Strategic Plan
SfN's Strategic Plan addresses the following areas:

• Message from the President
• Strategic Plan
• Strategic Issues: 
• 1. Enhancing the Member Experience
  2. International Strategy
  3. Professional Development Strategy
  4. Diversity Strategy
  5. Annual Meeting Strategy
  6. Open Access Publishing Strategy
  7. Federal Funding Strategy
  8. Science Policy Strategy
  9. Public Education Strategy
  10. Financial Reserve Strategy
  11. Committee Realignment Strategy

I. SfN's Mission

1. Advance the understanding of the brain and the nervous system by bringing together scientists of diverse backgrounds, by facilitating the integration of research directed at all levels of biological organization, and by encouraging translational research and the application of new scientific knowledge to develop improved disease treatments and cures.

2. Provide professional development activities, information, and educational resources for neuroscientists at all stages of their careers, including undergraduates, graduates, and postdoctoral fellows, and increase participation of scientists from diverse cultural, ethnic, and geographic backgrounds.

3. Promote public information and general education about the nature of scientific discovery and the results and implications of the latest neuroscience research. Support active and continuing discussions on ethical issues relating to the conduct and outcomes of neuroscience research.

4. Inform legislators and other policymakers about new scientific knowledge, recent developments, and emerging opportunities in neuroscience research and their implications for public policy, societal benefit, and continued scientific progress.

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II. Scientific Vision

Guided by its mission and its values, the vision of the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is that the next ten years should be a decade of breakthrough discovery in neuroscience and breakthrough translation of scientific advances to improve the health of people everywhere.

SfN represents the entire range of scientific research endeavors aimed at understanding the nervous system and translating this knowledge to the treatment and prevention of nervous system disorders. It fosters the broad interdisciplinarity of the field that uses multiple approaches (e.g., genetic, molecular, cellular, anatomical, neurophysiological, system, comparative, evolutionary, computational, and behavioral) to study the nervous system of organisms ranging from invertebrates to humans across various stages of development, maturation, and aging. SfN facilitates the translation of this fundamental knowledge into strategies for the treatment of nervous system disorders, including neurological, neurosensory, neurodevelopmental, psychiatric, addictive, and other related illnesses. It also encourages information transfer from the clinic back to the basic research arena. In these ways, SfN contributes to the breadth of the field of neuroscience, its highly dynamic nature, and its creative use of all the tools of modern biology to understand neural function in health and disease.

Neuroscience is a rapidly evolving field that benefits greatly from, and helps to drive, the ongoing development of powerful new tools for acquiring and analyzing experimental data. The effort to make efficient use of the staggering amounts and diversity of information known about the nervous system raises challenges that have social, ethical, and technical dimensions. Some of these challenges are common to biomedical research in general and to its subdisciplines of bioinformatics and scientific ethics. Others are unique to neuroscience by virtue of the tremendous complexity of neural circuits and their role in controlling behavior. This entails opportunities as well as responsibilities for the neuroscience community to develop novel tools and approaches for integrating and advancing our understanding of the nervous system.

The Society for Neuroscience will play a key role in confronting new issues as they challenge and energize the field. This will require active dialogue between SfN and federal funding agencies (NIH, NSF, and others) to define current needs and to develop strategies for meeting them. SfN's perspective on the current nature of the field and its future trajectory permeates all the elements of this strategic plan and will guide the initiatives aimed at enhancing the key scientific functions of the SfN, including the annual meeting and The Journal of Neuroscience. This perspective will guide the ways in which SfN will strive to serve its membership and will frame the public outreach and governmental interactions of SfN.

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III. Organizational Values

In carrying out all of its activities, the Society for Neuroscience is committed to the following:

• Identifying and serving the evolving needs of SfN members as well as the field of neuroscience.
• Continuing to promote greater diversity of representation of women, minorities, and young investigators, along with geographic and specialty balance, in SfN's meetings, conferences, committees, and governance processes.
• Seeking new and innovative ways to utilize technology in ongoing activities to better serve members and to help manage the problems of scale as a successful association in the 21st century.
• Fulfilling its Mission in a socially, economically and environmentally responsible fashion, including minimizing SfN's environmental footprint through energy efficiency, recycling, and other initiatives, and being mindful of the broader impact of its day-to-day practices, decisions and actions.
• Developing effective strategic relationships and collaborative initiatives with appropriate external partners, including other scientific societies and associations, health advocacy groups, foundations, public agencies, government entities, educational institutions, corporate entities, information technology service providers, etc.
• Building a model of iterative planning into the fabric of SfN governance and management processes, incorporating regular evaluation of the impact and success of initiatives and activities and periodic revisiting of major programs and activity clusters.

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IV. SfN Programs

SfN provides value to its members in fulfillment of its mission, vision, and values through its annual scientific meeting, a peer-reviewed journal, and other established programs that are summarized in SfN's annual report (available at www.sfn.org). These activities represent the culmination of previous planning initiatives that were responsible for substantial growth and broad expressions of member satisfaction. This strategic plan does not rearticulate these critically important ongoing activities or the strategic rationale behind them. Rather, this document addresses an emergent set of strategic issues that SfN will address in an ongoing, dynamic planning effort to insure the future viability of the Society, its constituents in neuroscience, and the beneficiaries of their endeavors.

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V. Strategies

In the SfN planning process, a strategy is a work-in-progress having four critical elements:

1. the strategic issue, which provides the motive to act
2. a desired outcome that provides an image of what will be accomplished if the issues is addressed successfully
3. guiding principles that place parameters on the tactics that can be taken in achieving the outcome
4. a summary of the actions that will be taken

A strategy sketch provides a brief description of the initiatives that are under way to address the issues on the "radar screen." Some of these initiatives are exploratory in that the best outcome or the best means of achieving an outcome are not currently clear. In this manner, strategies can be considered learning endeavors that become more precise as they gain intelligence. The following sketches describe SfN's current efforts to address the issues on the radar screen. Members are invited to share thoughts on improving these initiatives, so that the strategies may be better tuned and refreshed over the next few years.

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VI. Strategic Issues

With the continued guidance of Council, SfN maintains a radar screen of issues, opportunities, and challenges that the field of neuroscience and the Society will need to address within the coming years. The purpose of the radar screen is to build consensus on changing environmental conditions that may require new program initiatives or more resources than are currently allocated. These strategic issues are, by design, concise statements that represent an issue demanding attention without specifying what action should be taken (the latter is outlined in the associated strategies). The idea is to build alignment in increments: first agree on what needs to be addressed and then agree on the best way of addressing it.

This effort, as part of a philosophy that utilizes iterative and continuous planning by SfN's leaders, will help ensure that the benefits and potential of neuroscience research are realized for individuals and for society as a whole. The strategic issues and the preliminary action plans are described below.

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A. Enhancing the Member Experience

Strategic Issue:

SfN's accelerated membership growth in recent years has changed the membership mix in some quantifiable ways, as well as in ways relating to new member expectations and affiliation that we do not yet adequately understand. These may have implications for the ability to promote future membership growth and enhance member satisfaction.

Desired Outcome:

Create a five-year membership growth and member services plan that is responsive to member needs in distinct demographic segments.

Guiding Principle:

The goal is not membership growth for the sake of growth, per se, or for financial gain, but rather to allow improved targeting and responsiveness to identified member needs that have the potential to enhance the current mission of the Society.

Action Plan:

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B . International Strategy

Strategic Issue:

The growing international component of the SfN membership increases both the opportunity and the urgency for SfN to develop a coherent approach to its international initiatives, especially neuroscience training in the developing world.

Desired Outcomes:

• Develop, encourage, or fund increased training opportunities for promising neuroscience graduate students or young scientists in developing nations, both in their own regions and in established courses and programs in developed countries, based on identified needs.
• Explore models that provide the very best students who complete these courses with a subsequent opportunity for an extended lab experience in an excellent neuroscience laboratory.

Guiding Principles:

• Continue to enhance collaborative relationships between SfN and international neuroscience societies through strategic partnerships and jointly sponsored activities as appropriate.
• Join with international partners to positively influence the political, financial, and ethical factors in the US and around the world that enhance international scientific exchange.
• Look for ways to increase the prospects of students returning home to build science capacity in their country.

Action Plan:

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C. Professional Development Strategy

Strategic Issue:

Members have expressed interest in expanding SfN's core capability to include more professional development opportunities at the annual meeting and beyond the annual meeting.

Desired Outcomes:

• Create a professional development program that addresses the findings of research on the member needs, as called for in the membership growth strategy.
• Expand and better target scientific training, career opportunities, and professional skills training.
• Expand and improve the current mentoring program to include skill development and capacity building for mentors.
• Ensure that there is a committee and staff structure optimally organized to coordinate and execute the expansion of activities.

Guiding Principles:

• Use caution when using the term "professional development," i.e., break it down into clearer elements when doing research and in accounting for what is currently offered.
• Use the member research to help eliminate current initiatives that are ineffective in meeting the newly substantiated needs.
• Analyze the extent to which other organizations address these needs; avoid offering competing services with organizations that already adequately address member needs.
• To the extent that the anticipated cutbacks in NIH funding may reduce the number of neuroscientists in the profession, be prepared to offer educational support on transitional options and strategies for these members.

Action Plan:

1. Coordinate with Membership Strategy Research - Ensure that the membership strategy research, data collection, and analysis address emerging professional development issues.

2. Conduct Needs Assessment - Determine an appropriate group of individuals who can represent the range of voices to conduct a needs assessment process and propose an improved and expanded menu of professional development options for the various segments of the membership.

a. Members of the professional development needs assessment and planning group or committee should have diverse representation from various member segments. This may include some or all of the following: graduate students, international members, postdoctoral fellows, faculty members, research scientists, the Association of Neuroscience Departments and Programs (ANDP), NIH, the National Science Foundation (NSF), or other federal agencies.

b. As part of the needs assessment, SfN may need to engage a consultant to assist with research, focus groups, or an evaluation of similar societies to assess best practices, trends, and innovative programmatic directions.

3. Craft a Professional Development Plan - Developing and presenting a professional development plan to Council will require expertise from a planning consultant/facilitator who will guide the efforts of staff and the designated professional development planning group or committee. Staff leadership and support will be integral to a seamless effort that will ensure on-time completion and the ability to revisit the plan and to remain nimble as the environment and member needs shift or become better defined.

a. Outcome will be a two- to three-year plan for professional development strategies for the Society, outlining resources needed and a plan to continually monitor and measure impact of the outcomes of such efforts.

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D. Diversity Strategy

Strategic Issue:
Diversity in neuroscience is adversely affected by inadequate numbers of women and minorities entering the field and career development outcomes that are not proportional to the mix of genders and ethnicities in the field.

Desired Outcome:

• SfN leadership and participation in SfN programs and initiatives reflect the gender and ethnic diversity of SfN membership.
• Increased opportunities in support of professional development activities for women and minorities.

Guiding Principles:

• The Society will make greater efforts to increase diversity within SfN's leadership and governance structures, its membership, and its professional development activities.
• Through its publications and its leadership, SfN will articulate gender and ethnic diversity as a core value and highlight its importance to the profession at every level.

Action Plan:

1. Task the Committee on Committees (CoC) to increase outreach to segments of the membership that are underrepresented in the Society's committee and leadership structure.

a. Evaluate data from 2007 membership survey, ANDP and others to help identify representation by gender and ethnicity in neuroscience. Add voluntary identifiers to SfN membership application, annual meeting registration, and other forms to facilitate tracking of membership in these categories.

b. Each spring when the committee replacement nominations are solicited from the membership, ensure that outreach efforts are made to invite a diverse pool of nominees.

c. Consider alumni of training programs run by SfN and other groups to develop lists of prospective committee nominees that reflect the diversity of the field.

d. Ensure that committee membership reflects the gender and ethnic diversity of overall SfN membership.

2. In light of the loss of the Minority Neuroscience Fellowship grant, charge a committee to propose activities/programs/endeavors (including training grants) SfN could implement to encourage and support increased diversity within the profession.

a. Members of SfN committees concerned with diversity and professional development should take a more active role in proposing minisymposia to the Program Committee each year showcasing talented young scientists.

b. SfN staff and committees concerned with diversity and professional development should research other funding opportunities that SfN can apply for to establish training programs for minorities.

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E. Annual Meeting Strategy

Strategic Issue:

The rapidly expanding and increasingly complex body of knowledge for neuroscience challenges the organization's ability to recognize and respond to these changes rapidly enough to sustain the scientific excellence of the meeting.

Desired Outcomes:

• Improved understanding of the meeting's capacity to grow beyond 35,000 attendees and 18,000 abstracts, with recommendations to support this growth effectively.
• Improved ability to track, analyze, and organize topic content in ways that enhance the meeting experience and accurately reflect the changing body of knowledge.
• Improved means of expanding sponsorships with less attachment to program content or expansion in the total number of events.

Guiding Principles:

• Nothing is sacred except the poster sessions.
• Maintain manageability of meeting logistics and scientific relevance of sessions.

Action Plan:

1. Form a working group to be named by Council to consider longer-term implications of the meeting and to propose adaptations for the Program Committee to consider.

2. Have the Program Committee be responsible for selecting more of the annual meeting speakers, including some of the sponsored lectures and panels, within the existing framework and number of events.

3. Have staff explore revising the number or duration of the poster sessions offered within the current time parameters to expand the capacity of the meeting. This could help expand the capacity of existing meeting venues to accommodate additional poster sessions.

4. Devise a better system for reviewing and updating SfN's list of Themes and Topics.

a. Currently, the Program Committee evaluates the theme and topics list in the months leading up to its three meetings. This process does not provide adequate documentation of how and why changes to the list occur.

b. To better document how the field is changing and evolving, staff should provide the committee members with the session names that were created out of each theme and topic assignment. A goal should be better documentation of how and why abstracts submitted to different sub-themes and topics were ultimately grouped together into one session, and of those others that were submitted to the same topic that were separated into multiple sessions.

c. Theme Subcommittee Chairs should submit a brief report explaining 1) what changes were made throughout the year to the Themes and Topics List in their particular theme, 2) why those changes were considered important, and 3) how the changes might affect the scientific exchange at the meeting. These reports will be taken into account as the theme committee evaluates the Theme and Topic list.

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F. Open Access Publishing Strategy

Strategic Issues:

• New digital information and communication technologies may disrupt traditional journal publishing models, but may also afford growth opportunities for publishers who lead in establishing new paradigms.
• Open access publishing, which is favored by many scientists, may disrupt the traditional revenue-generating model for publishers and increase the researchers' cost of publishing.
• The increasing number of submissions of The Journal challenges the Society's ability to publish an adequate percentage of high-quality articles that are submitted in a single comprehensive journal, while still providing easily accessible information.

Desired Outcome:

Pursue new publishing opportunities that may arise as a consequence of open access, and position SfN as a thought-leader in discussions about the future of science publishing.

Guiding Principles:

• Recognize the value and likelihood of open access publishing and be ready with an effective strategy when this happens.
• Maintain the ethos of scientific publishing; i.e., that it is by and for scientists and that the advancement of science ranks above all other publishing motives.
• Maintain peer review as an essential element in any open access format.

Action Plan:

1. Proceed with the implementation of the change in The Journal's access control policy to allow open access after six months effective January 2006.

a. Journal and Finance department staff will explore financial strategies to fund both a six-month open access model and an immediate open access model.

b. Develop informational items for Neuroscience Nexus and Neuroscience Quarterly to announce the impending access change to six months, with assistance from the Member Communications & Creative Services department. Plan for release of items after the November 2005 annual meeting.

c. Develop Web pages or FAQ pages, similar to the NIH Public Access Policy page, to announce the access change and answer any member questions. Make these Web pages accessible from The Journal of Neuroscience Web site.

2. Council will look to the Publishing Open Access Group (POAG) to generate longer-term options and recommendations for open access strategy.

a. Through 2006, schedule regular conference calls with the POAG to facilitate the generation of recommended strategies.

b. SfN staff shall be expected to keep current on all aspects of the open access publishing issue, by attending the HighWire Publishers meeting and monitoring the discussion forums of DC Principles and HighWire.

3. Initiate an online forum to involve the members in this ongoing discussion about the future of scientific publishing and the Society's publishing activities.

a. Use SfN publications and forums to educate the membership about the dynamics, opportunities, and challenges of the evolving publishing world, and inform members about possible changes and consequences for authors and readers of the scientific literature.

b. Provide a structured opportunity for member, author, and reader feedback through the SfN and/or The Journal Web site to inform the strategy makers about the members' views and preferences with respect to options and decisions the Society may be considering.

4. Work with the POAG, the Finance, Investment, and Scientific Publications committees, and staff to develop a viable business model to support the Society's future publishing strategy and vision.

a. Develop a $10M reserve that will produce annual income to be dedicated to scientific publishing activities, consistent with the Society's reserve strategy and long-range financial plan.

b. Continue monitoring the expenses and revenues of The Journal, and implementing appropriate changes within the existing business model, to take advantage of opportunities to maintain positive net revenues for The Journal and support development of the $10M reserve. This may include developing increased marketing activities to increase the institutional subscription revenues in the short to medium term.

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G. Federal Funding Strategy

Strategic Issue:

In the face of challenges to the legitimacy, priority, and value of basic science research in this post-NIH-doubling era, the research community must improve the effectiveness of its advocacy efforts on behalf of funding for biomedical research based upon the principles of investigator initiated research and peer review.

Desired Outcome:

Find new ways to broaden and strengthen the coalition supporting biomedical research both inside and beyond the scientific community.

Guiding Principles:

• Respect the commitment to maintain a unified coalition on issues related to science and research funding.
• Strive to maintain peer review process to protect research.
• Seek opportunities to advance appreciation for neuroscience and to enhance public understanding of the value of government support for research.
• A strategic relationship with high-profile political leaders with the ability to project issues on to the national public policy agenda, resulting in increased public funding for neuroscience research and better understanding among policymakers of the policy decisions that support effective research.

Action Plan:

1. Continue to work with existing coalitions, with the recognition that the current political environment in Washington, DC, makes it very challenging to change legislative outcomes with respect to funding for science research.

a. Campaign for Medical Research - Continue membership in Campaign for Medical Research and support efforts to recruit additional stakeholders from big pharma, the biotech community, and additional members of the science and voluntary heath communities, with a plan to put research to work for better health and quality of life.

b. Joint Steering Committee for Public Policy - Continue membership in Joint Steering Committee (JSC) while maximizing SfN input in policy discussions and JSC's overarching plans to increase biomedical research funding

2. Build stronger relationships with a broader array of organizations and individuals that support biomedical research.

a. Coalitions with Patient/Disease Groups - Continue leadership role in the American Brain Coalition, meant to bring together patient groups and professional organizations in support of a shared agenda of expanding research.

b. Industry partnerships - Reach out to industry leaders who exert considerable influence in Washington, DC, based on a shared agenda in support of the economic importance of research in the US and global economy.

c. Political Champions - help identify and obtain active support of high-profile political figures that can influence the national debate so that there could be a stronger focus on neuroscience research in the ongoing national political debates about health care and research funding.

3. Form strategic relationships with key political leaders who could and will help advance the cause of biomedical research.

a. Identify political and societal leaders who can and will help advance the cause of biomedical research.

b. Search for SfN members or other partners who have contacts that can help arrange an introductory meeting with the targeted leaders.

c. Explore with leaders of affiliated strategic partner organizations their interest in supporting or possibly leading a strategy such as this.

d. Establish a working group or task a committee with developing several possible scenarios for this strategy, such as planning a national conference or white paper on the prospects of science research continuing to serve as an economic driver.

e. Frame messages that would serve as the centerpiece of the strategy, such as:

i. the nation's economic competitiveness will stumble if other countries continue to expand their investments in science research while support in the US stalls

ii. neuroscience research offers one of the best opportunities to improve healthcare, particularly in the mental and neurological health areas that worry mature voters the most

iii. attacks on animal research if left unabated will devastate neuroscience in ways that will severely limit the healthcare prospects it offers

4. Grassroots Training for Neuroscientists - Continue to offer advocacy training at the local level, by traveling to specific chapters and teaching interested neuroscientists how to effectively educate the public and advocate to policy makers on behalf of neuroscience.

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H. Science Policy Strategy

Strategic Issue:

As noted above, this is a time of unprecedented questioning of the legitimacy, priority, and value of basic science research. While SfN tracks numerous public policy issues that impact the field of neuroscience, the Society should identify those issues of greater importance and devote more resources to them.

Desired Outcomes:

• No further erosion of research capabilities due to restrictive laws and regulations will occur.
• The Society will play a leadership role in support of the responsible use of animals in research.
• The Society, partnering with other scientific, academic, and health care organizations, will educate and engage targeted priority audiences on the benefits and necessity of animal research.

Guiding Principles:

Action Plan:

1. Strengthen and build on the National Association for Biomedical Research (NABR) alliance to continue the collaboration to rebut legal arguments for the "personhood" of animals. The coalition may utilize many strategies, including the following:

a. Work with key strategic partners to engage legal consultants to provide assessments of animal rights arguments on animal "personhood" or to litigate local statute changes involving "personhood."

b. Organize a writing contest where law school students are encouraged to espouse the pro-research view in legal papers.

c. Create forums and venues for pro-research discussion.

d. Encourage the scientific community to reach out to the legal community to educate them about the potential negative impact that "personhood" could have on human health research.

2. Support and protect SfN members’ ability to engage in responsible scientific research. This effort will include the following:

a. Disseminate resources, such as the SfN Best Practices for Protecting Research and Researchers document, to university leadership, including presidents, chancellors, and vice presidents for research, to enhance institutional support for faculty targeted by anti-research extremists.

b. Continue to work with other biomedical, science and academic organizations to reenergize educational activities aimed at developing a broader understanding and support for animal research.

3. Work with the Committee on Animals in Research (CAR) and the Public Education & Communication Committee (PECC) to look for opportunities to collaborate with K-12 school educators on advocacy priorities.

a. Facilitate ongoing CNL and CAR collaboration to address the blending of the animals in research message with educational outreach and to develop, review, or distribute education materials.

b. Collaborate with biomedical research groups, such as NABR. Continue to distribute NABR materials on animal research at the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT), National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), and the Association for Science Teacher Educators (ASTE) conventions.

c. Collaborate with other scientific organizations on educational outreach to K-12 teachers.

d. Provide neuroscience content to teachers. Integrate neuroscience speakers into convention schedules for the NABT, NSTA, and ASTE meetings.

e. Embed the animals in research, stem cells, and evolution messages in all SfN educational materials. Continue to distribute Translational Neuroscience Accomplishments, Brain Briefings, Brain Research Success Stories, and Brain Facts at NABT and NSTA conventions.

f. Infuse key advocacy messages in revamped SfN Web site, educational portal, print products, educational CD, and any other opportunities that arise.

4. Continue to track the national, international and local debates affecting all four of SfN's priority Science Policy strategies (e.g., discussions of animals in research in Europe, Latin America, and Africa; debates over the teaching of evolution and "intelligent design" in science classrooms; Canadian stem cell advocacy group).

5. Consistently articulate the scientific basis for supporting the responsible use of animals in research wherever relevant in all SfN publications, materials and information.

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I. Public Education Strategy

Strategic Issue:

At a time when neuroscience research is yielding dynamic achievements, the public has insufficient awareness of this information. The Society's efforts to translate and transmit information to educators and others will result in improved public understanding about health and basic scientific processes.

Desired Outcomes:

• Science teachers will use SfN materials (or SfN-endorsed materials) in their classroom to convey neuroscience-related subjects as a part of their curriculum.
• An SfN portal is created that has science teachers as a primary audience.
• A shift occurs in the professional culture of SfN members to embrace and actively participate in public communication, outreach, and education about neuroscience.

Guiding Principles:

• Maintain a clear understanding of the primary audience (teachers) and secondary audience (general public) that SfN is seeking to influence through these initiatives.
• Ensure that SfN educational materials convey content and messages on the Society's science policy and advocacy positions such as animal research and research funding.

Action Plan:

1. Capacity-Building for K-12 Teachers - Integrate current, accurate neuroscience content into science teaching activities in the K-12 sector.

a. Collaborate and partner with other professions/associations to develop materials and provide teacher training and to support members engaging in public education and outreach.

b. Ensure that neuroscience students (graduate and postdoctoral) are involved in reaching teachers in their communities with effective neuroscience education activities and resources.

c. Look at models from successful programs and organizations to generate ideas and approaches about neuroscience educational materials that SfN could endorse and partner with on the distribution and use.

d. Pilot and develop a "train-the-teacher" program through summer and other intensive training opportunities.

2. Increase involvement of SfN members and chapters in Public Education and Outreach - Using the committee structure of SfN for guidance and feedback, catalyze a shift in the professional culture of SfN members and chapters to more consistently include and embrace public communication, outreach, and education about neuroscience.

3. Neuroscience Education Portal - Using guidance from the Public Education Working Group and CNL, develop an initial prototype education portal, with science teachers as its primary audience. Once developed, re-assess the funding mechanism and the long-term feasibility of full-scale development.

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J. Financial Reserve Strategy

Strategic Issue:

Uncertainties surrounding the future of scientific publishing combined with emerging opportunities for an expanded role in other areas warrant an increase in the desired financial reserves.

Desired Outcomes:

• Within five years, establish financial reserves adequate to cover 100 percent of the identified risks that could be faced by the Society during any given year.
• Build $10M set aside within the reserves, to generate income that would be dedicated to supporting SfN's scientific publishing activities that include, but may not in the future be limited to, The Journal of Neuroscience.

Guiding Principles:

• Continue to employ a balanced, realistic financial management strategy that plans for moderate revenue growth and continuing careful control over expenses, consistent with fulfilling the Society's mission and goals.
• Consider the total risks faced by SfN in all facets of its operations.
• Be mindful that increasing reserves both can protect against the convergence of multiple adverse financial events and can provide an opportunity to draw on a portion of the income from those higher reserves in support of the Society's mission.

Action Plan:

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K. Committee Realignment Strategy

Strategic Issue:

SfN's committee structure is not optimal to oversee the current and planned set of Society programs and activities. Also, the number and reporting arrangements of SfN committees strains Council's ability to oversee, review, and follow up on committee activities.

Desired Outcomes:

• Create a committee structure that relates to core functions of the Society with clear mandates, minimal redundancy, and a reasonable scope of work for volunteer involvement.
• Ensure more rational and effective relationships among committees, with possible clusters and consolidations.
• Clarify lines of communication with Council.
• Clarify terms and the review process and update Bylaws or Resolutions to the Bylaws, as needed.

Guiding Principle:

Use the framework of this strategic plan as a guide for committee structure, strategy, and implementation.

Action Plan:

1. At the Council's direction, the CoC should initiate an assessment of SfN committees. The CoC should review current committees and their mandates, receive comments from committee chairs, and use the SfN strategic plan to guide efforts to craft a revised committee structure.

2. The following criteria should be used to determine the new structure:

a. Eliminate overlap of responsibilities.

b. Add key activities not reflected in current committee structure.

c. Support strategic goals of SfN.

d. Increase quality of interaction between Council and each committee.

e. Improve effectiveness of volunteer time of committee members by clarifying committee missions and streamlining activities.

3. Committees may be organized into clusters to improve coordination of planning and activities across committees. Clusters may include the following key areas: 1) Financial Management, 2) Information, 3) Membership Development and Benefits, 4) Professional Development, and 5) Public Outreach.

4. Council should provide each committee or cluster with a set of initial expectations and priority goals, consistent with the evolving strategic plan.

5. An additional aspect of the new structure should include an annual goal-setting process between Committee Chairs and Council at the annual meeting, which should help improve the interactions with Council by lending more structure and providing more concrete expectations for the committees' work throughout the coming year.

6. Committee realignment may be considered a work in progress to best serve the evolving goals of SfN. Council will continue to evaluate in the coming years the effectiveness of the committee structure.

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