In Short Supply

Every jurisdiction in Canada currently faces challenges with the recruitment and retention of supply teachers and New Brunswick is no exception. The challenges include: variation in hiring practices and on-site work expectations; electronic booking platform; wages and contracts; geography/travel; communication with itinerant members. The New Brunswick Teachers’ Association activated a Supply Teacher Committee in 2011, when supply teachers were legislated to be members of the Association and since that time, no coordinated stakeholder plan to address the challenges has been developed and implemented. In brief, the shortages and the challenges continue to exist and are exacerbated by COVID-19. The Association, in conjunction with the Supply Teacher Committee would like to work with experts in processing and planning generative /innovative thinking to arrive at a solutions-focused proposal to address the primary challenges; the final outcome would then be to share the proposal with stakeholders and begin to implement solutions

Digital Marketing Strategy

For the past 50 years, the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association has relied upon word-of-mouth with print, radio, and television advertising to advocate for the importance and value of a high quality, publicly-funded education system. In doing so, the association promotes and elevates the contribution of teachers in society. A social media strategy and digital marketing plan are required to adjust to a digital era. This project entails creating a vision and proposing a strategy for how a teacher organization can advocate in today’s digital era with using the latest techniques and platforms to engage and inform both its members and the general public. This work may involve reviewing existing policies and practices and recommending future considerations to achieve maximum impact given organizational capacity.

Untangling the Web and Weaving it for the Future

This project entails developing a design concept and a plan for the public-facing section of the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association website that would maximize its potential as a platform to highlight the status of the teaching profession and the association with the membership and the general public. It would also provide 6000 teachers with access to critical information about member services, events, and information or resources/tools that are required for participation in organizational governance/processes. The objective of this project us to generate a plan that would encompass content reorganization and a re-conceptualization of visual layout that harnesses modern design standards, technology innovations, privacy legislation, and the latest digital marketing principles. This plan would integrate some elements that require custom code and with a free (or low-cost) content management system. This project would build upon initial phases which entailed tracking the current website’s pages into a database, collecting end-user feedback on current barriers and design possibilities, mining Google Analytics for end-user patterns, and brainstorming options for new modes conveying information or engaging end-users.

NBTA Strategic Information Technology Plan

This project would result in an organizational strategic technology plan that would provide a roadmap to guide the organization from our current reality to where we need to be in the future with regard to the technology and infrastructure as we build the teacher organization of the future. We would be excited at the opportunity to learn, partner and consult on the following plan components: * mission and vision statement alignment * needs assessment * technology initiative descriptions * goal statement and rationale * objectives (measurable and observable) * hardware, software, facility and human resource requirements * staff development plan * itemized budget and rationale, evaluation method, and ever greening schedule We are eager to embark on this key element of our journey towards renewal.

NBTA 3.0: Staffing a teacher organization for the next 50 years

The purpose of this project is to outline a revised organizational staff & leadership structure for the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association. The intent is not to tweak and tinker, rather it is an organizational re-conceptualization intended to: Shift the culture from a hierarchical, silo-driven structure to one of distributed leadership; Enhance role clarity supported by internal communications and work flow strategies that enable sound technical and politically-informed decision making, staff agency, and accountability; Improve communication and visibility of the work of the Association Manage short and long-term projects that would other-wise be delegated to Staff Officers reducing their availability for direct member service delivery; Provide flexibility to create and coordinate internal cross-organizational committees; Build staff and leadership capacity more broadly as a succession planning strategy; Create a triangular advisory structure bringing additional perspectives and lenses to strategic planning and decision-making on behalf of New Brunswick Teachers. Mapping a human resource plan that supports the re-imagination of a respected and compelling teacher organization is critical work as we build for our future. Arguably, the scope of work being proposed could easily be seven projects. The key for this Association is to start; The NBTA is eager and flexible to perspective learning partner insights as we begin this exciting journey!