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 Previous: Division and Section ARRL Leadership Prepared for Gustav |  Next: As Gustav Pounds Louisiana, Local and Area Hams are Ready |
David Sumner, K1ZZ
ARRL Chief Executive Officer
September 01, 2008
From time to time the ARRL Board of Directors tackles the formidable task of strategic planning. The mission of the ARRL — to advance Amateur Radio and advocate on its behalf — is well understood, but the resources available to us are limited and the environment in which we pursue that mission is dynamic and somewhat unpredictable.
Strategic planning is an imperfect but necessary art. It involves:
In July 2006 the Board devoted the second day of its meeting to a revision of the League's Strategic Plan. The document was refined by the Executive Committee in October 2006 and adopted by mail vote of the Board later that month. The Plan begins with a list of ten-year assumptions and key external trends that may represent future opportunities or threats. Space precludes listing them all, but here are some examples:
Next the Plan lists the key questions -- the "mega issues" -- that we must try to answer as we confront these opportunities and challenges, for example:
There are other aspects to the Plan, but the Board's vision is best summarized in the following five long-range goals for 2014, the League's Centennial Year:
The Board intends to conduct a top-to-bottom review of the Strategic Plan at its July 2009 meeting. As a part of the process leading up to that review, the Board would like to hear from you. You are invited to share your thoughts on the future direction and priorities of your national association.
The current ARRL Strategic Plan, down to the level of the long-range goals listed above, is posted at www.arrl.org/stratplan. (To view the Plan you will have to be logged into the Web site as an ARRL member.) Please look it over with the following questions in mind:
The Board wants to tap the wealth of experience, in virtually every field imaginable, that exists within the ARRL membership. Your job and your other activities and interests outside of Amateur Radio may give you a unique insight that will contribute to the success of our planning endeavor. Your detailed knowledge of some aspect of Amateur Radio could illuminate an opportunity that the Board itself might overlook.
In particular, we need the perspective of newer members and amateur licensees. Those of us who have enjoyed decades of involvement in Amateur Radio know that what attracted us is quite different from what attracted you. We know that our needs as ARRL members are likely to be different from yours. But -- as hard as we may try -- we cannot put ourselves in your shoes. To do a better job of serving today's and tomorrow's radio amateurs, we need to hear from you.
The Web site will explain how to share your input with the Board and with your fellow members. If you would like to participate but do not have Web access, drop me a note (the address is on page 14).
With your help, the next revision of the ARRL's Strategic Plan will set the stage for a successful Second Century for our national association -- and for Amateur Radio itself.
| Previous: Division and Section ARRL Leadership Prepared for Gustav | Next: As Gustav Pounds Louisiana, Local and Area Hams are Ready |
