Cosponsored Programs
The local and regional influence of our events is enhanced when we coproduce meetings with our vibrant network of affiliates and chapters. In several recent synergistic events, our international headquarters staff have partnered with a local affiliate or chapter to convene a program.
Last year, a very successful good automated manufacturing practice (GAMP®) event was coproduced with the Great Lakes Chapter. The Irish Affiliate experienced similar success with a coproduced event. We also have plans for similar events with the Germany/Austria/Switzerland (D/A/CH) and India affiliates.
In each of the past several years, our Annual Meeting Program Committee has connected with the local chapter in the area where the meeting is held. That adds great local knowledge as well as local resources to enhance the conference experience for all attendees. The same is true for our annual Europe conference, held each spring, which has grown in attendance each of the past several years. This year’s ISPE Annual Meeting & Expo returns to Philadelphia, where the Delaware Valley Chapter was a great partner in producing the 2015 meeting.
Affiliate Milestones
In the last issue of Pharmaceutical Engineering, I recognized some North American chapters for the longevity of their annual technical conferences and vendor shows.
In Asia, three chapters have milestone anniversaries this year:
- Japan Affiliate: 15 years
- Indonesia Affiliate: 11 years
- Philippines Affiliate: 10 years
Partnership & Collaboration
We continue to pursue opportunities to partner with other organizations and nonprofit associations. Several workforce-of-the-future initiatives, for example, are being explored as possible academic partnerships to discuss growing industry concerns about the availability of trained and qualified workers. Because the business model that works in our established markets may not be suited for other regions of the world, we also continue to seek outreach to underserved markets that could benefit from our body of knowledge. Through my connections with the South African Association of Pharmacists in Industry, we are discussing ways to provide education, training, and much-needed reference material to the African pharmaceutical industry. Both initiatives have local and regional drivers that must be included to achieve successful outcomes. Our ongoing partnerships with other organizations improve our chances of acting on such drivers.
