Professional Development:
Skill Sets

Successful fund raising begins with accurate, timely and relevant information. The APRA Fundamental and Advanced Skills Sets were developed by a committee of APRA International member volunteers with many years of experience in development research. The APRA Skills Sets provide a template from which members can:

• Develop new job descriptions for themselves or their staff.
• Make a case for professional development or new resources.
• Create tools for self-evaluation or staff reviews.

Although every job in development research is unique, the APRA Skills Sets provide an excellent starting point and can be easily customized to meet individual needs.

The Prospect Research Fundamental Skills Set is appropriate for someone who has completed one year as a researcher, while the Advanced Prospect Research Skills Set could reasonably be expected of someone who has worked as a researcher for approximately three years.

The third and fourth skill sets, Research Management and Relationship Management, are distinct sets that do not build on the first two. The Research Management Skill Set outlines the skills required for the management of a prospect research operation, while the Relationship Management Skill Set is intended for a professional whose job solely consists of relationship managment responsibilities.

The links below open PDF documents from to the APRA International website:

Prospect Research Fundamental Skills Set
Advanced Prospect Research Skills Set
Research Management Skills Set
Relationship Management Skills Set