Unwrapping ALA’s New Strategic Direction

ALA is also looking toward the future, starting with our 2024–2026 Strategic Direction. The Board of Directors has worked diligently to create an aspirational, future-focused road map for the Association that reflects what our members need now and how ALA will best help them succeed in the years to come.

As part of the new Strategic Direction, there are now five key focus areas that will guide our future planning: Member Experience; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility; Education and Professional Development; Impact; and Innovation. Each focus area has specific success indicators that will ensure we are achieving our goals. Underneath each success indicator are the strategies and tactics that will be developed and implemented by the Board of Directors and ALA headquarters staff.

”The Board of Directors has worked diligently to create an aspirational, future-focused road map for the Association that reflects what our members need now and how ALA will best help them succeed in the years to come.” 

Much more about the Strategic Direction will be discussed in the coming weeks and months, but I’d like to point out a few highlights:

1. The diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) focus area now emphasizes the importance of fostering a welcoming environment where everyone feels like they belong. We aspire to achieve this at all levels of the organization. 
2. Impact is a focus area that turns our attention toward elevating all the amazing things that our members are accomplishing in legal and how we can support them. 
3. Innovation is a new focus area for ALA that we’re really excited about. We want to highlight the fact that ALA members are innovators, and we want to center them in conversations that focus on how legal organizations are and can be successful.

The Board has also crafted new vision and mission statements for ALA, which help provide a baseline for what our organization stands for and hopes to achieve on behalf of our members. These will be published soon on alanet.org.

The academic Henry Mintzberg once said, “Strategy is not the consequence of planning, but the opposite: its starting point.” I believe that the new Strategic Direction is not an end goal, but a foundation upon which ALA can build its events, craft its educational programs and keep our members informed and engaged. With this road map in place, I am excited for the future of ALA and the many ways we can support your professional success and growth.

May you have a joyous holiday season!