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Notes from the SCAR President, number 19 (1 February 2010)
SCAR Strategic Plan - A Timeline
Colleagues,
I am pleased to report that the retreat of SCAR's leadership in Cambridge, England on January 14 and 15, 2010 was very productive, engendered important discussions, and signals the beginning of the formal strategic planning process for SCAR as an organization. The strategic plan is to be adopted by January 1, 2011 when it officially goes into effect. To accomplish this we will need your assistance and help over the next several months to develop a consensus about future directions for SCAR. It is important that you, as representatives of SCAR member nations, communicate the contents of the document to your national committees and scientific communities and that you provide feedback and input as the document goes through various drafts.
We begin this process with a few guiding principles: the process will be open and inclusive, the content of the document will reflect the consensus of all SCAR stakeholders, and the final document will be concise providing a succinct vision for the future that will guide future decision making and priority settings.
Tentatively, the document is entitled "SCAR Strategic Plan - 2011-2016 - Antarctic Science and Policy Advice in A Changing World", reflecting the dual mission of SCAR in science and advice. As with all other aspects of the document, the title is open for comment and revision if warranted.
To facilitate discussion, supporting documents and materials have been assembled in the Members Only section of the SCAR website under Strategic Planning. As a first step, I ask that each of you go to this site and review the documents provided. Based on the previous strategic plan and the recent external review, a draft Table of Contents has been agreed. This is subject to revision and as a second step, I request that you review the table of contents and ensure that you agree with the plan's overall organization. As a third step, please identify additional documents that you believe will add to the discussions (send suggestions to the Secretariat). The list is already quite long and comprehensive. It bodes well that most aspects of SCAR's mission have detailed plans already in place for use during this phase of planning.
The draft strategic plan begins with an introduction, vision, mission, and strategic goals statements. A "strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats" analysis is included. This "front material" will be simplified and redundant sections will be removed condensing this material to a few pages based on discussions at the retreat. As a fourth step, please read the vision, mission, and goals sections and indicate revisions or agreement.
To ensure timely and wide review, the following timeline is proposed (subject to revision):
14 and 15 January 2010 - Strategic planning retreat - complete;
28 February 2010 - Secretariat to produce the First draft based on retreat outcomes;
1 March 2010 - First draft to strategic planning meeting group and Executive Committee for comment (wider comment by SRPs and other science leaders as appropriate);
15 March 2010 - Comments due from planning meeting group, Executive Committee, and other groups;
1 April 2010 - Second Draft sent to Delegates and ICSU Union members for initial comment;
1 May 2010 - First round of comments due from Delegates and ICSU Union members;
1 June 2010 - Third draft sent for second round of comment by Delegates and sent to partner organizations for comment (COMNAP, CCAMLR, and others as necessary);
1 July 2010 - Comments due on third draft;
9-11 August 2010 - Delegates Meeting - discussion and conditional approval of the plan;
1 October 2010 - Fourth revision completed and posted for final comments by all parties;
1 November 2010 - Final comments and revision to final draft;
1 December 2010 - Final draft circulated to SCAR members for final approval;
1 January 2011 - Final Approved Strategic Plan goes into force.
As a fifth step please indicate if you agree with the timeline.
As a final comment, everyone at the retreat agreed that SCAR was on a very positive trajectory and that this phase of strategic planning was an opportunity for minor adjustments and addressing any chronic issues but it is not intended as a major shift in SCAR's priorities or management. The greatest challenge, as pointed out by the external review committee, is to maintain the momentum that has been generated by SCAR's re-organization and the IPY. A clear vision for the future and explicit and realistic plans to implement actions to realize the goals will serve the organization well in the years to come. To accomplish this we need your participation, opinions, expertise and input. As stated in the plan, the intent is "to foster a strong sense of dedication and commitment in SCAR's constituents to ensure that the actions necessary to implement and attain organizational goals are undertaken and brought to successful conclusions". I hope that you share this ambition!
Chuck K.
President of SCAR
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