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Message from Michael J. McPhaden, 2010–2012 AGU President
(Published in Eos, Vol. 91, No. 30, 27 July 2010)
AGU Strategic Plan
The AGU Council adopted our new Strategic Plan on 7 June 2010 in Washington, DC
Planning Approach
In the past, we tied our planning activities to the 2-year horizon of elected leadership terms. Our focus was on near-term objectives with a 1-2 year outlook. Planning was heavily driven by headquarters, and participation was limited to a few people.
This new strategic plan is the result of a multistep, broadly inclusive planning process through which we have sought to create a shared vision for AGU's future within a vibrant, worldwide Earth and space science community.
Many members contributed to this strategic plan during the planning process or followed the development of this plan via AGU's blog.
Results
Our new plan includes an updated Mission, Vision, Values, and Goals responsive to your demands for a preeminent scientific union that advances our science and its societal impact. I hope you will take time to study the plan and consider how it relates to your science.
The Process
Steps in the planning process have included:
- Environmental Scan of the issues and trends affecting AGU.
- Forum for the Future, held in October 2009, where 55 participants from multiple perspectives began the work of setting AGU's future direction.
- AGU Council meeting, held in December 2009, where leaders discussed results of the Forum for the Future and provided input into the planning process.
- Strategic Planning Task Force meeting, held in Washington, DC in February 2010, where a strategic framework for practical action was created and refined based on the work of the Forum and the Council.
- Staff Planning Session in March 2010 where senior staff mapped existing activities to the new strategic plan and began to operationalize it by thinking about key strategic drivers—such as building technology capacity at headquarters—that must be acted on early in the planning process because many goals and objectives depend on them.
- Formal Adoption of the Plan by AGU Council at its meeting on 7 June 2010, after which the new 2010–2012 AGU Board of Directors and AGU Council worked with the plan to consider what each part of the organization is doing and can do to help advance AGU's goals.
Next steps:
- Metrics, i.e., measures for monitoring progress, will be created after the new Executive Director, Christine McEntee, joins AGU on 30 August 2010, to allow for her input. Ideas for possible measures already collected from the Strategic Planning Task Force and from staff will serve as the basis for discussion.
Strategic planning is a dynamic process, and I am pleased that our process over the past year has involved a wide range of stakeholders. Thank you to all who have contributed to making this effort a success.
Achieving our goals depends on contributions from all parts of the organization. To that end, I invite you to let me know what is most exciting or promising, from your perspective, about the plan. I would also like to hear from you each time you or your Section, Focus Group, Committee, or other AGU body do something that significantly contributes to the strategic plan.
It is through the efforts of you, our members around the world, that our vision will become reality.
If you wish to share your comments, please contact me at StrategicPlan@agu.org.
Sincerely,
Michael J. McPhaden
2010–2012 AGU President