Why do we need to plan? We have grown and evolved in our 30 years, the pace of change accelerating dramatically in recent years with California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) legislation adoption in 2014. Additionally, new and innovative member models enabling more membership through corporations across the globe and virtual platform tools have enabled rapid growth outside of the state of California. To adapt to this accelerated change, we focused primarily on organizational improvements during our strategic planning process in 2018, adopting structural changes to streamline commitments for volunteers, focus on organizational relevance, and build a stronger foundation to accommodate growth. Since 2018 we have shifted to fewer and more impactful events, adopting the concept of a large annual “groundwater congress” in lieu of our prior, smaller annual meeting. The Western Groundwater Congress (WGC) model sought to quadruple annual meeting size by creating an anchored, multitrack event with a competitive abstract process, paired with annual meeting functions, awards, and unique networking platforms across the better portion of a week. The WGC is in its 4th year in 2021 – and has been an incredibly successful endeavor. The WGC has attracted around 400 attendees from over 15 countries, and sponsorship has shifted from around 10 exhibitors and sponsors to close to 40 exhibitors and sponsors in the last two WGCs.
Additionally, in 2018, GRA consolidated the structure of various committees to improve efficiency and reduce volunteer strain. This change combined the Membership and Communications committees to realize the benefit of collaboration across platforms. The Events Committee also joined forces with the Education Committee and the Affiliates Committee to leverage networks and brainstorming; along with bringing the GRA Cast committee under the mantle of EEA. Further changes included shifting committees such as Nominations and Awards to act as task forces, in conjunction with informing the Executive Committee and Board. A Blue-Ribbon Task Force comprised of select GRA Board Members was utilized to implement the structural changes in 2019.
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GRA 2021-2023 Strategic Plan
Why do we need to plan?
