Plan out your educational learning path?
One fun way to approach this is to compare your resume with a BOK domain you currently align with or would like to align with in the future. What would you want to see on your resume? What do you need on your resume for a promotion or going after a higher-level position at another organization? There are many ways to navigate and use the BOK. This focuses on assessing what you need or want, especially if you’re interested in stepping into a new domain, such as Analytics.
- Jennifer MacCormack, Associate Director, Advancement Analytics, University of Washington
Justify a new hire?
A couple of years ago, I was trying to advocate for an additional research position. The Body of Knowledge helped me figure out what the current researchers in the unit were already doing, and then it really helped me determine the areas we were lacking. The two levels for each competency mapped it out in an orderly fashion. My approach was very simple, and I did this when I was trying to advocate for the new research position: I literally went down the competencies and checked off what we were doing and what we were not doing. What we were not doing (or maybe not doing as efficiently as we could have been) was what I focused on for the new position duties.
- Devon Villa Gessert, Director of Research and Prospect Management, American University
Promote from within?
As the leader, I needed to advocate for higher grade levels and salary increases for team members. We used the Body of Knowledge to help us define and articulate key responsibilities and outcomes, which informed the drafting of new job descriptions. The Apra Salary Survey was shared with members of our human resources team as well. The end result was a grade and salary increase for each team member and well-formed job descriptions.
- Amy Turbes, Senior Director of Strategy, Research and Development, Creighton University
Prepare for an Interview?
The BOK helped enormously with crafting interview questions for candidates for various positions, including fundraisers.
- Devon Villa Gessert, Director of Research and Prospect Management, American University
Develop your employees?
Our research director has used the BOK as regular reference guide to help in creating performance standards/expectations.
- Karen Isble, Assistant Vice President, Development Services & Strategic Solutions, University of Michigan
We have used it to identify strengths within the team for cross-training opportunities and restructured the team to ensure those strengths are maximized
- Caroline Oblack, Director, Research, Prospect Management & Analytics, Oregon Health & Science University Foundation
I have used the BOK in my consulting work as a tool for educating researchers and managers of research in understanding the depth and breadth of range a researcher might work. Most are surprised at its extent. I also have used it as a way to evaluate researcher knowledge, using it to build a professional development plan for the researcher. There is no equivalent in other fundraising professions!
- Karen Greene, Senior Consultant & Principal, Marts & Lundy
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