Embracing Our Digital Future
At QRCA, we celebrate our wins, and this letter is no different—we have accomplished a lot over the last several months, and I’m honored to share the news.
What I am most proud of is the successful transition from our old, outdated website to our new community-focused site. This modern website enables members to more easily connect with each other, post questions, give advice, and network with their fellow qualitative researchers all in one place, in a format we are all used to from other social media platforms. For non-members, our many professional development events are easy to find and register for, along with searching our database of approximately 700 qualified qualitative research members worldwide. Many thanks to our Website Task Force, led by Lauren Isaacson, who kicked off this initiative over two years ago. Combining the launch of the site with our new branding and tagline, “Where Qualitative Research Professionals Thrive,” really speaks to our core values of connection, professional development, and the advancement of the qualitative research field.
As my term as President is only for one year, there is not much time to put in place lofty goals, but the focus for my term is to make our organization more efficient. We have many volunteers who graciously give us so much of their time, so I feel the least we can do in exchange is reduce the friction of getting things done. To that end, I’m hoping to put in place more processes to make everyone’s job easier and reduce our volunteers’ burden. We are eternally grateful to all of our member volunteers who make our organization thrive.
In addition, we continue to revisit our strategic plan, incorporating research conducted with members, non-members, and lapsed members to understand their perception of the QRCA “brand.” The findings from this research will feed into our marketing outreach plans and member acquisition strategy. We shouldn’t continue to be the best-kept secret in the world of qualitative research.
This missive is also bittersweet, as it’s my first and last printed letter in the VIEWS magazine. We are transitioning QRCA VIEWS from a quarterly printed and digital magazine to a fully destination website and digital footprint in order to elevate its thought leadership status. We are looking to publish more frequent and timely articles with a mix of long- and short-form content and take advantage of other digital opportunities that were not afforded when we relied heavily on a quarterly printed magazine. We plan to unveil the new QRCA VIEWS at the Annual Conference in San Antonio, where our amazing VIEWS volunteer management team, Tamara Kenworthy and Dean Stephens, will give a sneak peek to attendees.
I look forward to seeing many of you in San Antonio! Our conference committee has been working hard to line up some remarkable speakers covering topics from creativity and strategy to practical topics around technology and business basics. There are sessions that will appeal to qualitative practitioners of all levels.
Of course, being with your fellow “quallies” at the networking and social events like Dine Arounds and the evening party are always highlights.
Sincerely,
Lisa Horwich
