ERS Strategy Meeting- Lausanne, July 2013

The European Respiratmy Society (ERS), held a meeting on July J<d and 4th, 2013 to agree upon an initial consensus on the core strategic priorities for the period 2013-2018, taking into account the changes occurring both within the society and in the respiratory field.

Methods

The Strategy Meeting involved the ERS Leadership represented by the Members of the Steering Committee and was prepared as an "ad hoc" meeting preceding the event, involving the Past-President and the Secretmy General Elect as the officers designated to act as chair and moderator, as well as the ERS Executive Director and the ERS Head of the Executive Office (see participants list Appendix 1). The Executive Sununaty of the 2006-2007 Strategy exercise was used as the starting point to develop the strategic meeting agenda. Participants were encouraged to express their opinions freely and to think "out of the box" in order to bring fresh ideas to the table. Whilst the focus of the exercise was definitely the future, the impmtance of the past as the basis of all change was emphasized by the presence of the former Executive Director.

Operational Minutes discussions were drafted to allow an accurate summary of the decisions taken, follow­up of outcomes and compliance with the ERS requirement for approval by the Steering and Executive Committees. It was felt that in the 2006-2007 strategic document a section on implementation, monitoring and evaluation was missing (leading to sub-optimal impact of the decisions taken). For this reason, the present document was developed according to the principles of the strategic planning. The agenda included 8 strategic areas for decision: I) remaining European or going global?; 2) expanding membership; 3) coordinating with other major respiratmy societies and role within the World Lung Organization (WLO -previously known as FIRS- Forum of International Respiratory Societies); 4) strengthening science; 5) improving education; 6) improving publications; 7) coordinating and enhancing advocacy; 8) organizational changes to put in practice the decisions taken.

St..ategic Consensus 1: remaining European or going global?

Based on the huge challenges that the European economy is facing and the changes occurring in regulations with the potential to directly affect congresses (the ERS remains largely dependent on the Congress as its main revenue source), oppmtunities exist for playing a global role. The following decisions were reached:

• ERS will remain a European Society, with EU-centred activities, but will be further developed to become attractive and relevant to respiratory communities outside of Europe. This "magnet" effect will encourage global pmticipation in the ERS Congress because of its excellence and high level net working oppmtunities.

• ERS will share expertise with Regional/ National Respiratmy Societies through joint activities, which will empower them to bring the acquired knowledge to their respective constituents.

• ERS will maintain excellence in its scientific and clinical programme at the congress, as well as in basic and translational research and education activities.

• International involvement will be increased at the ERS Congress at all levels (speakers, chairs, participation in Assembly meetings). To this effect, the creation of an International Programme Committee will be considered.

The President, the Treasurer, and the Secretary General with the ERS Executive Director I ERS Office will develop a business plan for implementation of the activities above by the end of 2013, in connection with the 2014115 budget process.

Strategic Consensus 2: expanding membership

Taking into account the large number of non-member congress pmticipants compared to attendees who are ERS members, the Secretmy General and the ERS Office have dedicated much time and attention to an

analysis of the situation in order to increase ERS membership. The committee discussed the results of several smveys, considered changes in the membership structme, the creation of a fellow of the ERS programme (FERS), strategic alliances with other international/national organizations, as well as the Short Term Membership Measmes presented by the Secretaty General and approved by the Executive Committee in the 2013 ZUrich Meeting.

It was agreed: • To significantly increase worldwide individual membership (especially in Eastern Emope, Asia,

Latin America). • To underscore/ highlight the basis of all membership campaigns: that the revenue generated does not

at all represent the true value ofERS membership; the contacts and the possible interactions initiated by each member bring the real benefit for ERS.

• To offer a single affordable fee for the whole membership. • To have a flexible approach towards membership agreements with major national societies (i.e.

joint/dual/en bloc membership schemes). • To work on an analysis of the membership database with the Membership Marketing team in the

ERS Office and come up with a communication plan (also refer to IT Strategy for details, point 8 below).

• To work towards the establishment of a Fellow of the ERS programme (FERS) to recognise exceptional contributions to respiratmy research, education and clinical practice.

The President, the Treasmer, and the Secretary General with the ERS Executive Director I ERS Office will develop a business plan for implementation of the activities above by the end of 2013 in order to include these changes within the 2014/15 Budget process.

Strategic Consensus 3: coordinating with other mainrespirat01y societies am! role in the World Lung Organization (WLO);

Emphasizing the importance of unified action among all WLO/FIRS members, the member societies agreed at the last meeting (Philadelphia, May 2013) to increase the professionalization ofWLO, based on a plan of action proposed by ERS and A TS as the "driving" members.

The following agreements were reached:

• ERS will support the move for WLO/FIRS to establish a professionally staffed Geneva-based office by facilitating the process.

• ERS will take a leading role but will ensure that the support offered is not perceived as "taking over" or being too invasive in other societies' concerns. There must be absolute buy-in from the other member societies.

• Major focus of WLO/FIRS will be global advocacy (i.e. UN NCO Summit) and ad hoc suppmt of advocacy projects.

• ERS will assist in the revision of cmrent WLO/FIRS statutes and bylaws.

The Biomed Alliance was seen as a valuable partner for WLO/FIRS. In turn, WLO/FIRS will be a channel for internationalizing relevant ERS activities.

The President, the Treasmer, and the Secretary General with the ERS Executive Director I ERS Office will develop a business plan for implementation of the activities above by the end of2013 in connection with the 2014/15 budget process.

Strategic Consensus 4: strengthening science

The Scientific Committee had presented the outcomes of the Scientific Strategy meeting (April2013). As science (basic, translational, clinical, research) is a major pillar of the ERS, an in-depth analysis of ERS

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structure and how target audiences and markets are reached is needed. Perception ofERS as a scientific society was discussed: why would scientists want to pmticipate in ERS activities; should there be more basic and translational science in the congress program- review scientific/clinical balance; is there a need to revisit the assembly structure? It was agreed to:

• Embed the Scientific Strategy within the ERS Strategy. Science should thread through the Society's activities and not only in the congress.

• Organize an informative meeting with the Scientific Committee. • Advance in restructuring of the assemblies. • Develop the best respiratmy science in the world. • Develop a plan to launch the proposed Research Agency. An evolution scenario was

presented, showing time lines for each research pillar (Clinical Research Collaboration - (CRC), ERS Research Agency, and European Centre for Lung Research (ECLR)

• Consider the appointment of professional scientific staff.

Suggested actions towards achievement of the above are summarised below: • Involve Eastern Europe more actively, as they have the potential but no research

oppmtunities. • Develop "ad hoc" pan-European registries and databases (example: UBIOPRED­

Unbiased Biomarkers in the prediction of respiratory disease outcomes). • Acquire pro-actively funds from the EU, pharmaceutical companies) for research via

the Research Agency; work towards being seen as "the" lung research entity in Europe.

• Involve patients and indushy in the planning activities.

A business plan for implementation of the activities above will be developed by the Scientific Committee in collaboration with the President, the Treasurer, and the Secretmy General with the ERS Executive Director I ERS Office by the end of 2013 in connection with the 2014/15 budget process.

Strategic Consensus 5: improving education

Education is a pillar of the ERS, and the School is involved in much more than HERMES, including e­learning, assessments and educational publications. The Committee/Department should possibly be re-named "Education" rather than School.

Benchmarking should be done to compare ERS with other societies. Education holds equal importance to the Society as Science; Science is threaded through the educational offerings since they are targeted at scientists. Fellowship- Grants should also be managed by the School in close collaboration with the Scientific Committee. Post-graduate education needs to be made more attractive to young doctors (who are in the process of selecting their specialization), allied health professionals and primary care, and also needs to offer revalidation courses for senior medical professionals.

The following agreements were reached: • Ensure full suppmt to achieve then best and most comprehensive respiratmy

education in the world. • Promote better integration between Science and Education. • Ensure that the School strategy is embedded into an "Education Strategy". • Develop a business plan emanating from the questions submitted by the School

Committee. • Balance CPE, CME, and accreditation within School activities. • Attract better links to allied health professionals and primary care. • Seek agreements for HERMES worldwide, as well as revalidation programmes.

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• Incorporate professional Education staff (i.e. revisit concept of a separate Education Department in the Office).

A business plan for implementation of the activities above will be developed by the ERS School in collaboration with the President and the Secretaty General Elect with the ERS Executive Director I ERS Office by the end of 2013 in connection with the 2014/15 budget process

Strategic Consensus 6: improving publications

Publications are a crosscutting segment of ERS activities, moving across Science, Education, Advocacy and International links. A 5-year strategy was presented by the Publications Committee in 2011, and major points of the proposal were considered. Directly affected by ERS decision to "go global or remain European" and the specific paths to be chosen by each pillar of the ERS, the future of publications could:

1) Be undertaken by ERS as currently done- in-house publications; 2) Outsource with external publishers; 3) Create a new publishing agency either belonging solely to the ERS or in joint venture with other organizations (i.e. Cardiologists, Sheffield University, etc.).

The potential role of further professionalising the ERJ Editors and Editorial Board and to discuss possible future extension of the Editors' mandate was also discussed. Rationalization of the location of publications was proposed for consideration (i.e. Lausanne/Brussels/Sheffield).

The Publication Strategy will be revised by the Steering Committee with suppmt of the Secretary General Elect and the ERS Executive Director I ERS Office, in coordination with the Chair of the Publication Committee and consequently presented to the Executive Committee in connection with the Strategies related to the other pillars.

Strategic Consensus 7: coordinating and enhancing advocacy

The current overall structure requires revision and restmcturing to avoid overlap in functions of ELF and ERS, with ELF being clearly identified as a unit within the ERS rather than a separate organization operating independently (with its fund•·aising effmts sometimes conflicting with ERS corporate relations). The overlap in advocacy activities of ERS/ELF can be resolved by establishing "ELF for Patients" to handle patient­related advocacy, and the Brussels Office being given the remit for research-related advocacy. An unavoidable link will have to be handled, not only with ELF but also with other advocacy organizations that the Brussels Office collaborates with: FIRS, FERS (Forum of European Respiratmy Societies), ERS Lausanne, Tobacco Control Committee (TCC), Environment & Health (E&H) Committee, Advocacy Committee, European COPD Coalition (ECC), Smoke Free Partnership (SFP), European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), etc. A coordination plan will be designed to rationalise and streamline these partnerships/links for greater efficiency and impact, with clear assignment of ERS legal representation in eve1y activity.

The following agreements were reached: • The structure of ELF (European Lung Foundation) needs revision. • It is necessary to differentiate between Patients and Advocacy, and Fundraising. • The new name for ELF will be "ELF for Patients ". • The Brussels Office will have the remit for ERS Advocacy. • A rationalisation plan of ELF for Patients and ERS Advocacy will be developed.

JP Sculier agreed to head the group to work with the President, the Treasurer, and the Secreta1y General with the ERS Executive Director I ERS Office on the business plan, which will include the Lausanne, Bmssels and Sheffield sites, to be developed by the end of 2013 in connection with the 2014/15 budget process.

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Strategic Consensus 8: implementing strategic decisions via organisational changes

The main organisational activities to be taken into consideration are: the ERS Business Model, the ERS Human Resources; the ERS Staff, the ERS IT and the ERS Communication Strategy.

ERS Business Model A draft rationale for a Marketing Plan for ERS Corporate Strategy had been circulated, aimed at better defining future corporate relations and Executive direction.

ht order to have more specific indications on financial/operational implications, the President, the Secretary General Elect and the ERS Executive Director I ERS Office will refine the draft and will submit a business plan with ad "hoc" action plans in the various activity areas, indicating clear objectives, actions, measurements of success and timelines.

ERS Human Resources A careful look at the development of staff and resources will be based on separating Education and Science from Research activities. The core person for the Research Agency (initially as a consultant) will be identified, as well as a core specialist for Education. The possibility of creating an ERS Business School was brought to the table for open discussion. Defining an ERS Career Path, to attract Junior Members to a long­standing commitment of service to the ERS was considered. To achieve this, it will be advisable to offer courses via the School to coach professional Society Officers and develop procedures for personal and teamwork assessment.

ERSStqff A new core staff person for Research is needed, with potential partners for outsourcing services being identified. A plan for internal career development of Managers should be put in place, as currently there is vety limited potential for staff advancement, offering few incentives for staff to make service to ERS their long-term career. The position of ERS Executive Director needs to be reviewed after a 2 years. ERS should develop a policy of and assessment of Job Description and performance of the Executive Director evety 4 - 8 years, with a potential Trainee/ Deputy ED candidate to be identified internally early in the process to allow for a long-term replacement plan. Greater involvement of the Officer in Charge of the Office (Secretmy General) should be also encouraged and procedures for personal and teamwork assessment established and implemented.

ERSIT To act effectively and to implement plans, ERS needs a reliable database and adequate data management tools upon which to build strategies. As this will require reinforcement of!T capacity of the Office, the President, the Secretary General Elect and the ERS Executive Director I ERS Office will propose a business plan for IT with Operations that will be adapted to, and in coordination with, the direction set by discussions of the Strategy Retreat. External consultancy may need to be called upon for state of the art revision of current systems and proceedings.

ERS Communication Strategy It was considered imperative that all ERS activities present a unified corporate identity and communications strategy, to be reflected in internal and external procedures within a Communications Plan that will coordinate the needs of all ERS instances.

The President, the Treasurer, and the Secretary General with the ERS Executive Director I ERS Office will advance on a work I business plan towards a single Communication Plan for all ERS activities.

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Summary

a) Main consensus • ERS will maintain its European character but will adhere to activities that will result in its evolution

as a global "magnet" leading to international membership and participation in its activities. • To complement the shmt term membership measures, fhrther future adaptations were discussed and

agreed upon as convenient, including a simple and affordable membership fee scheme which would aim to foster increased membership numbers

• Launch of Fellow ofERS programme was agreed • ERS will support the establishment of WLO/FIRS as a separate institution with offices in the Geneva

area

• Restructuring of Assembly structure and development of a research Agency leading to establishment of a European Institute of Lung Research.

• Science strategy will look for synergies with Education • Education strategy will have science threaded within its programme • Publications strategy to be defined, in concordance with direction set by decisions of the Strategy

Committee • Definition of ERS for Advocacy and ELF for Patients • Definition of Corporate Business Model incorporating rationalization of Offices and Staff • Establishment of a Corporate Marketing Plan • Adjustments within Governance/IT/Finance and Communications Operational functions to enable

implementation of Strategy Committee decisions

b) Implementation Steps • Operational minutes/ "Bullet Points" as discussed in situ by the patticipants in the Strategy Meeting

to be reviewed by Presidents and approved the Steering Committee in a format of a shmt strategic document at its next meeting together with formal Minutes.

• Approval of the "Stand Alone " strategy document by the Executive Committee in Barcelona • Immediate implementation of the agreed points/ development of Action Plans as approved • If necessmy a second Retreat will be organised in 2014 to approve the different plans, once finalised.

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