PRESIDENT’ S AND CEO’ S MESSAGE
Positioning APHL for the Future
A strategic guide. A theory of change. Five years, 10 years, one year. Across the nonprofit sphere, there are a variety of ways to describe how an association develops a plan outlining the goals and activities that support its mission, vision and values. The resulting plan acts as a roadmap to guide decisions, allocate resources and measure progress during a certain span of time.
APHL has been developing strategic plans since the early 1990s and has usually done so in three- to five-year increments. We have also taken the approach of rolling over certain initiatives that may not have been covered in previous versions of the strategic map, with the purpose of ensuring that there is a thread of continuity from year to year, from map to map. It has also involved many months of planning, of discussion and of temperature-taking around the organization, soliciting the views of APHL members, partners and staff to ensure that all are equally represented in the association’ s vision.
APHL President Scott Shone,
PhD, HCLD( ABB), and Chief Executive Officer Scott Becker, MS
2025 has been … different. To say that there hasn’ t been a dull moment in our public health community would be a drastic understatement. And a large part of this year’ s strategic planning process— indeed the new strategic map itself— was different as well, for a variety of reasons.
In the first quarter of 2025, it became painfully obvious that the previous strategic map was out of sync with the world. In addition, that version of the map was basically an extension of the map that was created in 2020. And while it did a really good job of guiding the association, it was no longer realistic. With the events that happened during the first and second quarters of 2025, the Board of Directors deepened its discussions about how APHL could continue to function and also remain a bridge for members and partners in case of an existential crisis.
Though APHL had the assistance of the Clarion Group, who had helped us developed maps in the past, the majority of work was done by the Board of Directors, the Council of Chairs and the broader membership via an open call for
STRATEGIC MAP | 2026-2027
Position APHL for the Future as We Support Our Members
Advocate for the Role and Value of Public Health Laboratories |
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Support a Capable, Resilient and Innovative Workforce |
Advance Laboratory Science and Practice |
Strengthen APHL Financial Stability and Sustainability |
Support Members in Engaging Policy Makers to Build Their Understanding of PHLs |
Equip Leaders to Guide Their Teams Through Uncertainty |
Address Gaps in Technical Methods and Data |
Pursue Diversified Funding |
Build Public Trust Through Storytelling |
Provide Environments Where Members Can Engage with One Another |
Coordinate SMEs to Develop Curated Resources for Members |
Improve Operational Efficiencies and Effectiveness |
Help Members Identify Ways to Pursue Diversified Funding |
Adapt the Scale and Scope of Training and Career Pathways Programs |
Help Reshape the National and Global PHL System |
Analyze and Reduce Financial Risk |
Leverage Community and Strategic Partnerships
Figure 1. The 2026 – 2027 APHL Strategic Map
2 LAB MATTERS Winter 2025 PublicHealthLabs @ APHL. org
APHL. org