Founded in 1962, the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) is the leading international association dedicated to improving productivity and performance in the workplace. ISPI represents performance improvement professionals throughout the United States, Canada, and 40 other countries. ISPI's mission is to develop and recognize the proficiency of our members and advocate the use of Human Performance Technology. Assembling THE Performance Improvement Conference and other educational events like Principles & Practices, publishing books and periodicals, and supporting research are some of the ways ISPI works toward achieving this mission.

The Past is Prologue

With roots firmly planted in performance research and instructional design, the Society was founded in 1962 as the National Society for Programmed Instruction. Later, evolving with members who were concerned fundamentally with performance and its improvement, the Society changed its name to the National Society for Performance and Instruction. As the Society's mission developed more globally and human performance technology became more widely regarded as a process of selection, analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation of programs to most cost-effectively influence human behavior and accomplishment, we became the International Society for Performance Improvement. 

A Focus on Performance and the ISPI Advantage

Workforce performance takes on new significance in our economic future. Human performance technology (HPT) -- the systematic approach to improving productivity and competence -- is the key to global competitiveness. Although training and education are critical to increasing competitiveness, meeting the educational challenge is only part of the answer. An effective human resource system needs an outstanding learning system, but it requires more; it requires a focus on performance. To improve human performance, we must manage the performance improvement system. That system must be the core of an organization's human resource efforts if it is to maintain its competitiveness in the long run.

Who Belongs to ISPI?

Performance technologists, training directors, human resources managers, instructional technologists, human factors practitioners, project managers, and organizational consultants are members of ISPI. They work in a variety of settings including business, academia, government, health services, banking, and the armed forces.

Why is ISPI the professional home of choice? Click here to learn what members say; let us know why it's your choice, too.