"This past fall, our school division embarked on a much needed strategic planning initiative. Having little experience in this arena, the system decided the most productive way to move forward with this endeavor would be to enlist the assistance of a consulting firm with both previous strategic planning experience and the desire and capability to work with a diverse community to develop a plan.

Plexus Consulting Group, LLC was recruited to work with GEGI under a USAID-BearingPoint contract designed among other things to promote business development here in Georgia. Plexus worked with GEGI from August to October 2004 as self-certification consultants assisting business associations to develop self-certification programs for their respective industries. Plexus consultants conducted needs assessments, provided formal training, and on going individualized technical assistance for the business associations. Their initial work was so well received that they were invited to return to Georgia in March and April 2005 for follow-on work.

During this subsequent visit, the number of associations requesting assistance went from five to nine. The industries that they worked with included accounting, auditing, real estate, marketing, export, agriculture, alternative dispute resolution and insurance. Additionally several USAID staff relied directly on their expertise in standards and certification to consult with them on other projects. The Advisor to the State Minister of Economic Reform personally requested Plexus’s assistance in helping him design a governmental template for a system of personnel regulation that would cross all employment sectors.

Plexus’s work here in Georgia resulted in several tangible products that will continue to support the development of industry standards and certifications. They include helping several associations create individualized self-certification business plans, a national Summit on Self-Certification, the creation of a resource library of materials for the GEGI website, and the development of an informal networking forum for associations that can lead to a sustainable local support system. Another important product created was a consensus (government-private sector) designed template for the government and private sector to use to define criteria and models for creating an internationally recognized personnel regulatory continuum from self-regulation through shared regulation and government regulation across all industry sectors. I have been extremely pleased with everyone I have worked with from the Plexus team, they have all be knowledgeable experts in their fields, experienced in working with international arenas and results oriented. They have provided valuable insights and assistance to the GEGI project and I hope to have the opportunity to work with them again.

I am extremely pleased with the performance of Plexus Consulting. Their flexibility and responsiveness resulted in a concise, astute product that was carefully and thoroughly researched and more than satisfied our needs. This was accomplished despite a mid-project change in objective. Plexus quickly adapted to the change and fulfilled the new criteria. I will include them in my planning for future projects.

We would like to use this opportunity to thank Plexus Consulting for their professional excellence displayed at the training "Internet as a Tool for Business Association Strengthening" that took place in Kiev, Ukraine on January 22-25, 2002. Plexus's consultant not only introduced more than 60 representatives of business associations from all over Ukraine into the best Internet practices of American associations, but also provided them with valuable hands-on advice on how they can use Internet to better serve their existing members and attract new ones. Due to its Soviet past, consequences of communist ideology and command economy, the Internet in Ukraine has a relatively short history of development; that is why the innovative techniques presented by Plexus were of special value to Ukrainian business associations, most of whom are novices in Internet use. In addition, having considerable experience working with public organizations, Plexus demonstrated a thorough understanding of association management, day-to-day operations and problems they face, as well as an ability to find solutions to those problems. Thank you for the great job you've done and may you be successful in all your endeavors!

Plexus assisted us in understanding our communications shortcomings and helped pave the way for cross-programmatic, internal and external communications improvement. For some time we knew our communications outreach program was not hitting on all cylinders. Then Plexus came in. They stripped our processes down and identified shortcomings, broke down programmatic stovepipes, and helped us develop and set a course for more effective and efficient strategic communications. In short, our strategic communications efforts had slowly and steadily drifted off course. Plexus provided the right navigational aids to put our communications efforts back on track. Our plan is now seaworthy and the foundation for a unified, focused strategic communications outreach program.