Dear Carnegie Observatories and LCO communities,
The next decade will bring exciting advances in astronomy. A new generation of telescopes on space and the ground, including the GMT, and advances in theoretical research, instrumentation on existing telescopes, and the availability of new and unprecedented datasets promise a bright future for astronomical research. In this context, it is important to lay out a vision for how to position the Observatories and LCO to continue playing a leading role in astronomy, allowing our scientists to continue producing exciting astronomical discoveries, and exploring new ideas about the universe.
Earlier this year the OCIS Director appointed a Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) charged with undertaking a strategic planning process for OCIS and LCO, including defining a framework for input gathering, shepherding the relevant discussions that need to happen within our community as part of the strategic planning, and drafting a strategic plan that will be presented to the OCIS and LCO Directors.The members of the SPC are Guillermo Blanc (chair), Ana Bonaca, Jeff Crane, Drew Newman, Povilas Palunas, Tony Piro, Gwen Rudie, and Josh Simon.
The SPC has been meeting since late January to design the way in which the strategic planning process will proceed. The process is envisioned to happen in two phases. First an "input gathering phase" followed by a second "strategy definition" phase. The first of these phases will take place during the first semester of 2022, and the SPC will be conveening instances of participation for different groups in our community, including staff, research associates, postdocs, technical and engineering staff, and administrative staff.
You should be expecting invitations in due time to participate in the relevant instances. We are looking forward to hearing your thoughts and visions for the future of our organization.
Regards,
John Mulchaey (OCIS Director) and Polo Infante (LCO Director)