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In January 2013, the WFMT Council made a commitment to initiate work on the organization’s strategic plan. The organizational leadership recognized the changes and growing needs of the profession of music therapy and determined to best address these required further exploration, inquiry, and intention to guide the direction of the organization. Now that we are six months away from the end of the current term, I wanted to provide my blog today on the top 10 items towards which we have made progress. While we have made progress toward all strategic plan items identified, today I am just highlighting a few. A full report will be provided at the end of the 2014-2017 term.BackgroundIn order to facilitate the strategic planning process, a strategic planning workgroup (SPW) was formed. The SPW included seven WFMT council members (Interim President, Past President, Secretary/Treasurer, Clinical Practice Commission Chair, Public Relations Commission Chair, and two Regional Liaisons). Ms. Maite Barbe, Public Relations Chair, facilitated and guided the strategic planning process due to her experience and expertise in this area. The SPW held one-hour-long monthly Skype meetings over an eighteen-month period and worked on tasks via email to complete the strategic planning process.The process was completed in five phases. These included:Phase I: Determining the initial work plan Phase II: Reviewing the mission, vision, and values of the WFMT Phase III: Development of surveys and data collection Phase IV: Analyzing the data and determining the emerging priorities Phase V: Defining the core strategies and goals for the strategic plan.For more information and to read a more in-depth summary of the process you can read the following article published in Music Therapy Today (Open Access – journal edition available under 2015 in the Past Issues page on our website or through this direct link):Heiderscheit, A., Kern, P, Clements-Cortés, A., Gadberry, A., Milford, J., & Spivey, J. (2015). Advancing the World Federation of Music Therapy (WFMT) Organization: Strategic planning process. Music Therapy Today, 11(2), 25-41.Strategic Planning PrioritiesThe following were the broad strategic planning priorities that were identified. Several goals and tasks were set in each of the areas to be accomplished in the 2014-2017 term.
Produce data based informationBuild community awarenessExpand use of technology for networkingDemonstrate leadership as a leading knowledge based organizationDevelop revenue streamsProvide ongoing educational opportunities onlineMaintain online accounting systemEstablish presence at conferences around the worldIncrease collaboration among council membersEstablish volunteer opportunities
Top 10 Progress Items
- Fact sheets on a number of countries have been updated. These provide information on academic programs, music therapy associations, publications, and conferences, as well as contacts.
- New Music Therapy Videos on Research were published.
- A Global Music Therapy Day was launched in July 2016, and each year forward an annual celebration will take place.
- Established a WFMT presence at International Conferences related to music therapy
- Strengthened links with member organizations
- Published Monthly Membership Emails- WFMT Monthly BUZZ
- Planning of the 2017 WCMT
- Updated the Research and Ethics FAQ
- Planned and organized special events to celebrate WFMT 30th Anniversary
- Produced resources to assist countries where music therapy is less developed based on outstanding development examples of the profession in other countries and in comparison with other allied health professions
Warm Regards from Canada,Amy Clements-Cortes, PhD, RP, MT-BC, MTAFellow of the Association for Music and ImageryPresident, WFMT
