An update to the NDPA bylaws is being brought forth for recommendation to the general membership. It was shared by email with conference and annual meeting updates and was discussed at the annual conference.  In order to provide ample opportunity for feedback and discussion, the action process for the by-laws changes is as follows: 

November 12 - Dec 5th - comment period. Please send comments to Will Hutchings. Comments will be posted online for all to view.  
December 5th, 11am CT, virtually - all member meeting as well as NDPA Board meeting to discuss comments and preliminary action of by-laws. 
January 2nd, 11am CT, virtually - all member meeting as well as NDPA Board meeting to take final action on by-laws changes. 

A by-laws review was initiated in order to better align committee and member appointed positions within the organization to what current operations reflect.  Many committee positions were required to be filled by board positions and in an effort to encourage more volunteers to participate, the update proposes the positions be filled by any NDPA member going forward. 

Another proposed change removes a required liaison between NDPA and Western Planner. This shift allows for equal representation between Western Planner and APA Western Central Chapter, or any other planning organization (NDLC, NDAoC, etc); allowing the board to appoint representatives as needed without being required to fill the position by the bylaws. At this time, the board intends to retain a liaison between Western Planner and NDPA. That role is currently filled by Donna Bye.

Comments Received Regarding Proposed By-Laws Changes:

• Change the language regarding the removal of the WP representative from “shall” appoint to “may” appoint. This change would not completely remove WP rep from the by-laws but would give NDPA the flexibility to not appoint if desired.

The purpose of the 2023-2028 NDPA Strategic Plan is to provide the NDPA board with a guiding document to assist in decision-making surrounding the allocation of limited resources towards achieving established goals. Further, the strategic plan provides the general membership with predictability with regard to the direction of the organization as a whole.

This is the first strategic plan undertaken since the organization was first established in 1973. The idea to undertake a strategic planning effort was presented at the Annual Membership meeting in Fall 2021. The strategic planning process began in Spring 2022 culminating with a draft of the document presented to the general membership at the Annual Membership meeting in Fall 2023.

NDPA has hosted a series of strategic planning sessions in 2023 to gain feedback from members on various areas NDPA strives to improve upon.  Topics discussed included an evaluation and update to the NDPA Mission, Vision, and Value statements, to educational, financial, legislation, professional relationships, and membership.   We also provided a quick survey to ask questions to help shape the goals and objectives of this plan.

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