From the Chair August 2017

The IAP2 Australasia Board met in Brisbane on July 21 with a big focus on ways to reinvest in the practice. Some exciting new initiatives were endorsed – more news on those soon – including two scholarships to support young members to attend the IAP2 North American conference in Denver, Colorado, in September and participate in global discussions there about the future of IAP2 at an international level.

To be eligible to apply you must:

• be 35 years of age or under,
• have been an IAP2 member for a minimum of 12 months,
• be able and eligible to travel to the USA and fully participate in the conference and Federation workshops from September 6 to 9, and
• have permission from your employer to attend and be prepared to share your learnings on your return.

The scholarship will include return airfares, accommodation and conference registration, in line with the IAP2 Travel Policy.

Applications must be received via email to ceo@iap2.org.au by 5.00pm AEST Friday 11 August and include a CV or employment summary demonstrating involvement in the community and stakeholder engagement area, and a maximum one page statement to support your application. All applications received that can demonstrate that they meet the selection criteria will be placed into a draw and two randomly selected – one from Australia and one from New Zealand. Successful applicants will be notified by phone no later than Wednesday 16 August.

With recruitment of a new CEO now well underway, the Board spent some time on strategic planning and viewed the Ted Talk from Simon Sinek (worth a watch if you haven’t seen it), leading to deep conversations about “Why does IAP2 exist?” and what this means for our future planning. These conversations will continue with the Board, staff and members over the next few months as we put a strategy in place to help our new CEO succeed.

The Board also dedicated some time to reviewing recent learnings, identifying opportunities to improve board effectiveness and efficiencies and establishing a maintenance process to keep the Board operating at an optimal level.

Thanks to those members in Brisbane who attended our networking event on July 20. It was great to catch up and hear firsthand stories of opportunities and challenges.

You are welcome to contact the board anytime at board@iap2.org.au. We look forward to updating you on our activities each month via this newsletter.

Leanne Hartill
Board Chair