my office with clashes between protesters and the police, the torching of cars and mass arrests. The country’s capital was brought to a standstill, and the work of our organization was […]

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Feb
01

Start the Churn Predictions, Hal

When we think of artificial intelligence, our first thoughts tend toward Hal in Stanley Kubrick’s classic 2001: A Space Odyssey. But we should probably think more along the lines of predictive algorithms that help us understand who will leave or stay with our association. Over the years, association management professionals have used a number of […]

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Jan
02

Bringing the Real World Back into Engagement Scores

Membership engagement scores are everywhere—in articles, at conferences and even built into our association management systems. As we are able to access more and more data, we seek out new and better ways to use them for understanding member behavior, and member engagement scores stand at the ready, offering us the key to this knowledge. […]

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