Help Shape the Future of ASIS&T!
Posted on behalf of Sandy Hirsh. –Diane Rasmussen Pennington, Social Media Manager
As incoming ASIS&T President, one of my major initiatives this year is strategic planning for the association. With the ongoing changes to our field, the range of choices that people have to engage professionally, and the importance of charting a clear future for the association, it is critical that ASIS&T develop an actionable strategic plan that is in strong alignment with member interests and needs.
To build this shared future vision for ASIS&T and to ensure that ASIS&T is meeting your needs, we need your ideas and participation in the strategic planning process. This is your opportunity to help shape the future of the association – and I hope you will make your voice heard. We are kicking off the strategic planning process in a couple of weeks at the 2014 ASIS&T Annual Meeting in Seattle, and there will be opportunities to participate virtually in the process after the meeting as well.
Strategic Planning Activities at the 2014 Annual Meeting
There are two ways you can participate in the strategic planning process at the ASIS&T Annual Meeting. We hope you will engage in at least one of these – if not both!
1) Participate in a focus group interview session – Thank you to those of you who have already signed up to participate in one of the focus group interview sessions! We are holding six focus group interview sessions at the Annual Meeting – each one focused on a particular type of member (see below).
We are still hoping to find some additional participants for the focus group interview sessions. We have a few spaces available in each session. Please check your schedules and let us know as soon as possible if you match the criteria and can fit one of these sessions into your schedule. All sessions will be 90 minutes. And, food will be provided!
Here is the schedule of focus group interview sessions at the Annual Meeting:
- Sunday 9:30am Practitioners (Member 0-5 years)
- Sunday 11:30am Practitioners (Member 6+ years)
- Sunday 5:00pm Academics/Faculty (Member 0-5 years)
- Monday 9:00am Leaders (Current/former board, SIG and Chapter Reps)
- Monday 12:00pm Students (Masters and Doctoral)
- Tuesday 9:00am Academics/Faculty (Member 6+ years)
Please contact Maric Kramer to let her know if you can participate! Her email is: MKramer@wheelock.edu
2) Share your ideas on a poster board – When you are attending the annual meeting, you will see a few poster boards located around the main conference areas that have questions printed on them. We want to collect your responses to these questions as inputs to the strategic planning process. There will be post-it notes and pens provided at each poster board so you can record your responses. We hope you will take a few minutes to share your ideas, thoughts, and suggestions!
Participation Opportunities After the 2014 Annual Meeting
If you are attending the Annual Meeting in Seattle, we hope that you will participate in one or both of the activities above. But we know that people’s schedules are busy during the conference, and the timing might not work out to participate when you are there. We also know that not all ASIS&T members are able to attend the annual meeting. We want to make sure everyone has the opportunity to participate in the strategic planning process if they want to. We hope to engage the full spectrum of ASIS&T members, including our student, international, and practitioner members, in the strategic planning process.
So, after the Annual Meeting, we will be sending more information about virtual opportunities for participating in the strategic planning process. Specifically, there will be virtual focus group interview sessions (similar to the sessions we are holding at the Annual Meeting but these will be held online), as well as virtual town hall meetings where we will review and discuss draft versions of the strategic plan.
What Strategic Planning Means for ASIS&T
ASIS&T currently does not have a strategic plan. Our goal is to complete the strategic plan by the 2015 Annual Meeting. Of course, strategic planning doesn’t end with the creation of the plan. The strategic plan will be a living document and will be regularly reviewed, revised, and reported on after it is created. Strategic planning will:
- provide strategic direction for the association, thus setting the association up for long-term success;
- review ASIS&T’s mission, vision, and goals and translate these into clear actions that can be reported on;
- allow the association to better align resources with strategic goals; and
- ensure the association is meeting membership needs and being more transparent.
I look forward to seeing many of you very soon in Seattle!
Sandy Hirsh, ASIS&T President-Elect