Report

The 2^nd Annual National Policy Congress (NPC) took place at the Rydges Lakeside Hotel in Canberra on the 7^th and 8^th of December, 2001. Sixty-seven group representatives and three observers were in attendance. Key National Office staff attended, and with the exception of Moyra McAllister who was overseas, all Board Directors were present.

Distinguished ALIA Fellow Ian McCallum again generously facilitated the National Policy Congress with Sherrey Quinn.

The National Policy Congress is the Board of Directors' annual opportunity to

consult on issues of relevance to library and information services
seek input to policies, issues and other ALIA matters.

Delegates to the National Policy Congress took full advantage of this opportunity to

provide feedback on a variety of issues
seek clarification of decisions of the Board of Directors and National Office
identify issues needing to be addressed by the Association.

The agenda for the 2001 National Policy Congress and the list of delegates are available.

Objectives for 2001 Congress

The particular objectives for the 2001 Congress identified by the Board of Directors were to seek advice on:

how ALIA is progressing in relation to the transformation of the Association into a vibrant, flexible, outward looking, issues driven and sustainable industry body for library and information services and the profession
what challenges remain to be addressed for ALIA to meet the objectives set by the inaugural National Policy Congress in 2000
what policy focus and priorities should ALIA have in 2002 and beyond to ensure its continued relevance to personal and institutional members, continued relevance and impact on library and information services and the people working within them
how we achieve connection and cohesion, within the membership and within the profession, to ensure ALIA is a strong, unified voice for the library and information services profession.

Outcomes

The ALIA 2001 National Policy Congress:

confirmed ALIA's policy direction and priorities for 2002 as set by the Board of Directors
identified education and career-long learning for the profession as the foremost priority in both policy and member service developments
confirmed the issues relating to career-long education for the knowledge age identified by the Ideas Forum held in November 2001 and noted that further consultation is to take place
suggested that the Board of Directors develop a Business Plan and use this plan for communication with members
noted the draft ALIA Core Values Statement and the process for consultation
noted the Board's reasons for introducing a new conference model replacing former national section conferences with a three day conference incorporating a general program with more specialised sectoral programs
recommended that the Board of Directors improve communication and endeavour to provide rationale to members for decisions that have been made
recommended that simpler procedures and more detailed guidance for office bearers, in particular those in treasurer roles, be developed
noted the president's observations about the need to review, in part for cost reasons, the current structure of the National Policy Congress.
noted the new awards framework and the request for information regarding any group awards not presently listed.

For more information, see attachment A and attachment B.

Agenda

The agenda was largely shaped around the objectives of the National Policy Congress and considered the following issues, presented in the order of the agenda:

Review of progress from the 2000 National Policy Congress
A progress paper, distributed to delegates prior to the Congress, showed that the Board of Directors and National Office had acted on and implemented most of the recommendations, although some finetuning remained in some areas.

In her presentation, the Executive Director Jennefer Nicholson outlined the new legal operating environment for the Association and the Association's financial management strategy. Legal accountability and strategies to minimise risk were major considerations.
Identification of issues of significance for the 2001 Policy Congress
Ten representative groups presented their considerations of the Association's achievements since the last Congress, challenges remaining to be addressed and key professional issues needing to be addressed by the Association.

The achievements, challenges and professional issues identified by the ten representatives were quite consistent and were verified by delegates. Significant achievements had been achieved in the transformation of the Association. Finetuning of group administration and enhanced communication were identified as remaining challenges. Education and continuing professional development for the profession stood out as a key priority.

A summary of the achievements, challenges and key professional issues identified by the National Policy Congress as a whole is at attachment C.
ALIA's Action Plan for 2002
On behalf of the Board of Directors, the Executive Director presented ALIA's plans for 2002, identifying the Association's current strategic focus, its areas of strategic activity and its ten key initiatives for 2002 to implement the strategy.

The Association's lobbying and advocacy activities for the 2001 Federal election and 2002 Federal Budget, "Connecting Australians", were included in the Executive Director's outline.
ALIA's agenda for 2002-integration of 2001 Review, 2002 Issues and 2002 Action Plan
The key professional issues identified by group presenters and other delegates showed a considerable overlap with those being addressed by the Board of Directors in the Key Initiatives planned for 2001.

Outstanding issues identified by delegates related primarily to:
- the recent decision by the Board of Directors to introduce a new conference model replacing former national section conferences with a three day conference incorporating a general program relevant to all participating sectors and providing the opportunity for each sector to organise a more specialised program
- communication by the Board of Directors and ALIA National Office to groups and members
- group administration
These outstanding issues were discussed in detail and resulted in three conference-related recommendations to the Board of Directors and communication and administrative advice to ALIA National Office. These are provided at attachment A and attachment B.
Career-long education for the knowledge age
This was a major issue identified by delegates and one being addressed by the Board of Directors. ALIA director Naida Tattersall reported on Stage 1 of the Library and Information Science Education for the Knowledge Age (LISEKA) project. This project aims to develop a national approach to career-long education of library and information workers.

Naida Tattersall informed the delegates of the National Policy Congress on the issues identified by the National Ideas Forum on 16 November 2001. The National Policy Congress confirmed the issues identified by the Ideas Forum as representing some of the emerging needs for education and professional development of information practitioners, elements for a framework for career-long education and professional development and possible starting points for building agreement and commitment to further development of the framework. Delegates proposed no further issues.

Naida Tattersall indicated that a number of models will be prepared to which responses will be sought. As well as encouraging input, she urged that comments on these be consolidated, considered and to the point.
ALIA's Awards framework
The executive director, Jennefer Nicholson, presented ALIA's new awards framework. Speaking to a paper outlining the new awards, Jennefer Nicholson outlined the five new categories of premier awards, excellence awards, research grant program, merit awards and student awards. She said that for the first time, all known group awards and grants are included in the framework.

Jennefer Nicholson encouraged delegates to provide ALIA National Office with information regarding any group awards and grants that have not yet been included on the list, to ensure that all group awards are represented.
Core Values Statement
ALIA president, Dr Alan Bundy introduced the draft Core Values Statement explaining that it was intended to complement the recently revised ALIA foundation statements Statement of free access to information and Statement on professional conduct by providing a clearly expressed and succinct statement of the profession's societal aspirations and commitment.

He invited delegates to consult their group members on the draft values statement and provide comments to him by 18 January 2002, using a pro-forma that was distributed to delegates (a copy will be provided electronically to delegates).

The president advised the Congress that he would report fully the outcome of the consultation to delegates and the Board, and that the Board was committed to endorsing a statement at its next meeting.
Communication
In his closing remarks, the president apologised personally to the Congress for the inadequate communication about the Board of Directors decision on the new conference structure. The Board, like the whole of the new Association, is on a fast learning curve. The Board had learned from that communication failure.
Vision statement
In his summing up of the 2001 National Policy Congress, the facilitator Ian McCallum sought the reaction of delegates of a possible new vision statement for the Association, "Inform, Innovate, Inspire". While not on the agenda for the National Policy Congress, and not one of the key issues identified for discussion by the Congress itself, most delegates supported the proposal as an interim vision statement symbolising the way forward for the Association.

A a