The College has gone through a lot of changes under Vision 2020 to better serve practicing allergists, and we recognize the importance of involving our committees in this process. We asked Michael Blaiss, MD, FACAAI, executive medical director, to share insights on the College’s strategic planning process for 2018-2020.
Q: How did the Vision Advisory Group work together to develop the 2018-2020 Strategic Plan?
A: The College has had great success with Vision 2020 since its launch in 2015 and we want to continue to build on the momentum. Earlier this year in Chicago, the Vision Advisory Group had a strategic retreat to plan initiatives for 2018-2020. To guide these discussions, we asked our members to share their views on the College’s priorities in a “pulse survey” administered prior to the retreat. The working session focused on evaluating themes, opportunities, and challenges that the College may encounter over the next three years and develop a series of prioritized projects to become the focus of the 2018–2020 Strategic Plan.
Reingold, our strategic partner, facilitated the discussion starting with a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis of the College followed by reviewing opportunities and projects the College might pursue in our key areas of focus — Annals, organizational reform, advocacy, practice management, annual meeting, public engagement, member engagement and education.
Following this discussion, the Vision Advisory Group participated in an exercise to determine three to four priority projects under each key area of focus for 2018. The projects, once approved by the Board of Regents, will move forward with many related to our committees and councils.
Q: What will be the role of committees in implementing this plan?
A: The College’s committees will play a major role in implementing the strategies in the Strategic Plan. We envision committees taking an active role in setting goals and proposing specific projects and tasks related to their charter that would benefit the practicing allergist. We‘ll be bringing together committee chairs and vice chairs at the Annual Meeting to start talking about this process for 2018. We will also look at how we can make the best use of the vast talent and expertise of our committees over the next three years and beyond. The meeting will allow committee leaders to discuss their goals and challenges with the College’s leadership, share initiatives, and identify outlets for collaboration. We’ll also discuss means to recognize the work of outstanding committee members.
