The Development and Institutional Advancement Program (DIAP) meets annually and focuses on issues related to fundraising, communications, and institutional development. The conference (held in February each year) features two preconference workshops—one for new development officers and one for those with more experience—and a conference with plenary speakers who generally address fundraising skills, the vocation of the development officer, or issues in theological education, plus multiple workshops.

DIAP is the oldest administrator-specific ATS program, and it has the most refined definition of a core curriculum, including four basic areas of institutional advancement (annual fund, major gifts, planned giving, capital campaigns) and four professional tasks or skills (assembling and managing donor databases and research, working with the president and board, building the case for support, and communicating the case). DIAP conferences also include workshops on administration, management strategies, assessment plans, legal issues, and personal concerns of development officers.

DIAP is overseen by a steering committee of nine representatives, whose primary task is planning and evaluation of the annual conference and identifying pertinent content for dissemination on the ATS website.