Inside the Board’s Operational Planning

Dr. David Flanigan, CSEP - Chapter President--2022

Welcome to spring!  Your chapter Board of Directors (BoD) had completed the chapter’s operations plans, and we wanted to take a minute to explain what goes into the planning, and how members can help.

This is typically something that the chapter starts at the beginning of the calendar year, and starts with a new BoD, which is when our board members start their term.  Officially, they’re sworn in at the first chapter meeting in January.  But those that have been through the process can start planning early.  Usually the BoD will get together with the incoming and outgoing members as they do their turnover with their counterparts; some may know the new members and some may not, so may take a bit of time to jell together as a team.  Obviously, having a live forum for interaction may help an easier transition (over a virtual one), but each team is unique and as its own collective personality. 

Then the BoD starts planning the yearly operations plan.  This is required for all INCOSE chapters, and is used most often to determine what the focus for the chapter should be.  These needs may be derived from last year’s BoD performance, lessons learned on what worked well and what needed changes, or corporate knowledge from seasoned BoD members.  We may also draw inspiration from other chapters’ performance and what we may have seen from interaction with other chapters that we met at INCOSE functions, or knew from other events.

Much of the material can be reused from previous years, and all members get a chance to refine their chapter roles and expected efforts throughout the year.  The programs director will focus on what events are planned for the year – typically the chapter will support the two INCOSE international events, monthly chapter meetings, STEM fairs, and our annual gala.  The communications director will focus on the expected communications to be delivered to the chapter in the form of newsletters, advertising from our sponsors, and social media updates, to name a few.  The membership director will focus on the retention of existing members and recruitment of new members, and work closely with the programs director for other events, such as job fairs in the local area, where INCOSE membership can help job seekers to more effectively network with employers with shared interests.  The secretary will focus on the documentation and safeguarding of chapter physical assets.  The treasurer will maintain ownership of the chapter finances, to ensure that we have sufficient funds to cover the expected chapter activities.  The entire BoD collaborates on a budget to ensure that the planned activities are within the expected finances.  The president, past-president, and president-elect work together to ensure a continual support of the chapter leadership.  Other special committees are formed to serve the chapter, such as the social, certification, scholarship, corporate relations, and others. 

The strategic plan for our chapter is developed on a five-year cycle, and aligns with the International INCOSE goals and strategic objectives

So what does this mean for our members? If you’re interested in getting involved with the chapter, every little bit helps! These can be contributions to committees, individual contributions based on your skillset (e.g. if you’re very social media-savvy, this can be to update and promote the chapter’s LinkedIn or Facebook accounts), or if you want to plan and/or participate in the upcoming events, to name a few.

Perhaps you'd consider participating with us more behind the scenes? Each month chapter meetings highlight a variety of opportunities and activities for members but that is often just the tip of the iceberg. Reach out, we want to hear from you! Consider this your invitation to getting more engaged!