The NYS Forum, Inc.

Strategic Plan

October 1, 2011 - September 30, 2013

Welc

om

e!

We are pleased to present The New York State Forum, Inc.’s Strategic Plan. This plan provides a fresh outlook for the next two years while building on our role as a springboard for innovation and leadership across New York. The Forum leadership recognizes the significant contributions that our corporate and government members make in advancing the state’s priorities. Members play a critical role in driving our programs, developing deep opportunities for learning and collaboration, and connecting The Forum with the world. This Plan reflects our progress and is a view of our future. With this publication, we celebrate our recent successes, congratulate our staff, members and partners for their contributions, and present our revitalized Strategic Plan for the future.

We look forward to continuing our journey to build a world class organization that enables New York Public Sector to effectively serve the businesses and citizens of New York through information technology.

Deborah V. BuckExecutive Director

Mark M. Mitchell‘10-’11 Board

Chair

PICTURE HERE

Duane Averill‘11-’12 Board Chair

3

Section Page

Message from The Forum Leadership 2

I. Introduction 4

II. Key Accomplishments 12

III. 2011-2013 Strategic Plan 22

IV. Conclusion 35

V. Next Steps 36

VI. Acknowledgements 38

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTIONSection I

4

Mission

To advance New York State’s public sector information technology (IT) practices through collaboration and knowledge transfer with the NYS IT, business and government communities.

Why Do We Exist?

Vision

To be the first choice for IT practitioners, managers and customers to collaborate and share knowledge to improve the delivery of services to New Yorkers.

Where are we going?

ValuesHow Do We Operate?

We Perform Professionally

Our staff and leadership focus on delivering exceptional services in a professional manner. We are ethical in all of our dealings.

We Collaborate

We recognize that the value to our customers increases with open dialog and collaborative environments. We are objective, independent, and results focused.

We Are Independent

We create the environment for vendors and public servants to share ideas, develop solutions, and understand the best paths forward. We are vendor-neutral, always seeking to create forums rather than pulpits. We are fair.

It’s All About Members We balance progressive, innovative ideas with fully formed and mature ways of working. Our membership drives the programming. We listen.

“The Forum provides a unique setting for self-motivated individuals, in both the public and private sectors, to apply their efforts toward a common goal of improving the IT environment within the State. When it comes to The Forum, the more effort you put into it, the more satisfaction you get out. Get involved!”

IT Corporate Roundtable Member

“What an outstanding resource. The NYS Forum is the channel for IT professionals to exchange ideas, make contacts and learn from other agency innovations.”

State Government Member

Our Value Proposition

Public Sector

TheForum

PrivateSector

“Leave your business cards at the door!”

The NYS Forum creates value

for its membership through

delivery of high quality forums

that allow public and private

sector professionals to

collaborate in a vendor neutral,

no-sales environment.

Members from organizations of

all sizes gain knowledge and

insight, and realize

opportunities to collaborate and

network.

10

The ForumBy The

Numbers

The NYS Forum is the place for collaboration in a fully neutral environment, where state and local IT organizations and corporations come together to share knowledge and ideas that foster mutual understandings, facilitate public sector progress, and provide insight into what government can be for all of those it serves.

10

Number of Entities Participating 117

Number of State Government Agencies

57

Established 1987

Number of Corporate Members

64Number of MWBE/Small Corporate Members

30Total Staff 3

Number of Events in 2010 - 2011 27

Number of Individuals Served in 2010 - 20112,751

Tre

nd

s in

Pu

blic

Secto

r IT

Each year, new technologies, new ideas, and new processes emerge from the IT industry and New York State. These trends shape the way work gets accomplished. Our job at The Forum is to make sense of these new trends, to share the best practices, and

1. IT Consolidation As the State moves toward a more consolidated IT footprint, The Forum is helping our members to understand and develop approaches in shared services and consolidations.

2. Business Transformation Agencies are faced with unprecedented challenges. From budget cuts to retirements, agencies must drastically rethink how they deliver their services. The Forum is shaping an agenda around this topic that will help agency leaders, managers and individual contributors be effective. 11

ACCOMPLISHMENTSSection II

12

Our Corporate Members

Our Corporate Members

Our Corporate Members

Partners & Collaborators

NYC

Upstate NY

The NYS Forum is pleased to acknowledge the many organizations with which it partners on research, events and other programs.

“The first annual PMI-UNI/Forum Executive Symposium was a great success. Specific comments on the program were very positive. As we did not have many chapter attendees, I feel the program succeeded in its strategic goal of outreach to the PM Community.”

20

10

/11

A

ccom

plish

men

ts

17

68%1%

1%

15%

4%2% 9%

2010-2011 Event Participation 27 Events / 2,751 Particpants

State

Local

Federal

Corporate

Education

Non-Profit

Other

20

10

/11

A

ccom

plish

men

ts

18

The Forum ‘s Work Groups are a core component of the organization. Work Groups organize face-to-face and web-based educational events; facilitate sessions to obtain member input; and, develop tools and resources. Selected 2010-2011 Work Group accomplishments include:

Accessibility •Integrating Web 2.0 into Accessible Online Learning•Web Accessibility: Know Your Responsibilities

Business Continuity•Business Continuity and Risk Management During a Time of Fiscal Crisis

Emerging Technologies•Master Data Management•Desktop Virtualization; Forensic E-Discovery; Cloud Computing

Greening•Grants and Funding: Finding the Green for Your Green Projects•NYS e-Waste Law•Environmentally Preferable Purchasing

Procurement•2011 IT Procurement Day

20

10

/11

A

ccom

plish

men

ts

19

Project Management•Spotlight on NYS Projects•Developed survey to identify the value of project management

Security•Delivered 5 MS-ISAC National Webcasts•Manage Risk by Building Security Into Projects•The Intranet Schism – “Security Matters”

Skills Development•Developed and published Community of Practice Starter Kit•Facilitated session to identify NYS Agencies IT skills development needs

Small/Medium/Local•Two series of sessions on IT Strategic Planning for participants from state and local governments

Webmasters’ Guild•Seven educational sessions addressing technical, policy, project management and design-related topics

“Work Groups are the nucleus of The Forum. The old way of doing business is not viable for The Forum and its constituents”

The Forum’s work groups are the nucleus of the organization. Work groups are responsible for program development and the delivery of relevant, high quality products and services to Forum constituents. The structure and operation of Forum work groups historically served the organization well, but this old way of doing business presents significant challenges in the current environment with its severe fiscal constraints and rapidly changing political and programmatic landscape.

When asked “what doesn’t work” with respect to the current way of doing business, here’s what Forum members said:

• Work group operations are not consistent across all groups

• The relevance and purpose of some work groups is unclear; there is a need to regularly review and validate to make sure that we have the right groups to address the issues at hand

• There is little coordination or collaboration among groups and no process for on-boarding new ideas

• Work group operating costs are unknown• Many events are “free” creating the unintended

perception that “no cost means no value”

Spotlight: Organizing for Improved Value and Performance

The vision for the future—The Forum operates like a business with clear and meaningful criteria for establishing and operating work groups and measuring their performance.

To meet the challenges of today and the future, The Forum will operate like a business with clear and meaningful criteria to determine when it’s appropriate to form a new work group or retire an existing work group, how work groups should function to achieve high standards of relevance and viability, and how work group performance will be measured.

Spotlight: Organizing for Improved Value and Performance

Criteria / Measure

Description

Relevance

High percentage of Forum members are interested in and benefit from the topics or disciplines represented by the Work Group

Aligns with State’s priorities or supports an emerging need

Aligns with Forum’s Mission, Goals, Objectives, Strategies

Viability Makes a positive contribution to Forum

operations

Performance

Work Group delivers on its value proposition Work Group operates within The Forum’s

governance & communication structure and operates “like a business”

GOALS, STRATEGIES, AND OBJECTIVES

Section III

22

Goals drive performance. They focus teams and individuals on results. And, their accomplishment is the clearest measure of success.

There is no radical departure, but rather a sharpening; a honing. The emphasis was about clarifying the goals and their objectives to make them more relevant, more present to our customers and our workforce. These goals set our priorities and narrow our collective focus.

These goals have been revised and focused based on our experience over the past two years, direct feedback from our customers, best practices Information Technology, and the judgment of Forum leadership.

THE NEED FOR GOALS“Planning is a process of choosing among many options. If we do not choose to plan, then we choose to have others plan for us.” ~  Richard I. Winwood

Forum Goals and Strategies: 2011-2012

24

Produce High Quality Programs For Our MembershipProduce High Quality Programs For Our Membership

Advance The Forum’s Value Proposition and Brand Awareness Advance The Forum’s Value Proposition and Brand Awareness

Improve Organizational Effectiveness of The NYS Forum Improve Organizational Effectiveness of The NYS Forum

Build and Maintain a Strong Financial FoundationBuild and Maintain a Strong Financial Foundation

Develop Great Programs

Develop Great Programs

BuildAwarenessBuildAwareness

Improve OperationsImprove Operations

Create Strong Finances

Create Strong Finances

11223344

Section III: 2011-2013 Strategic PlanSection III: 2011-2013 Strategic Plan

1. Develop Great ProgramsDeveloping great programs will encourage and enable the sharing of relevant, timely, and valuable solutions to NYS at all levels to assist NYS government to meet its IT initiatives

Goal 1: Produce High Quality Programs For Our MembershipSpecific Objectives Include:

1.1 Increase Membership Awareness and Skills Via Training And Education

1.2 Expand and Improve Capacity to Support Online Information Exchanges

1.3 Expand and Improve Networking and Knowledge Sharing Opportunities

1.4 Measure the Performance and Effectiveness of Our Programs Regularly

25

Goal 1Produce High Quality Programs For Our MembershipGoal 1Produce High Quality Programs For Our Membership

Objective:Increase Membership Awareness And Skills Via Training And Education

Strategies:1.Host one or more signature

events 2.Conduct training events3.Expand use of webinars4.Foster & support an

environment of active involvement for

5.Partnerships with educational organization

6.Support on-the-job performance improvement

7.Establish a speakers’ bureau

Objective:Expand and Improve Capacity to Support Online Information Exchanges

Strategies:1.Revise The Forum website2.Leverage tools to promote

member communications3.Establish a framework for

writing, publishing, and distributing member-driven information

Objective:Expand and Improve Networking and Knowledge Sharing Opportunities

Strategies:1.Host a series of executive-

level events as a venue for cross-member networking, information sharing and highlighting emerging trends and effective practices.

2.Establish and support work group structure for information sharing and networking

Objective:Measure the Performance and Effectiveness of our Programs Regularly

Strategies:1.Establish metrics to

measure program performance

2.Implement methods to capture membership feedback on key issues

3.Publically maintain dashboards to communicate Forum performance

4.Recognize leadership, innovation and effective practices

Establishing a marketing program will increase The Forum’s ability to deliver its core messages to a broader audience and expand collaborations and partnerships.

Goal 2: Advance The Forum’s Value Proposition and Brand Awareness

Specific Objectives Include:

2.1 Establish relationships and partnerships to effectively align with NYS IT functions and structure

2.2 Advance The Forum as a resource and partner

2.3 Develop a NYS Forum marketing/communication plan to inform leadership, members, stakeholders and collaborators

2. Build Awareness

Goal 2Advance The Forum’s Value Proposition and Brand AwarenessGoal 2Advance The Forum’s Value Proposition and Brand Awareness

Objective:Establish Relationships and Partnerships to Effectively Align with NYS IT Functions and Structure

Strategies:1.Engage and collaborate

with CIOs, CIO leadership, and other executive-level leaders

2.Participate on special councils and task forces

3.Monitor and inform members of policy and programmatic initiatives

Objective:Advance The Forum as a Resource and Partner

Strategies:1.Develop and strengthen

relationships with key strategic partners

2.Educate, establish and strengthen relationships with key government policymakers and decision-makers

3.Establish mechanism to engage members to contribute to informing key policymakers

Objective:Develop a NYS Forum Marketing / Communication Plan to Inform Leadership, Members, Stakeholders and Collaborators

Strategies:1.Identify target audiences,

key messages and priority growth markets

2.Create a long range marketing / public communication plan

3.Implement marketing / communications plan

Goal 3: Improve Organizational Effectiveness of The NYS Forum

Specific Objectives Include:

3.1 Improve Governance of NYS Forum

3.2 Improve Operational Structure and Capacity To Effectively Deliver Services

3.3 Transform Membership Engagement Model

3. Improve Operations

Goal 3Improve Organizational Effectiveness of the NYS ForumGoal 3Improve Organizational Effectiveness of the NYS Forum

Objective:Improve Governance of The NYS Forum

Strategies:1.Review and amend By-

Laws2.Evaluate, review or

establish Board operating practices, procedures and approval methods

3.Review, revise and develop governance policies and positions

4.Develop and provide orientation and resources for the Board

5.Explore and provide Board training

Objective:Improve Operational Structure and Capacity to Effectively Deliver Services

Strategies:1.Expand and improve IT

infrastructure and support2.Expand staffing capacity3.Develop policies and

procedures to guide Forum management and programmatic operations

4.Provide opportunities to train, education and develop Forum staff

5.Develop communications strategy to inform stakeholders about Forum performance

Objective:Transform Membership Engagement Model

Strategies:1.Align current and future

initiatives with mission and strategic plan

2.Review and implement new model for sustainable membership engagement

3.Develop and implement strategies to increase number and diversity of active members

4.Provide opportunities for member leadership development

Goal 4: Build and Maintain a Strong Financial Foundation

Specific Objectives Include:

4.1 Improve Financial Management

4.2 Stabilize and Improve Revenue Opportunities

4.3 Create a Culture of Financial Stewardship

4. Create Strong Finances

Goal 4Build and Maintain a Strong Financial FoundationGoal 4Build and Maintain a Strong Financial Foundation

Objective:Improve Financial Management

Strategies:1.Develop and adopt budget

that supports the Strategic Plan and is consistent with available revenue

Objective:Stabilize and Improve Revenue Opportunities

Strategies:1.Revise and implement

membership dues structure2.Aggressively pursue

increasing membership3.Explore relationships with

potential partners, funders and other strategic stakeholders

4.Identify products and services as a potential source of income

Objective:Create a Culture of Financial Stewardship

Strategies:1.Provide Board members

with training in financial oversight

2.Develop financial procedures and policies to guide investments and savings reserve practices

3.Improve membership understanding of non-profit requirements and increase financial transparency

In 2010 and 2011, the NYS Forum sponsored the Strategic Planning Collaborative, a highly interactive course designed to build the strategic planning expertise across New York State. The collaborative, a course in five distinct sessions, focused on the development of agency plans across a variety of business environments. More than 35 state and local public sector managers completed this cost-free course.

Unlike traditional “training,” the SPC instructors act as facilitators, guiding an experienced group of participants through a process of discovery. The content is engaging, with rich examples and exercises designed to elicit high quality discussion from the participants. This course covers not only strategic planning theory, but also the realities of working with a wide range of stakeholders and organizational environments.

Spotlight on The Forum: The Strategic Planning Collaborative

CONCLUSIONSection IV

34

Conclusion

This plan builds on the foundation established in our earlier strategic planning efforts. The relationships that the NYS Forum is building will result in the solutions that NYS needs to deliver the right information to the right people at the right time. The Forum will focus on delivering technology to enable the delivery of information, to improve the effectiveness of the NYS workforce, and to engage with our constituents.

Our success will only be possible through a complete partnership and collaboration with our members and stakeholders . Through our combined efforts, we can deliver solutions that result in new resources within NYS. Our Strategic Plan provides a roadmap for the future, helping people to work smarter, and enabling The Forum to succeed in delivering on its mission.

If we are not delivering the needed resources that enable people to innovate and to do their jobs better, faster and more cost effectively , then we are not doing our job.

35

This plan is designed to be adaptable and resilient. It is designed to be relevant to many audiences, within across NYS and with our many external partners.

Next Steps

Forum Annual Planning Cycle

37

2011-2013 Strategic Goal

Review

Annual GoalsAnnual Goals Marketing PlanMarketing Plan

Operations and Performance Measurement

Operations and Performance Measurement

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Section V

38

39

The Forum appreciates the time and commitment of the following members and contributors to the strategic planning process……..

Board Of Directors

Core Strategic Planning Team

Work Group Modeling

Mark Mitchell, NYSERDADuane Averill, DHCRLeslie Brennan, DECKathy Bohecek, DMNANancy Mulholland, DOTEllen Kattleman, Civil ServiceDebi Orton, GOERPeter Hilton, OSCDiane Taylor, OSCJim Lieb, Tax & FinanceAdam Gigandet, DMVTheresa Pardo, CTGJoe Merces, NYC Dept of LawCarter Yepsen, CISCO

Nancy Mulholland, DOTKathy Bohacek, DMNADavid Young, NYSERDAKristen Albright, OMHKaren Pratt, Washington CountyDonna Canestraro, CTGLeo Pfohl, IBMPeter Chynoweth, CMARenee Roth-Oneil, Tailwind AssociatesJeffrey Dickert, Deloitte

Vivian Conboy, Tax & FinanceGina Smith, DMVNancy Mulholland, DOTChristian Greco, Time WarnerMike Barry, MicrosoftDoug Lapham, Line of Sight

StaffDeborah BuckRebecca BuchnerMike Chamber