2021 Annual Report
Board/Committee Members:
Teri L. Strong, PhD, Chair (public policy representative)
Norah Aldawsari, MS (affiliate representative)
Merry Bullock, PhD (international affairs representative)
Gabrielle Jones, PhD (business representative)
Julie Radico. PhD (eEarly career representative)
Merranda Marin, PhD (science/academic representative)
Nancy Sidun, PhD (technology representative)
Jessica Smedley, PhD (diversity representative)
Stepyhanie Vitanza, PhD (applied psychology representative)
Staff Liaison(s):
Sonja Wiggins, MBA
List activities/initiatives and explain how these relate to the APA strategic plan
Topic 1
Issues scanning
The Membership Board identified issues and needs regarding specific fields of study in psychology. The Membership Board worked closely with the Membership Office to define issues, opportunities, and challenges across all of psychology to enhance the value and services of membership in APA. This will help elevate the Membership Board to lead other boards and committees to the trends and needs in membership. The Membership Board engaged in an issues scanning process during the first quarter of the year and focused on three main initiatives for the 2021 year, as outlined in the summary below.
Topic 2:
Establishment of the Psychology Ally program
The Membership Board worked in close collaboration with the Membership Office to develop a new non-member category called Psychology Ally (or other similar title). The following recommendation was made to the APA Board of Directors at their December 2021 meeting and asked them to approve
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The creation of the Psychology Ally program that would provide individuals who are not eligible for any APA membership category the opportunity to pay an annual fee to be afforded access to digital content, non-member/non-exclusive APA newsletter subscriptions, and discounted rates for APA Publishing products, APA trainings, APA Convention and events and;
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That the initial annual fee for the Psychology Ally program will be $149 and that the Membership Office may adjust the fee as it deems appropriately in future years.
The Psychology Ally program is for individuals who have a professional interest in, or are supportive of, the issues addressed by, or the populations served by, APA and psychology. Those who are eligible for APA membership (including Member, Associate, Graduate Student Member, Student Affiliate, Teacher Affiliate, or International Affiliate of APA) would not be eligible for the Psychology Ally program. This proposal is recommended by the Membership Board who developed the proposal in collaboration with the Membership Office.
Strategic Priorities
The Psychology Ally program is aligned with and supports the following APA strategic goals and objectives:
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Elevate the public’s understanding of, regard for, and use of psychology.
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Make psychological science accessible and understandable to the public and key decision makers.
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Become a go-to organization for the public regarding the quality and effectiveness of psychology-related products and services.
Prepare the discipline and profession of psychology for the future.
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Ensure that psychology functions as a hub of interdisciplinary collaboration.
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Make psychological science accessible and understandable to the public and key decision makers.
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Become a go-to organization for the public regarding the quality and effectiveness of psychology-related products and services.
Implementation
If approved by the Board of Directors, the program will be implemented over two quarters (approximately six months) as it will require development of an intake form to collect basic contact information of the Psychology Ally, a payment system (PayPal), a marketing campaign, tracking and reporting. APA has competencies and structures as well as existing technology platforms and systems for like programs, as used for various subscription and event products. This will include the ability to automate the introduction of Psychology Ally program directly to the thousands of ineligible applications as they come in. Implementation of any changes would take place as part of the 2022 budget year.
Result
The APA Board of Directors voted in their December 2021 meeting to approve the concept of a Psychology Ally program and the Membership Office, Membership Board and other APA leaders will work together to further refine the program.
Topic 3
Update mission statement of the membership board
The Membership Board worked in collaboration with the Membership Office to update the mission of the Membership Board to reflect the current roles and responsibilities of Membership Board.
Background
The mission of the Membership Board has changed with the establishment of the Membership Office in 2016, therefore the Membership Board’s mission needed to be updated to accurately reflect the work of the Membership Board going forward.
Outcome
The Membership Board developed of a revised mission statement that reflects the new purpose and mission of the Membership Board. This revised statement was submitted as a new business Item for approval by the Council of Representatives at its February 2022 meeting to revise Bylaw Article XI and Association Rule 10-2
Main motion
That the Board of Directors recommends that Council approve forwarding to the membership for a vote the following amendment to Article XI, Section 2 of the APA Bylaws.
Topic 4
Defining the Membership Board’s Relationship with the Membership Office
The purpose of this initiative was to establish direction for the Membership Board as to how they can help fulfill the mission of the Membership Office and the APA Strategic Plan.
Outcome
The Membership Board worked in collaboration with the Membership Board to develop a plan to increase the effectiveness of the partnership with the Membership Office in an advisory capacity on an ongoing basis. A solution charter for the Membership Board and Membership Office was established and is attached to this report. This solution charter will be considered a living document and will be updates as needed to reflect the changing needs of the membership initiatives at APA.
Here is a summary of the team charter, including the overview/background, desired outcomes and strategic alignment:
Overview / Background
Summarize the concept and problem/opportunity to be addressed and the key reasons why APA has decided to invest in finding a solution.
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To define the roles and responsibilities of the Membership Board and Office as we seek to recruit, engage and retain members in APA.
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To achieve greater clarity and agreement on how we can collaborate more effectively.
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To determine the capacity available in both entities and to employ that capacity to the greatest effect in serving APA’s membership.
Desired Outcomes
What are the desired outcomes of a solution to the problem/opportunity? Outcomes (results) are related to the problem/opportunity overall, not individual outputs (activities) undertaken in support of the desired outcomes. In other words, you’re quantifying what it might look like if the solution is successful (e.g., achieve 10% increase in psychology PhD and PsyD program applications), as opposed to the goals of activities intended to drive success (e.g., send psychology brochures to 85% of U.S. undergraduate programs). Learn more in the SDF glossary.
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To continue and accelerate the growth of APA membership.
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The membership board has a comprehensive understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the membership office and how the membership board at a collective and individual level can best contribute to these activities.
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To increase overall member satisfaction.
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To ensure the activities of the Membership Board and MO contribute to the advancement of the APA EDI Framework.
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To increase our collective understanding of the needs and interests of subcommunities within the membership and potential members of APA.
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Ensure that all members (but with a specific emphasis on these categories) feel welcome, valued, empowered, and engaged.
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Grow the pool of non-member contacts to grow awareness, interest and recruitment as well as overall brand affinity
Strategic Alignment
How do the concept and solution align with the top-level strategic objectives? Use the table below to identify what specific top-level goals or objectives–from the Strategic Plan, Executive Leadership Team (ELT), and/or your chief – a solution would support and how.
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Engage with and deliver value to members.
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Champion diversity and inclusion.
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Advocate for psychology and psychologists.
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Build a stronger association.
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Make an impact.
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Embrace a global perspective.
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Increase organizational effectiveness.
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Attract, diversify, develop, and support the next generation of psychology professionals.
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Expand the public’s perception of psychology to accurately reflect the full breadth of the field.
Additional Information Regarding Activities of the Membership Board:
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The Membership Board met on a monthly basis, including the spring and fall consolidated meetings.
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The Board updated the decision-tree for reviewing applications that needed further review, based on the membership criteria, to increase inter-rater reliability in reviewing membership applications.
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A total of 342 applications were reviewed by the Membership Board in 2021 and recommendations were provided as to membership status.
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Liaisons from the Membership Board were actively engaged with BSA, BPA, CECP, APAGS, BAAPI, and CIRP. The Membership Board also worked closely with the Exploratory Committee on Applied Psychology regarding their efforts to establish a Board of Applied Psychology.
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Supported the self-study process of the Fellows Committee.