2030 Strategic Plan

 

 

VERSION EN ESPAÑOL

 

During 2024, we worked with the strategic planning consultants from oen studios and The Bridge Sisters to guide and provide feedback on their process and report. Overall, we think that they did an excellent job in collecting and analyzing data from our members and in producing insights about what our members would like to see IAFFE do over the next five years. We very strongly encourage every board member to read the report before the board meeting discussion of this memo, since we focus on implementation here rather than repeating the conclusions in the report. 

We have reviewed and discussed the report’s recommendations in order to make suggestions to the board about implementing the report.  In this memo, we will suggest what to focus on, who should focus on it (which committee and/or staff members), and what resources are likely to be needed.  The report proposes three general categories of strategy for IAFFE:  representation, solidarity, and influence. We suggest that the concept of “inclusion” is a better fit than “representation,” so below we focus on inclusion, solidarity, and influence.  We also discuss the IAFFE mission statement.

We also suggest that each board committee be asked to undertake a “responsibility exercise” that involves discussing how that committee can add to the implementation of the strategic plan and what resources would be needed. 

Inclusion 

“Our goal is to ensure IAFFE’s membership, programs, and organizational experiences are equitable, inclusive, and reflective of the IAFFE community’s diversity.” p 35

Being inclusive of all members across many dimensions of diversity has long been a goal of IAFFE, and the report confirms its importance to our members. The report lists many dimensions of diversity within IAFFE that relate to the degree of access and equity within our organization. In addition to the categories on pp 35-36, there are other kinds of diversity within IAFFE that are important to note and to be inclusive of, including diversity of ideas, seniority, and income. 

Delegation: The Membership Committee has been taking the lead on similar issues over the last few years, and we recommend that the Membership Committee be delegated with working on the more detailed recommendations in the report related to inclusion. We note that some of the assessments suggested can build on the work of the strategic planning process itself as well as other recent efforts to learn more about our members. 

Resources:  Staff time might be necessary to assist the Membership Committee. 

Solidarity

“Our goal is to build and sustain an accessible online global community and network that facilitates consistent engagement and connection among IAFFE members and across the FE movement.” p 38

This recommendation also builds on recent efforts in IAFFE, which go beyond an online focus. For example, the establishment of regional committees or hubs (a recommendation) is in process already through the Membership Committee. We’ve been building more online capacity for engagement by our members with MemberClicks, two listservs, and a WhatsApp channel in development. We are also already thinking about member concerns about privacy and security in those environments. We suggest including travel grants in this section of recommendations.


Delegation: 
  1. For continuity, the regional committee/hub development process should continue to be overseen by the membership committee. 
  2. For continuity, the online technical issues should be delegated to staff as they involve administrative and communications expertise. 
  3. The development & programs committee should be tasked with seeking support for regional hub activities, including travel grants. 

Resources: Staff time; financial resources are likely to be needed by hubs

Influence

“Our goal is to communicate the real-world impact and applications of IAFFE programs and members’ research to establish IAFFE as a thought leader in FE and bridge the gap between academic research and practice.” p. 42

Here we begin by noting the enormous change in the political context since the report was written. The importance of supporting each other in times of backlash is essential. In thinking about the impact we have and want to have, the stakes have risen.

We spent some time on the committee discussing who IAFFE represents in thinking about influence–itself as an organization or its members? Also, who are the audiences we hope to influence?  We see the organization as supporting its members, not being an advocacy group per se that has a single voice to be amplified. We also agreed that this particular strategy will require a long term conversation within IAFFE to think about this issue. 
We noted several ways of expanding our influence collectively that have been suggested at one time or another.  They are worthy of continued discussion:
  • A new journal focusing on policy
  • A new journal focusing on feminist political economy 
  • Starting an IAFFE podcast
  • Creating a platform for public engagement and disseminating research findings
  • Helping IAFFE members to build relationships with people in social movements, in the policy world, and in influential NGOs
  • Connecting IAFFE to other networks and organizations with policy influence, including participation in conferences beyond the ASSA
  • Getting ECOSOC NGO status to intervene in CEDAW/CSW discussions and participating in other fora at the UN
  • Working with our members on some basic skills (especially communications skills) that are useful for having a broader impact beyond IAFFE and academia, perhaps using the regional hubs as the center of that work
  • Creating some measures of impact that capture the external impact of our work, not just the consumption of our social media and academic reach
  • Thinking about our statements process and its influence or other purpose

Delegation:  There are different pieces that could be taken on by different parts of IAFFE:
  • Communications matters should involve our staff with comms expertise and the comms committee
  • The annual conference could include opportunities for members to develop their own engagement capacity, such as media training,op-ed writing, and networking
  • The publications committee could consider the feasibility and usefulness of a new policy-oriented journal, policy briefs, or other ways to expand the influence of members’ work
  • The board or EC might think about measures of the impact that we want to have; the board can also reach out to strengthen connections with other relevant organizations. We encourage the board and EC to think creatively and broadly about how to continue this conversation. 


Resources:  Depending on the steps taken, this element of our strategy could include the need for extensive financial resources and/or volunteer resources. Our communications staff person will also be needed in these discussions. We might need to engage additional comms staff. 

Mission, vision, and values statements


There is a discussion of our current mission statement on p. 29 of the report, with some suggestions for adaptation. Since board members are going to make a decision about whether the mission statement should be changed, and if so, how it will be changed, the ad hoc strategic plan committee decided not to make its own recommendation. We leave the wording of the mission statement–and any decision about whether to have vision and values statements–to the board’s discussion.