by Matt Bushey, AIA, AIAVT President

It is with great pride and excitement that AIAVT announces the release of our Five-Year Strategic Plan, a document that will provide guidance and inspiration for our organization for years to come.

The 2023-2027 Strategic Plan was unanimously approved by the AIAVT Board of Directors at its October 18, 2022 board meeting. You can download a copy of the full plan here, and a single page version here.

Ten months ago, when I stepped into the role of AIAVT President, I had no intention of dedicating so much of my efforts this year to the development of a Strategic Plan,but through my interactions with AIA National, including the Grassroots conference and the AIA Leadership Exchange, I soon saw the value in defining a clear set of goals and priorities.

There are three ways in which this Strategic Plan will be particularly beneficial for AIAVT:

• It will communicate our value to members, at a time when we are trying to bring in new members and appeal to a new generation of architects.
• It will provide guidance for our committees and help ensure that all the good work of the committees is in alignment with other committee work and with AIAVT as a whole.
• And it will define our priorities as an organization as we seek to strengthen our advocacy efforts in Montpelier.

Our Strategic Plan is the culmination of months of research, planning, and discussion. We met with strategic planning consultants; had conversations with executive directors of other states; and reviewed Strategic Plans of other AIA Components, focusing on statewide chapters of similar size to Vermont.

A strategic planning retreat of the Board of Directors was held in April 2022.  Following the retreat, the plan was developed further through an iterative process, with feedback from all of our program committees.

The product of this 10-month process is a 10-page document that outlines the goals, strategies, and specific tasks that will guide our actions for the next five years.  It is based on the three Core Values established by the AIAVT Board in 2019:

• Member Engagement.  To build a strong body of connected design professionals, viewed through the lens of equity, diversity and inclusion. 
• Public Outreach.  To promote architecture and strengthen connections with the public throughout Vermont. 
• Climate Action.  To advance knowledge and expertise in pursuit of a sustainable future.

For each of these core values, the Strategic Plan describes 5-7 strategies we can take to achieve our goals, as well as a number of specific actions or tasks.  These specific tasks were developed  in consultation with the board and all our committees.

The development of the plan has already spurred thoughtful discussions with some of our members and introduced ideas for programs and events next year.  I encourage everyone to take a look at our new Strategic Plan, which you can find on the About AIA Vermont page on our website.