February 2012 Minutes

UAA Executive Committee Meeting Minutes
February 16, 2012
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Tetratech Offices, Arlington, Virginia


Board Members in attendance:
Frank Almaguer, Margaret Carpenter, George Hill, James Michel, Alexander Shakow, David Sprague and Ann Van Dusen

Board Members absent: none

Committee Co-chairs in attendance: David Cohen, Curtis Farrar, Brad Langmaid, Gary Merritt, Larry Smucker and Nancy Tumavick

Committee Co-chairs absent: Paula Goddard and Pamela Mandel

UAA Assistant: Kristina Short

Meeting Chair: Ann Van Dusen

1. New Board Member: The Executive Committee 1 formally welcomed David Sprague to the UAA Board. David accepted the Board’s appointment until the next general election as replacement for John Lovaas, whose resignation was accepted at the January 19, 2012 meeting.

2. Review of Decisions on Membership and Recommended Contributions: The tiered contributions structure proposed by the Membership Committee at the January 19, 2012 meeting was reviewed. Membership contributions for 2012 were confirmed as follows:

  • DC Metro Area (within 50 miles of Washington, DC): $75.00
  • Outside the DC Metro area: $50.00
  • Residents overseas and FSNs: $25.00

The Executive Committee acknowledged that the success of this new contributions structure depends on expanding the number of members making financial contributions to the UAA and briefly discussed potential benefits the UAA can offer as an additional incentive to contributing members. The Board will continue this discussion at future meetings.

Next steps:

  1. The call for 2012 contributions and the new tiered contributions structure will be made in the February 2012 Newsletter send to all registered USAID alumni and on the UAA website.
  2. The Membership Committee will continue to look into additional benefits the UAA can offer its contributing members and report back to the Executive Committee on its recommendations.

3. Approval of January Minutes: Minutes from the January 19, 2012 Executive Committee meeting were unanimously approved by the Board to be posted on the UAA Website.

4. Presentation of the 2012 Budget: George Hill provided a breakdown of the 2011 UAA budget and expenditures to set the context for a preliminary discussion of the 2012 budget, including the availability of resources for Committee activities. Certain expenses, such as those associated with development and maintenance of the UAA website, are expected to decrease in 2012.

Next Steps:

  1. The Membership Committee will work with George on revenue projections for discussion at next month’s Executive Committee meeting.
  2. George will develop a final draft of the 2012 budget to present for approval at the March Executive Committee meeting.

5. Discussion and Approval of 2012 Business Plan: The Executive Committee reviewed the final draft of the 2012 UAA Business Plan drawn up by Jim Michel, and weighed in on specific committee objectives. In response to concerns regarding overlapping committee responsibilities, the Executive Committee agreed that a separate Communications and Events Committee is no longer necessary. The activities previously assigned to that Committee will be transferred to other committees, as appropriate.

Highlights of the 2012 Business Plan include:

  • A focus by the Public Outreach Committee on further developing the Speakers’ Bureau.
  • Identification of groupings that may already exist within the current UAA community.
  • Reaching out to UAA members who are willing to volunteer their time and whom the UAA could offer to USAID as subject-matter and geographic area experts.

Following the review of the 2012 budget at the March Executive Committee meeting, the Board will decide on resource allocations for implementing the 2012 Business Plan.

The Executive Committee will review the Business Plan periodically and make revisions, as necessary, based on progress toward strategic objectives and changed circumstances. Later this year, the Executive Committee also will undertake a more extensive review of UAA objectives and strategies to develop a long-term business plan for 2013 and beyond.

Conclusion: The Board approved the 2012 Business Plan, with minor revisions, and expressed their appreciation to Jim Michel for undertaking the task. The Plan will be posted on the website and a revised version that will include projected resources will follow after the March meeting.

Next Steps:

  1. Curt Farrar will work with USAID Chief Economist Steve Radelet at USAID to draw up a list of policy topics that may benefit from input by UAA members.
  2. Each Committee will review objectives and planned actions set out in the Business Plan and identify resource requirements for discussion at the March meeting.

6. Review of Website Statistics: David Cohen presented a statistical summary of website usage, obtained using Google Analytics, over a one month period (January 14, 2012 to February 13, 2012):

• Unique (one-time) visitors: 232
• New visitors: 58.46%
• Returning visitors: 41.54%
• Page views: 942
• Pages per visit: 2.80
• Average time on site: 3.50 minutes

These statistics approximate those obtained for the previous UAA website.

The Executive Committee discussed the need to direct traffic to the UAA Forum, which has been developed as a place for UAA membership interaction beyond the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The Development Issues Committee will work to direct traffic to/from and encourage dialogue regarding the articles and web links posted on the UAA main site.

7. New Member Registrations since October 2011: UAA Assistant Kristina Short reported that there were 13 new member registrations since October 2011. Concerns raised regarding the technical workings of the automated registration process will be forwarded to webmaster Sean McKee for clarification.

Moving forward, the UAA Assistant will provide monthly reports on member registration at each Executive Committee meeting.

Next Steps:

  1. Kristina Short will circulate a list of members not currently contributing, as well as members who are listed but whose e-mail addressees on record are being rejected by the system.
  2. The Membership Committee will contact those members not currently contributing and reach out to contributing members to encourage them to recruit additional potential UAA members.

8. Final Additions to the February Newsletter: The Board approved the February 2012 Newsletter draft which, with minor revisions, will be sent to the wider membership and posted on the UAA Website.

9. Future of DACOR Development Dialogue: The Executive Committee confirmed its support for and interest in bringing development issues into DACOR discussions. As mentioned in the Business Plan, the Development Issues Committee will take the lead and pursue more formal involvement in the Development Dialogues at DACOR. The possibility of including the UAA in the title of these discussions to increase awareness of the organization was briefly discussed, with no formal decision taken.

Next steps: The Development Issues Committee will report back at the March Board Meeting on progress towards this objective.

10. Update on the USAID “Book” and Legacy Interviews: Ann Van Dusen informed the Executive Committee that USAID is in the process of obtaining releases from contributors so that ADST can move forward with publication of the 50th Anniversary legacy book. A release date has not been confirmed nor is there confirmation regarding the number of copies to be made available to the UAA.

11. Discussion on “affinity” groups: The Executive Committee reiterated the need to increase the visibility of the UAA in the wider foreign affairs and development community. Necessary components of this process include branding; recruiting, and opportunities to bring development issues to the wider international affairs community.

Next steps: Board members and Committee Co-chairs were asked to look over the list of foreign affairs and development-oriented associations provided by Frank Almaguer and others and brainstorm regarding potential opportunities for UAA involvement with at least some of those groups.

12. March 2012 Executive Committee Meeting: The next meeting will be held from 10:30 AM – 12:00 Noon on March 15, 2012 at TetraTech in Arlington, VA.

Other upcoming regularly scheduled Board meetings:

  • Thurs., April 19,
  • Thurs., May 17, and
  • Thurs., June 21.

 

Minutes compiled by Kristina Short 2/17/2012.
Edited and first draft distributed to the Executive Committee by Frank Almaguer on 2/20/2012.
Second draft distributed to the Executive Committee on 2/24/2012.
Minutes Approved 3/15/2012

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