Following nearly two years of reflection, input from more than 700 stakeholders, and many hours of envisioning the future, the SPSP Board of Directors has announced its new mission, vision, and strategic plan.

The new statement of Mission, Vision, Goals and Objectives reflects not only where SPSP is today, but it provides a guidance for key priorities for the next five years.

“As an organization, SPSP has a rich history of strong support for the field,” said SPSP President Diane Mackie. “Going through the strategic planning process allowed us to capitalize on that while identifying key values and directions for the future.”

As parts of the new mission, SPSP re-affirmed its commitment to advancing the “science, teaching, and application of social and personality psychology,” and reviewed how to move each of those three areas forward.

In addition to identifying the key mission, SPSP also recognized three of its core values that are central to the organization:

  • Innovation, rigor, transparency, and integrity in our science, teaching, and application.
  • Constructive scientific discourse.
  • Diversity and inclusiveness of people and ideas.

These core values were crucial to developing goals and objectives for SPSP to strive toward in the next five years.

“The entire planning process starts at a very high level and ends very concretely once you have identified a vision and the values that will get you there,” said Rich Petty, chair of SPSP’s Strategic Plan Task Force, initiated by past President Wendy Wood. “In the end, we were able to do a thorough audit of current programs and lay the groundwork for future projects, ensuring that we focus on science, education, and application.”

To implement this project, the SPSP Board also conducted a review of its governance structure and recommended changes to the traditional Members at Large position.

“The governance change will be key to moving the strategic plan forward,” said Chad Rummel, Executive Director. “We identified our priorities, and we now have assigned those priorities to specific individuals who will oversee new projects and direction.”

Some of the projects already supported and funded to happen in the near future include additional outreach and advocacy activities, career resources available to students, a review of diversity initiatives, and increased attendance at SPSP’s flagship Summer Institute for Social and Personality Psychology.

“In the last five years, SPSP has solidified its infrastructure and we are now at a pivotal time to move ahead in a thoughtful, strategic manner,” Mackie said. “I look forward to working with our volunteers and partners in an exciting phase of SPSP’s history.”