Updating APA’s strategic vision

In 2019, APA’s Council of Representatives (Council) adopted a new strategic plan for the association—only the second in its nearly 130-year history. The strategic plan was developed over the course of a year in a highly engaging and inclusive year-long process—designed to deliver a shared set of principles and strategies that guide the work we do and how we do it, ultimately enhancing APA’s impact on the field of psychology and broader society.

Since the strategic plan was adopted, APA has regularly gathered information to assess progress in advancing its short- and long-term goals. Rooted in our organizational foundation of science and our belief in data-driven decision making, we are asking questions that probe the effectiveness of APA’s transformation in accomplishing our mission and achieving impact.

Four years into the implementation of this strategic vision, the data show we are building momentum on a wide range of issues. I encourage you to check out the Impact in Action report (PDF, 1.75MB)opens in new window from February 2023, reflecting on APA’s strategic plan and the progress to date. This progress is possible because of the collective efforts of APA’s members, elected and appointed leaders, and staff.

Council, in its original charge to create a new strategic plan for the association, also determined that APA would assess its progress every five years, adjusting and modifying the plan as needed to ensure we are maximizing our impact. As such, we have developed a plan to carry out that charge.

As with the current strategic plan, our goals for the co-creation of the updated strategic plan are that it will be:

• Engaging: Offering the opportunity for every member, leader, and employee of the association to share their thoughts about our progress to-date and how and whether the plan needs to evolve to further our progress.
• Transparent: Ensuring regular updates are provided to all through this blog, in newsletters, on mailing lists, and in other communications.
• Aspirational: Keeping our eye on truly moving the association and field forward and capitalizing on our full potential.
• Actionable: Ensuring that we will continue to have the biggest impact on the issues that matter most to our members.

Because we are starting with a comprehensive co-created strategic plan that is only four years old, the work we are doing this time is necessarily more complex—how do we push harder on what is working, uncover what is not, and ensure that our destination and purpose is aligned with a world that has changed dramatically since 2018?

The answer to that question is, we do it together.

The timeline for this strategic plan update includes data gathering, with feedback to Council in August, followed by synthesis, plan development, and sharing the results.

• Phase one: Data gathering. Over the coming months, members, leaders, and staff will be offered different types of opportunities to share their perspective—from surveys, to focus groups, to chances to offer comments and feedback online. Our goal is to ensure that your ideas are heard, considered, and applied in the updating of the plan. The target date to accomplish this phase of the work is August 2023.
• Phase two: Synthesis. The second phase will involve a synthesis of the input provided, and an iterative process with our members, elected-and-appointed leaders, and staff to share what was heard and see what still might need to be captured. The target date to accomplish this phase of the work is October 2023.
• Phase three: Plan updates. The third phase will take all the input and data gathered and use this information to update the existing strategic goals and objectives as needed. The target date to accomplish this phase of the work is late November 2023.
• Phase four: Sharing the result. The last phase will involve sharing the draft plan with leadership, members, and staff, using tools like webinars and this blog, as well as presentations and conversations at convenings like the December 2023 Board of Directors meeting. This part of the plan will culminate in early February 2024 with a presentation at the Council meeting, at which time Council will vote on whether to adopt the plan.

Updating the co-created vision that Council put forth in 2019 means focusing on our members and leadership and working with a handful of expert staff to facilitate the process.

• Staff lead: In close collaboration with myself and other APA leadership, Ian King, MBA, Chief of Membership and Strategic Implementation, is leading the process of updating the strategic plan.
• Advisory group: A diverse set of Council members and other elected and appointed leaders are serving on our Strategic Plan Update Advisory Group to help shape and guide this process. Many thanks to those involved: Tammy Allen, PhD; Jacks Cheng, PhD, EdM; Bryanna French, PhD; Lisa Grossman, JD, PhD; Chuck Hollister, PhD; Debra Kawahara, PhD; Laura Koppes-Bryan, PhD; Rebecca McHugh, PhD; Arlene Noriega, PhD; Tiffany Parisi, PhD; and Jeffrey Zacks, PhD.

Updating APA’s strategic vision will, by definition, take all of us. I look forward to working together with you all to move APA and psychology forward.

A.C.E.