January and February always mark a peak busy period for CFA Societies. Research Challenge competitions, Annual Dinners, Charter Award events, and a myriad of other local projects, conferences, and initiatives are in full swing. As ever, a huge thank you for your continued commitment to delivering exemplary experiences to your members and communities. Keep submitting your stories!

I can tell you that things are no less busy at CFA Institute. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes to progress the Societies 2.0 initiative, as planned in our Roadmap for FY19. The Principles of Partnership and Operating Framework have been refreshed and will be shared with Societies and SPAC for feedback in the coming weeks. The CPD Design Council and CFA Institute staff have kicked off work on the development of our future CPD product and its governance, and a workstream to address our support of Society advocacy outreach has also launched. XL Societies and CFA Institute staff met in late January to discuss and align strategies ahead of the BOG meeting in Mumbai. And of course, we are gearing up for the Global SLC and CFA Institute Annual Conference in London in May.

Here’s a look at some key news items and reminders: 

• 2019 Global Society Leadership Conference: In London this year, we will discuss the conference theme “Building the Societies 2.0 World”. The SLC will be an action-packed, three days of learning, sharing, connecting and networking.
  
• Society Awards Programme: Applications for the Society Awards Programme close on 3 March 2019. Make sure you get your applications in before this date to recognise the outstanding achievements, support and dedication of CFA Societies and volunteers.
• Call for NPS story ideas: In June 2019, Connexions will be running a feature on how CFA Societies can positively impact their Net Promotor Scores (NPS). We know you are focused on delivering member value locally and are calling on you to share your innovative initiatives. Submit your ideas here and a member of the Connexions editorial team will get in contact with you.
• Compensation Survey: CFA Institute will be conducting a global compensation survey in April 2019 to enable members to benchmark their compensation relative to their peers. The initiative will deliver value to our members by providing data relevant to career assessment, planning and progression. Help us to ensure meaningful data is collated by promoting the survey to your members. 
• Member renewals are approaching: To help support your member renewal campaigns, we will be providing you with assets in April and May. Look out for updates on Connexions.
• Giving Voices to Values Training Program: We are launching  an exciting new ethics training program to engage your members. Take a look at the Giving Voices to Value program.  Societies are invited to participate in the pilot, launching in April.
• Societies 2.0: We have been working hard to develop our capabilities in the eight areas that support the Societies 2.0 vision. View the latest update to see what has been accomplished so far and what activities are in development.
• The CPD Design Council, formed to ensure a strong collaboration between CFA Institute and CFA Societies on CPD, has just published its latest meeting updates. Read the council’s notes from its meetings in December 2018 and January 2019.
• CIO Transition: Elaine Cheng has resigned her role as Chief Information Officer at CFA Institute, effective 11 March, to join a telecommunications firm. Virginia Heraghty will act as interim CIO, and a formal search for a permanent replacement will be conducted in due course. This transition will not disrupt the technology efforts underway that support CFA Societies.

Lastly, take a moment to get to know our Presidents Council Representatives a bit better.  As long-time volunteers, PCR’s have lots of wisdom to share and they do so in the Connexions feature about their own experiences as society leaders, “As a Society Leader, I Wish I Had Known...”  Great advice, all!

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