b'Inside the OIRCAStrategic Planning Where do we go from here?By Don Marks, Executive Director, OIRCAS trategic planning is considered an essential tool of effective association manage- largely successful and was revised in 2018. Much of what was laid out in those plans has ment. Its benefits can be numerous and may include the following: been accomplished. As a result, the Board of Directors has decided that we must once Identifying issues that relate specifically to the association, its members or theagain embrace our future and answer the questionwhere do we want to go from here?industry it represents; Associations probably struggle with that question more than traditional businesses do. Helping an association achieve consensus on those priorities that speak mostRoofing contractors, suppliers and consultants, at the end of the day, want to be profit-directly to member needs and wants;Evaluating membership satisfaction; able and along the way earn a reputation as the best roofer, supplier or consultant. But Assessing the governance structure of the association and determining whetherwhat about associationswhat about the OIRCA?adequate resources are available to achieve the mission and objectives; and We have a Strategic Planning Committee in place, and they have met twice as I write Establishing performance indicators to measure operational effectiveness. this. We are planning a group retreat (COVID-19 permitting) involving an in-depth re-Strategic planning serves as a lens through which an organization is able to self- view of the Association, where we will identify opportunities, challenges, strengths and examine and look off into the future to strategically distinguish between those areas ofweaknesses of the organization. That get-together will lead to a membership survey where activity and service delivery that are desirable versus those that are essential.we will do a little environmental scanning.Hopefully, what results is a framework for ensuring that limited resources are aligned with agreed upon priorities in a manner in which association performance can be mea- We have established a timeline for the plans completion, that being the early fall of sured over time. 2021. The process will confidently guide us toward the development of objectives, strate-In 2013 the OIRCA embarked on a major strategic planning process. That plan wasgies, tactics and operational plans for the next five years and beyond.28ONTARIO ROOFING NEWSISSUE 2 2021 THE ONLY SOURCE FOR PROFESSIONAL ICI ROOFING CONTRACTORS IN ONTARIO ORN'