AIHP Establishes Strategic Priorities

AIHP’s Board of Directors has established four strategic priorities that will guide the Institute’s work and allocation of resources over the next three years. The Board also adopted a comprehensive action plan for implementing the selected priorities.

Undertaking an organizational review process to identify and select a set of strategic goals for the Institute has been one of the top priorities of AIHP President W. Clarke Ridgway, who explained: “The establishment of strategic priorities is critical if AIHP is to maximize resource utilization while providing consistently high-quality publications, programming and service.”

The newly adopted AIHP strategic priorities call on the Institute to:

• Increase the accessibility of AIHP’s historical collections;
• Increase AIHP’s operating revenues by at least $50,000 annually;
• Increase partnerships and collaborations with pharmacy, pharmaceutical, and historical organizations;
• Integrate and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of AIHP’s programs and operations.

In early 2021, President Rigway challenged the Board and Institute staff to identify the priorities crucial for building upon AIHP’s programmatic accomplishments and addressing recognized organizational concerns and weaknesses. From a longer list of ideas, Board members and staff chose the four selected priorities. 

President Ridgway subsequently appointed a committee for each selected priority and charged it with developing action items for implementation. At its meeting in June, the Board reviewed the proposed action items and selected those to be pursued. Institute staff then drafted the final action plan, which the Board approved in September. Read a copy of the action plan for implementing the strategic priorities [.pdf]. 

For each selected priority, the final plan includes three or four specific action items with objective goals or targets. A total of 16 action items are included in the plan.

With respect to historical collections, the plan provides that Institute staff will “(a) develop detailed collections lists, inventories, and finding aids for AIHP historical collections; (b) digitize select portions of the collections; and (c) develop and populate AIHP’s digital library.”

Action items for increasing operating revenues include improving membership revenues by 25% and increasing the number of National Association Sponsors by at least three over the next three years. The Institute will also devote more resources to pursing grants to support specific programs or initiatives.

Action items for building partnerships and collaborations with external organizations include:

• Increasing AIHP’s engagement with its national sponsors on mutually beneficial history-related projects;
• Reinvigorating the Institute’s engagement with pharmacy education by (a) revamping its Pharmacy Education Fund program; (b) promoting the teaching of the history of pharmacy in schools and colleges of pharmacy, and (c) deepening AIHP ties with the ACCP History of Pharmacy Special Interest Group; and
• Updating the online directory of pharmacy museums and archives and improving communications and networking among these organizations.

To pursue the goal of better integrating principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion into its operations, AIHP will (a) develop a DEI vision statement within the next year; (b) diversify the composition of its Board of Directors over the next three years; (c) address DEI issues in its programming and publications; and (d) increase its engagement with pharmacy organizations and institutions that serve traditionally underrepresented groups in the profession.

President Ridgway lauded the new priorities: “AIHP’s Board and staff have devoted many hours to charting a course that will allow us to focus our resources on the issues we’ve identified as most critical to successfully pursuing our mission.”

(Posted: November 8, 2021)