Introduction to UMAC's Strategic Planning Process
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"
and all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by
" in "Sea-Fever" by John Masefield (1878-1967)
Dear colleagues,
Welcome to UMAC's Strategic Planning Process! I hope that you will not only take advantage of the information on this website but also take the time to send us your thoughts regarding strategic planning. Our plan is a working document, not a finished product. We continually aim to improve our plan with your input and assistance.
When I think of strategic planning, I often think of the poem "Sea-Fever" by John Masefield. The most attractive and important part of the poem is the line "
and all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by
" Like Masefield's ship, UMAC needs direction and steerage. Whether you are a ship or an organization, two key questions always come to mind: "Where do I want to go?" and "How will I get there?" With strategic planning, we ask two similar questions: "What do we want?" and "How will we do it?" Answering these questions is the key to successful strategic planning.
We started our strategic planning process at the 2005 UMAC Annual Conference in Uppsala, Sweden, when we formed our Working Group for Strategic Planning. Since then, we have made great progress by creating a vision and mission, aligning UMAC’s goals, implementing strategies, and measuring our performance as a professional organization. We can point with pride to our achievements such as our annual conference, website, publications, and newsletter. You can find the mission, vision, function and aim, strategic plan, and additional information about our planning on this website
The next stage of planning, we will focus on our operations and finances. We also continue to prioritize our goals and strategies and assign responsibilities to create an operational plan that supports our goals and objectives. We also will review ICOM's strategic plan and revise our Plan so that we are in agreement with ICOM's global vision for the museum profession.
I want to take this opportunity to give a profound thanks to all of you who have participated and provided input and assistance in our strategic planning. This includes many Members, Members of the Working Group and Board Members - Thank You!
Sincerely,
Peter Tirrell, Chair, WG Strategic Planning
Peter B. Tirrell, Associate Director
Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History
The University of Oklahoma
pbtirrell@ou.edu