Insights
January / February 2020

Introducing ISPE’s New Strategic Plan

Strategic Plan

The pharmaceutical industry is ever-changing, as we saw demonstrated during the 2019 ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo, and at other ISPE conferences around the world. In fact, change is accelerating—and to support the trends and developments in the industry, ISPE has developed a new three-year Strategic Plan.

The new plan commences this year and continues through 2022. It builds upon the successes of the previous Strategic Plan (2016–2019), which laid the groundwork for our next steps.

Building the Plan

Our new plan reflects what you, ISPE’s members, want and need to support the essential and valuable work you do every day.

To learn about these wants and needs, ISPE obtained input from over 1,600 individuals who participated in surveys, focus groups, and interviews. Participants in this information-gathering initiative included individual members and nonmembers, Chapters, Affiliates, knowledge networks, the ISPE International Board of Directors, and former Board members.

The plan was developed in support of ISPE’s Mission Statement: ISPE is the global industry leader in connecting pharmaceutical knowledge to deliver manufacturing and supply chain innovation, operational excellence and regulatory insights to enhance industry efforts to develop, manufacture, and reliably deliver quality medicines to patients.

It also supports ISPE’s Vision Statement: Provide solutions to complex pharmaceutical industry challenges through manufacturing innovation, member and workforce development, technical, regulatory, and compliance collaboration.

Strategic Themes

The new Strategic Plan has eight themes. This is an overview of the themes and the related initiatives we will be working on.

Build and scale content and initiatives relevant to current and emerging therapeutic modalities.

ISPE will continue to be a thought leader driving innovative solutions for pharmaceutical manufacturing, supply chain operations, regulatory compliance, and quality assurance. We aim to be the go-to organization in technical problem-solving for continuous and agile manufacturing of current and emerging therapeutic modalities, including biotech (large molecules), small molecules, and cell and gene therapies. ISPE will continue to drive digital transformation of manufacturing/data analytics through initiatives such as Pharma 4.0™.

Balance portfolio of programs, products, and services to optimize ISPE’s mission-related initiatives.

ISPE will establish a more disciplined approach to align ISPE content, products, and services with the Strategic Plan. We will identify and prioritize ISPE’s mission-critical activities, balancing between industry, membership, and regulatory priorities—always mindful of the patient. ISPE will enhance programs with significant industry impact, such as GAMP®, drug shortages prevention, and quality metrics.

Lead the acceleration of the pharmaceutical industry’s efforts to develop the workforce of the future.

ISPE will develop and implement a Workforce of the Future program, with the goal of the following desired outcomes: workforce flexibility that is agnostic to therapeutic modalities; transition of mature workforce to leverage their experience across the pharmaceutical industry; and equipping pharmaceutical industry professionals with the knowledge necessary to make optimal use of electronic systems to accelerate product development, licensure, and launch.

Drive member value with targeted content, communications, and member experiences based on professional areas of interest and demographics.

ISPE will evaluate and prioritize targeted content to specific membership needs based on geography and/or professional status in the pharmaceutical industry. It will strengthen engagement in targeted geographic markets. ISPE will continue to sponsor the Global Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Leadership Forum to define pharmaceutical industry initiatives that drive solutions to complex industry challenges. ISPE will establish Young Professional programs to improve the knowledge base.

Design and implement global digital transformation initiative for content development, knowledge management, access, and distribution.

ISPE will continue to modernize its digital platforms to enhance the member experience worldwide, and will increase engagement of subject matter experts and regulators on the timely delivery of content through guidance documents, conferences, and professional development.

Foster partnerships and collaborations that advance ISPE’s mission.

ISPE will maintain and foster regulatory interactions to advance common interests among the pharmaceutical industry and regulatory agencies. It will selectively identify and partner with other industry organizations on topics where expertise can be leveraged to a common interest consistent with ISPE’s mission.

Improve relevance, impact, and efficiency of ISPE’s volunteer operations.

ISPE will enhance its volunteer model to drive agility and efficiency. It will develop a comprehensive engagement process for the Communities of Practice to drive efficiency and align with regulatory and pharmaceutical industry initiatives. ISPE will also engage Affiliates and Chapters to enhance ISPE’s operating model at the local level.

Promote and Support the ISPE Foundation.

ISPE will develop and execute a plan to promote the ISPE Foundation, the philanthropic arm of ISPE. It will identify opportunities to support the initiatives of the ISPE Foundation using ISPE’s knowledge-sharing platforms. Foundation initiatives include the Student and Young Professional Travel Grant Program, Women in Pharma®, and the Emerging Markets Knowledge Exchange. ISPE will assess opportunities to support ISPE members and pharmaceutical professionals in addressing new and evolving industry challenges and trends.

The International Board of Directors, ISPE leadership, and ISPE staff are looking forward to working on these strategic initiatives with you, our members. We are excited about what the future holds for these next steps at ISPE and in sharing in your contributions, with the end goal of the patient in mind.

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