Membership Engagement Committee Action Plan

In April 2020, the Board of Directors approved this Action Plan and a phased implementation of the listed activities over the next three to five years in support of the Strategic Plan. The activities will be reviewed by the Board for funding on an annual basis.

In December 2023, ASHG released a refreshed Strategic Plan. This Action Plan was subsequently revised in support of the Strategic Plan and approved by the Board of Directors on April 25, 2024.

Action Plan:

Immediate

1. Shared Interest Groups/Member Segmenting ASHG will create the capacity to segment members by interest area and/or career stage. Segmented groups will receive targeted emails, virtual communities, networking events. Examples of segments include Trainees, Early Career Members, Genetic Counselors, International Members, and importantly by scientific topic/area of interest.
   1. Shared Interest Groups (SIGs) – utilize the SIGs as a space for members to meet in person at the Annual Meeting and provide networking opportunities.
      1. Develop additional ways the SIGs can remain active year-round whether digitally or in person.

Mid-term (1-2 years)

1. Member curated benefits ASHG will utilize the breadth and knowledge of its members to review/create member benefits that will attract new members and retain existing members. Using the first-hand knowledge of our committee will lead to benefits that are truly valuable to ASHG members.

1. 2. Emphasize translational genomics and applications (e.g., computational applications to better understand biology, technology innovations to better detect disease, novel therapies for genetic disease, population studies to inform health policies).
   3. Collaborate with the Career Development Committee to showcase the diversity of genetics career paths.

2. Member Renewal/Acquisition and Communications ASHG will seek to learn from this committee how to find and connect to prospective members as well as what communications resonate best with different cohorts. Examples include:

1. 1. Assist staff in identifying potential members.
   2. Review and recommend membership recruitment and retention strategies.
   3. Research the professional needs and issues of specific member segments including students, trainees, and members in Genetic Counseling and Industry, and develop opportunities to meet those needs.
   4. Identify the variety of professions from which ASHG could recruit more members and increase the diversity and richness of its membership overall (e.g., people in rare disease therapy companies, advocacy groups, public health genetics programs, business programs in genomics, science journalists, etc.).
   5. Propose strategies for re-engagement of lapsed members.

Long Term (3-5 years)

1. Build and foster an earlier stage of the pipeline of students excited about careers in genetics and genomics research and seek to build and attract and retain diverse talent through these efforts.
   
   1. Create a new major member focus on students – Create an awareness campaign for undergraduates and graduates to learn more about genetics and genomics careers, ASHG, and the opportunities for them to get involved (help them find a mentor, online resources, etc).
   2. Promote genetics opportunities to diverse audiences reaching early scholars to encourage pursuit of careers in genetics research – continue to exhibit and participate in meetings geared toward underrepresented minority students.
   3. Highlight and showcase members of diverse backgrounds – Ensure all Society communications and imagery highlight and showcase members from a variety of backgrounds, with particular emphasis on better inclusion of those underrepresented in the field (e.g., geographic, ancestral, sector, etc.)