4-16-99 Minutes Reg. 3 Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) Hyatt Regency Lexington, KY 27 March 1999 Attendees: J. Beall, D. Conner, R. Duggan (Chair), R. Harris, D. Jackson, D. McLaren, and W. Ratcliff (Vice Chair, corresponding). Ex-Officio: D. Caston and R. Riddle. Absent: D. Powers, V. Powers, R. Thompson, and W. Sullivan. Visitors: D. Green, A. Hargrove, S. Haynes, and R. Russell. 1. Minutes of 30 Jan ‘99 SPC meeting in Birmingham were approved. 2. D. Caston reported full RAB funding for the National Scout Jamboree request. Funding will be channeled through Region 3. R. Russell reported contact with Girl Scouts to assure unbiased use of IEEE funding. 3. D. Caston reviewed the rationale behind the RAB/IEEE drive to move all sections into use of calendar year operations. [The IRS is a key forcing function]. A template for section bylaws is due shortly from RAB. 4. A review of actions taken to support weaker sections included work with CSRA, Coastal Carolina, Middle Tennessee, and Tri-Cities. 5. W. Ratcliff reviewed the results thus far of the e-Retreat and gave recommendations for future action. SPC endorsed his report, which is Attachment A. 6. D. Jackson reviewed IEEE and Region 3 funding actions relative to participation in Sections Congress 99 in Minneapolis. 7. J. Beall discussed Southcon99 slated for Duluth, GA (near Atlanta) 13-15 April, and new steps taken to enhance attendance. 8. D. Jackson pointed out that IEEE BoD no longer mandates committee reviews. R. Harris stated within Region 3 the Special Review Committee will continue its functions, but the Director can specify reviews where necessary. 9. S. Haynes (GOLD chair) requested SPC support adding area/region reps to the GOLD committee. SPC suggested any funding requests be forwarded to the Finance Committee, but endorsed the concept of adding area/council reps to the GOLD Committee. It was suggested that e-mail be used for communication among the committee, however. 10. D. Caston discussed the desire for a distinctive Region 3 logo via contest. Accordingly, the following motion was subsequently submitted and approved by the Reg. 3 ExCom: "That a contest be held in the August-October time frame to design a Reg. 3 logo. Sections and student branches will be encouraged to participate. A $250 award will be given to the individual or group which submits the winning logo. A committee of five will be appointed as judges by the Director. Judges and ExCom are not eligible for the award but can submit entries." 11. The need for a Fall ExCom meeting was discussed, and it was agreed as necessary. Because of PACE, Sections Congress, and BoD meetings, the ExCom will meet in Nashville, TN on 4-5 Dec 1999. 12. The Strategic Planning Committee will meet for dinner on Friday 3 Dec, with their meeting the following morning. 13. The meeting was adjourned at 9:45am. R. S. Duggan, SPC Chair ====================================================================== Attachment A 27 March 1999 Report on Region 3 e-Retreat 1998 Submitted to: Region 3 Strategic Planning Committee Submitted by: William B. Ratcliff The e-Retreat conducted by Region 3 in the fall of 1998 proved the feasibility of conducting some of the strategic planning functions utilizing e-mail and web technologies. Documenting the e-Retreat Project should provide the insight to guide follow on efforts (e-Conference Project, Region 3 Strategic Planning activities, etc.) The goal of this report is to establish the basis for the documentation, provide a summary of the lessons learned and make recommendations on the next activities. Lesson 1: Preparation is the key to success. Regardless of the media used to conduct a strategic planning activity the quality of the preparation directly affects the results. However, as the participants become farther removed from one another (physically, emotionally…) the degree of preparation becomes critical. This was especially true in the Region 3 e-Retreat 1998. The following are areas of preparation that are recommended to be followed: Establish Ground Rules Develop Trust between the Participants Establish Clear Roles and Responsibilities Develop Common Understanding of all Mechanisms to be Utilized These are good practices in any meeting scenario but especially critical if electronic communication is the primary media. Don't assume that groups of people that have worked and played together previously will work and communicate in the electronic environment. If possible perform the first preparation session "face to face" which will remove some of the variables involved in establishing a "collaborative working environment". In spite of all of our assumptions in the Region 3 e-Retreat the members of the SPC that participated in the planning effort overcame many of the problems associated with the lack of preparation. Lesson 2: The Methods and the Tools Utilized should be well documented. e-Mail is e-Mail right? Wrong! The variations of e-mail clients coupled with the different hardware platforms and word processing applications have created an environment that does not always support high volume e-mail traffic. All but simple messages often are not effectively useable by the receiver let alone allow for mark up and turnaround sharing of information and ideas. The lack of methodology and tools effectively packaged and documented to support a collaborative environment led directly to the creation of the Region 3 e-Conferencing Project. The deliverables of this project will impact future e-Retreats. Participation as a beta tester should be considered by the Region 3 Strategic Planning Committee. In spite of these handicaps the information generated through e-mail and shared via the web site yielded valuable information about the values, priorities and influencing factors that directly affect the direction of Region 3. Lesson 3: 100% Participation In a "face to face" environment the attendance is more easily controlled than in a distributed / virtual meeting. The facilitator has the responsibility in both instances to elicit participation by all in attendance. The use of synchronous communications architectures tend to parallel face to face meetings and the facilitator’s role is similar. The "sponsor "role also is critical in getting the players to the table. The Region 3 e-Retreat was largely conducted using e-mail, asynchronous communications architecture, which resulted in valuable information but was difficult to assure participation. The facilitator role was not accepted by all members and the sponsor role was somewhat undefined. Once again the group overcame many of these impediments and shared ideas and perspectives regarding the somewhat abstract factors affecting the direction of Region 3. Lesson 4: Arriving at Consensus In order to arrive at a consensus it would appear that the interactivity between the members in the discussion is critical and the focus of the discussion must be maintained. Both elements were missing in the e-Retreat. E-Mail is not an interactive tool and the degree of participation again impacted the results. The group did prioritize the brainstormed lists and arrived at the beginning of a consensus. The "face to face " meeting in Birmingham, AL in January 1999 developed the concepts contained here and is the source for this "post mortem" analysis. The recommendations that follow are derived from the lessons learned and sound strategic planning methods. Recommendations for e-Retreat 1999 The e-Conferencing Project definitely has the potential for providing tools and methodologies for conducting a collaborative effort needed to develop strategic direction for Region 3 using predominately computer based communications. The basic recommendation is to continue the e-Retreat for 1999. 1) Region 3 SPC should participate as a beta testing partner on the e-Conferencing Project. 2) The e-Retreat 1999 should begin no later than July - August 1999 and the preparation should start in the May - June time frame. 3) The Sponsor should be the Director Elect - Richard Riddle 4) The Facilitator should be selected soon after SoutheastCon 5) Finalize the plan and methodology with SPC member buy in at the Fall 1999 Excom meeting in Nashville, TN A paper should be developed that documents the e-Retreat of 1998 including the history, this summary and the results achieved. =======================================================================