From the CEO November – Shake It Up! a mind stretching experience
“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jnr
Thank you to everyone that joined us at the annual IAP2 Australasia Conference: ‘Shake It Up!’ on the Gold Coast recently. It was wonderful to have my mind stretched by all the new experiences and learnings on offer. And the energy and enthusiasm of all of our delegates, speakers, exhibitors and sponsors was contagious (in a good way). A huge thank you and congratulations to the amazing team of volunteers and staff who pulled together a stand-out conference.
If you missed it – don’t despair – the presentations will soon be available for members and conference attendees over the coming weeks. But let me assure you – you won’t want to miss out in joining us in Sydney next year!
At the conference we launched the IAP2 volunteer mentoring program. This exciting, new initiative is funded from the IAP2 Pitch for the Practice participatory budget. It is designed to help members develop their professional skills and expand their networks. Don’t miss out on this great member only opportunity to learn, grow and contribute to the practice – apply before 12 November 2018.
A huge thank you to principle sponsor GHD, and all our other sponsors and exhibitors for adding to spirit of knowledge sharing and mind stretching at the conference.
If you want to continue on your mind-stretching journey – there are lots of opportunities with IAP2. Check out the local networking events, sign up for a working group (we’ve just launched our Research working group) or one of the committees for the International Change Initiative, or register for the newly launched Engagement Evaluationprogram. And there is always next year’s conference – Sydney here we come!
2018 Core Values Awards
The highlight of the annual IAP2 calendar is the Core Values Awards – and the celebration of best practice in community and stakeholder engagement.
The 2018 Core Values Awards saw a record number of entries – which kept our amazing and hard-working judges very busy. A huge thank you to Abbie Jeffs, Ann Telford and Michael Robertson for your generosity, wisdom and commitment to the IAP2 Core Values.
Special congratulations also goes to the NZ Transport Agency and Aurecon NZ who won the IAP2 Australasia and IAP2 International Project of the Year for their Northern Corridor Improvements (NCI) Project (Design Consenting Phase) a nationally significant transport project which put public interests “at the heart of all decision-making”.
International Change Initiative
As you know the IAP2 International Change Initiative has launched to create a sustainable and dynamic international association for engagement professionals. An International Change Committee has been established, and the call has gone out to IAP2 members globally to join a working group or sub-committee. There are lots of exciting strategic pieces of work across the depth and breadth of IAP2. If you haven’t done so already – and would like to – join in here.
Together with our directors who are our representatives on the IAP2 International Board (Kylie Cochrane and Mandi Davidson) the IAP2 Australasia staff are all involved:
- Governance Committee: CEO to act as strategic adviser
- Professional Development, Training and Standards: CEO and Professional Development Manager – Fran Morris
- Member Value and Brand: CEO and Marketing Manager – Josie Gruber (with support from Operations Manager – Roger Nicholls for the database and website projects)
- Advocacy and Emerging Practice: Membership Relations Manager – Michelle Caruso
Additionally, you will find a number of our IAP2 Australasia Ambassadors, trainers and members already actively contributing to the International Change Initiative (a huge thank you to all of them).
You can still join us…
Impact on the IAP2 Australasia Strategic Plan
The IAP2 International Change Initiative shares a number of key objectives with the IAP2 Australasia strategic plan to 30 June 2020. This provides an opportunity to collaborate on a global level to achieve strengthened strategic outcomes that will benefit all of IAP2 – and is a very exciting time.
As a result there has been a review of the IAP2 Australasia strategic plan– and a number of initiatives now have a revised timeline to allow a collaborative approach and sharing of resources. You can review these here
Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held on Wednesday 24 October, the first day of the annual Conference. Thank you to everyone who attended.
The big agenda item was the new Constitution, which was passed under a Special Resolution by a vote of members. You can read it on our website.
At the AGM, we welcomed the newly elected Directors: Tony Clark, Amy Hubbard and Joel Levin – congratulations! We also warmly thanked the retiring Directors for their service: Kylie Cochrane, Leanne Hartill and Margaret Harvie.
The new Constitution, which aligns with best-practice governance, provides Directors the opportunity to appoint up to two additional Directors to meet identified skills and expertise. As a result the Board appointed Kylie Cochrane as a Director so that she could continue her valuable role on the IAP2 International Board and her leadership role in the International Change Initiative (welcome back Kylie).
Congratulations also to Donna Marshall and Mandi Davidson who were re-appointed as Chair and Deputy Chair.
It is going to be a big, exciting and mind stretching year – and I’m looking forward to sharing the journey with you.
Warmest regards
Marion
P.S. I’m totally in love with our I love IAP2 badges
