ICAI Strategic priorities for 2013 and 2014


December 17th 2012 Global Assembly            
By means of ICAI’s decentralized “peer to peer” approach.

The following information is taken from the Institute of Cultural Affairs International Business Plan 2013-2014.

  1. Support and encourage existing and emerging ICAs to achieve and maintain statutory membership where possible, otherwise associate
  2. Develop, maintain and promote effective means for online networking and collaboration among members and colleagues, synchronous and asynchronous
  3. Facilitate peer to peer support and collaboration among members, including face-to-face networking, staff, programme and curriculum development, resource mobilization and institutional sustainability
  4. Oversee and support global initiatives of members, eg: global conferencing, ToP worldwide expansion, journal and policy advocacy
  5. Focus the messages and expand the reach of internal and external publications including website, Global Buzz and Winds and Waves
  6. Renew and maintain global relationships on behalf of members, eg: UNICEF, ECOSOC, CIVICUS
  7. Clarify and strengthen inclusive ICAI governance and operations - inclusive relative to geography, language, age, technology etc.
  8. Engage members and colleagues to develop longer-term vision and strategy for global ICA movement and ICAI.

President - Martin Gilbraith (UK/Belgium)

– Strategic priorities for the coming 2 years 

  • Demonstrate ICAI values, encourage and support ICAs to do so
  • Invite ICAs to lead on peer-to-peer support in priority areas arising from Nargarkot gathering, eg: mentoring and volunteering (elders and others), conference streams, ToP worldwide expansion, funding support
  • Establish simple framework for members to collaborate on research and develop ICAI policy positions, eg for UN consultations
  • Partner with eg: IAF/IofC to offer public webinars for staff development, networking and showcasing expertise
  • Report regularly (monthly?) to members

Secretary - Staci Kentish (Canada)
– Strategic priorities for the coming 2 years

  • Maintain the legal status, tax exemption status, etc
  • Lead in establishing and maintaining effective governance practices, including online team working skills and support
  • Clarify and communicate membership status of all organisations acting as ICAs, and encourage and support them to be members (preferably statutory) through annual membership survey
  • Clarify journey for new/renewed ICAs to statutory membership and how to demonstrate meeting criteria (edit manual on website?)
  • Develop policy and procedure on responding to ‘ICAs in distress’
  • Co-ordinate regular Board update articles to Global Buzz

Treasurer - Shankar Jadhav (India)
– Strategic priorities for the coming 2 years

  • Manage finances prudently and responsibly – oversee payments and receipts and handle as necessary
  • Issue annual invoices for dues
  • Provide updated transparent financial information to ICAs, in new, simpler and user-friendly format
  • Invite and handle member budget requests for support for regional meetings and other member initiatives
  • Complete the annual Audit with Bill
  • Develop a new consensus dues model

Vice-President (Americas) – Isabel De La Maza (Chile)
– Strategic priorities for the coming 2 years   

  • Support Secretary in gathering membership survey responses
  • Arrange and lead regional online meetings
  • Support and encourage face to face gatherings of region each year
  • Encourage and monitor the peer to peer activities around the locations and feed into global communications - look for new collaborations between North, Central and South America and also the rest of the world.
  • Encourage more formal institution to institution partnerships among peers instead of person to institution partnerships
  • Building trust with the local ICA leadership, with the honesty and transparent system and personal touch.
  • Follow-up on Nagarkot initiative of working with elders
  • Continue encouraging the Network work in LA in environmental projects.

Vice-President (Africa, MENA and Europe) – Gerald Gomani (Zimbabwe)
– Strategic priorities for the coming 2 years 

  • Support Secretary in gathering membership survey responses
  • Arrange and lead regional online meetings
  • Support and encourage face to face gatherings of region each year
  • Encourage and monitor peer to peer activities and feed into global communications – create and share opportunities for African ICAs
  • Encourage more formal institution to institution partnerships among peers instead of person to institution partnerships
  • Building trust with the local ICA leadership, with the honesty and transparent system and personal touch

Vice-President (Asia and Pacific) – Krishna Shrestha (Australia)
– Strategic priorities for the coming 2 years

  • Support Secretary in gathering membership survey responses
  • Arrange and lead regional online meetings with the help of others
  • Support and encourage face to face gatherings of region each year
  • Monitor the peer to peer activities around the locations and feed into global communications
  • Encourage more formal institution to institution partnerships among peers instead of person to institution partnerships
  • Building trust with the local ICA leadership, with the honesty and transparent system and personal touch.
  • Establish an Asia Pacific Network Advisory Committee to facilitate doing a range of regional affairs such as to research the baseline conditions/ context e.g. review historical existing activities, achievements, reflections on opportunities and challenges etc. (mapping in of the national ICAs - by the respective national ICAs, but co-ordinated by the VP who will be the convenor of the regional advisory committee)
  • Talk to individuals/ institutions who are knowledgeable about the closed ICAs, and also those in the struggling ICAs, plus very active ICAs to generate information, evidence and insights about what makes ICAs doing good (or bad) and hence what makes them to endure (ICA sustainability)
  • Collate, analyse and develop a concise report based on the above tasks by late 2013 and distribute to the member ICAs
  • Organise Asia Pacific meeting in a central location sometimes in early 2014 to discuss the above report
  • Develop a tailored strategic plan for the region, keeping in mind the over-arching purpose, values and mission of the ICA as an participatory, community empowerment focussed institution

Vice-President (Communications) – Seva Gandhi (USA)
– Strategic priorities for the coming 2 years

  • Establish a new website - simple, clear and easy to keep up to date
  • Initiate/support the streamlining of communications systems (WandW, Buzz, thematic online meetings, social media etc.)
  • Establish a platform for asynchronous networking and collaboration, eg: Groupsite, Ning, Wild Apricot?
  • Truly work on methods of enabling peer to peer relationships – identifying and communicating peer-to-peer opportunities, even hosting meetings/calls
  • Support Nepal conference teams to reflect and evaluate and to sustain communities of practice
  • Invite and proposals for next Global Conference on Human Development, and/or regional or online conferences

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