NASBA Diagnostic Update

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In August 2024, NASBA partnered with a consultant to help the Association take a comprehensive and unflinching look at itself in order to better understand NASBA’s potential, what invites or prevents that potential, and how NASBA might become a greater force for its members and within itself in the short and long terms. The initial four-month, or Understanding phase, of the Diagnostic project consisted of the consultant immersing himself in 760 pages of organizational material alongside weekly meetings with President and CEO Daniel Dustin. That comprehensive work formed the basis of a tailored set of inquiries for stakeholder interviews in the second, or Diagnosing, phase—the first step of which was conducted over eight weeks with NASBA’s Board of Directors, including the eight regional directors. That stage, which ended in January 2025, produced 126 pages of feedback.

In February, the Diagnosing phase moved into its membership segment. Jurisdictions were invited to provide up to two sources for this step: one board chair or member, along with their executive director. After 11 weeks of interviews, an impressive 80 percent of NASBA’s jurisdictions have scheduled to participate in the Diagnostic, and 50 percent have been interviewed. Because several jurisdictions have offered two representatives, 35 total individuals have already contributed to this step. Five jurisdictions are represented by a board member alone (chair or member), 22 by an executive director alone, and 15 by both. Only 11 boards have not yet responded, and two jurisdictions have declined. On average, 27 in-depth questions have been asked of each participant, and each conversation has lasted an average of 63 minutes. Following the membership segment, the Diagnostic will once again move internally—this step with selected NASBA staff—and in doing so, draw a holistic assessment of the NASBA community.

Too often in Likert rating scales and quick-hit surveys, valuable insights can hide and data can outright mislead. At this moment of leadership change and organizational maturity, what NASBA wanted from its stakeholders was feedback that was more nuanced, more bracingly honest, and more far-reaching. Once all interviews are completed, the Diagnosing phase will shift to the Reporting phase, the first objective of which is to distill the feedback from the three constituencies into a meaningful report that NASBA can use for strategic planning and, with member input, to design a clearly defined roadmap for implementation that enhances NASBA’s service and furthers its value to members.

NASBA looks forward to sharing these findings as they emerge and gaining your guidance as the project goes forward. In the meantime, if your jurisdiction has not yet participated in the Diagnostic, please use the link here to schedule a 75-minute guided conversation with our consultant.