Josephine Norquist, MS
Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.
Hello everyone, and Happy New Year! 2025 will be a pivotal year for ISOQOL as we continue to implement the 2024-2028 Strategic Plan.
Organizational Excellence
Organizational excellence, long-term sustainability, resilience, and strategic growth are foundational goals of our Strategic Plan which includes, among other things, enhancing ISOQOL’s internal structure. Over the past few years, the Society has faced an incredibly positive challenge. Since our last restructure in 2016, ISOQOL’s membership has doubled, resulting in an increase in activities from committees and Special Interest Groups (SIGs). Our volunteers have been busier than ever, and I thank you all for your hard work and dedication!
This growth is a great opportunity to optimize workflow to advance ISOQOL’s mission. To accomplish this, we listened through surveys, volunteer feedback, and interviews, and we identified a need to adapt our current structure to our size. At the 2024 Annual Conference, we announced the 2025-2027 restructure, which will be implemented in phases and fully executed by the end of 2027.
This is an exciting change for ISOQOL. This restructuring has three primary goals:
1. Simplify the Structure
Improve ISOQOL’s Board of Directors’ ability to represent members while also streamlining processes related to proposals and approval timelines.
2. Clarify Roles and Responsibilities
Provide volunteers with more support and resources by:
- Standardizing descriptions of roles
- Establishing mechanisms for communications across member volunteer groups and with the Board of Directors
- Standardizing orientation processes across volunteer levels
3. Enhancing Volunteer Experience
To prioritize the volunteer experience, we have modified ISOQOL’s volunteer sign-up procedures for better volunteer-program matching and have restructured each volunteer program to have varying commitment levels. You can view the modified program and complete the new volunteer sign-up survey here.
In addition, we will develop recommended volunteer pathways leading to high-visibility level leadership positions, provide members with pathway recommendations based on personal/career goals, and invest in early career development programs.
Engagement
I also want to share a brief update on our Engagement Goal within the Strategic Plan, which focuses on supporting our SIG program. The majority of ISOQOL’s volunteer force lies with the SIGs (our fastest-growing program!). To build governance structures appropriate to the growing size of the program, two task forces have been established, one dedicated to SIGs and the other to Regional Interest Groups (RIGs). Thank you to all who are participating in these task forces!
Finally, as we implement the restructure, we will communicate continuously with our membership. I encourage you to check your emails and visit https://www.isoqol.org/restructure/ to follow along.
ISOQOL members and volunteers are at the core of this restructuring. While it will enhance the volunteer experience by reducing individuals’ workloads, it also requires more helping hands to carry out this vision. None of this would be possible without your continued hard work, passion, and innovative thinking.
Help us make an impact by signing up to volunteer.
Our members are what make ISOQOL a success!
This newsletter editorial represents the views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of ISOQOL.
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The International Society for Quality of Life Research (ISOQOL) is a global community of researchers, clinicians, health care professionals, industry professionals, consultants, and patient research partners advancing health related quality of life research (HRQL).
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