As noted above, the PC was not designed to revise education and training guidelines. Rather, the PC developed the structure by which that revision was undertaken, as well as supporting structures such as fundraising, fiscal authority, and site selection. Site selection was an early focus, and the University of Minnesota was approved as the conference site during the 9/13/2021 PC meeting. Three related bodies were defined and populated by the PC, including the Content Panel, Steering Committee, and the Delegate Slate. As diversity and inclusion were integral to the PC’s formation and mandate, the PC and subcommittees worked to ensure that diversity and inclusion were exemplified in our activities, the composition of the Steering Committee and Delegate slate, and the process and structure of the conference. The roles and responsibilities of the PC itself and the other three bodies in relation to each other were approved by the PC on 2/28/2022, and that approved documented is embedded below within the Summary of Planning Commission Meetings section.
Steering Committee
The PC approved the creation of a Steering Committee (SC) and its role on 11/15/2021 (see meeting summary below). Essentially, the SC was charged with ensuring an effective and efficient conference with primary responsibilities of overseeing the update to HCG and ensuring publication and dissemination of the conference policy statement and accompanying articles. The SC had its first meetings in February and March 2022, met biweekly beginning in April, and more frequently in the weeks preceding the conference. The SC is composed of seven members, as detailed in the Roles and Responsibilities document embedded below. Prior to the conference, the SC in addition to PC subcommittees would bring policy items related to the conference to the PC for discussion and vote. During the 5/16/2022 PC meeting the SC was granted with fiscal authority commensurate with their role.
Content Panel
An early goal of the PC was to ensure that the conference benefitted from broad expertise within the field related to competencies, diversity, and technology. These roles were initially conceptualized as a group of speakers at the conference, and during the 10/19/21 PC meeting a group of invited speakers for the conference was approved:
Competencies: Amy Heffelfinger, Celiane Rey-Casserly, Brad Roper, and Paula Shear
Technology: Rus Bauer, Robert Bilder, Thomas Parsons, and Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe
Diversity: Daryl Fujii, Jennifer Manly, Antonio Puente, and Monica Rivera-Mindt
As conference planning continued in Content Panel members were invited to PC meetings as guests to become acquainted with the planning process, but their attendance was not required. In the months leading up to the conference, what became known as the Content Panel served an advisory role and participated substantively in the preparation for the conference, including collaborating with the SC to develop the conference agenda, selecting readings distributed to delegates prior to the conference, and providing technical expertise during the conference. The Content Panel also has a role, along with the SC and Delegates, in ensuring that the final written product is published and disseminated.
Delegates
Delegates to the conference were meant to be drawn from neuropsychologists and neuropsychology trainees representing the broad interest of the field of neuropsychology. In the 10/18/2021 PC meeting, the framework for delegate application was approved, including the application form (embedded below) and timeline for both organizational and ad hoc delegates. Detailed procedures for delegate selection were approved by the PC on 2/28/2022 (embedded below). I encourage the reader to review that document regarding the aims and procedures for delegate selection. Regarding roles and responsibilities, delegates served as the only voting members of the conference and responsible for deciding the specific content of the revised guidelines.