Last fall, following the ASHG 2023 Annual Meeting, ASHG established a refreshed strategic plan. Like many member-based organizations, the Society periodically conducts strategic planning, reflecting its commitment to support and help lead a highly dynamic and growing community of members. Following the 2019 launch of a well-devised plan to set the course for the organization, the ASHG Board of Directors recognized an opportunity to review the Society’s achievements and how it could better serve human genetics and genomics research and the broader scientific community.
With this tenet in mind, ASHG’s continued vision for the future of human genetics and genomics is a clear one – our overarching aim that people everywhere realize the benefits of genomics and genetics research. The plan encourages the field to pursue this vision while managing the challenges and complexities often faced in transformative and innovative scientific research.
To realize our vision, the ASHG strategic plan stresses the need to cultivate diversity, equity and inclusion in human genetics and genomics research and the workforce. Sustaining ASHG’s leadership in advancing equitable, accessible, and inclusive environments and scientific priorities within the Society and across the international research community is paramount. Critically, the plan also recognizes that work cannot go forward if the organization driving it is not financially stable and healthy. It is for this reason that one stated goal is to ensure organizational strength and sustainability. This will be accomplished in a variety of ways, most notably through programs that continue to sustain members throughout their careers.
One additional important component of the strategic plan is addressing the need for increased appreciation of the value and impact of human genetics and genomics research among key partners and communities. Establishing how best to advance greater understanding of genetics and genomics is a major challenge. No one organization has the full set of resources needed to accomplish this, and so in the future, ASHG aims to use its tools and resources to encourage collective action and amplify its messages as well. The Society is already at work on this goal with the participation in meetings such as Rare Disease Week 2024, where staff engaged with patients in late February to discuss how genetics can help individuals identify a genetic predisposition for disease, guide subsequent testing, and inform prevention strategies to maintain health. Throughout the year, the Society intends to continue to create partnerships that will combat misinformation about human genetics and ultimately elevate ASHG as a source of reliable information.
The 2023 ASHG strategic plan is a living document. ASHG committees have been working throughout the first few months of the year to review their action plans and update their work plans for the next three to five years with input from the Board.
“Supporting the educational and vocational goals of our members by promoting research excellence has always been a part of what we do at ASHG,” said ASHG President Bruce D. Gelb, MD. “For this reason, ASHG leaders and Board members have been working to create new goals and strategies to help us provide the best resources for our members. We remain confident that the updated strategic plan will aid our members as they advance human genetics and genomics in science, health, and society.”