By Sarah Watzman, FY18 Region G Collegiate Senator
On Wednesday, October 25th, SWE had a SPA! This isn't the kind of spa that involves cucumber water, fluffy towels, candles, or massages though -- this spa is the Strategic Performance Assessment, a yearly meeting the Wednesday before Annual Conference with the Society's Annual Strategic Planning Team.
SPA may sound like a misnomer considering this refers to an all-day meeting, but for me, I see attending the SWE SPA as a wonderful opportunity to positively move this organization forward. During the SPA, participants (which includes Senators, members of the Board of Directors, SWE's Executive Director, the Finance Committee Chair and Chair-elect, the 5-Year Strategic Plan Task Force Lead, and attendees from HQ) begin the Society's strategic planning process. This involves an intense look at our environment, including the economic and political factors that could impact SWE, the state of women in collegiate engineering programs and careers, and society's perceptions of young girls pursuing their interests in STEM. With these factors in mind, SPA participants analyze data collected through SWE's membership survey to see how our members believe they are being served by this organization. Finally, keeping all of this in mind, SPA participants go through programming offered by the Society to identify areas of strength and weakness to determine where we should invest time, energy, and finances in the future.
The gaps identified through the SPA will then be used at ASPR -- the Annual Strategic Plan Review, a yearly meeting occurring the Friday before the Winter Senate Meeting. ASPR reviews SWE's operational plan in relation to the identified gaps, so that we can better serve our members and grow the impact of this organization.
Personally, I really enjoy this big picture, strategic view of the Society. As a graduate student, I am used to collecting and analyzing data from different sources then letting my findings lead me to a new conclusions (or problems sometimes too). As a member of the Annual Strategic Planning Team, I love being able to apply these skills to my passion for SWE. Although spending a day at the spa could be a nice relief from graduate school, I also am grateful for this opportunity to positively contribute to an organization that has given me so much.
On Wednesday, October 25th, SWE had a SPA! This isn't the kind of spa that involves cucumber water, fluffy towels, candles, or massages though -- this spa is the Strategic Performance Assessment, a yearly meeting the Wednesday before Annual Conference with the Society's Annual Strategic Planning Team.
SPA may sound like a misnomer considering this refers to an all-day meeting, but for me, I see attending the SWE SPA as a wonderful opportunity to positively move this organization forward. During the SPA, participants (which includes Senators, members of the Board of Directors, SWE's Executive Director, the Finance Committee Chair and Chair-elect, the 5-Year Strategic Plan Task Force Lead, and attendees from HQ) begin the Society's strategic planning process. This involves an intense look at our environment, including the economic and political factors that could impact SWE, the state of women in collegiate engineering programs and careers, and society's perceptions of young girls pursuing their interests in STEM. With these factors in mind, SPA participants analyze data collected through SWE's membership survey to see how our members believe they are being served by this organization. Finally, keeping all of this in mind, SPA participants go through programming offered by the Society to identify areas of strength and weakness to determine where we should invest time, energy, and finances in the future.
The gaps identified through the SPA will then be used at ASPR -- the Annual Strategic Plan Review, a yearly meeting occurring the Friday before the Winter Senate Meeting. ASPR reviews SWE's operational plan in relation to the identified gaps, so that we can better serve our members and grow the impact of this organization.
Personally, I really enjoy this big picture, strategic view of the Society. As a graduate student, I am used to collecting and analyzing data from different sources then letting my findings lead me to a new conclusions (or problems sometimes too). As a member of the Annual Strategic Planning Team, I love being able to apply these skills to my passion for SWE. Although spending a day at the spa could be a nice relief from graduate school, I also am grateful for this opportunity to positively contribute to an organization that has given me so much.
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