Last week, the PSI Board and Committee members came together for our annual Strategy Day. There were a lot of words that kept coming up when we discussed what is the purpose of PSI, what just cause are we trying to rally behind, and we felt the below sentence really summed this up:

We are a community dedicated to leading and promoting the use of statistics within the healthcare industry for the benefit of patients.

So we can now all be ready for that 30-second elevator pitch when someone asks you, 'what is PSI?' We are now working to add this purpose across the PSI branding/social media outlets so please feel free to start using it!

Whilst our just cause is inspirational, we also put together four strategic objectives for the next two years which we would like to focus on. We are still working on the tactics under each, but I have added a flavour of the discussions to help give more insights.

• Empower members in their profession by strengthening and broadening their technical and influencing skills.

  Whilst we already do a lot of great work in this area - leading, influencing and encouraging members throughout their careers to have the biggest impact they can to the teams and companies they work for with the end goal of benefiting patients - we felt we needed more focus. All the while keeping our community up to date on the most up and coming advances in methodology and applications of statistical thinking. 

• Nurture and expand a collaborative and engaged community.

  As we are lucky to have growing numbers both in terms of members and in followers on our social media platforms, we would like to make sure everyone feels part of the PSI community and feels the benefit of engaging with it. We are discussing expanding the remit of the Membership committee to Membership & Community Engagement Committee, in order to recognise the importance of engagement as well as just numbers.

• Promote the value of career opportunities related to the use of statistics in healthcare.

  CALC is doing a lot of great work in this space. We want to expand on highlighting the dynamic nature of the roles available within healthcare, both for those still in education as well as people already in work who are perhaps thinking about what is next for them in their career. We will also look to cater to needs from managers and senior leaders.

• Advance healthcare by being a leading partner in the application of statistics.
  We want to play more of an active role in highlighting the PSI position on statistical methods/applications to the wider healthcare community through our SIGs, committees and community. As well as collaborating with other organisations (statistical or other) to ensure we are advancing healthcare to benefit patients.   

By the end of the year, the Board of Directors will have the final business plan available online. We already know that there will be many opportunities across many different parts of PSI for people to help us towards our purpose. If you have any time to give, we would love to hear from you. Please email psi@mci-group.com

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who made this possible!