ACP COMPLETES STRATEGIC

PLANNING PROCESS

ACP leaders from the national and chapter level met virtually on June 8 & 9 to craft a new strategic plan document. The expanded Leadership Team made use of the feedback from ACP Chapter Presidents, members and former members to create a series of 5 areas of focus. The group also revisited the mission of the organization and formed a marketing and communication strategy.

ACP National Chair Michael Gifford has been impressed with the process. “Wow. The Strategic Planning session was a major milestone for us.  The 2022 Board came together as a team and we included Chapter Leaders too. Our FirstPoint team did a great job pulling together a fast-paced and effective plan for the sessions and then kept the whole planning team on task. We have a solid, prioritized direction forward and can’t wait to share this process with ACP members. It was a win-win for everyone.”

The group included some additional key components to the ACP mission to capture the importance of embracing our diverse community and expanded to resilience professionals to ensure the essence of ACP and its future is clear. Our new mission is, “ACP connects and supports a diverse community of continuity and resilience professionals,” the team worked through the 28-page strategic planning survey report. Data from the report helped form areas of focus, known as KRAs or Key Results Areas. Here are some specifics from the plan.

• The group flagged technology as a major obstacle to effective operations. The plan calls for immediate assessment of the technology applications used at the national and chapter level, an evaluation of the types of technology needed to help ACP national and chapters accomplish the organization’s mission and replacing or upgrading current tools.
• The area of finance and governance is a high priority. Issues related to financial sustainability, transparency in reporting, leadership development, and improved governance documentation were included in KRA 2 of the plan.
• Chapters were a major point of focus, particularly in enhancing or reinventing the relationship between national and chapters and developing a more substantial infrastructure for chapters to communicate with each other, as well as national.
• The group will also be combing through the strategic planning survey data to identify opportunities to create, repair or enhance our communication strategy and our professional development strategy.

Plan implementation has already begun. A newly formed ACP Technology Committee met on June 14 to review the first KRA and how to start the assessment and data gathering process. Technology Committee Chair Dr. Bernard Jones summarized the meeting and next steps. “Our committee had a great meeting. Much has already been accomplished; we are off and running and eager to see the results of our technology data-gathering survey.”

Please be on the lookout for more information about strategic plan implementation as we report on progress.