Executive Summary November 2010
AOTA Procedural & Organizational Change Ad Hoc Committee Meeting
Executive Summary
November 16–17, 2010
AOTA Procedural & Organizational Change Ad Hoc Committee Members Present:
Shawn Phipps (Chair), Cynthia Bell, Yvonne Randall, Virginia Stoffel, Barbara Schell, Jyothi Gupta, Barbara Hemphill, Janet Delany, Pamela Toto, Carol Siebert, Ashley Dunn Thompson, Timothy Wolf, Penny Moyers Cleveland, & Ada Boone Hoerl
Secretaries: Timothy Wolf, Virginia Stoffel, Janet Delany, Jyothi Gupta, Pamela Toto
The second meeting of the AOTA Procedural & Organizational Change Ad Hoc Committee convened on November 16 and 17, 2010, at AOTA Headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland. Membership on the committee was in accordance with the following resolution passed by the AOTA Representative Assembly (RA) in April 2010: “The President and Speaker of the RA to jointly appoint an ad hoc committee to continue to explore opportunities for both procedural and organizational changes designed to respond to the concerns raised by the President in the recently defeated Participation Review motion.” The composition of the ad hoc committee originates from the RA charge to the President and the Speaker of the RA to jointly appoint an ad hoc committee composed of the following representatives: Commission Chairs (4), the SISC Chair, the RA Speaker, an RA member, a member from the Participation Ad Hoc committee, two members at large, a member of ASAP, an ASD Steering Committee member, an OTA member, an officer of the Association, and a Chairperson.
History
This committee was convened as a follow-up to the proposal brought to the RA in April 2010. This proposal was the outcome of the Participation Ad Hoc Committee that was appointed by the Board to explore ways to increase membership and improve participation in AOTA. Recommendations from this group were discussed by the RA, and a revised proposal was developed and submitted to the RA as a substitute motion. That substitute motion was defeated, but members of the RA recognized that there were significant issues that required a response. The RA subsequently recommended the formation of the current group to continue to explore concerns, build on past work, and submit a new plan to the RA. All of these historical documents are available for review at: http://aota.org/Governance/ProceduralAdHoc.aspx.
The current committee met for the first time on September 21 and 22, 2010, at AOTA Headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland. At this first meeting, major trends of concern were reviewed and after the committee unanimously agreed that a change in AOTA governance structure and/or function was needed, the committee developed a list of design specifications to be used to guide decision making regarding changes in AOTA structure and/or function. The design specifications were shared with the membership at large and feedback was gathered via a Zoomerang survey. The committee reviewed the work completed by the previous Participation Ad Hoc Committee as a starting point for discussion, moving forward with recommendations and creating a list of key issues that needed to be considered in future AOTA governance models. The executive summary from this first meeting can be found at http://aota.org/Governance/ProceduralAdHoc/Minutes/Minutes9-10.aspx.
Goal of the Current Ad Hoc Committee
The primary goal of the AOTA Procedural & Organizational Change Ad Hoc Committee is to develop recommendations for an AOTA governance structure that optimizes member participation and expeditiously propels the occupational therapy profession toward the Centennial Vision focus of becoming a “powerful, widely recognized, evidence-based, and science-driven profession with a globally connected and diverse workforce meeting society’s occupational needs.”
Summary of Meeting Deliberations
Review of membership feedback
The committee first reviewed the feedback regarding the Design Specifications that was gathered from the membership. Qualitative results of the Zoomerang Survey had been summarized by a subcommittee prior to this meeting. The majority of items on the survey regarding the Design Specifications had strong agreement or agreement at the 76% to 90% level among the 663 people who responded to the survey. Related to each design specification item, from 22 to 40 people provided qualitative comments, with 161 persons offering additional comments to the open question, “Is there anything else you would like to tell the Ad Hoc Committee?” As a result of reviewing these data, the committee amended the original Design Specifications (available at http://www.aota.org/Governance/ProceduralAdHoc.aspx) to create the following criteria:
- Aligns volunteers with the Association’s strategic priorities and the Centennial Vision.
- Members value participation, feel connected to the profession, and receive personal and professional development.
- Increases leadership, participation, and advocacy in the Association and across practice.
- Structures and processes are dynamic, responsive, flexible, timely, and accountable.
- Parameters are clearly defined to ensure success and implementation.
- Supports the best use of Association resources for greater focus and impact.
- Encourages the use of technology and face-to-face interaction.
- Structures and processes are continuously evaluated.
- Encourages transparency, inclusion, and diversity.
- Creates a transparent, inclusive, and open process.
- Creates more opportunities for member participation, and members understand all opportunities for participation.
- Provides a greater pool of members available and willing to participate in activities of the Association and the profession.
- It is easier for members to participate and become involved due to increased flexibility in the requisite time commitment.
These revised design specifications and the list of key issues were used by the committee for the remainder of the meeting to guide our decision making.
Developing Recommendations
The committee reviewed three sets of proposed organizational structure recommendations: (1) the current structure of AOTA; (2) the final Participation Ad Hoc recommendations defeated in the 2010 RA; and (3) a hybrid model based on preliminary feedback gathered by the committee. These recommendations were discussed in relation to the Design Specifications and the key issues to evaluate every aspect of AOTA’s organizational structure and function. A review of the discussion and recommendations proposed related to each aspect of AOTA structure is presented below.
Bicameral Structure
The committee felt that there was overwhelming support to maintain our current bicameral structure: (1) a Board of Directors who maintain fiduciary responsibility for the Association; and (2) a body that maintains responsibility for all professional issues.
Board of Directors (BOD): The structure of the BOD has recently been reviewed and reorganized. There was general consensus by the committee and based on feedback from the membership that the current structure of the BOD meets the design specifications and did not require structural change; however, the committee and the membership felt that there needed to be greater synergistic alignment between the BOD and the professional body in collaborating on strategic planning.
Recommendations
- Maintain the current structure of the Board of Directors.
- Change the strategic planning process to involve the leaders of the professional issues body in order to ensure synergistic alignment between the two entities in achieving the strategic plan and the Centennial Vision.
Professional Issues: There are several bodies that currently comprise this area of the Association, including but not limited to: (1) the Representative Assembly (RA) including all the associated bodies of the Assembly (e.g., COE, COP, EC, CCCPD); and (2) the Special Interest Sections (SISs). The committee reviewed the structure and functions of each of these groups and came to consensus around the following recommendations.
Recommendations
- Transform the Representative Assembly into the Professional Council.
The committee ultimately came to consensus around recommending that the RA be transformed into the Professional Council with following characteristics:
- A total of 20 members that will include:
- 1 Chair elected by the members of the Council and also serves on the BOD;
- 5 Councilors each elected from one of five geographic regions, similar to the AOTPAC regions;
- 7 Councilors, each elected based on their expertise/knowledge in the seven practice areas: Education; Mental Health; Work and Industry; Health and Wellness; Productive Aging; Children and Youth; and Rehabilitation, Disability, and Participation.
- 4 Councilors each elected based on their expertise/knowledge in one of the four functional areas of the Association: Research, Advocacy, Ethics, and Professional Development.
- 3 Councilors appointed by the BOD to ensure diversity of opinion, knowledge, and expertise on the Council.
- All members of the Association can vote for all elected positions of the Council.
- Councilors are elected to represent diversity of opinion, knowledge, and expertise and not to be representative of a constituent group.
- The Association members will have the opportunity to provide feedback and vote on issues brought before the Council.
- The Council will work in conjunction with the BOD to support development and implementation of the Strategic Plan.
- The Council will appoint ad hoc groups to accomplish the work of the Association in conjunction with the Volunteer Leadership Development Committee, Practice Sections, and SISs (see discussion points and resolutions below).
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Discussion Points
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Resolution
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A large representative body creates a level of structure that does not allow for the work of the profession to be completed in a dynamic, flexible, or timely manner. The feedback and data received by the ad hoc committee support the need for structural change to the RA in order to address this Design Specification for the Association.
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The committee decided that a council of 20 members would be a more appropriate size to address the Design Specification to be more dynamic, flexible, responsive, and timely.
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There was conflicting information regarding the issue of representation/composition of the Council. Should representation be maintained? Should representation be geographic or knowledge-based? The committee spent a significant amount of time determining the composition of the Council in regards to the conflicting areas of concern raised by the membership and the Design Specifications.
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After reviewing all of the feedback brought before the committee from the membership and in relation to the Design Specifications, the committee decided to recommend transformation of the current RA structure from one of election-area representation to a model based on dynamic membership participation. In this model, the membership will have direct connections to the members of the Council and be allowed to provide feedback and vote directly on major issues before the Association. The members of the Council will be elected based on diversity of knowledge/background vs. representing a constituent group. The committee was very cognizant of the fact that a strong connection was needed between AOTA and the affiliated state associations.
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The question was raised that if we move away from a state representational model, then how will the states maintain their connection to AOTA and vice versa?
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The committee believes that there needs to be a connection with the affiliated state associations, but that connection was not best served through the current model, where affiliates have a single representative from the Affiliated State Association Presidents (ASAP). The committee came to consensus around strengthening the roles and function of ASAP via the representational roles and the affiliation agreements within the new structure.
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There was discussion on whether the Chair of the Council should be elected by the membership at large or by the other Council members.
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The committee decided, based on the past experience with the Speaker of the RA, that the Council Chair would be more effective if he/she was elected by the other members of the Council.
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There was concern raised by this committee and from the previous Participation Ad Hoc recommendations that the work of the Council will be too great for a group of 20 people, and the Council will need additional people/groups to help coordinate, manage, and align its work with the other Association groups.
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The committee agreed to create Practice Sections and modify the structure and function of the SISs. Each proposed change is discussed below.
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The practice areas in the Strategic Plan may change over time, which would therefore change the makeup of the Council
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The committee came to consensus that the seats on the Council designated for practice area expertise will be reflected in the bylaws and SOPs of the Council to be the current Association areas of practice.
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- Modify the structure and function of the Special Interest Sections (SISs).
The committee decided that the intent of the Special Interest Sections (SISs) fit with the spirit of the Design Specifications and should be maintained; however, they needed structural and functional change to more closely align with the goals of the Design Specifications. The following changes are recommended to the SISs:
- The rules regarding starting and ending an SIS will be minimized and much more streamlined to allow SISs to form and dissolve as necessary to truly serve a special interest of the profession.
- To form an SIS, a minimum of 25 members are required.
- SISs will no longer have obligatory activities for the Association but will still have the opportunity to participate in these activities. The obligations will be shifted to the Practice Sections (see recommendation 3).
- SISs will not have an annual budget; however, they will be able to generate requests to the Council to receive funds for projects they wish to undertake.
- The Council may also call on members of an SIS to address a specific project related to the Strategic Plan; however, the SIS can decide whether or not it wishes to respond to the request.
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Discussion Points
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Resolution
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The SISs are a vital benefit for members to network and discuss issues that are impacting practice; however, the rules for forming/dissolving SISs have become so complex that it is now very difficult to form or dissolve an SIS.
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The committee agreed that the rules needed to be minimized and largely eliminated, allowing SISs to form and dissolve more naturally to fit the needs of the membership.
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Members have expressed that they view the Quarterly newsletters and other work of the SISs to be valuable benefits of membership; however, feedback from the SISs has indicated that the obligatory activities limit their freedom to address issues brought up by members.
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The committee agreed that the work of the SISs should continue, but not within the SISs. The work was shifted to the Practice Sections, but the SISs will have the opportunity to contribute (see recommendation 3).
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Removing the structure of the SISs will require a group to be responsible for helping coordinate and organize their work; however, this work would be too much for the Council to handle in addition to its other responsibilities.
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The committee agreed that an intermediary body was needed to help coordinate and organize the work of the SISs and the Council. This is reflected in the recommendation to create the Practice Sections.
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- Create Practice Sections.
The committee recommends the creation of Practice Sections to (1) support the Association’s work through collaboration with the Council in coordinating, managing, and aligning the work of the Council and BOD; and (2) help build synergistic relationships across practice areas to enable research, education, practice, and advocacy collaborations and initiatives. The Practice Sections will have the following characteristics:
- There will be a total of 7 Practice Sections defined by the areas of practice that emerged during the Centennial Vision Process:
- Education; Mental Health; Work and Industry; Health and Wellness; Productive Aging; Children and Youth; and Rehabilitation, Disability, and Participation
- These seven areas will also be reflected in the qualifications for positions on the Professional Council; however, the persons elected to the Council will not represent their practice area, as Council members will be expected to consider the best interests of all members of the profession.
- The Chair of each Practice Section will be elected from the entire membership and will appoint coordinators to help meet their objectives.
- The Chair of each Practice Section and the Profession Council member with expertise in that particular practice area will work collaboratively with one another.
- The Chair of each Practice Section will be responsible for coordinating the work related to the practice area to produce in-depth, integrated action plans and to be a resource leader.
- The Professional Council members from each of the seven areas of practice will address integrated initiatives across practice rather than represent only their area of practice.
- The goal of the Practice Sections will be to advance practice within these areas through creating synergy among educators, researchers, practitioners, and other stakeholders.
- The Practice Sections will serve as a resource hub for the membership.
- The Practice Sections will be responsible for developing tools and resources for the members and can request that the Council fund larger projects.
- The Practice Sections will be responsible for responding to initiatives of the Professional Council and for coordinating the work of various ad hoc committees and the work of the SISs to develop integrated responses and resources consistent with the Strategic Plan.
- Will be responsible for coordinating the work being completed by appointed ad hoc committees and the work of SISs
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Discussion Points
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Resolution
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There was concern from the previous Participation Ad Hoc Committee recommendations that there was not enough structure to the relationship between the Council and the SISs.
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The committee agreed that there needed to be an intermediary level of structure to coordinate the relationship and work of the Council and the SISs that could support a two-way communicative relationship between the two entities.
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There was support from feedback received by the committee for removing some of the structure of the SISs and allowing them to focus on their own grassroots needs; however, there was equal concern that doing so would require a group to be responsible for helping coordinate and organize the work of the SISs and this work would be too much for the Council to handle with their other responsibilities.
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There has been a lot of discussion in multiple forums about aligning the work of the Association with the Strategic Plan.
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The committee agreed that the Practice Sections should be aligned with the current Strategic Plan areas, which are also the areas around which the National Office has organized its work.
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The work produced by the SISs is valued by the membership and it should not be lost in this process.
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The committee agreed that the procedural responsibilities of the current the SISs will now be shifted to the Practice Sections. This will allow for greater integration of the work initiatives by the current SISs, Commission on Practice, and Commission on Education; however, the SISs may be called upon and have the opportunity to produce some of this work (i.e., Quarterly newsletters, Conference sessions).
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- Create the Volunteer Leadership Development Committee.
The committee supports the recommendation of the previous Participation Ad Hoc committee to create a Volunteer Leadership Development Committee (VLDC) with the following characteristics:
- Is responsible for coordinating volunteers with volunteer opportunities within the Association.
- Will support the Council, the BOD, the Practice Sections, SISs, and AOTA staff in finding volunteers to serve in volunteer opportunities within the Association.
- Will assume the responsibilities of the Nominations and Recognitions Committee and the leadership development programs in AOTA (i.e., Emerging Leaders Development Program).
- Will be a body of the BOD but will serve in an organization advisory role for all Association bodies.
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Discussion Points
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Resolution
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All the feedback received by the committee has been overwhelmingly in favor of the VLDC.
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The committee agreed that the VLDC fits with the Design Specifications, and the other recommendations presented here incorporated the support of the VLDC.
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- Modify the role of the organizational advisors.
The committee recommends retaining the organizational advisory responsibilities of ASD, WFOT, AOTF, ASAP, and AOTPAC, and adding the education Program Directors as a newly designated organizational advisor.
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Discussion Points
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Resolution
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Organizational advisor bodies in our current model report to the BOD and provide advice and recommendations as requested to the RA.
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The committee agreed that the organizational advisors are a vital link to inform the work of the Association and that their input is needed for both the BOD and the Council. Adding the education Program Directors formalizes their advisory role within the Association structure.
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- Revisions to Ethics Process
The committee recommends retaining the core ethics functions of the Association, but with revisions to the ethics adjudication process. See the document “Ethics Process” for more information.
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Discussion Points
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Resolution
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Within this new structure, it was unclear to the committee and the membership whether the ethics adjudication process would be maintained.
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The committee agreed that the ethics adjudication process should be retained utilizing a revised process developed by the Association’s general counsel in consultation with the Ethics Commission. The revisions maintain the adjudication and educative functions while streamlining the current process.
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Next Steps
After reviewing the recommendations against the Design Specifications and the key issues, the committee agreed on the following actions:
- Produce and distribute this executive summary and the proposed organizational chart to the membership via the AOTA 1-Minute Update, Web site, and OT Practice magazine and solicit open feedback for the committee through the Procedural and Organizational Ad Hoc forum on OT Connections (www.otconnections.org).
- Create a webinar format presentation to share with the general membership in January.
- Schedule a series of conference calls in January and encourage volunteer leaders to sign up for a time that is convenient for them to call in and ask questions.
