In an effort to keep our members informed, we are providing an overview of the PMICIC Education Committee goals for 2006 and our progress. PMICIC strives to be the premier provider of networking and educational programs for project management in the Indianapolis and the surrounding areas and we have programs in place to serve the needs of our membership in a manner that is positive for these participants with minimal cost.

The PMICIC education committee strategy is to develop, communicate and provide educational opportunities for chapter members and other project management enthusiasts that will have a positive impact upon their knowledge, skills and abilities. The committee will continue to identify the needs of the membership, develop programs and communicate with members to request their input about future educational opportunities. Because we are a not-for-profit educational association, we must rely upon volunteers in order to develop and present our programs. Consequently we continually encourage volunteerism within our organization. Without the efforts of these hard working, dedicated individuals, our chapter would not be able to provide our programs. We applaud our volunteers for all of their efforts.

Ongoing efforts continually attempt to understand how PMICIC can maintain the quality and integrity of the chapter within the financial resources of chapter members and the community of donors and supporters. As the demands and expectations of the members increase, our costs continue to increase in a number of areas. PMICIC is constantly working to improve our programs through improvements and changes in its structure and implementation. Quality and efficiency are just two goals of these changes.

The growth strategy is based on continued attention to the quality of the experience in conjunction with identifying opportunities to expand the participation of the programs where possible. Reduced rates for monthly educational meetings and programs is one initiative that the chapter is taking to encourage participation and volunteerism.

2006 Education Committee Goals

A. Increase awareness of the Central Indiana Chapter educational programs and vision within the local community.

Update: We continue to strive toward this goal by providing programs and interacting with educational organizations in Indianapolis and surrounding areas.

B. Sponsor PMP study groups / classes during 2006 to provide opportunities for members to prepare for the PMP test.

Update: We have partnered with DeVry University to present a PMP preparation class in April 2006. Since we need a minimum of 15 people for the class, it will be rescheduled if we do not reach this minimum.

C. Develop an education committee and encourage membership participation.

Update: We have a strong education committee and hold monthly committee meetings on a regular basis. The committee calendar is available on the PMICIC website.

D. Communicate with college libraries to develop a program to donate Project Management books for the community to learn about PMI and Project Management.

Update: We continue to solicit books and donations at monthly meetings. Currently no organizations or individuals have made any donations in 2006 therefore the chapter will donate $1000 for the purchase of books for the donations, if no other donations are received.

E. Plan and coordinate the fourth annual Professional Development Day in October 2006

Update: The PDD event has been planned and scheduled for October 6 at Rolls Royce / UAW Training Center in Indianapolis. We added a successful vendor fair in 2005 and are receiving sponsorships and proposals from speakers for 2006.

F. Plan and coordinate 2 educational programs in 2006

Update: The education committee has scheduled five events for 2005 – Leading and Coaching Project teams with Lee Peters in March, Group Project Planning Techniques with Charlotte Franck is scheduled for May, Introduction to RUP with Greg Graf in August, Professional Development Day in October and the International Project Management Day program with Joseph Phillips is scheduled for November.

Financial Objectives

PMICIC wants to balance "for free" programs with "for fee" programs in order to offer opportunities to our members at a reasonable cost. This approach will enable the chapter to realize the objective of keeping fees affordable while continuing to offer high quality and value added services to all stakeholders. Meeting costs were reduced in 2006 to encourage participation.

Action plan

The following steps are being used for the implementation of the education committee goals:

A. Increase awareness of the Central Indiana Chapter educational programs and vision within the local community

1. Work with other organizations such as APICS and ASQ to provide educational opportunities
2. Identify other organizations that can benefit from PMI involvement and contact them to determine their interest and needs

B. Sponsor PMP study groups / classes during 2006

1. Sponsor organizations that want to develop a PMP study group at their companies
2. Continue to contact vendors to offer “for fee” study classes

C. Develop an education committee and encourage membership participation

1. Solicit volunteers from the membership at monthly meetings
2. Encourage current committee members to bring new members to committee meetings

D. Communicate with libraries to develop a program to donate Project Management books for the community to learn about PMI and Project Management

1. Solicit book donations from the membership
2. Solicit book donations from vendors
3. Use chapter funds to purchase books to donate
4. Contact organizations to determine if they can offer educational book donations

E. Hold monthly education committee meetings and encourage participation

1. Encourage membership participation by holding monthly committee meetings on a consistent basis
2. Publish the committee schedule for the entire year so participants can plan accordingly
3. Send reminder notices to committee members prior to the meetings

F. Plan and coordinate the fourth annual Professional Development Day in October 2006

1. This is our biggest event of the year and we will continue to advertise the event and solicit speaker proposals and vendor sponsorships

G. Plan and coordinate 2 educational programs in 2006

1. Although we already have 4 events scheduled, in addition to the PDD, we will continue to look at other options for the remainder of the year and begin scheduling for 2007.

In summary, the Education Committee is on target to complete the majority of our goals for 2006 and appreciate the support of our volunteers, the Board of Directors and the PMICIC membership. We encourage everyone to attend our events and show support for our chapter.