This document summarizes the strategic planning process and goals of the International Reading Association (IRA). It found that IRA was facing declining membership, conference attendance, and financial difficulties. IRA responded by cutting nearly half its budget and staff. It then conducted an extensive analysis, shared findings with members, and held a strategic planning event. Key goals identified include renewing the membership proposition, establishing IRA as a global literacy authority, attaining financial stability, and increasing membership value through customized benefits and resources. The strategic plan focuses on governance reforms, professional learning, membership engagement, and positioning IRA as a thought leader.

1. IDEC European Leadership Seminar
Ljubljana, Slovenia
January 24-25, 2014

2. 



More than 53,000 members
Operating budget of more than $12m (US)
Staff of 71
Network of more than 1500 organized
chapters worldwide (councils, affiliates,
provincials, regionals)

3. 




Professional Development Events
Publications
Website resources
Member expertise
Network support

4. 100,000
90,000
80,000
70,000
60,000
50,000
40,000
ALL MONTHS TO DATE
30,000
20,000
Last five years=(27,626)
10,000
0
1987
Prior five years=(781)

6. Revenue
8
7
6
In Millions
5
4
3
2
1
0
-1
Expense
Profit/(Loss)

7. 70,000
In the last five years journal
subscriptions dropped 37-41%
60,000
50,000
40,000
In the prior five years journal
subscriptions dropped 9-17%
30,000
20,000
10,000
RT
0
Jul-01
Jul-02
Jul-03
Jul-04
Jul-05
Jul-06
Jul-07
Jul-08
Jul-09
Jul-10
Jul-11
Jul-12
Jul-13

8. JUL
25,000
JUN
AUG
20,000
15,000
MAY
SEP
10,000
5,000
APR
OCT
-
MAR
NOV
FEB
Last Five Years
DEC
JAN
FY06-07
FY07-08
FY08-09
FY09-10
FY10-11
FY11-12
FY12-13
FY13-14

9. 600
FY12-13
FY13-14
FY14-15
500
400
300
200
100
0
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN

10. 



Membership is dropping
Conference attendance is dropping
Difficulty attracting younger members
Scarcity of members interested in leadership
positions

11. 



Limited pathways to leadership
Recycled leaders
Poor financial management
Little or no strategic planning

12. X (1965-1980):
independent, wa
nt a
voice, informal, i
ndividual, tech
savvy, balanced,
self-sufficient
Generational
Impact on IRA
Silent (1925-1945) :
traditional, conservati
ve, disciplined, struct
ured, loyal, faith in
institutions, value
structure
Y (1981-2001):
networking, informal
, small group, tech
savvy, always
“on”, civicminded, want a voice
Boom (1946-1964):
timesensitive, team, alwa
ys “young”, willing
to
learn, loyal, focused,
make a difference

13. 




Time
Value expectations
Market structure
Competition
Technology
* Race to Relevance: 5 Radical Changes for Associations, Harrison Coerver &
Mary Byers, CAE

14.  Cut
48% of the budget
 Cut 43% of staff
 No change to IRA
programs, services and resources

16. 
Gathered and analyzed data
◦ Membership
◦ Financial
◦ Global trends

Shared the data
◦ Board, Staff, Membership

Convened Board/staff strategic planning event
◦ Assessed strengths, opportunities and
challenges, and established goals and objectives

Assessed all areas for streamlining –
governance, operations, network – and
commenced restructuring

17. IRA must revitalize and renew its
membership proposition to attract
and retain members.

18. What would cease to happen if IRA (or your
regional or local) fell of the face of the Earth
tomorrow?

19. 
Professional Development

Public Engagement

Community Engagement

20. 



Assess and modify IRA structurally
(governance and operations) to maximize
opportunities
Develop a strategic plan with goals that are
bold, but realistic, achievable, measureable
Align and drive all resources to achieve goals
Utilize this professional network – IRA and all
its chartered organizations to achieve the
goals

21. 


Establish IRA as worldwide authority and #1
resource provider in literacy education
Attain and maintain financial stability
Increase membership value

22. • Increase media requests for IRA public
comment by 50% each year for the next three
years
• Increase IRA website traffic to 5m annual visits
by 2016
• Become the #1 produced result in search
engine rankings worldwide for literacy education
keywords by 2018

23. • Eliminate operating deficit by 2017
• Reduce draw from quasi-endowment to no
more than 5% annually by 2017
• Increase revenue by 2% annually over the
next three years
• Rebuild cash reserve funds to $20m by 2017

24. •Develop 4 new member benefits by 2016
•Develop native language member resources
for two countries by 2014
•Increase member retention from 2.5 to 5
years by 2018
•Develop customized membership experience
(“My IRA”) by 2015-16

25. 
IRA (ILA) is committed to investing in the
required resources, IT and Human Capital, to
position itself to effectively disseminate
research and evidence-based knowledge and
information, in a customized way, to schoolbased literacy educators of students ages 418.

26. 
IRA (ILA) is committed to serving its
membership by developing and offering
outstanding professional services that can be
customized to reflect the individual needs of
its members.

27. Governance, Org Structure & Culture
Membership
Professional
Learning

28. 





Strong governance and operations
Smart, conservative financial management
Investment in IT and human capital
Bold strategic plan with
specific, measureable, achievable goals.
Development of a personal, individualized
membership experience
Re-position IRA as a strong leader in literacy
and establish our role as a world thought
leader

30. Effective Operating Boards
Mission Aligned to IRA
Solid Financial Planning
and Management
Strong Membership
Proposition
Specific Plans for Future Growth
Stronger
Sustainable
Network

31. Website
Portal
Email System
Data
Management
Financial
Services

32. 


Stabilize the organization financially and
operationally
Use data to inform decision-making
Members Matter

33. mpost@reading.org