2020-2024 Strategic Plan
This plan was started in 2019 by the Strategic Plan Committee under the leadership of Past President, Sarah Hutton. We received feedback from our Board of Directors during our 2020 summer retreat and worked with the Strategic Plan Finalization Task Force (Kari Mofford, Kathrine Aydelott, Erin Jerome, Michael Rodriguez, Lia Horton, and Susanna Cowan) during fall 2020 to finish the plan. We have included an expanded version that contains description and background for justification as well as current work on the plan by additional Ad Hoc Committees. Please contact us (kmofford@umassd.edu) with you feedback and questions!
November 2020
Goal 1: Improve and Optimize Organizational Structure
Our organization is a non-profit, all volunteer board comprised of members with varying term lengths. Through feedback surveys from our members, as well as through discussions with the board, several issues have arisen with the current structure. Addressing these issues would strengthen our organization by creating realistic and sustainable volunteer opportunities, providing more effective communication and outreach, and allow us to reevaluate our mission.
Supporting Strategies:
1. Review the structure, membership and position cycling of the board
a. Re-evaluate Vice President, President, Past President, and Past Past President positions for realistic workloads, time commitments, and successful transitions.
b. Investigate compensation opportunities for board positions
c. Create onboarding procedures for new board members
d. Create regular and consistent offboarding practices
2. Review and evaluate all channels of internal and external communication
a. Assess current methods of board communication
b. Assess communication with chapter membership
c. Assess communication with SIG members and program attendees
d. Investigate and pilot new technologies for workflow and communications optimization
3. Evaluate and update our chapter’s mission
a. Review the communities we serve
b. Review and create procedures to promote diversity and inclusion
c. Review our main mission
d. Review our relationship with ACRL National
Goal 2: Strengthen Organizational Health
Making sure everyone is well informed at all times, particularly through transitions, is challenging for a large, all-volunteer organization whose board only meets officially four times a year. We have identified several areas in which to improve communication, both within the board and to our members.
Supporting Strategies:
1. Create more transparency within the organization
a. Increase frequency of communication with chapter membership
b. Share how decisions are being made and discussions are being had
c. Create better understanding and transparency of what is involved with board participation
d. Investigate implementations of open board meeting
2. Prioritize documentation through better methods and procedures
a. Determine if meeting minutes should be publicly available
b. Draw attention to chapter manual and bylaws
c. Create sustainable records retention and management
d. Establish sustainable support model for the Open Access Repository (OAR) or internal board documents.
3. Establish onboarding and continuity plans for board members
a. Reduce barriers and increase communication around the nomination process
b. Strengthen continuity of SIG leadership
c. Establish standardized onboarding checklist for SIGs
4. Examine organization’s culture for opportunities to manage change
a. Create a culture that has an accessible knowledge base
b. Foster flexibility and collaboration
c. Focus on change management
d. Identify and break down barriers to participation in chapter leadership
Goal 3: Improve Structure and Support for Programming
Our main mission is to provide accessible, affordable programming for our members through our SIGs, some committees (such as Leadership Development), and our annual conference. Programs require a large amount of time and effort, so we need to explore ways to better support our members with this work.
Supportive Strategies:
1. Invest in our special interest groups (SIGs)
a. Foster coordination between SIGs, with the chapter board, and with membership
b. Create a standard practices, policies, and programming protocols document
c. Increase marketing and opportunities for raising awareness
d. Support SIG leadership with standardized onboarding and offboarding processes
e. Create opportunities for increased membership and member engagement
2. Focus on regional partnerships and collaborations
a. Engage in outreach to peer and aspirant organizations such as New England Library Association, Boston Library Consortium, and state library associations
b. Explore ways to develop broader reach and impact
c. Pursue original programming, decreasing duplication and competition between organizations
d. Leverage shared calendars, membership crossover, and timely topics of shared interest
3. Standardize assessment practices and procedures
a. Rollout a standardized evaluative assessment protocol for all programs
b. Rollout standardized formative assessment strategy looking at efficacy and chapter goals
4. Investigate alternative targeted programming
a. Increase virtual programming options and opportunities
b. Create accessible networking and social engagement opportunities
c. Facilitate communities of support
d. Establish and maintain accessible programming allowing for equitable participation