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Our Strategic Plan, 2021 and Beyond

Introduction by ACEC/MW President Pedro Capestany

One of my goals when I became President was to update ACEC/MW's Strategic Plan. The Plan we had was last revised 5 years ago, and it was time that we reflected on our past accomplishments and look forward to what we want to be as an association.

Our new Strategic Plan looks at our association through the lens of our current social climate and also looks at what is impacting our industry today.  It considers how we as ACEC/MW can and will strive to be your association of choice that truly reflects the needs of our engineering industry. This plan forges the path as we navigate into the future.

This endeavor to update our plan was a collaborative effort that was led by our Board Member, Arthur Jones-Dove, P.E., PMP, CCM, MBA, PgMP (ATKINS). He and the entire team, working directly with our ACEC/MW staff, did an amazing job to develop a simple yet very specific plan that will allow the association to set achievable actions for years to come. Thank you, Arthur, Mugdha Tipnis (WSP), Beth Bryan, P.E., PTOE, PTP, STP (Walter P Moore), Don MacLean, P.E. (WSP), and Norelis Florentino, P.E., MBA, PMP, ITIL (Shrewsberry) for all of your hard work!

The Plan is simple yet very powerful and sets 3 goals: Educate, Engage, Advocate. I am excited to be able to present to you our 2021 Strategic Plan.

 Pedro Capestany, P.E., ACEC/MW President, Vice President and Operations Director for AECOM
 

 Creating the Strategic Plan by ACEC/MW Board Director Arthur Jones-Dove

 
When Pedro Capestany, ACEC/MW President, was looking for someone to lead the strategic plan development, I raised both hands and was excited on many fronts.  Strategy is simply the game plan and how we are going to get there.  One thing I know then and now is that a good strategy is transformational and provides vision and direction.  Did I say, “I LOVE DEVELOPING STRATEGY!”
 
I was excited to work on this strategic plan with a star-studded team of diverse team members who collaborated with me as we embarked on this journey.  Point to note, beyond this team being a group of thought leaders, interestingly we have lived on 4 continents, many of us had parents who were engineers or in a technical field, and you would find us unwinding by hiking, riding a roller coaster or at the beach with our families.
  
This team was aware of the significance of this document and brought diversity of thought and a fresh perspective to this strategic planning exercise.  This process was onboarded in December after an initial brain storming meeting with ACEC/MW board members, committee chairs, and vice chairs.  We performed an exhaustive exercise, including analyzing other similar organizations, other national ACEC member organizations, and reviewed background information developed from previous efforts by ACEC national and Metropolitan Washington past leaders.  After a series of collaborative meetings, we used the information collected to inform our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis.  The SWOT analysis helped us to articulate internal and external factors which have, or may have, an impact on the organization. Our findings left us inspired because, as an organization, there were a lot of things we do and have done well for a sustained period of time, but at the same time many opportunities on which to capitalize. 
 
This team saw many opportunities and we spent a lot of time having spirited and tough conversations, with the goal of developing a plan that was simple, got us out of our comfort zone, and stretched us as an organization.  We focused on ensuring a brighter organization for future generations.  We developed specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely (SMART) goals.  We concluded with internal key performance indicators (KPIs) to track progress and to ensure a disciplined execution, year after year.  
 
This team ROCKS and leading this effort was very rewarding and fun.  I am truly humbled at the opportunity afforded me to lead this exciting strategic planning effort and to be part of such transformational work.  I am ready to roll up my sleeves with my fellow colleagues and poised to lean in with all of you as we execute our strategy and collectively exceed our expectations. 


Arthur Jones-Dove, P.E., PMP, CCM, MBA, PgMP, ACEC/MW Board Director, Vice President & Senior Division Manager, DC Metro Area Strategy for ATKINS

Read the Complete Strategic Plan Here

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