In recent years, organizations for information architects (also known as 'information designers') have become vital and interesting places to meet and discuss emerging issues in usability, experience design, interaction design and metadata collection/development.
#26804
Knowledge Networks and Communities of Practice 
Knowledge and learning have become the new strategic imperative of organizations. Recent surveys by The Conference Board and the American Management Association show that at least one-half of U.S. companies, and up to 72% of overseas firms, have some kind of knowledge management initiative underway. Other studies put the figure closer to 80% for global corporations. Chief Knowledge Officers and Chief Learning Officers are popping up everywhere. These strategic knowledge initiatives are ushering in a rich array of opportunities for applying OD expertise. This article will first describe the new logic driving interest in knowledge management and then focus on how OD practitioners can participate in that strategic conversation, and support knowledge creation and sharing through building communities of practice.
Allee, Verna. OD Practitioner (2000). Articles>Knowledge Management>Organizations
#14257
Local Chapters of the ACM SIGCHI
ACM SIGCHI brings together people working on the design, evaluation, implementation, and study of interactive computing systems for human use. ACM SIGCHI provides an international, interdisciplinary forum for the exchange of ideas about the field of human-computer interaction (HCI).
ACM SIGCHI. Organizations>Human Computer Interaction>Regional
#14085
Localization Industry Standards Association
Consisting of over 200 corporate clients and their globalization solutions partners -- the LISA provides best practice, business guidelines and multi-lingual information management standards for making enterprise globalization a reality.
#29398
Lone-DITA's goal is to provide resources for solo Technical Writers, or those who are part of a small documentation team, who want to implement DITA at their organization.
Lone-DITA. Organizations>Information Design>Technical Writing>DITA
#20685
STC must change, and the Board has ideas on what STC should look like. But is it fair to simply foist our ideas on members? Why would we do that?
STC (2003). Articles>TC>Organizations>Blogging
#13492
The Monaco Group invigorates communication research and practice in commercial and non-profit environments by developing new approaches and new solutions to communication problems.
EServer (2002). Organizations>TC>Online
#13061
Montréal Technical Writers Forum
This list is a place where we can discuss issues relating to the technical writing profession and everything else in between! While the membership might weigh heavily with Montreal/Quebec based writers, anyone can join in on the discussion, regardless of where they are from!
#10184
National and International Organizations for Technical Writers
This page is an international list of professional organisations, associations etc. for technical writers.
Peter Ring Consultants. Organizations>Writing>International>Technical Writing
#13522
The National Association of Government Communicators
The National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC) is a national not-for-profit professional network of federal, state and local government employees who disseminate information within and outside government. Its members are editors, writers, graphic artists, video professionals, broadcasters, photographers, information specialists and agency spokespersons.
#25907
National Association of Photoshop Professionals
The National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) is a trade association and resource for Adobe® Photoshop® education, training, and news.
#15044
National Association of Science Writers: Local Affiliates
Links to the websites of regional chapters of the NASW.
#11719
The National Writers Union (NWU) is the trade union for freelance writers of all genres who work for American publishers or employers. We are committed to improving the economic and working conditions of freelance writers through the collective strength of our 6500 members in 17 local chapters throughout the country. We are a modern, innovative union offering grievance resolution, industry campaigns, contract advice, health & dental plans, member education, job banks, networking, social events, and much more. The National Writers Union is affiliated with the United Automobile Workers (UAW) and through them with the AFL-CIO.
#11843
New Zealand Technical Writers Association
A society for the benefit of people who are involved in the field of documentation.
Technical Communicators Association of New Zealand. Organizations>TC>Regional>New Zealand
#29196
North Bay Multimedia Association
NBMA is an open community of new media professionals. Since 1992, it's been a meeting ground to explore the present and future of new media; a place to exchange ideas, learn about new techniques and technologies, be inspired, and find business support in a friendly and productive atmosphere.
North Bay Multimedia Association. Organizations>Information Design>Multimedia>California
#20906
Northwest Science Writers Association
Northwest Science Writers Association (NSWA) is a northwest-US based organization that strives to improve understanding of science and technology by examining issues from a variety of perspectives. We encourage writers of all types (e.g., journalists, novelists, poets, technical writers) and others (e.g., policy makers, educators, business leaders) to participate in discussions to gain insight from one another.
NSWA. Organizations>Scientific Communication>Regional>Puget Sound
#18239
Online Writing Center Consortium 
The Online Writing Center Consortium supports collaboration among writing centers and writing-across-the-curriculum programs. Consortium members share ideas, resources, and advice about how best to use the World Wide Web to support writers and teachers.
Palmquist, Mike. Colorado State University. Organizations>Education>Writing
#18638
The Open eBook Forum (OeBF) is the leading international trade and standards organization for the electronic publishing industry. Our members consist of hardware and software companies publishers, accessibility advocates, authors, users of electronic books, and related organizations whose common goals are to establish specifications and standards and to advance the competitiveness of the electronic publishing industry. The Forum's work will foster the development of applications and products that will benefit creators of content, makers of reading systems and consumers.
OeB (2003). Organizations>Information Design>Publishing>eBooks
#12975
The Open Source Writers Group is a non-commercial, non-profit organization whose primary goal is to improve the overall quality and quantity of free open-source and open-content documentation. All OSWG activities and projects are related to this primary goal.
Open Source Writers Group. Organizations>Documentation>Open Source>Software
#29301
The OpenOffice.org XML Project
The OpenOffice.org XML project is the home of of XML related features of OpenOffice.org, like its OASIS OpenDocument/ISO/IEC 26300 file format implementation. It further provides some XML base implementations, like XML parser and printer components.
OpenOffice.org (2005). Organizations>Writing>XML>OpenOffice
#27400
The Outsourcing Institute is a professional association dedicated to outsourcing--a source for outsourcing information, consulting and networking opportunities.
Outsourcing Institute, The. Organizations>Collaboration>Outsourcing
#25845
Plain English Campaign is an independent pressure group fighting for public information to be written in plain English.
Plain English Campaign. Organizations>Language>Writing>Minimalism
#14450
The Plain Language Association International
Plain language is language that everyone in your audience can easily understand. It saves time, money, and lives. Whether you are preparing a brief, writing a procedure, running a business, publishing a newsletter, managing a department, or training workers, you need plain language. We have plain-language links, papers and tutorials, consultants, a list service, and conferences.
#22701
PRISM: Publishing Requirements for Industry Standard Metadata
PRISM is an extensible XML metadata standard for syndicating, aggregating, post-processing and multi-purposing content from magazines, news, catalogs, books and mainstream journals.
#24813
Publications Process Maturity Model: Key Practices for an Effective Organization
The publications process maturity model provides a way for organizations to look at themselves and evaluate the effectiveness of their current processes. The model provides them with a set of standards. Dr. JoAnn Hackos will present a picture of a mature organization and provide an opportunity for participants to discuss how their organizations compare.
Hackos, JoAnn T. STC Proceedings (1996). Careers>Management>Organizations
#22243
Risk Communication Specialty Group
The Risk Communication Specialty Group (RCSG) focuses on the communication of risk information between technical and lay audiences and is open to all members of the Society for Risk Analysis. Our membership represents a variety of theoretical and practical perspectives on risk communication. Members' interest areas include the perception of risk, public participation, mass media coverage of risk, trust and credibility, social influence, and evaluation related to risk communication activities.
Society for Risk Analysis. Organizations>Communication>Risk Communication
