Did you know that the Board of Directors creates a strategic plan to direct decision-making efforts on behalf of the membership? And that a new plan is created every 3 years?

During the October 2020 development session, the Association for Nursing Professional Development (ANPD) Board of Directors created the current strategic plan. If you think of the plan as a roadmap, this plan helps focus and align ANPD resources and efforts for maximum impact. Through the process, the group decided on three strategic goals. These goals would have the greatest impact on positioning the organization to meet the future needs of nursing professional development (NPD) practitioners.

Goal 1: Maintain position as a strong organization.

Goal 2: Partner with other organizations.

Goal 3: Define and advocate for the NPD role.

Short- and mid-term action steps were identified based on conversations during and after the strategy session. These became the steps to achieve those goals.

Environmental scanning was used as the basis of the strategic plan. The ANPD Board of Directors conducted an environmental scan examining both internal and external data trends influencing health care and NPD practitioners. In 2020, this environmental scan included a variety of sources:

1. a member survey yielding 409 responses,

2. 37 member interviews conducted by board members to validate survey findings,

3. weekly Friday update e-mails,

4. scope and standards Delphi results,

5. trends in ANPD metrics,

6. analysis of healthcare and non-healthcare associations, and

7. pre-reading and group activities.

Some of the action steps accomplished toward each of the three goals include the following:

Goal 1: ANPD will continue to thrive as a strong organization by attracting and engaging a diverse membership base. Membership growth, membership diversity, membership engagement, providing ANPD affiliate resources, recruiting subject matter experts, creating a certificate of mastery for preceptors, refreshing ANPD logo and branding, website redesign, and increasing succession planning for development of future leaders in association are a few of the action steps accomplished toward this goal.

Goal 2: ANPD will build alliances with outside organizations (health care and other) that generate an advantageous return on investment for ANPD and its members. Increased association visibility at other healthcare events, strengthening financial partnerships with vendors, seeking partnerships with other nursing organizations, and collaborating with organizations for innovative educational strategies are a few of the action steps accomplished toward this goal.

Goal 3: ANPD will strategically position itself to advocate for the NPD specialty and provide members with resources, evidence, and research that equip them to demonstrate the value of their role. The published salary survey, providing free webinars to members, certification preparation offerings, providing both virtual and in-person conference opportunities, and maintain American Nurses Credentialing Center accreditation with distinction as a provider unit are a few of the action steps accomplished toward this goal.

As representative members of our association, the Board of Directors started the strategic planning process again for the new 3-year cycle in the spring of 2023. Member surveys, program feedback, trends in ANPD metrics, analysis of healthcare and non-healthcare associations, and Board of Director interviews of ANPD members were the major contributors to the environmental scan in preparation for the October 2023 session.

This planning process helps ANPD to stay focused on its vision and mission. "ANPD's mission is to advance quality health care by defining and promoting nursing professional development practice" (ANPD website, About Us). Please review the website for further detail about our core values of leadership, practice excellence, and inquiry, as well as copies of the current by-laws and strategic plan.

ANPD is a thriving professional association that provides direct and indirect resources for its members. It is a role model for other professional associations, and this author believes the effort used to develop and accomplish the strategic plan goals is a significant contributor to that success.