As previously announced, the IOPL Board of Directors voted on May 5th to conduct a thorough strategic assessment of the Institute’s mission, programming, organizational and funding models. It brought in an outside consultant to work with the Board and staff, and to conduct and lead the assessment process. On July 20th, the IOPL Board of Directors met to receive and discuss the initial draft of the consultant’s report.

The comprehensive report, which included a competitive scan and best practice scan, set forth several recommended strategies for strengthening IOPL’s key strategic, marketing, programmatic, organizational, and fiscal attributes. The Board voted unanimously to accept the report and, after a detailed discussion, decided on the following courses of action.

First, the Board affirmed the study’s conclusion that there is an ongoing need in North Carolina for organizations that contribute to good governance and political leadership. Recent headlines indicate that there is a genuine need for a non-partisan organization that is dedicated to providing future leaders with a foundation in political effectiveness, ethics and civility.

Second, the Board concluded that focusing its programs solely on electoral politics is not enough to address North Carolina’s needs. While there is still a need for the traditional IOPL Track I (running for office the right way), there is an even greater, growing, and largely unmet need for a Track II program (running the office the right way).

Third, the Board agreed that IOPL should consider new ways to deliver its programming and a new model for enhancing its organizational and financial capacity. Moreover, IOPL must become more strategically focused to succeed on a long-term, sustainable basis.

Fourth, the Board decided to extend the strategic assessment process to the next logical stage—to take the recommendations from the study and explore their feasibility for implementation. The Board also decided to explore substantial changes to curriculum, program delivery, funding models and alternative organizational models, including partnering with other leadership organizations.

Fifth, the Board voted to postpone the Fall 2006 Class to give full attention to the strategic assessment. Members of the class have been contacted and will be notified of IOPL’s future class schedule. The Board also voted to reduce overhead costs by vacating its current office space and co-locating elsewhere.

Finally, the Board voted to explore the development of a broader civic leadership model for North Carolina with IOPL serving as the catalyst for that effort. IOPL will therefore continue to work on redesigning its own curriculum while at the same time working with potential partners and other leadership organizations to develop this civic leadership model.

If you have any questions, please contact IOPL by phone at (919) 513-0091 or by email at iopl@iopl.org. Any correspondence may be sent to P.O. Box 12804 Raleigh, NC 27605.