Study Predicts Impact of Downturn on Learned Societies

["Molnar, Amy - Hoboken" <amolnar@wiley.com>]

New study predicts impact of economic downturn on professional 
and scholarly societies

Oxford, UK, June 30, 2009 -- Sixty percent of professional and 
scholarly societies believe that the global economic downturn 
might be a stimulus to introducing efficiencies within their 
organizations, while 57% think it might provide opportunities for 
launching new activities or services for their members, according 
to a new study presented at the Wiley-Blackwell Executive Seminar 
held at the Royal Society, London, on June 19th 2009.

The study, carried out by Wiley-Blackwell, the leading publisher 
for professional and scholarly societies, examined the potential 
impact of the economic downturn on its society publishing 
partners.  Sixty-eight percent characterized the global economic 
downturn as moderately negative, while 17% stated that it will 
have minimal negative impact or may even be beneficial.

Asked to rank the expected impact of the economic downturn on 
each category of their organization's revenues or assets, more 
than 75% of society officers believed that there would be a very 
or slightly negative impact on their membership dues and 
conference income, with the most concern expressed about 
endowments and investments. Thirty-two percent did not anticipate 
any change in income from publishing, forty-seven percent 
believed it could be slightly affected, while 17% percent felt 
this area may be very affected.

In terms of strategies to ride out the economic crunch, 41% said 
that they would consider downsizing while a further 41% said they 
would consider expanding.  More than half (54%) felt that the way 
to navigate the recession was outsourcing some of their core 
activities, such as publishing.  Two-thirds thought that their 
publishing needs would not change during the recession, while 
one-third thought they would.  Typical of the feedback was the 
comment to "Help us to weather the storm - you all have a lot 
more collective experience than we do individually" and the 
request for "more guidance and monitoring of the economic climate 
and proactive recommendations".

"It's clear from the survey that many societies are looking to 
publishers for expert guidance in managing their costs and 
protecting and growing their revenues during these anxious 
times," said Dr Andrew Robinson, Vice President and Managing 
Director, Medicine at Wiley-Blackwell.  "We take a proactive 
approach and are working with our society partners on a range of 
strategies and actions which will ensure that they and their 
journals prosper".

The study was presented at the Wiley-Blackwell Executive Seminar 
held at the Royal Society in London on June 19th 2009.  This was 
the second Wiley-Blackwell seminar for society executives based 
on the theme, "Journal Publishing in an Uncertain Market," each 
of which attracted more than 100 delegates to hear a range of 
speakers and to participate in panel discussions.  The previous 
seminar, held on May 28th 2009 at the Press Club in Washington, 
D.C., included a keynote by Wiley author, Clint Swindall, who 
spoke on leadership and, in particular, how organizations can 
maintain employee engagement during times of change.

Note to editors
The survey, carried out by Wiley-Blackwell in Spring 2009, was 
completed by 47 officers from scholarly and professional 
societies ranging in size from less than 500 members to more than 
25,000, and from a variety of subject disciplines.  The majority 
of respondents were based in Europe and the United States.  The 
Wiley-Blackwell Executive Seminars are run annually in the US, 
UK, Scandinavia and Asia and are a forum for society executives 
and journal editors.

About Wiley-Blackwell
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more information, please visit www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell or 
www.interscience.wiley.com<http://www.interscience.wiley.com>

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