A detailed presentation on the program was delivered at the recent ASAP Summit 2007.  Click here to see the full presentation 

Q. What is the ASAP Alliance Management Professional certification program?

A. The ASAP Professional Certification Program was designed to enhance the value of membership to our members.  Our focus is to create a broad-based, highly professional and credible Alliance Management Continuing Education, Training and Certification Program.

Q. Why is the program developed?

A. ASAP is introducing its professional certification program in response to the needs and desire of its membership to establish Alliance Management as a recognized and valued profession across all public and private endeavors.

Q. Who will the ASAP Alliance Management Professional Certification program benefit?

A. The overarching value of Alliance Management professional certification is the increased success rates of alliances.  Within that context there are two primary communities, the organization and the individual.  In addition to providing HR standards and an individual professional status to aspire to, Alliance Management Professional Certification adds:

Value to the Organization: 

• Time to Market: Enhanced return on investment (ROI)
• Optimal Agreements:  Leave nothing on the table.
• Increased Revenues:  Leverage value
• Minimized Risks:  Proven strategies and tactics
• Customer Satisfaction:  Higher success rates

Value to the Individual;

• Validate and strengthen alliance management expertise
• Potential to increase earning power
• Be a more competitive candidate

Q. This is the first that I have heard of ASAP’s professional certification program.   What organizations are endorsing it?

A. The founding sponsors of the ASAP’s certification program include AMD. Boehringer-Ingelheim, CA, CISCO, HP, IBM, P&G, Lily and Xerox.

Q. Who are candidates for Professional Alliance Management Certification?

A. Any professional with alliance management experience who wishes to communicate to organizations, potential employers and other professionals the fact that they have demonstrated the highest levels of achievement in alliance management. 

Q. How do I apply to become certified?

A. ASAP will be offering two programs.  The certificate program is the first level of certification. Registration for the Certificate of Achievement for Alliance Management (CA-AM) will be on line.  Upon registering and paying on-line, candidates will receive a confirmation e-mail, which will provide the link for taking the on-line certificate exam.  Prerequisites for the Certificate of Achievement are:

·         Entry level education, training  and experience

 Registration for the full certification, the Certified Strategic Alliance Professional (CSAP), will also be online.  The exam for the Certified Strategic Alliance Professional will be a proctored test at test to be taken in person at locations around the globe.  Prerequisites for full certification are:

·         Successful completion of the CA-AM

·         Incremental education, training and experience

Q. How much does it cost to become certified? 

A. The cost of acquiring the experience and knowledge will vary.  The cost of the CA-AM and CSAP tests will be set prior to open enrollment for each certification level.

Q. What are the requirements or prerequisites to become certified? 

A For the initial certification, the Certificate of Achievement for Alliance Management, (CA-AM) you must be a member of ASAP in good standing, have 3 or more years in the profession, and successfully pass the Certification exam.

Q. Who provides the education to prepare a candidate for Alliance Management Professional Certification?

A. Education for the alliance management competencies tested in the exam will be initially based on self-study and will be derived from the ASAP Strategic Alliance Best Practice Guide, ©2002 as a baseline (http://www.strategic-alliances.org/membersonly/documentlibrary). Additional readings will be recommended to supplement the basic information in the Guide book.  Over time we expect a full range of in-class and on-line education alternatives to be available from ASAP, our partners, higher education institutions, independent training organizations and consultants.  Many of these educational forums are already in development and will be made available to alliance professional community as they are completed.

Q.  Will ASAP certify trainers or organizations to deliver approved education for certification? 

A.  ASAP does not at this time plan to certify the training providers or validate the quality of the education they provide.  We do plan to partner with and enable qualified training providers to deliver training based on the alliance management competencies outlined in the ASAP Professional Development Guide and the information provided by the ASAP Strategic Alliance Best Practice Guidebook.  We do not intend to make specific endorsements or recommendations on the quality of the education that is delivered. We will work with these training providers to ensure that ASAP members are aware of the educational options that are available to them through co-promotion and co-marketing programs that we establish with partner providers.

Q. When will the CSAP test be available?

A. The first CSAP proctored exam will take place during the 2009 ASAP Global Alliance Summit in February 2009.

Q. What does the CAAM Exam test for?

A. The CA-AM (Certification of Achievement Alliance Management) Exam will test for the following
o Alliance Basic Concepts
    – Alliance Lifecycle
    – Governance Concepts
    – Portfolio/Network concepts
    – Alliance corporate capability
• Skills Mastery
    – Launching
    – Implementing
    – Managing
    – Metrics
    – Governance
    – Alliance Negotiations
    – Organizational Alignment
• Key Success Factors: Metrics and Evaluation

Q. What is the CA-AM exam like?

A. 75 Multiple Choice Questions
    – 20 Recall: remember a fact, attribute, or characteristic
    – 35 Application: apply a principle, identify an issue
    – 20 Analysis: solve a problem, select the best option
• Questions are situational
    – Draw on experience and judgment
    – All options may be appropriate given the situation
    – Select the ‘best’ answer
    – No throw aways
    – Incorporate common mistakes
• Click here to see a copy of the actual test specification

Q. What are some good reference documents to help prepare for the CA-AM test?

A. Reference documents are available in the ASAP Member’s Library and include:
• ASAP Professional Development Guide
• ASAP Best Practice Workbook
• ASAP Best Practice Bulletins

Q. Is the CA-AM exam available outside of the U.S.?

A. CA-AM will be available through on-line testing in English throughout the world at general availability.  Payment for the CA-AM exam outside of the U.S. must be made using U.S. currency.

Q. What differentiates the ASAP Alliance Management Professional Certification program from other alliance management credentialing programs?

A.  ASAP has thoroughly researched and developed relationships with partners who have significant expertise in developing certification programs as well as continuing education coursework to enhance the content and value of the program.  As an example, we have engaged Applied Measurements Professionals, Inc. (goAMP.COM) to assist in developing, writing, maintaining and administering ASAP’s professional certification exams.  AMP’s core competency is the design and implementation of professional certification programs. Using standardized and industry accepted methodologies AMP will leverage ASAP’s cumulative knowledge of alliance management, codify the alliance professional’s job description, design and administer both the CAAM and CSAP exams.

Q. Should I consider becoming certified under more than one alliance management program? 

A. ASAP is a global organization whose membership is diverse.  ASAP is encouraging and supporting affinity groups to organize communities to serve the unique needs of a particular industry, geographic region, etc.  Examples are the Bio-Pharma council sponsored by ASAP and the Association of Alliance Managers in the UK.  These groups may elect to create and administer their own certificate programs that complement ASAP’s global certification program.

Q. Where can I learn more about ASAP’s professional certification program.

A. Please go the ASAP web site – http://www.strategic-alliances.org

Q. I’d like to get more involved with this program. Where can I volunteer? What can I do to help?

A. For more information on the Certification project or to volunteer to work on the Certification Committee, please contact Keith Gaylord, Certification Committee Chairperson -kgaylord@us.ibm.com