A Strategic Plan for Neuropsychiatry

A recent special article in this journal reviewed the history, accomplishments, and goals of the American Neuropsychiatric Association (ANPA) on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of its founding.¹ The suggestion was made that to sustain ANPA's early and remarkable success, its leadership should engage in an organized strategic planning process to include development of a formal mission and vision statement, as well as identification of strategic priorities to guide the future resource investment of the association over the next three to five years.

On May 19, 1999, 13 current and past officers of ANPA convened in Washington, D.C., to begin this important process. (Participants included C. Edward Coffey, M.D.; Jeffrey L. Cummings, M.D.; Barry Fogel, M.D.; Jordan Graffman, Ph.D.; Robert Green, M.D.; Edward Lauterbach, M.D.; Tom McAllister, M.D.; Robert Robinson, M.D.; Stephen Salloway, M.D.; Randolph Schiffer, M.D.; Jonathan Silver, M.D.; Gary Tucker, M.D.; and Stuart Yudofsky, M.D.). This half-day strategic planning retreat was facilitated by Anne Barrins, C.S.W., Director of Quality Management for the Department of Psychiatry, Henry Ford Behavioral Health. Participants prepared for the retreat by reviewing literature on strategic planning and the building of a shared vision for an organization.

The retreat began with some words of wisdom from the cartoon character Dilbert (a self-proclaimed expert on organizational development). Ms. Barrins then led the attendees through a series of group exercises designed to identify the key stakeholders in the association, as well as the association's core values.

Identified as key stakeholders were (listed in no particular order of significance): ANPA members and leaders, patients, patient advocacy groups, the medical industry (e.g., pharmaceutical companies), allied medical organizations (e.g., the Behavioral Neurology Society, the British Neuropsychiatry Association), students and trainees, The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, clinicians in neuropsychiatry, and neuroscience researchers.

Three core values were identified for the association (again, not listed in any order of significance): advancing knowledge of brain–behavior relationships; providing a forum for learning; and promoting excellent, scientific, and compassionate health care.

Breakout groups were then formed to begin the process of crafting a mission and vision for the association, with special reference to the key stakeholders and core values just identified. The requirement for the mission statement was that it express ANPA's raison d'être and that it be applicable for at least 100 years (in contrast to goals and strategies that would change many times in 100 years). Dialogue sparked by a variety of initial drafts led to strong consensus on the following:

The group felt that this mission statement appropriately captured the core purpose of ANPA, that it promoted a diverse membership (i.e., clinicians and scientists), that it included a focus on wellness in addition to neuropsychiatric illness, and that it would inspire constant progress for the association well into the next century.

The group then set about the task of defining a vision statement—a description of what we wanted ANPA to become in the next three to five years. The requirement for the vision statement was that it be consistent with ANPA's mission and that it consider the most influential trends today in medicine, neuropsychiatry, and clinical neuroscience. Again after a productive dialogue, consensus was reached on the following:

The group felt that this vision presented a clear and compelling “stretch goal” that will serve as a unifying focus for the association's efforts over the next five years.

The final exercise of the day was for participants to identify three or four strategic priorities that would leverage the association's actions in pursuit of its vision. Consensus was reached on the following priorities for 1999–2001, ranked in order of importance:

In summary, the first ANPA Strategic Planning Retreat was a great success, in terms of participation by ANPA leaders as well as quality of the product. We have clarified our mission, we have articulated a vision for the next five years, and we have identified key strategic priorities to help us realize that vision. But important work lies ahead. We must communicate the mission, vision, and key priorities to all ANPA members. This article is an important first step in this communication process, and we will be engaging in further discussion of strategic planning issues at ANPA's annual meeting in February 2000.

We need to develop tactics to achieve each of our strategic priorities—our effective committee structure should help us here—and we must identify resources to support the work involved in implementing these tactics. This last issue is a particular challenge because ANPA remains an association led by volunteers (all of whom incidentally have “day jobs” which in today's health care environment are becoming increasingly demanding). We will need to find some way to support the important work required for ANPA to achieve its exciting vision. Given the energy, creativity, expertise, and commitment of our membership, we are certain that ANPA will succeed.