The Society for Clinical Neuropsychology’s 2023 strategic plan: Charting a new path forward

Objective: This paper is the first in a series of three that describe the context, rationale, and results of the American Psychological Association’s Division 40: Society for Clinical Neuropsychology’s (SCN) strategic planning initiative. Methods: In this paper, we provide a review of the SCN’s history, including previous organizational changes and strategic planning efforts, and discuss the rationale for undertaking the current strategic planning process. We discuss the development and work of the SCN Strategic Planning Committees (SPCs) and their multi-method approach to assessing the SCN’s strengths and weaknesses, the needs and preferred organizational priorities of membership, and opportunities for improving organizational inclusivity and member benefits. We discuss how the results of extensive qualitative and quantitative data collection methods were used to develop the SCN 2023 Strategic Plan and guide organizational changes. Results: The SCN 2023 Strategic Plan was approved by the SCN Executive Committee in 2023. It includes six guiding principles, three operating principles, five strategic priorities, and specific organizational objectives. Based on the data collected, the plan includes a focus on strengthening professional advocacy and equity, justice, and inclusion within the SCN, increasing organizational effectiveness, and improving the SCN’s membership value proposition. To align the SCN with the strategic plan, subsequent implementation efforts include changes to the SCN Bylaws, policies and procedures, and organizational structure. Conclusions: The SCN 2023 Strategic Plan operationalizes the values, strategies priorities, and objectives of the organization, and in doing so, enhances the SCN’s capacity to optimize its value to members and societal impact.