CI podcast and CI in international development

As part of the never-ending effort to use the resources found among the podcasts of iTunes, I was searching for new ‘listening experiences’ and came across the Competitive Intelligence Podcast. This site and associated blog and podcasts are managed by a Mr. August Jackson.

Mr. Jackson has taken the time to put together a very user-friendly site with a variety of feedback tools. I am not sure what his current audience is but it deserves to be larger. I recently listened to episodes 6 thru 9 and found useful information in each one. I think one of the best episodes to date was No. 8, which featured an interview with John McGonagle. I have read several pieces written by Mr. McGonagle as part of my graduate studies and he definitely helps to define the current standards for effective competitive intelligence. It was a pleasure listening to the interview.

On a note more related to the themes of this blog, it seems that some coverage on the rols of competitive intelligence in international development would be a desirable topic for future podcasts. Mr. Jackson’s website and podcasts are an excellent way for someone to become familiar with CI as it currently applies to acommercial/corporate environment. An important complement to the commercial CI sector is the non-profit area. In a brief internet search I came across one firm that lists its experience in CI for non-profits (SIS International Research) and a tutorial about the importance of competitive intelligence for non-profits (Penn State Access eNonProfit).

It seems like a worthwhile market research project to determine what firms work in the area of international development and which of these actively employ competitive intelligence staff as part of their standard activities. I am open to any comments from readers about resources that (likely) already exist in this topic and meanwhile I will have a new item on my professional development “to do” list.