COA Strategic Plan, 2021-2026
The COA Strategic Plan for 2021-26, available here, includes four priority areas: Grow, Engage, Serve, and Advocate.
1. GROW: COA will grow its membership by 2026 by:
- Revising COA’s mission and vision to emphasize what is most important to members, concisely, clearly, and inspirationally
- Reconsidering membership categories and dues pricing as well as analyzing membership benefits (tangible and intangible) and offerings to nonmembers to enhance the member value proposition
- Setting goals and timeline for membership retention and growth by category, mindful of the total universe of possible members
- Surveying members regularly about membership value and interests
- Rebranding COA
- Personalizing messaging to different member groups including those at different career stages
- Experimenting with diverse marketing approaches
- Tracking response to outreach
- Reshaping outreach based on analysis (tweak, continue or sunset)
- Helping members be COA ambassadors
2. ENGAGE: COA will further membership engagement, collegiality, networking, and participation in COA activities to promote unity, support members’ well-being and success, share resources, and collaborate to achieve COA goals by:
- Publicizing COA’s new mission, goals, and vision to emphasize COA’s commitment to supporting, empowering, and advocating for its membership
- Enhancing media experience by discussing and highlighting COA values and membership experiences
- Surveying members regularly about Local Branch experiences and wishes
- Encouraging and supporting Local Branch structure, initiations, maintenance, and membership
- Providing more Local Branch assistance to encourage consistency, viability, value, and connection to COA
- Reconsidering/reshaping networking opportunities
- Enhancing media presence by highlighting COA values and member experiences
- Tracking opportunities available to members for participation in COA activities and numbers of members who volunteer to participate, and developing new opportunities if needed
- Growing virtual networking events, e.g., lunches, happy hours, etc., recognizing time differences and what members value most
- Encouraging mentorship efforts
- Enlisting COA members in COA’s advocacy efforts at local and federal levels
3. SERVE: COA will expand/reshape its programs to strengthen its value proposition for COA active duty and retired officers and ready reserve officers by:
- Surveying members regularly regarding interests, needs, and hopes, as well as preferred venues for information/assistance
- Reimagining the structure of Local Branches to better serve COA members
- Offering members and partners regular virtual and written resources addressing vital/popular topics such as career development, handling multiple deployments, disability, retirement, second careers, etc.
- Offering one-on-one support as needed
- Expanding leadership development programs in conjunction with the Foundation
- Surveying membership about the Newsletter and revising if indicated
- Offering Q&A sessions live and recorded, mindful of time differences
4. ADVOCATE: COA will strengthen and amplify its voice advocating for Public Health Service Commissioned Corps officers by:
- Expanding resources for training members in advocacy (e.g., letter-writing, Capitol Hill or local representative visits)
- Simplifying lobbying/educating local and national representatives through provision of tools
- Increasing outreach to members to encourage participation in advocacy
- Highlighting inspiring case histories of activities, goals, and outcomes
- Increasing involvement in The Military Coalition
- Measuring and reporting on activities and outcomes monthly through updates and social media, including hash tagging ongoing efforts
- Increasing media presence regarding advocacy efforts through outreach to media