A New Chapter for ISPI's and PIGNC Global Community: Why the Reinstatement and Renewal of PIGNC and its International Chapters' relationship with ISPI Matters
- Kaufman Center - ISSP
- Jun 21
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 22
By Mariano Bernardez, Ph.D., CPT
Founder, Performance Improvement Global Network (PIGNC)Life Member, International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI)
The recent podcast, Bilingual Networks for Global Performance Improvement, comes at a particularly significant moment in the history of the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI).
For the first time in many years, ISPI is moving toward the reinstatement and renewal of the Performance Improvement Global Network (PIGNC) and the formal recognition of an international network of chapters that includes Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, and Spain.
This process reflects not merely an organizational adjustment but an opportunity to reconnect ISPI with one of its most valuable strategic assets: its global community of practitioners, consultants, educators, researchers, and leaders.
A Network Created Before Globalization Became Fashionable
When Roger Kaufman and I founded the Performance Improvement Global Network in 1998, the idea was both simple and ambitious.
The Internet was still in its infancy. Virtual communities were rare. Most professional associations operated primarily within national boundaries.
Yet challenges in performance improvement were already global.
Organizations in Latin America, Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa faced remarkably similar questions:
How do we improve organizational performance?
How do we align human performance with organizational goals?
How do we create measurable value for clients, stakeholders, and society?
How do we move beyond training and address the systems that drive results?
PIGNC was created as a bilingual and multicultural platform where these questions could be explored collaboratively across borders.
Long before Zoom, Teams, LinkedIn, and global webinars became commonplace, PIGNC was already operating as a virtual international community connecting practitioners throughout the Americas and Spain.
Twenty-Eight Years of Continuous Activity
Over nearly three decades, the PI Global Network has connected thousands of professionals through conferences, webinars, publications, collaborative projects, and professional development programs.
Many of today's leaders in performance improvement throughout Latin America first became involved with ISPI through PIGNC activities.
The network helped support the creation and development of ISPI chapters in Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, and Spain.
These chapters
organized conferences,
developed local leadership,
translated and disseminated performance improvement methodologies.
connected universities, businesses, governments, and nonprofit organizations.
Most importantly, they created communities of practice capable of adapting performance improvement principles to local realities.
Why PIGNC International Chapters Matter
The history of ISPI demonstrates that many of its most innovative ideas have emerged through international collaboration. Performance improvement itself evolved because practitioners learned to move beyond narrow organizational perspectives and consider broader systems.
PIGNC International chapters:
create bridges between cultures.
allow ideas developed in one context to be tested and adapted in another.
provide opportunities for professional growth that would not otherwise exist.
Expand the discipline's reach and impact.
help ISPI remain relevant in a rapidly changing world.
The challenges facing organizations today—artificial intelligence, workforce transformation, productivity, innovation, social performance, sustainability, and institutional effectiveness—require global professional communities such as the PIGNC.
The Kaufman Legacy
The renewal of PIGNC is particularly appropriate because it reflects the vision that Roger Kaufman championed throughout his career. Roger consistently argued that performance improvement should be evaluated not only by organizational outcomes but also by its contribution to society.
His concept of Mega Planning expanded the field's horizons beyond organizational boundaries and encouraged practitioners to consider broader societal consequences.
PIGNC provided a practical mechanism for applying that philosophy internationally.
By connecting professionals from different countries, industries, and cultures, the network created opportunities to learn from diverse experiences while maintaining a shared commitment to measurable results.
The continued growth of this international community represents one of the most enduring aspects of Roger's legacy.
Building on a Strong Foundation
The proposed reinstatement occurs at a particularly favorable moment: the international PIGNC chapters are particularly active and growing, and their leaders contribute to the profession in 6 different countries in the US, Latin America, and EMEA.
They serve as members of PIGNC, the Kaufman Center, the Roger Kaufman Award Committee, and other professional initiatives. With the reconnection of ISPI, the PIGNC network extends its collaboration network.
New Opportunities for PIGNC and ISPI
Several opportunities are already emerging:
Expanded international webinars and conferences.
Greater collaboration among chapters.
Joint research initiatives.
Publication projects in English and Spanish.
Student and young professional programs.
Global knowledge-sharing communities.
Expanded participation in ISPI conferences and events.
Collaborative projects addressing organizational and societal performance.
The growing importance of artificial intelligence, remote collaboration, digital learning, and global networks makes these opportunities more relevant than ever.
Looking Forward
The reinstatement and renewal of the relationship between ISPI and PIGNC and the international chapters prepare for the future decade:
Organizations need better ways to share knowledge across borders.
Professionals need communities that support learning, innovation, and growth.
ISPI needs a stronger international presence capable of connecting practitioners worldwide.
The renewed relationship between ISPI and the PIGNC network and its international chapters can play an important role in achieving those goals.
As we celebrate this new chapter, we also recognize the work of the many volunteers, chapter leaders, board members, and professionals who have sustained these communities over nearly three decades.
The story of PIGNC demonstrates that professional networks can endure when built around a shared purpose, meaningful relationships, and a commitment to creating value.
The next chapter of that story is now beginning.
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