Proposal for 2016 - Regional Interest Groups for Region 4 (ASQ Canada)

I have been reviewing the ASQ material and have discovered that the ASQ Regions have the capability to form interest groups.

I have also recognized that, after having reviewed multiple business plans for ASQ sections, there is a need for additional collaboration across geographic locations for specific themes.  I am contemplating the creation of the following Regional Interest Group committees in 2016:

1.       Mentorship:  This would be used to capture and track work done by ASQ members who mentor other professionals.  The committee would encourage this practice, promote a particular regimen or protocol, and provide a forum for updates and success stories.

2.       Innovation and Best Practices:  This would create a forum to support sections with their PAR Innovation applications, and propagate the great ideas that resulted from the Best Practices and Increase Impact committee work in 2015 .  This could also tie into the Innovation Division and the ASQ Innovation Library.  This also can be a forum to promote the efforts to bring sections up to required minimum levels of good standing.

3.       Collaborations and Partnerships:  This would be a forum to engage the liaisons of the TCC groups (ASQ Divisions, Technical Committees), particularly those individuals who are the Region 4 representatives.  Also if we want to do anything like a Region-wide conference or a third-party collaboration, these ideas can be shared in this forum.

4.       Communication:  It is in our best interest to stop operating our respective sections as 16 silos and synch up our respective schedules and communications.  This applies to print, web, and social media.  I also want to rein in the rogue communication (examples to follow in a separate email) and ensure that any message from ASQ comes from a sanctioned and legitimate member leader, and abides by the appropriate ASQ protocols and standards.

My approach will be to communicate these Regional Interest Groups and elicit participants.  I will take initial accountability for convening and scheduling calls (I expect one call per quarter to start), and depending on the level of interest, will assign a committee chair to a qualified and motivated individual. As Regional Director, I will manage the roster of participants, and endorse their participation as requested for ASQ Recertification and ASQ Fellow applications.

These are meant to support and enhance the Section Leadership Teams, and enhance the overall section and member experience.  The purpose of these committees is to formalize and track the valuable exchange of ideas and practices that already exists, but is not currently captured or credited for individual contributions at the regional level.  Recommendations made by these committees can be submitted to the Section Leadership Teams for their advisement, consideration, and approval.

As I mentioned, this is a proposal, and I am open to making adjustments and modifications.  My intent is to communicate this to the membership in December, invite participation, and form the committees in early 2016.  I welcome your comments and suggestions, and look forward to your collaboration and support. 

Ad-hoc participation on a committee can be credited toward Recertification Units (RU) (0.9 per year) 

Participation in an Interest Group Committee at the Regional Level is recognized with 5 points for ASQ Activities.