GREATER ATLANTA CHAPTER: Using a Collaboration Tool for Reflection and Strategic Planning
SUMMARY: In mid-2022, the Greater Atlanta Chapter board dedicated their monthly meeting to reflecting on the first half of the year and outlining changes they wanted to make in the future. With an entirely new board, it was particularly important to take the time to reflect on the chapter’s successes, challenges, and potential risks to plan strategically for the future. This technique allowed the board to celebrate the work they had done, address immediate issues, and set expectations moving forward. The use of Miro, a free collaborative tool, allowed all board members to contribute their ideas to the discussion simultaneously and created a living, editable representation of the board’s thoughts and conclusions. As a result of their meeting, the chapter was able to streamline their communication processes and establish a stronger volunteer engagement strategy to improve volunteer retention and succession planning.
YEAR: 2022
SOUTHEASTERN WISCONSIN CHAPTER: Data-Driven Chapter Governance (Including Wild Apricot, Power BI, and Business Intelligence Dashboards)
SUMMARY: To strengthen the chapter’s operational strategy and governance, the Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter constructed a series of business intelligence dashboards to track chapter data. The board uses Wild Apricot and Power BI to pull data that allows it to identify strategic opportunities, set goals, and define metrics for success. As a result, the chapter has developed a new data-driven approach to decision making, improved chapter operations in a number of fields, and discovered new areas for further exploration and growth.
YEAR: 2022
LOS ANGELES CHAPTER: Biannual Strategic Planning Process
SUMMARY: The Los Angeles Chapter needed a comprehensive strategic planning process to establish goals for chapter programming, event planning, social media, marketing, and volunteer recruitment. The chapter, spearheaded by Kavita Gupta, developed a biannual strategic planning process and detailed strategic plan template to further chapter goals. The board, including incoming members, met in person in the fall to create action plans for the following year and again in the new year to refine their plans and follow up on execution. In the year following the implementation of their new planning process, the chapter saw a 50 percent increase in chapter meeting attendance, a 10 percent increase in membership, and significant cost reductions. The in-person process also fostered feelings of camaraderie amongst the board members and allowed them to streamline the leadership transition between incoming and outgoing board members.
YEAR: 2022
North Dakota: Using a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) Analysis to Align Chapter Strategy to CARE
SUMMARY: The North Dakota Chapter needed actionable and measurable goals for its high-level ideas to continue growing. The board completed a S.W.O.T. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis of the six areas of CARE for each board position to identify areas of weaknesses and opportunities. The chapter then used their findings to create work groups to determine an actionable and measurable strategy that aligns with CARE.
YEAR: 2021
RESEARCH TRIANGLE AREA: Templates for Strategic Planning with CARE
SUMMARY: The chapter created a strategic planning template and tracker which incorporated CARE Plus. Each board member contributed to their respective areas of the chapter’s two-year operating plan using the strategic planning template. The template was tied to the budget process so every goal in the plan is specifically linked with an income or expense. To help track the board’s progress throughout the year, the president elect created a CARE Plus Tracker spreadsheet that expanded on and incorporated multiple existing ATD CARE Plus templates. Due to the templates and organization of the process, the budget and strategic plan were completed in a timely manner and decreased the approval time by 50 percent. Tracking their progress throughout the year helped the board fill out its CARE survey accurately and efficiently.
YEAR: 2021
CENTRAL OHIO CHAPTER: Board Goal and Accountability Plan
SUMMARY: Through the adoption of a board goal and accountability plan, the chapter board successfully focused its efforts, prioritized initiatives, and added value for chapter members. To avoid repeating the same strategic goals from year to year, chapter leaders carefully reviewed the membership survey to determine long-term goals by position. The board reviewed the goals at each board meeting and at its mid-year planning session to establish accountability. This initiative increased board engagement and enabled the chapter to achieve all of its strategic goals.
YEAR: 2019
CENTRAL MASSACHUSETTS CHAPTER: Building Up From the Ashes
SUMMARY: After spending several years struggling to recruit new volunteer leaders and keep members engaged, the Central Massachusetts Chapter was on the brink of dissolution. The chapter sent out an urgent communication about volunteer needs that yielded seven new board members. Following a comprehensive onboarding program, the new chapter leaders attended a planning meeting during which they selected their desired board roles and identified strategic goals for the chapter. As a result of this new energy and leadership on the board, the chapter has attracted new members, increased its joint membership percentage, improved event marketing, and made events profitable.
Central Massachusetts - SOS Submission Form
Central Massachusetts - Retreat Agenda
Central Massachusetts - Operational Plan
YEAR: 2019
AUSTIN CHAPTER: Getting Strategic With Your Organization
SUMMARY: The chapter transformed its leadership team from a flat organization to one that functions more smoothly and fosters succession planning. The Austin Chapter transitioned from 13 board members to a group of 23 chapter leaders to improve efficiency. By being transparent with membership and explaining the changes at several meetings, the chapter filled multiple director positions. The path helps members build leadership experience and transitions them through escalating roles—from member to volunteer to director to president elect to president. The pipeline also helped pace the leadership, allowing the chapter to have engaged directors by lowering the rate of burnout.
YEAR: 2018
ROCKY MOUNTAIN CHAPTER: After Action Review Process/Evaluation for Process Improvement
SUMMARY: The chapter created and implemented an evaluation process for events. Once each event or activity was complete, four key questions are posed and discussed: 1) What was supposed to happen? 2) What did happen? 3) Why did it happen? 4) What we can do to improve for the next time? Since implementing this evaluation process, the chapter has seen its events and activities improve beyond the data they were getting through its surveys. Event attendees provided general feedback on surveys, but their comments did not address the event’s planning and coordination. The after-review process identified a strategy for how the board or the coordinators can provide a better event by strengthening the process.
YEAR: 2018
ROCHESTER CHAPTER: Adding Membership Value With a Small and Mighty Team
SUMMARY: After attending the ATD Chapter Leaders Conference (ALC), a member of the board brought back a strategic planning tool. The board used this tool to review the chapter’s current practices and identified areas for improvement. The team looked at everything the chapter was producing through a lens of how it adds value for the members, promotes community engagement, and increases the chapter’s operational focus. The board underwent this process in a strategy meeting, which helped the board become more organized and design ways to communicate more effectively with the chapter members.
Rochester - SOS Submission Form
Rochester - Strategic Compass
YEAR: 2017
NEW YORK CITY CHAPTER: Chapter Goal Template & Dashboard
SUMMARY: To keep annual goals, initiatives, and activities on target, the chapter created a goal setting template and monthly dashboard to track results. At the chapter’s board retreat in January, these tools fostered discussions on how to strengthen and grow the chapter. The documents have been used to develop the monthly board meeting agenda and are reviewed at the start of each meeting. Outcomes of the discussions led to the delivery of several half-day and full-day programs. Operating the Chapter like a business allowed the board to develop teamwork, stay focused on our goals and achieve results. These tools allowed for that process to happen by providing focus, accountability and insight as to our successes and when course corrections needed to be made. The Chapter experienced a significant increase so far this year in membership (+11%), corporate membership (+66%), member retention (+14%), power membership (+28%) and the chapter achieved its goal of 35% for the first time since 2013 with an increase in revenue (+11%). Discussions around the goals outlined led to the creation and delivery of additional events in the area of coaching, generating both increased member engagement and revenue.
YEAR: 2017
CENTRAL INDIANA CHAPTER: Recruit > Engage > Retain: Strategic Planning Retreat Agenda
SUMMARY: To ensure that the yearly board retreat allowed for actionable items, the agenda centered on three topics: recruit new members, engage new members, and retain members. Any topic that arose that did not support the three goals was put aside. By concentrating on only the three goals, the board was able to focus all attention on building accountability and built in methods to measure its progress and success. Because of the retreat agenda’s structure, the board progressed towards or completed all goals by June, allowing the board to focus on secondary goals sooner.
YEAR: 2017
KENTUCKIANA CHAPTER: Continuing the Rejuvenation by Developing a Three Year Strategic Plan
SUMMARY: Just a few short years ago, the Kentuckiana Chapter was on the brink of calling it quits. After a couple years in the rebuilding period, the executive team wanted to continue the excitement of the hard work. To keep up the momentum, the chapter brought in a national strategist to facilitate a full-day strategic planning session for the entire board. At the end of the session, a new mission, vision, and three-year strategic plan was developed. The board outlined specific behaviors, beliefs, and its Five P’s for Success: passion, people, powerful programs, partnerships, and promotion. The team left the session energized for a successful year and ambitiously pursuing the same goal.
YEAR: 2017
DALLAS CHAPTER: Strategic Planning and Implementation
SUMMARY: The Dallas Chapter took a strategic approach to restructuring and implemented a new model of its leadership, the board, and the chapter to increase engagement both within the chapter and with corporations in the local area. The chapter desired to recruit more volunteers to not overwork the current team. The chapter also believed that leadership in the field needed more of a platform to be recognized for their programs, best practices, and corporate efforts locally. The board took ATD’s framework and structured the chapter’s programs around the ATD Competency Model. The chapter designed each quarter of the year to align with four core principles: organizational development, talent management, innovation learning solutions, and managing learning programs and teams. As a result, the chapter set a record of more than 400 people at events (previous average was 180), grew in membership and revenue for the chapter, increased corporate participation and engagement, and recruited up to 22 sponsors.
YEAR: 2017
DETROIT CHAPTER: Strategic Plan Process
SUMMARY: The chapter developed and executed a strategic planning process. This process resulted in a completed strategic plan with four distinct and defined key result areas and corresponding goals, a membership communication piece, focus areas and goals for each Vice President, specific criteria and review processes of how the chapter is lead and meeting its mission statement.
YEAR: 2016
HOUSTON CHAPTER: Launching a Leadership Council
SUMMARY: The Houston Chapter created a leadership council consisting of senior leaders within the learning and development community, who work as advisors in setting strategy for the local chapter.
Houston - Launching a Leadership Council SOS Submission Form
Houston - How to Engage Senior L&D Corporate Leadership in Your Local Chapter PowerPoint
Houston - Launching a Leadership Council Application Activities
YEAR: 2014
CASCADIA CHAPTER: Becoming a Welcoming Organization
SUMMARY: The Cascadia Chapter started an initiative to become a more welcoming organization. With the help of outside facilitators, the board identified key areas for chapter improvement. The chapter focused on the key areas and has seen increased membership and program attendance, and more volunteers getting involved at the board level.
YEAR: 2012
CENTRAL INDIANA CHAPTER: Board Development: Chapter Mission
SUMMARY: Through an interactive process as a board, the chapters use the majority of their 2010 Board retreat to update their mission and vision to reflect the current state of the chapter; they used this time to develop a set of values to support their ways of working together.
Central Indiana - Board Retreat Agenda
YEAR: 2010
CENTRAL INDIANA CHAPTER: VP of Technology
SUMMARY: The chapter didn’t have a point person or someone that was in charge of their website and social media presence. Various board members were constantly updating the website which caused much confusion. To deal with this, the chapter created a new board position titled “VP of Technology.” The position serves a marketing role to recruit new members and to encourage current members to be more involved.
Central Indiana - Sample Business Cards
Central Indiana - Social Media & Program Marketing Presentation
YEAR: 2010
SACRAMENTO CHAPTER: Chapter Five Year Strategic Plan
SUMMARY: The Sacramento chapter employed a formal structure to identify core value propositions representing the chapter members and defined an action plan for the next five years. The chapter board formerly operated on lackluster long-range goals without the benefit of vetting through the membership or achievable objectives toward success.
YEAR: 2009
FORT LAUDERDALE CHAPTER: Strategic Planning
SUMMARY: This board retreat and strategic planning event allowed the new and existing board members to build relationships and identifying goals and initiatives for the coming year.
YEAR: 2008
RIVER CITIES CHAPTER: Chapter on the Rise
SUMMARY: In December of 2008, the entire board of directors for River Cities Chapter changed. During a time of continuing decline in local ASTD participation, a new management team was born. Since then, meeting space was donated, time and resources for web development was volunteered, and personal donations were made to get the chapter up and running again. Membership has increased and program attendance is increasing each month.
YEAR: 2008
NEBRASKA CHAPTER: Running it like a Business
SUMMARY: ASTD is no longer just a training organization, but a business that strategically supports workplace learning across the globe. In this SOS, ASTD Nebraska describes how they spent the last three years developing strategic goals, realigning for financial commitment, and tapping into their volunteer base through long-term strategic planning to be able to provide a stronger organization.
YEAR: 2007
SAN DIEGO CHAPTER: Strategic Planning and Transitioning
SUMMARY: The San Diego chapter’s submission provides tools used for developing a solid strategic plan using the chapter’s planning model.
San Diego - Strategic Focus Presentation
San Diego - Strategic Planning Exercise for Teams
San Diego - Meeting Workbook Cover & Spine
San Diego - Summary of Goals
San Diego - Competency Model
San Diego - Geese Poem
YEAR: 2006
EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA CHAPTER: Build and Maintain Your Board on Solid Foundations
SUMMARY: The Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter restructured the chapter board, developing new job Descriptions, leadership development as part of a yearly action plan, and a five year strategic plan.
Eastern Pennsylvania - SOS Submission Form
Eastern Pennsylvania - 5-Year Strategic Plan
Eastern Pennsylvania - 2006 Board Action Plan
Eastern Pennsylvania - Board Budget Worksheet
Eastern Pennsylvania - Board Job Descriptions
Eastern Pennsylvania - Board Qualifications
Eastern Pennsylvania - Sample Action Plan
YEAR: 2006
SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN CHAPTER: ASTD-SCWC Extreme Makeover: Using Appreciative Inquiry for Strategic Planning
SUMMARY: The South Central Wisconsin Chapter developed a strategic planning effort that used appreciative inquiry to engage all members in planning future programs and services. Appreciative inquiry uses dialogue about positive past experiences in order to build wishes for the future, rather than focusing on problems that need to be solved. As a result, it is an extremely energizing process.
YEAR: 2004
