On September 16 and 17, 2011, leaders of the Neurology Section (Board of Directors, Special Interest Group Chairs, and Committee Chairs) gathered to initiate the Section's strategic plan for the next 5 years (2012-2016).

PREPARATION/SWOT ANALYSIS

Through a review of our previous strategic plan, the recent Research Strategic Plan, and a broad survey of the membership, prior to the strategic planning meeting, we identified strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT; Table 1), which then guided our planning.

Table 1. SWOT Analysis Summary

MISSION AND VISION

The planning group revised the existing mission and vision to reflect what and where we would like to be in 5 years and to guide the development of the strategic plan. Here are the final drafts:

Mission: The mission of the Neurology Section is to promote optimal recovery, wellness, and quality of life in persons with movement dysfunction due to neurologic conditions through advancement of evidence-based physical therapy practice, education, and research.

Vision: The Neurology Section will enable a collaborative network of consumers, clinicians, investigators, and others to enhance practice and influence policy and will be a leading partner in global rehabilitation communities to promote excellence in physical therapy practice.

GOALS

The plan includes 6 goals (Table 2), for which objectives (what will be achieved) and strategies/tactics (how the goals and objectives will be achieved) are being finalized. The goals reflect an emphasis on providing resources to practicing clinicians to maximize therapeutic outcomes across practice settings, partnering with internal and external entities to support practice and increase access to neurologic physical therapy, and facilitating research that informs practice.

Table 2. Goals

Next Steps

Working groups are refining the objectives, strategies, and tactics that were discussed during the planning meeting. The Board of Directors will then determine budgetary implications of each goal and a potential timeline for completion. The entire plan will be distributed to membership prior to CSM and then will be approved during the business meeting on Friday night of CSM. We encourage membership to review the plan and provide feedback; we also hope that members will be energized to volunteer to champion a goal, objective, strategy, or tactic. We will need your help in meeting these ambitious goals, but we know that our members have already done great things and are ready to take the Section to the next level. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you to move this exciting plan forward.