Looking Ahead to 2000

Kristine Smith, IPMAAC President-Elect

The work of David Dye, the IPMAAC Board, and the many dedicated committee chairs from 1999, resulted in a healthy IPMAAC organization that is well equipped to move ahead into another year and the next century. Our budget is sound, our membership base is stable and we have continued to enhance the services that we provide. Additionally, we have been successful in reaching out to colleagues in other organizations and the profession. These accomplishments reflect the effort over the past several years, to design and focus IPMAAC programs according to a strategic plan that emphasizes the following principal objectives:

To encourage and give direction to personnel assessment maintenance and improvement efforts in fields such as, but not limited to, selection, performance evaluation, training evaluation, job analysis, and organizational effectiveness.
To encourage and facilitate intergovernmental cooperation, information exchange and resource sharing.
To promote professional standards for personnel assessment.
To encourage, give direction, and provide means of delivery of training and education efforts to upgrade the expertise of personnel assessment specialists.
To contribute to the formation of public policy relating to personnel assessment.
To heighten awareness of administrators and public officials of the need for professional personnel assessment.
To heighten awareness of administrators and public officials of the need for professional personnel assessment.

These objectives have been the driving force behind IPMAAC's work plan. This has enabled us to achieve consistent progress on the path that we have established as an organization. Thus, the work plan for 2000 is consistent with that direction and emphasizes the following priorities:

Enhance professional development opportunities for the membership.
Promote and recognize sound and innovative practices in personnel assessment.
Foster networks and relationships within the Assessment Council and with other professional assessment organizations.
Heighten awareness of the added value contributed by the personnel assessment profession to our organizations.

These priorities span across committee activities and a detailed work plan has been developed to address our performance goals for each committee and priority area. As a result, a great deal of planning and activity for IPMAAC programs in the year 2000 is already underway.

As is evidenced by other notices in recent ACN's, the conference program committee has already issued the call for proposals and has laid much of the foundation for what is certain to be a very successful conference. Similarly, the conference host committee has been generating ideas to make our visit to Washington D.C. a most enjoyable experience. Those working on the student paper competition, the Bemis Award nomination, and the new Innovations in Assessment award have been moving ahead with notification and selection processes. Committee chairs for the ACN, ECN, Training Committee, and the Professional and Scientific Affairs Committee have also been continuing to deliver excellent products and services, and to move ahead on new projects. Though, much is underway, the committees can always use more volunteers. A list of committee chairs for 2000 is included in this issue of the ACN, so please feel free to contact them.

IPMAAC is a dynamic organization that provides a wealth of information, programs and opportunity for professional development and we are well on our way to another successful year.