Strategic Planning Update
11/05/09 12:15 Filed in: SPS
A Message from the Chair of the Division
of Small Chemical Businesses, Peter Bonk
April 30, 2009
Hello all,
Last weekend the Executive Committee of your Division, the Division of Small Chemical Businesses (SCHB), along with additional Division members and ACS Staff, met in Washington DC for a Strategic Planning Session. Prior to our session in DC the SCHB membership was e-mailed a survey. Approximately 100 of our members, or 15% of the membership, returned the surveys. The results of the survey, as well as other considerations, guided us during the planning session.
In this note I would like to describe in broad terms how the Strategic Planning Session came about.
Membership in the SCHB has dropped from the levels we had in 2000 or even as recently as 2006. While not a good trend, this has to be seen within the context of the ACS and other Divisions. ACS membership has also declined since 2000 and 2006. Overall membership in Divisions have also dropped during these periods, with most, but not all Divisions seeing loss in membership.
As Division officers we want to make SCHB membership a more attractive proposition for ACS members. In 2008 the SCHB applied for and received a $7500 Division Innovation grant from the ACS to offset the cost of a Strategic Planning Session.
While we have a website, http://membership.acs.org/S/SCHB/, hold online voting, and deliver our newsletter electronically, we felt that the capabilities of web delivered services are not being fully utilized. Improving the functionality of the Division website is a cost-effective way to deliver significant, meaningful content to the SCHB membership.
There has also been growing consensus within the Division of Small Chemical Businesses that the name of the Division should be changed. While many of us have modest operations, the inclusion of “Small” in our name implies a limit that does not improve the perception of the Division. We will be considering new names for the Division in the coming weeks and months. The ACS has a process that must be followed for a name change to be effective, but the early steps of a choosing a new name are entirely in our hands.
In the coming weeks members of the Executive Committee will be sending out additional News Notes to describe in more detail the plans to move forward.
These plans are definitely a work in progress, and in making changes to the SCHB, we will need your involvement. We are always looking for help in the Division functions, as some activities will continue no matter what changes are made. Membership, Programming, Outreach Activities, Budget, Long Range Planning, Nominations, and Leadership Development are just a few of the areas where the SCHB needs member volunteers to step up and get involved.
Please contact me at peterjbonk@gmail.com or any other Division officer if you would like to be part of the re-inventing and re-branding of the Division of Small Chemical Businesses. I look forward to working with all of you.
Sincerely,
Peter J. Bonk, 2008-09 Chair, SCHB
For the entire Executive Committee and Strategic Planning Team
of Small Chemical Businesses, Peter Bonk
April 30, 2009
Hello all,
Last weekend the Executive Committee of your Division, the Division of Small Chemical Businesses (SCHB), along with additional Division members and ACS Staff, met in Washington DC for a Strategic Planning Session. Prior to our session in DC the SCHB membership was e-mailed a survey. Approximately 100 of our members, or 15% of the membership, returned the surveys. The results of the survey, as well as other considerations, guided us during the planning session.
In this note I would like to describe in broad terms how the Strategic Planning Session came about.
Membership in the SCHB has dropped from the levels we had in 2000 or even as recently as 2006. While not a good trend, this has to be seen within the context of the ACS and other Divisions. ACS membership has also declined since 2000 and 2006. Overall membership in Divisions have also dropped during these periods, with most, but not all Divisions seeing loss in membership.
As Division officers we want to make SCHB membership a more attractive proposition for ACS members. In 2008 the SCHB applied for and received a $7500 Division Innovation grant from the ACS to offset the cost of a Strategic Planning Session.
While we have a website, http://membership.acs.org/S/SCHB/, hold online voting, and deliver our newsletter electronically, we felt that the capabilities of web delivered services are not being fully utilized. Improving the functionality of the Division website is a cost-effective way to deliver significant, meaningful content to the SCHB membership.
There has also been growing consensus within the Division of Small Chemical Businesses that the name of the Division should be changed. While many of us have modest operations, the inclusion of “Small” in our name implies a limit that does not improve the perception of the Division. We will be considering new names for the Division in the coming weeks and months. The ACS has a process that must be followed for a name change to be effective, but the early steps of a choosing a new name are entirely in our hands.
In the coming weeks members of the Executive Committee will be sending out additional News Notes to describe in more detail the plans to move forward.
These plans are definitely a work in progress, and in making changes to the SCHB, we will need your involvement. We are always looking for help in the Division functions, as some activities will continue no matter what changes are made. Membership, Programming, Outreach Activities, Budget, Long Range Planning, Nominations, and Leadership Development are just a few of the areas where the SCHB needs member volunteers to step up and get involved.
Please contact me at peterjbonk@gmail.com or any other Division officer if you would like to be part of the re-inventing and re-branding of the Division of Small Chemical Businesses. I look forward to working with all of you.
Sincerely,
Peter J. Bonk, 2008-09 Chair, SCHB
For the entire Executive Committee and Strategic Planning Team