SFPE Strategic Plan2015-17

Milosh Puchovsky, PE, FSFPEStrategic Planning Committee Co-Chair

Professor of PracticeWPI, Dept. of Fire Protection Engineering

Agenda

• Background• Environmental Scan & Situation Analysis• Future Direction• Strategic Goals & Pictures of Success• Next Steps

Background• Worked with a strategic planning consultant• Informed by an environmental scan• Included full Board participation• Involved multiple strategy sessions and a

series of conference calls

Environmental Scan• Interviews with SFPE members including

chapter leaders• Survey of recent graduates of FPE programs• Examination of peer organizations• Interviews with all board and staff members,

and a board self-assessment• Internal document review

Environmental Scan Results• Praise for SFPE’s content leadership and body of

knowledge• Strong on professional networks & education• PE designation for FPE treasured in the U.S.;

high demand for credentialing elsewhere• Membership and revenues flat for five years;

increase in global members offset a U.S. decline

Environmental Scan Results (cont.)• Substantial global interest • Relationship with and among Chapters less than

optimal• Rely heavily on volunteers and membership

dues

Situation Analysis• Opportunities and needs for the profession are

global • Opportunity and need to make further policy

impacts, and elevate the visibility and importance of the profession

• Uniquely positioned to recruit future engineers into the profession

• SFPE is uniquely positioned to develop a credentialing program

Situation Analysis (Cont.)• Opportunity and need to strengthen the role

and sustainability of SFPE chapters • Need to align the governance and committee

structure to serve the global nature of the society and meet future goals and challenges

• Opportunity and need to expand collaborations with other organizations

• Market competition

MOVING FORWARD

What Will Drive SFPE’s Future?

• Living our vision• Staying true to our mission• Setting and capturing trends• Advancing and supporting the global demand

for the profession• Establishing and achieving ambitious goals

New Vision

The leaders in engineeringa fire safe world.

Revised Mission

To define, develop, and advance the use of engineering best practices; to expand the scientific and technical knowledge base; to educate the global fire safety community, in order to minimize fire risk.

Scope of Practice

The application of science and engineering principles to protect

people, property, and the environment from the harmful and

destructive effects of fire.

Membership Definition

As a global organization, SFPE members include fire protection

engineers, fire safety engineers, fire engineers, and allied professionals.

Value PropositionBenefit from engagement with SFPE:

1. SFPE facilitates and promotes the development, advancement and application of scientific and engineering principles to safeguarding people, property, mission, heritage and the environment from the negative impacts of unwanted fire.

2. SFPE is the leading advocate for the profession.

Value Proposition (Cont.)3. SFPE establishes the core competencies (education,

skills, knowledge, etc.), and the roles and responsibilities for the profession

4. SFPE is the source for related technical knowledge and information.

5. SFPE provides the tools to aid our members’ continued growth throughout their careers.

6. We provide forums for networking and information exchange, locally and globally.

STRATEGIC GOALS & PICTURES OF SUCCESS

Strategic Goals

• Meant to be “evergreen”–span multiple plan cycles

• Tied to the value proposition • Achieved through three-year objectives

Strategic Goal 1

Promote the development, advancement and application of scientific and engineering principles to safeguard people, property, mission, heritage and the environment from the negative impacts of unwanted fire.

Strategic Goal 1

Objective 1. Promote engineering solutions for addressing existing and emerging fire safety issues. Picture of Success in 2017: We will have increased global awareness that FPE/FSEs make a difference; set an agenda for key issues; and demonstrated that FPE/FSE input is of critical importance through public awareness campaigns, position statements, policies, media campaigns & speaking engagements.

Strategic Goal 1

Objective 2. Broaden SFPE’s reach globally Picture of Success in 2017: We will have a strong SFPE brand globally; increased chapter, corporate and membership growth with functional relationships; a wider distribution and use of guides and standards; more global participation on SFPE committees and formal representation on industry committees and groups; clearer points of contact in regions; and have formalized the regional groups to ensure strong impact.

Strategic Goal 1 Objective 3. Expand reference to SFPE standards and guides in regulatory documents. Picture of Success in 2017: We will have developed a strategy for outlining FPEs’ roles and responsibilities and use of associated reference documents; obtained greater references in relevant regulations and standards, including commentaries and handbooks; included SFPE’s Performance-based Design Guide referenced in building and fire regulations as a process to follow for alternative design; reviewed standards and guides that could be adopted for other countries; and celebrated the 32 NFPA references to SFPE documents and encourage more

Strategic Goal 2

Advocate for the profession.

Strategic Goals 2

Objective 1. Expand initiatives to recruit students and faculty into undergraduate and graduate FPE/FSE engineering programs and actively encourage the creation of additional university degree programs and partnerships that support the profession.

Strategic Goals 2Objective 1 Picture of Success in 2017: We will have obtained greater exposure and circulation of SFPE’s materials on Chemistry in Fire and Careers in Fire Protection Engineering to attract more students into undergraduate and graduate programs; developed a recruitment program in the form of a public awareness campaign that targets undergraduate engineering schools and highlights the opportunities for pursuing a graduate degree in FPE/FSE; and identified and supported universities and colleges as candidates for creating new FPE/FSE graduate and undergraduate programs.

Strategic Goals 2

Objective 2. Promote and advocate for the licensure and credentialing of FPE/FSEs.Picture of Success in 2017: We will have maintained the FPE exam in the U.S.; succeeded in having all 50 U.S. states recognize the FPE designation; implemented a dashboard to track status with formalized criteria and measures; and encouraged chapters to identify what would be required to get formal accreditation in their regions.

Strategic Goals 2

Objective 3. Collaborate with other organizations on licensure requirements outside of the U.S.Picture of Success in 2017: We will have obtained global accreditation with licensing bodies as needed; worked with NCEES on their global expansion plans; and explored other options in regions where NCEES doesn’t have a presence.

Strategic Goals 3

Continue to enhance the capacity of SFPE and its chapters to provide high-quality services to members and the profession.

Strategic Goals 3

Objective 1. Restructure SFPE’s governance and resources to align with the strategic plan.

Picture of Success in 2017: We will have restructured governance of SFPE to achieve the goals and objectives of the strategic plan.

Strategic Goals 3

Objective 2. Support the development, growth, and stability of chapters.Picture of Success in 2017: SFPE and its chapters are aligned in advancing the mission of the organization through strong partnering relationships based on clear communications and mutual support. Additionally, there will be demonstrated growth globally of the number of chapters and their associated members.

Strategic Goals 3

Objective 3. Re-evaluate and develop specific roles and responsibilities for our chapters to benefit our profession. Picture of Success in 2017: SFPE and its chapters are aligned and have clear and reasonable roles and responsibilities outlined that differentiate between the two.

Strategic Goal 4

Establish the core competencies (education, skills, knowledge, etc.) and roles and responsibilities for the profession.

Strategic Goal 4

Objective 1. Identify and take ownership of areas of competency and associated criteria.Picture of Success in 2017: We will have defined the areas of competency globally, including the PE exam and other credentialing processes.

Strategic Goal 4

Objective 2. Define the educational criteria for the profession.Picture of Success in 2017: We will have identified and documented the globally agreed upon educational background of FPEs/FSEs.

Strategic Goal 5

Develop, expand and promulgate technical knowledge and information.

Strategic Goal 5

• Objective 1. Facilitate the development and implementation of a research agenda for fire protection engineering and fire safety.

• Picture of Success in 2017: We will have created a research agenda; assembled a team to structure the agenda, process and proposals; and identified potential industry collaborators.

Strategic Goal 5

• Objective 2: Develop additional technical standards and guides that define the practice of fire protection engineering and fire safety.

• Picture of Success in 2017: We will have assessed and prioritized the development of new standards and guides; delivered the next edition of the Handbook; begun work on the subsequent edition; and developed at least two new standards/guides by 2017.

Strategic Goal 5

• Objective 3. Develop core curriculum to guide SFPE’s educational activities and publications.

• Picture of Success in 2017: We will have completed and published a core curriculum that includes a comprehensive list of offerings including new courses; publicized the framework from the ECCG White Paper; published an article in FPE magazine to give the curriculum more exposure; and created a catalog of educational courses.

Strategic Goal 6

Provide the means to aid members’ continued growth throughout their careers.

Strategic Goal 6

Objective 1. Improve electronic platform for 24/7 course and publication delivery.Picture of Success in 2017: We will have implemented a learning management system with 2 to 3 courses/publications a year with PDH tracking and launched a new web site and member only area.

Strategic Goal 6• Objective 2. Develop and deliver a spectrum of

continuing education products to meet members’ needs locally.

• Picture of Success in 2017: We will have created and implemented a “SFPE University” concept that meets global members’ needs, including presentations, publications, webinars, and courses. We will have assessed and, if viable, developed and delivered a global certification program.

Next Steps

• Implement action items• Board to vote on related Bylaws changes• Ballot membership on needed changes

to the Constitution

Closing Remarks