December 4, 1998

With proposals for reorganization much on the minds of Assembly members, Roger Peele, M.D., a representative of the Washington (D.C.) Psychiatric Society, introduced a proposal at last month's Assembly meeting that he hoped would guide APA through the process of redesigning its governance structure.

The goals of his action paper, Peele said, are "to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of APA while enhancing democratic structure and reducing costs." He maintained that APA governance consists of too many layers and committees and thus frustrates members who expect quick action on proposals they introduce and on which they want APA to act.

A possible remedy Peele urged APA to explore is to abolish the annual fall meeting of its dozens of committees, councils, and task forces-through which most proposals from members and district branches pass-and replace this expensive gathering with a third yearly meeting of the Assembly. He would also then have the Board of Trustees reschedule its meetings so they occur between Assembly meetings.

Peele also expressed frustration that APA has made little progress toward its goal of integrating its policy efforts with those of psychiatric subspecialty organizations. To expedite this process, he wanted the Assembly to evaluate the feasibility of replacing much of APA's extensive committee and council structure with new components whose members represent subspecialty organizations. To maximize their voice, he suggested that these new components become members of or report directly to the APA Assembly.

The Assembly voted to refer Peele's proposals to the Assembly Executive Committee, Assembly Committee on Planning, and APA Council on Internal Organization, which are to report their feasibility assessments to the Assembly at its May 1999 meeting.