Our society still predominantly sees old age as a time of problems, as a time of letting go: of jobs, friends, strenuous recreation, and life itself. Age does bring loss: the death of friends and loved ones, the often-ambivalent experience of retirement, the risk of financial dependence, the necessity of moving from familiar homes or neighborhoods.

Less recognized is the potential of elders. Our whole society benefits when older adults, with their wisdom and lifetime of experience, are given opportunities to further develop and transmit their skills and perspectives through initiatives based on their strengths.

New approaches are emerging to address the strengths of older people from well to frail, and across abilities in a number of key areas. These include lifelong learning, civic engagement and creative aging and spirituality programs, as well as programs in long-term care that focus on resident strengths.

These represent important steps in changing a culture that devalues people once their peak earning years are past, but they are only a first step. We have a responsibility to advocate for public policies and a social discourse to challenge these assumptions. As we do so, it is critical that we work to increase the appropriateness, accessibility and affordability of these programs to all older adults, not just those who are part of the affluent mainstream.

Objective 1: ASA will expand the number of its members working in areas directly related to new approaches to strengths-based views of aging, such as those listed above. All ASA members will increase their understanding of a strengths-based approach and expand their involvement in programs that use such an approach.

Objective 2: ASA will increase the visibility of strengths-based models through ASA publications, programs and special projects.

Objective 3: ASA will work with others involved in strengths-based initiatives to identify, disseminate and expand programs in this area that address the broadest diversity of older adult audiences, especially those currently underserved by such programs.

Objective 4: ASA will work toward a greater awareness on the part of policymakers, the philanthropic community and the general public of the value of a strengths-based approach to aging, of specific programs to support this approach, and of the need for funds to make these programs accessible to those who most need them.

ASA will serve as a vehicle for the sharing of perspectives on public policy in the field of aging and provide a venue for education and training about the process of shaping policy through advocacy. Our aim is to educate and inform our members and other constituencies about public policies, their impact on the field of aging and the people served by our members. This educational and informational mission is reactive -- we inform practitioners, researchers, policymakers and others about how existing and proposed public policies do or will affect them. But it is also proactive -- we educate practitioners, researchers and others within our field about how they can influence and inform public policy and enable them to do so.

Based on the premise that ASA members are either affected by, or currently interested in, or should become interested in, the major policy issues that affect the population we serve, ASA will undertake to accomplish the following objectives:

Objective 1: Provide resources and programs (conference sessions, publications, Web-based resources, etc.) that enable ASA members, event attendees, subscribers and others in the field of aging to expand their understanding of key public policy issues, develop skills in analyzing public policy, and enhance their ability to serve as advocates.

Objective 2: Facilitate ways for ASA members to share information and perspectives on public policy with other members, in order to engage those who share their views in collaboration, advocacy or other activities to influence national and state public policy.

Objective 3: Bring together experts and key stakeholders to creatively address and propose solutions to major public policy challenges.

Objective 4: Explore whether it is appropriate, and, if so, what mechanisms would need to be established, for ASA to take public policy positions on behalf of its members on issues that reflect its core values.

With its origins in medicine and "hard" science, a move to require "evidence-based" practice has spread to human service and other programs in the field of aging. That is, clinical practice and service interventions should be derived from objective information compiled in a valid and reliable manner and then further verified in other settings and with other populations. Consumers, as well as funders, are increasingly requiring trustworthy (evidential) information about what the service/intervention does, what it accomplishes in a given time frame, and exactly how much it costs. Similarly, the call for evidence-based public policy is broadening with verified "facts" guiding policy development.

This development poses considerable challenges to our field and ASA's membership. Methodologies to meet rigorous research standards in many program areas are underdeveloped or untested. Funding is scarce for practitioners to conduct such studies and programs that are struggling to provide services cannot divert resources to research. When promising practices have been identified, translation and replication of these practices to broader settings poses a separate and sizeable challenge of it own. We simply do not know how to do this effectively as well as efficiently.

Further, a shared discourse between researchers, practitioners and policymakers is not easily accomplished because they have been trained to think and talk in specific ways, inclining them to view the world differently. Often the conversation is one-way, with researchers telling practitioners what to do. An additional challenge is that research and resulting practices and policies should be designed to be inclusive of and sensitive to culturally diverse groups.

ASA could fill an important role in developing structures to forge a closer partnership between aging practice, policy and research, in insuring their cultural sensitivity, and in bringing the work of those who are tackling this issue into the ASA spotlight.

Objective 1: Increase the prominence of efforts that link research, practice and policy in all ASA educational venues, including conferences, publications and special projects.

Objective 2: Through focused training initiatives at conferences or through e-learning activities, strengthen the skills and abilities of ASA members and others to bridge research and practice. Help practitioners understand how to use and how to conduct evaluative research, and help researchers connect with, learn from and engage practitioners in participatory research.

Objective 3: Convene events and activities to promote the bridging of research, policy and practice in areas of identified high importance.

Objective 4: Develop a technical assistance capacity, drawing on the skills and expertise of ASA members, to assist practitioners in evaluating their programs.

Objective 5: Expand the mission of the Research Committee and develop its capacity to serve as the organizational infrastructure for bridging aging research, practice and policy.

Adopted in 1997 as part of its goal statement, ASA has taken its first successful steps toward its commitment to "enhance and increase the involvement of [people of ethnic and racial minority identity] in the field of aging and, in particular, in the overall governance, leadership, operation and activities of the ASA."

In the Strategic Plan period 2005-2010, ASA will strengthen its current diversity efforts and move toward a second phase of work to broaden the understanding of diversity and create an all-inclusive agenda that strengthens ASA's work and the field of aging.

Objective 1: Demonstrate a commitment to the broader meaning of diversity by strengthening the representation of the perspectives of diverse groups, including people of color, lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender people, people with disabilities and others, in ASA's programs, publications and projects.

Objective 2: Strengthen New Ventures in Leadership as ASA's flagship opportunity to recruit, train and engage persons of color in a meaningful professional development program.

Objective 3: Seek opportunities to develop special projects that broaden understanding of, and delivery of appropriate services to, diverse groups of older adults.

Objective 4: Strengthen the capacity of ASA leadership groups to facilitate communication and cooperation regarding diversity issues among various ASA stakeholders.

The vision of ASA's leadership initiative is to be the pre-eminent leadership development resource in aging for individuals and organizations who seek to acquire the science- and practice-based knowledge and skills necessary to transform their communities and businesses to embrace an aging society. Our dream is to create a cadre of leaders and organizations who can transform the way society views and responds to aging and to older persons. Our mission is to advance the understanding, practice and development of leadership for the benefit of an aging society.

Objective 1: Use the New Ventures in Leadership model to develop leadership programs that target new groups (e.g., new career professionals in aging, such as Next Wave groups; mid-career transitioning professionals; new managers/program directors; retirees, etc.)

Objective 2: Develop a national leadership training program, possibly in collaboration with other organizations, and contingent on identifying funding sources.

Objective 3: Develop (or explore) an ASA career coaching and mentoring service to attract and advance leadership in the field (in combination with, and/or separate from #1 and 2 above).

Objective 4: Develop collaborations with other gerontological and leadership development organizations.

Objective 5: Infuse ASA's core educational offerings (i.e. Annual Meeting; Autumn Series; e-learning) and publications with content in leadership development.