IPSS – Turning Obstacles into Opportunities

Board of Directors Set Goals at Annual Retreat

To say 2020 has not gone according to plan is quite the understatement. We have all been personally and professionally affected on a multitude of levels this year. Yet, I am endlessly inspired by all of you, our IPSS leadership and members. Not just by the lives impacted and saved in your work every day but by your positive perspective, perseverance and limitless passion. Thank you all! 

As you may know, each year the Board meets prior to the conference for an engaging full-day retreat and this year was no exception…but as with most things this year, it happened in a different way. The board gathered on June 29 for a virtual retreat and strategy session. While we were not building on the excitement and energy from our in-person convening as would be typical, you could still feel it in the air.

We dove headfirst into lively and interactive discussions around membership access and diversity as well as financial sustainability and growth. We talked at length about the changing landscape and the evolution of our industry and how we might position IPSS to remain at the cutting-edge, guiding change to improve patient outcomes. 

The Board took the approach of turning obstacles into opportunities. We defined clear, simple and measurable goals for IPSS and are finalizing our strategic plan for short- and long-term success. After all, if you run into an obstacle, you can’t adjust your plan if you don’t have one! 

Being aligned in mission and vision, the board engaged in an exercise to identify a Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) for IPSS. By 2025 

IPSS is a sustainable and diverse, globally sought-after authority and community of change that provides invaluable resources, education, collaboration and inspiration to everyone in the field of pediatric simulation.

We also settled on 5 mega goals for IPSS to focus on over the next three (or more) years. IPSS will:

• Be the Global Knowledge Center for Pediatric Simulation
• Be an Essential and Accessible Global Community of Change
• Be a Diverse, Collaborative Community
• Have a Diverse Revenue Stream to Ensure Sustainability and Strategic Growth
• Help Shape the Field of Pediatric Simulation

From there we identified a number of objectives and tactics that would help us achieve those goals, some of which include:

• Build awareness and leverage the value proposition of pediatric simulation and IPSS
• Identify a core curriculum for pediatric simulationists
• Eliminate barriers to participation and engagement
• Ensure we represent our industry with strong representation globally and in multi-discipline areas
• Establish a strong pipeline of leaders and a strategy for succession planning
• Create a financial strategy with associated policies including goal for reserves to serve short term and long-term needs
• Improve communication strategies to convey the value of membership
• Increase and diversify products and services that generate revenue
• Support membership to increase the scholarship and research in pediatric simulation
• Increase collaboration with affiliate association and organizations

Of course, now the real work must begin, turning passion into action. Through a combination of sub-committees, new task forces and project teams, we are excited to engage you in helping us execute this plan. More information will be forthcoming about how to volunteer for these new opportunities and I encourage you to consider participating in the work. We are an ambitious group but IPSS is greater than the sum of its parts. We will make the greatest strides when our board, committee and members join together. 

I hope this gives you a highlight of the retreat and a clear picture of the board’s direction for the future of IPSS. There are many more action items in progress to address our mega goals and objectives and we are proud of the work we have done thus far. Thank you all for your part in these accomplishments. 

We look forward to providing you with more updates about our progress in achieving our strategic planning goals in the coming months. We also are thrilled to reconnect with everyone in October at IPSSV2020: A Virtual Experience. 

Be safe, wherever you are, we will see you in October.

Best – 

Monica