ACS COMMENT
ACS’s Road Map— Strategically Speaking BONNIE A. CHARPENTIER, CHAIR, BOARD OF DIRECTORS
WHERE IS the American Chemical Society
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science education, research, knowledge, interaction, and collaboration. ■
ACS will be a global leader in enlisting the world’s scientific professionals to address, through chemistry, the challenges facing our world. ■
ACS will be a leader in communicating to the general public the nature and value of chemistry and related sciences.
JOHN TENNIEL, “ALICE IN WONDERLAND,” 1866 EDITION
going? What do you think is the right road for ACS? For example, do you think that ACS should focus more on addressing the world’s sustainability challenges, such as energy, water, and food? What do you think of our approach to providing information resources? Is advocating for the science, or communicating the nature and value of chemistry to the public, important to you? What should the role of ACS be globally? What do you find most challenging in your work as a chemistry professional? How can ACS help you reach your goals? What resources do you get elsewhere that you wish ACS would provide? What are the key goals and outcomes that ACS strategy should pursue? The ACS strategic plan serves as the foundation for everything we do—it’s the road map. The strategic plan is meant to capture the broad, overarching goals of the society, and as such, it should not change radically each year. Since its inception, the plan has evolved annually to respond to the challenges and opportunities that we and our science face. The tactics to take us down the right roads toward the goals change as we face new situations and have new ideas. We are currently reviewing the plan to adapt it for 2011, and we would appreciate your ideas and input. The ACS Board Planning Committee—whose members are John E. Adams of the Budget & Finance Committee; Eric C. Bigham, District IV director; William F. Carroll Jr., a director-at-large; Denise L. Creech, director of Membership & Scientific Advancement; Joseph S. Francisco, president; Thomas R. Gilbert of the Council Policy Committee; Nancy B. Jackson, president-elect; Madeleine S. Jacobs, executive director and chief executive officer; Thomas H. Lane, immediate past-president; Lee H. Latimer of the Local Section Activities Committee; David J.
“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” THE CHESHIRE CAT, FROM LEWIS CARROLL’S “ALICE IN WONDERLAND.”
Lohse of the Divisional Activities Committee; Diane Grob Schmidt, District II director; and John R. Sullivan, chief information officer—which I chair, has discussed and drafted suggestions for the 2011 strategic plan. The draft high-level strategic goals proposed by the Board Planning Committee are the following: ■ ACS will be the indispens-
able global professional and information resource for members and other chemistry-related practitioners. ■
ACS will be a preeminent global scientific community that engages members and other scientific professionals to advance the society’s vision and mission, including
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■ ACS will be the premier advocacy organization for members and the profession, creating and supporting the implementation of position statements.
You may note that there is a change in the number of goals from six to five. This suggestion is based on the thought that the current sixth goal, that of financial sustainability, is qualitatively different from the other goals, and is also fundamental to achieving the other goals, so it should be presented differently. The Planning Committee welcomes your thoughts. One problem with formulating goals by committee is that the words may become stilted or fail to convey the importance or immediacy of the aspirations. If you have suggestions on how to better articulate our strategic plan so that it is more meaningful to you, or if you have any other suggestions, your ideas on the revisions to the plan for 2011 (and beyond) are welcome. We have established a discussion about ACS strategic priorities on the ACS Network at com munities.acs.org/groups/acs-strategic-plan. Please take a moment to leave a comment there, or e-mail your ideas to strategicplan@ acs.org. We would like to hear from you at any time, but preferably before Sept. 15. The ACS strategic plan defines where we want to go, and the detailed sections regarding strategies and tactics provide the road map. We thank you for your contributions and participation in the ACS journey. ■
