For some genealogical societies, creating or updating their strategic plan is seen as a painful waste of time. They don’t see how a vision, mission and value statements will help the society move forward and attract new members. They don’t understand that without a vision, it is like sailing without a rudder.
Let’s be honest. No one jumps for joy at the thought of working on a strategic plan whether it is for a corporation or a charitable organization. No one gets excited when they read the final draft.
While developing a strategic plan will not help members break down any genealogical brick walls, it is an essential process if a society wants to remain vibrant, retain members, and attract new people.
For the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO), the time to produce a strategic plan was now. Next year, the society will celebrate its 25th anniversary.
I applaud the BIFHSGO board of directors and members who devoted many hours, days, and probably weeks, if not months, of their personal time to produce the vision, mission and value statements. From those core elements, they are building the strategic plan for the organization.
In an email message sent to all BIFHSGO members Saturday, President Duncan Monkhouse said, “In the spirit of continuous improvement and to ensure the continued relevance of our Society in the future, we have been working hard to create a strategic plan for BIFHSGO’s future.”
Mr. Monkhouse shared with members that a group of 14 BIFHSGO members participated in a day-long strategic planning session in June, led by a paid facilitator.
He briefly explained the process. “The group used a standard SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis technique to identify and analyze the vital aspects of BIFHSGO that should be either emphasized or improved. Turns out,” he added, “we are a busy society doing many things well but still have some key opportunities and weaknesses we want to address.”
BIFHSGO’s new vision, mission and value statements are available to the public on the society’s website.
Its vision is “to connect, educate, share and inspire.”
Next month, the board will begin reporting on the goals and actions identified to guide the society’s future.
At the February monthly meeting, the president will present the board’s plans for the coming years. The meeting is open to the public and a recording of the presentations, as with all monthly meetings and conference presentations, will likely be made available to members.
Kudos to BIFHSGO’s board for taking on this initiative and doing the right thing. I’m sure it wasn’t easy.
Savoir faire is an occasional feature about genealogists and genealogical societies that are doing good things. To read about other creative and inspirational ideas, click on the ‘Savoir faire’ category in the right margin.
