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The SRA Board of Directors met at the Executive Office headquarters in Rosslyn, VA on July 21& 22. The meeting was quite productive in spite of triple-digit temperatures and air conditioning not quite up to the task.

President Kim C. Carter began the meeting with her plan to use disruptive organization tactics to stimulate innovative brainstorming during three breakout sessions throughout the weekend. Initial resistance was overtaken by successful outcomes. She briefly introduced the action items that would be decided, but more on those later.

The initial breakout session, “Revenue Generation and Program Revitalization” included discussion of longstanding as well as newly proposed educational programs. The importance of technology and its application to generation-focused training was a hot topic. Additionally, new markets for our educational programs and engagement with other professional associations were discussed.

In the spring, the International Network of Research Management Societies (INORMS) announced that nominations were open for its annual achievement award. Several highly qualified nominees were brought to the Board for consideration. After much discussion, a selection was made. The winner will be announced by the Awards Committee at the Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

The Board discussed several locations for the 2025 Annual Meeting. Las Vegas, NV, San Diego, CA, and San Antonio, TX, were evaluated. SRAI has previously met in all three locations. The Board considered past attendance and financial performance as well as the availability of hotels of sufficient size to host our meeting. After much discussion, San Antonio was selected as the top choice. The Executive Office team will begin negotiations and preliminary preparations for that venue.

In the second breakout session, the Board discussed the progress of the Micro-Credentialing initiative. The Board was informed of the progress of the initial modules, several of which will be launched shortly. A series of Catalyst articles and social media posts will be developed to announce the modules as they become available.

The Michigan Chapter requested permission to use the GuideBook app to facilitate operational management and networking at its next meeting. The Board approved the request so long as SRAI policies regarding the use of social media are followed and the cost involved is properly budgeted.

A Society of the size and scope of SRAI cannot be managed without reliance on large amounts of operational data. Along with the accumulation of these data and their respective reporting comes a responsibility to protect the privacy of the members. To this end, the Board discussed the formation of a Data Integrity Task Force to oversee that process. President Carter will appoint the Task Force members in the coming months.

The Education and Professional Development Committee submitted the names of candidates for 2019 Class of Distinguished Faculty. All were approved by the Board and will be recognized at the Business Meeting in San Francisco.

The third breakout session concentrated on new ways to position SRAI’s programs in the professional education market.

As the meeting drew to a close, the Board approved a new policy regarding the payment of fees to license intellectual property or copyrighted materials submitted in manuscripts by members. The new policy places the responsibility for these fees on the authors of the publications. Remaining on the topic of publications, the Board discussed the feasibility of publishing articles in the authors' native language as an addition to the current English translations. This should enhance the submission of scholarly works from the broader international membership.