Development Plan

Strategic Priorities

1. Increase and diversify the membership base
2. Extend opportunities for involvement of UKLA members in the work of the Association
3. Support members to develop positive attitudes and fulfillment in literacy, both for themselves and among learners, drawing on a broad conception of what it means to be literate in the 21^st century
4. Strengthen the public voice and influence of the Association through the different arenas where literacy policy is developed
5. Contribute to the evolving conception of literacy/ies and the implication for literacy education

Public Profile and Sphere of Influence

1. Continue to extend the Association’s role in promoting literacy education.
2. Continue to liaise with external bodies and groups, including government agencies.
3. Continue to ensure that UKLA plays an active and strategic role in informing and influencing national policy.
4. Seek to initiate UK based research projects which will be influential in national policy arenas

Website

1. Promote the public face of the association by ensuring the website showcases the work of UKLA, publicising all areas of work and updating members
2. Continue to increase numbers of members visiting the site and review ways of attracting new visitors
3. Develop the research section of the website to allow members to share research, learn about research opportunities and celebrate research success
4. Involve more members by expanding and maintaining the Teachers’ Forum with particular focus on key issues, linking with research, publications and Literacy News

Management

1. Sustain the support for UKLA administrators
2. Ensure sufficient space for UKLA office/resources
3. Increase communication and sub committee chair awareness of administrative function
4. Continue support of offices and committee members in their roles

Finance

1. Continue to develop internal financial systems to enable effective monitoring
2. Ensure that Trustees have appropriate financial information to fulfill their management and monitoring roles
3. Maintain office IT systems to support the activities of the Association

Conferences

1. Extend opportunities for recruiting and involving members through conferences by considering fixed venues in three cities for international conference, and ‘roll-out’ regional national conferences
2. Increase and diversify membership through, for example, attracting new members via lower prices or ‘group prices’ to national conferences
3. Ensure that UKLA influences national policy though, for example, developing an annual invitational UKLA policy seminar
4. Ensure that regional, national and international conference themes are at all times related to the association’s strategic priorities

International

1. To continue to collaborate with other associations with similar aims, in order to promote a broader understanding of literacy and literature for children in the UK and other countries through: 
i) playing an active role in the IRA’s International Development in Europe Committee (IDEC), ii) playing an active role in the Federation of European Literacy Associations (FELA), 
iii) working with other associations e.g. the International Body for Books for the Young (IBBY)
2. To consolidate and develop UKLA’s “Project Connect” Books for Africa programme, and to involve more members actively in raising funds for it
3. To make positive use of international links to inform UKLA members of interesting developments and research about literacy in other countries
4. To convey solidarity to literacy associations working in difficult political or economic circumstances

Membership and Awards

1. Develop and implement initiatives for recruitment in specific membership areas: LA personnel, teachers, HE lecturers, students and librarians, as well as promoting membership in areas hosting national and international conferences
2. Continue to work at retention, and develop further strategies for encouraging members to renew their subscriptions. Continue to ensure members opt for Direct Debit
3. Involve increasing numbers of schools/ members in the Children’s Book Award, and raise the public profile of UKLA through the vigorous promotion of all UKLA awards in HE, the educational press, librarian associations and amongst the readership of Literacy and JRR

Publications

1. Develop web based and other materials which explicitly address the theme of writing for all members, and in particular NQTS and ‘Every Child a Writer’ leading teachers
2. Involve a wider and more diverse range of members in the writing, reviewing and developing of publications
3. Reappraise and develop the design and title of Literacy News sustaining its role as an important means of communication with members
4. Revisit and republish existing material, as well as encouraging new writers, for publication both on-line and in print
5. Continue to support the editors of English 4-11, Literacy and Journal of Research in Reading

Research

1. Investigate through a pilot project how a funded seminar competition could increase the profile of UKLA research and promote membership
2. Explore the possibility of UKLA-commissioned members’ research into areas of key significance in literacy
3. Develop a strategy for effective dissemination of UKLA-funded research

Leadership

1. Continue to promote and support regional representatives in developing their role within the Association
2. Continue to involve those influential in literacy education in the work of the Association
3. Provide members with support for career development through conferences, research and publication opportunities, membership of sub-committees, Task Groups and Special Interest Groups
4. Involve and support the new President Elect and Vice President in their new roles