TNI Publishes 2007-2012 Strategic Plan

Date Posted: 2-25-2008

On behalf of the board, staff, and volunteers of The NELAC-Institute (TNI), it is my privilege to introduce the recently completed Strategic Plan.

This plan is the culminations of many months of work and represents the next step in the organization's move to self-sufficiency.  During the past 18 months, we have made presentations and hosted discussion and focus groups at our forums; held planning sessions with the board, committees and staff; and researched options for our organization.  The board, committee chairs, staff and volunteers have devoted a great deal of effort into generating this plan. Our discussions have been lively and many interesting and diverse opinions have been expressed.  Throughout the entire process, however, our focus has remained on our mission: to foster the generation of environmental data of known and documented quality through an open, inclusive, and transparent process that is responsive to the needs of the community.

During our planning process, we looked closely at our past experiences, strengths and the opportunities available to us as an organization.  We have also been realistic about the challenges we face.  As a result, we have established both programmatic and organizational development priorities.

First and foremost, we will ensure our programs continue to grow and serve the needs of the community.  To do this we have established priorities and a structure for our key programs: National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (NELAP), Consensus Standards Development, Proficiency Testing (PT), Laboratory Accreditation System, Technical Assistance, and Advocacy.  We will also continue to expand our Forum on Laboratory Accreditation and the National Environmental Monitoring Conference.

We have established operational priorities to enable us to build a strong infrastructure to sustain and assist our programs to grow, recognizing that we must develop collaborations to achieve our mission.  To that end, have also established goals for collaborating with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other organizations in our community.

This plan is based on our vision and our commitment to improving the quality and reliability of environmental data.  Thank you for your interest in TNI.

Sincerely,
Judy Duncan, Chair of the Board, TNI