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Call for Member Comment on Future Joint Meetings

Woven throughout SAA’s Strategic Plan 2014-2018 is recognition of the importance of collaboration, particularly in regard to Goal 2.1. (“Provide content, via education and publications, that reflects the latest thinking and best practices in the field”) and Goal 3.3. (“Participate actively in relevant partnerships and collaborations to enhance professional knowledge”).  SAA has joined forces with other organizations – notably the Council of State Archivists and the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators – on joint annual meetings during the past 10 years.  But are there other groups with which SAA might collaborate on conferences?

The SAA Council is considering a draft “Principles and Priorities for Planning Joint Meetings with Other Professional Organizations” to guide decision-making in the future.  View the August 2014 Council discussion paper here.  The Council seeks broad member comment on the draft below. To comment on this draft: Log in and post comments publicly to the website, or send your comments via email, with the subject line "Joint Meetings," to saahq@archivists.org. Deadline: Wednesday, September 10, 5:00 pm, Central time.

 

DRAFT Principles and Priorities for Planning Joint Meetings
with Other Professional Organizations

Joint meetings of SAA with other professional organizations should aspire to:

  • Be consistent with SAA’s “Principles and Priorities for Continuously Improving the SAA Annual Meeting.”[1]
  • Be consistent with SAA’s “Code of Conduct”[2]
  • Be consistent with SAA’s commitment to social responsibility in all aspects of meeting planning and execution.
  • Attract new and more diverse attendees.
  • Enhance SAA’s relations with other organizations.
  • Explore partnerships with non-traditional (i.e., non-records-focused) organizations.
  • Result in an improved program.
  • Not have an unreasonable impact on SAA staff workload.
  • Result in increased revenue from new members and vendors.
  • Experiment with new program features and formats.

When considering a joint meeting, the SAA Council and staff should consider the following in their discussions:

  • What does SAA hope to gain from a joint annual meeting?
  • What are the benefits to SAA's membership (in total, and from the perspective of component groups) from a joint annual meeting?
  • What types of programming would best leverage a joint annual meeting for SAA's members?
  • What collaborative assets does the other organization bring to planning and holding a joint annual meeting?
  • What is the mission of the proposed partner and how can learning about it enhance the work of SAA’s members?
  • What financial bottom lines (in terms of both expenditures and profits) would help determine the feasibility of a joint annual meeting?
  • What are the top two things that would make a joint annual meeting a success from the perspective of SAA and its members?
  • What one or two things would make a joint annual meeting less than successful from the perspective of SAA and its members?
  • From SAA’s perspective, what benefits does it bring to the other prospective associations that would encourage participation in a joint meeting?
[1] See “Principles and Priorities for Continuously Improving the SAA Annual Meeting” (as adopted by the SAA Council, August 12, 2013), http://www2.archivists.org/statements/principles-and-priorities-for-continuously-improving-the-saa-annual-meeting:
  • We will make every meeting as useful, affordable, accessible, and enjoyable as possible for all attendees.
  • We will explore new locations, structure, and content for the Annual Meeting on an ongoing basis.
  • We will embrace a culture of experimentation and will be willing to take calculated risks with respect to the Annual Meeting.  No aspect of the meeting will be off limits based on “tradition.”
  • We will encourage diversity among the people attending the meeting, contributing to its content, and benefiting from its results.
  • We will actively pursue ways of making meeting content available online.
  • We will integrate a commitment to social responsibility and sustainability into all aspects of meeting planning and execution.
  • We will continuously seek feedback from both attendees and non-attendees on all aspects of the meeting.
[2] See “SAA Code of Conduct” (as adopted by the SAA Council, July 2014), http://www2.archivists.org/statements/saa-code-of-conduct.
Comments:
2
2 Comment(s) to the "Call for Member Comment on Future Joint Meetings"
lgoodley says:
I think this is fantastic and

I think this is fantastic and I'm looking forward to new opportunities to connect with membership in allied fields/similar groups. Seems like a great opportunity for outreach for SAA and a "two-for-one" deal for members.

Does SAA governance address somewhere how to submit a suggestion for joint meetings? Is this part of the site submission? If this is on the website could someone please direct me to that info? Thanks!

~Lauren Goodley

Submitted by lgoodley on September 10, 2014 - 12:00pm.
eiratansey says:
While tradition isn't a sacred cow, neither is it an obstacle

I'm glad to see this discussion taking place -- I could see a number of fantastic partnerships with joint meetings. That said, I need to address one of the bullet points that I feel is something of a Trojan Horse:

We will embrace a culture of experimentation and will be willing to take calculated risks with respect to the Annual Meeting.  No aspect of the meeting will be off limits based on “tradition.”

At this year's 2014 meeting, we did not have a public Presidential Address delivered in-person (just via video), and I have heard some individuals suggest that no one cares about the address, that it's historically not well-attended, etc etc. This makes me concerned that a "culture of experimentation" would be used as cover, particularly during the next joint meeting, to do away with traditions such as a public Presidential Address.

This particular example, but the general concept, concerns me for many reasons. Many of the "traditions" of SAA, such as open council meetings, the Presidential address, the business meeting, etc, are FUNDAMENTALLY needed to ensure transparency across our organization, where members can observe their leaders "in real time," something that I feel is lost with a move to after-the-fact broadcasts. I am concerned that the scheduling and cost logistics associated with a joint meeting might make these particular governance "traditions" candidates for the chopping block. I hope you will take this into consideration, and write some bullet points addressing the need for continued governance activities to take place at the meeting, even in joint-conference arrangements.

Submitted by eiratansey on September 5, 2014 - 4:39pm.
Updated: 2014-08-26

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