NISO Strategic Planning UpdateThe planning process in 2010-2011 reaffirms the mission, operating principles, and values of the earlier plan. And because NISO has just come through a phase of fundamental change, the strategic focus at this time is aimed at maintaining the momentum of the current course while applying some new energy toward achieving balance, adding value, and enhancing outreach. The 2005 NISO Strategic Plan addressed fundamental changes needed to sustain the organization in view of its drastically changed constituent environment, a somewhat unfocused and sluggish standards process, and a weakened financial condition. Opportunities were identified to: a) set NISO on a new course to serve its redefined constituents; b) remedy shortcomings in procedural compliance through automation support; c) reinvigorate standards development and utilization through restructured committee governance, policy revisions focused on efficiency and program breadth, d) increase NISO’s focus on community education; e) prioritize standards efforts through governance reorganization; and f) utilize the leadership and management strengths of a new managing director. National Information Standards OrganizationNISO_190c9e80-7aed-4754-9101-e660d4e80120Information can be trusted for use in research and learning._bc818a34-abba-11e6-9fc6-18da9e0319fdTo foster the development and maintenance of standards that facilitate the creation, persistent management, and effective interchange of information ..._bc818cb4-abba-11e6-9fc6-18da9e0319fdQualityNISO standards and recommended practices are proven, reliable, useful, and effectiveCollaborationNISO encourages participation of all stakeholders in its standards processes which are themselves conducted in a manner that is fair, open, and transparent AgilityAgility and Vision - NISO moves quickly and imaginatively to identify, define, and address standards challenges and standards needs VisionIntegrityNISO earns trust through honesty and fairness. Operating PrinciplesTo fulfill its mission, NISO is guided by the following principles.Communities of Interest1. NISO works with intersecting communities of interest NISO understands that its work cannot be limited to a single type of institution. Information services cross-institutional and international boundaries, and NISO will work with all participating communities in its efforts, and will actively engage those communities and any representative standards organizations to achieve its goals.Life Cycles2. NISO works across the entire life cycle of an information standard NISO's standards work will range from identifying needs for a new standard or recommended practices to maintaining mature ones. In this regard, NISO will: * act as a standards incubator helping to identify and articulate the need for new information standards, and selecting the most promising for further development * identify nascent standards or best practices developed internally or elsewhere and provide the support necessary to grow them into fully mature standards that are widely implemented * provide maintenance support that allows standards to change in concert with evolving need * provide support for communities that wish to develop and maintain their own standards in a manner that ensures their quality, integrity, reliability, and use Work at each of these stages will include education and support activities as necessary for effective and inclusive standards development and use.Sustainability3. NISO will ensure that its standards efforts are economically and organizationally sustainable NISO understands that the resource commitment for standards increases as they move through the lifecycle. NISO reviews standards at critical points in the life cycle to determine if the expected benefit from the standard warrants continued investment. NISO exits standards activities that provide insufficient benefit no matter the stage of the lifecycle. This means that not every NISO initiative will result in the development of a standard and that NISO may withdraw its effort or seek an alternate venue for a standard that reaches a point of diminishing returns. BalanceAchieve Balance_bc818d9a-abba-11e6-9fc6-18da9e0319fd1LSA MembersRetain and Gain LSA Members_bc818e6c-abba-11e6-9fc6-18da9e0319fd1.ALibrariesReconnecting with libraries may be achieved best using a multi-faceted approach. There are librarians and technical services staff engaged at the grass roots level, contributing "sweat equity" to the standards process. But there are also higher-level administrators controlling the funds, setting organizational priorities, allowing the participation of their staffs, and making membership decisions. A dual communications approach might include an executive level presentations about NISO, the value of standards/recommended practices, as well as a message directed to the working level staff about staying engaged and exercising their voice in important standards matters. PublishersSystems SuppliersIntermediariesNISO seeks to serve three primary constituent communities: libraries, publishers, and systems suppliers or other intermediaries. Historically, the library community has been a backbone for NISO. Library volunteers have been among the most engaged in creating NISO's agenda. However, recent economic pressures are causing a contraction in library standards alliance (LSA) membership as well as library organizational voting memberships, and this is viewed as a serious imbalance for NISO. A focus on retaining and gaining LSA members and voting participation is an important strategic direction.Underserved CommunitiesAddress Underserved Communities_bc818f3e-abba-11e6-9fc6-18da9e0319fd1.BRightsholders(other than publishers)Public LibrariesMuseumsMedia PublishersMedia ProducersTechnology Companiesengaged in work relating to scholarly contentUniversity PressesIn addition to its three primary constituent groups, NISO's activities could or should have relevance to several underserved or missed communities in the scholarly communications and information areas: * rightsholders (other than publishers) * public libraries * museums * media publishers and producers * technology companies engaged in work relating to scholarly content * university presses NISO's everyday activities can be adjusted to begin touching these communities more directly. For example, topic committee discussions, new work areas, educational program content and outreach, enewsletter distribution, membership recruitment, and presentations at relevant annual meetings can include special awareness of these underserved groups. Assertively paying attention to being more inclusive of underserved communities over time will add breadth to NISO and strengthen its role in the information industry. This is especially true of the work NISO is responsible for at the ISO level. In many ways it already overlaps with the broader media and technology communities. Partnering with other organizations to address topics of mutual interest would help to extend NISO's reach without overtaxing NISO’s infrastructure.ValueAdd Value_bc819010-abba-11e6-9fc6-18da9e0319fd2NISO's value is measured in a few basic ways: a) its tangible products in the form of standards, whitepapers, and recommended practices; b) its level playing field for engaging various parties to explore solutions to standards-type problems; c) the support it provides its members and working groups in coming to consensus; d) its help and support in understanding how to apply standards or recommended practices. Friction Points & InterfacesFind Friction Points and Interfaces_bc8190d8-abba-11e6-9fc6-18da9e0319fd2.ANISO's staff, committees, and working groups only have so much time and bandwidth. They need to be working on standards or issues that have the most significant impact, thus greatest value, to NISO's communities. Identifying the "right" issues to work on is an extremely important function. A strategic roadmap, as suggested in the 2004-2005 NISO Strategic Plan, turned out to be too complex. Instead, a more practical approach suggested here is to look for friction points and interfaces as pointers to stimulating new work ideas for NISO. Points of friction are often situations of great inefficiency and sources of conflict. They are also points where people complain about inaction, inactivity or waste... Friction point and interface analyses may help ensure NISO's agenda in the near term remains compelling and relevant to its varied constituents and underserved communities. Addressing these issues is the bullseye of value.ProblemsFoster discussions that lead to group process to solve nagging problems._bc81922c-abba-11e6-9fc6-18da9e0319fd2.A.iCan NISO help foster discussions that lead to group process to solve a nagging problem or pain point, aka friction point? Can we use friction point thinking to identify new work areas? Further, can we identify friction points for our out-of-balance communities -- libraries and underserved groups -- to add value specifically (and strategically) for these groups?InterfacesExamine interfaces between disparate groups._bc819308-abba-11e6-9fc6-18da9e0319fd2.A.iiAnother approach is to look closely at the interfaces between disparate groups, as this is where process tensions can be found in the form of hand-offs, transactions, interchanges, and information flow. Identifying the interfaces can lead to discovering areas of opportunity in terms of important and relevant problems in need of a solution -- perhaps a standards or best practices solution.ConversationsStart the Conversations_bc8193e4-abba-11e6-9fc6-18da9e0319fd2.BHot Topics Meeting Series Our environment of rapid technology change, as mentioned earlier, is both a stressor and an opportunity. Emerging technologies pertinent to our information industry are talked about regularly at our industry meetings and tend to draw large audiences.MeetingsSponsor exploratory meetings about new standards, whitepapers, or recommended practices as related to emerging technologies._f6d81ee8-ac17-11e6-83b8-6f159f0319fd2.B.iNISO could sponsor exploratory meetings to “start the conversation” about new standards, whitepapers, or recommended practices as related to these emerging technologies.Hot TopicsConduct a regular series of meetings on Hot Topics._f6d82230-ac17-11e6-83b8-6f159f0319fd2.B.i.1The Board suggests a regular series of meetings -- perhaps the NISO Hot Topics Series. To illustrate the concept, some current hot topics include: mobile delivery, ebooks, and discovery services.ParticipationSupport virtual participation in Hot Topic Meetings._f6d82348-ac17-11e6-83b8-6f159f0319fd2.B.i.2LibrariansIn the current economic climate where some interested parties, particularly librarians, may be unable to travel it will be important to allow virtual participation in Hot Topic Meetings.Underserved CommunitiesPeg some of the hot topics to the interests of underserved communities._f6d82438-ac17-11e6-83b8-6f159f0319fd2.B.i.3Underserved CommunitiesFinally, in order to engage underserved communities better, some of the hot topics can be pegged to their interests. Work ProcessesInitiate community-driven, bottom-up work processes._f6d82550-ac17-11e6-83b8-6f159f0319fd2.B.iiSuch meetings can serve as a fertile ground for initiating community-driven, bottom-up work processes.Buy-in & EngagementSeed new work ideas and drive buy-in and work-group engagement._f6d82640-ac17-11e6-83b8-6f159f0319fd2.B.iiiNot only will NISO Hot Topic Meetings seed new work ideas, they will also help drive future buy-in and work group engagement from the participants.OutreachEnhance Outreach_bc8194ca-abba-11e6-9fc6-18da9e0319fd3NISO's outreach activities have grown dramatically in recent years, and the impacts have been so positive that the Board wishes to see the outreach expanded and enhanced. All of NISO's outreach channels should be tuned to the message of value. Two other themes of importance are the fast-paced processes that NISO now employs and the fact that NISO produces more than standards, namely recommended practices and whitepapers, too.Social MediaEngage in Social Media_bc8195b0-abba-11e6-9fc6-18da9e0319fd3.ANISO needs to communicate its message of value more broadly. One element of a modern communication strategy should include a social media component. The benefits of this are multi-fold.ConnectionsConnect NISO's audience with experts on particular standards._bc81968c-abba-11e6-9fc6-18da9e0319fd3.A.iExpertsFirst, it is highly desirable to connect NISO's audience with experts on particular standards, communicate about new work or progress on work, and post educational materials and an educational calendar.IdeasDevelop ideas in a range of spaces outside of NISO's core constituency._bc819786-abba-11e6-9fc6-18da9e0319fd3.A.iiSecond, the importance of a two-way (or even multi-directional) conversation is that ideas are developing in a range of spaces outside of NISO's core constituency.CommunicationCommunicate about new work or progress on work._f6d82730-ac17-11e6-83b8-6f159f0319fd3.A.iiiEducationPost educational materials and an educational calendar._f6d8283e-ac17-11e6-83b8-6f159f0319fd3.A.ivConversationsCreate a space where conversations about information creation, distribution, organization and preservation take place._bc819876-abba-11e6-9fc6-18da9e0319fd3.A.vSocial MediaTo take advantage of this, NISO can utilize various existing social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, as well as develop its own vehicles, such as expanding on the NISO blog or wiki functionality.FacebookTwitterLinkedInFinally, recognizing that NISO itself is generally not the source of pain point identification, by creating a space where conversations about information creation, distribution, organization and preservation take place, NISO will be better positioned to act quickly when valuable new ideas or expressions of paint points are identified.Value MessagesPlan a Value Message for Each Standard, Best Practice, Whitepaper_bc8199de-abba-11e6-9fc6-18da9e0319fd3.BWhile each standards activity currently includes a education and outreach plan, several groups and the Topic Committees have pointed out the need for a more detailed communications and marketing plan as well. This marketing plan can focus on value as it relates to the work item (be it a standard or best practice or whitepaper), its audiences and use, and the information industry as a whole. If the work item is relevant to libraries or NISO's underserved communities, then value message can be deliberately written to speak to those strategically important groups. The TCs have identified the need to provide support to Working Groups to develop these documents at the outset of a project proposal or WGs work. In addition, a focus of the value of the project, in simple terms, should also be included so that there are understandable applicability and value statements.2011-04-302016-11-16http://www.niso.org/apps/group_public/download.php/14968/NISO Strategic Planning Update April 2011.pdfOwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net