Call for proposed action and informational reports for GNA's Membership Assembly.

The Reference Committee is seeking Action/ Informational Reports for the 2009 GNA Biennial Membership Assembly. The reference process will begin with a Call for Letters of Intent. Letters of Intent are not required, but are strongly encouraged. They allow the Reference Committee to provide guidance and consultation to submitters in the development of reports. For example, if two or more members or structural units are working on a similar topic, the Committee might suggest development of a joint report. If an issue is currently under the aegis of a structural unit, the Reference Committee might suggest collaboration between the submitter of the report and the chairperson of the structural unit to avoid a duplicative or divergent effort.

Letters of Intent are formatted to aid in the organization of ideas for proposals. Upon review, the Reference Committee takes no formal action, but instead responds to submitters with recommendations regarding the submitter's development of the proposal.

The reference process can be a valuable tool to facilitate the effort of focusing GNA's activities and using its resources more effectively. All structural units are encouraged to be selective in submitting proposed reports that will help to focus GNA on addressing issues that are most critical for the association by considering the following questions:

* How does the issue tie into the existing guidelines for GNA work?

* Is this a new, emerging concern that GNA may need to adopt as a mega issue in the coming year?

* Is it an issue on which GNA and its members should be informed and/or adopt a position.

The reference process allows for four types of reports: Action Report, Emergency Action Report, Information Report and Commemorative Report.

* An Action Report is a proposal in report form with recommendation(s) requiring action by the Membership Assembly.

* An Emergency Action Report is a proposal in action report form on a matter of great importance that could not have been known prior to the deadline date for submission of proposals and cannot wait for action until the next meeting of the Membership Assembly.

* An Information Report is a report presented to the Membership Assembly for its information not requiring action.

* A Commemorative Report deals with commemoration of important events or developments in nursing, allied fields or in government.

The Reference Committee will take action on reports based on adherence to the following guidelines:

* The action report shall deal with a single topic;

* The action report shall be accompanied by an action plan in sufficient detail to allow a financial impact statement to be delivered;

* The action report and accompanying action plan shall be concise, clear and unambiguous;

* The action report shall have statewide relevance; and

* The action report shall not duplicate or be redundant or inconsistent with existing association policy or with GNA Bylaws.

The Reference Committee is available to work with you on your proposed report. For the format of an Action Report or Information Report, go to www. georgianurses.org/format or contact headquarters at 404-325-5536. A completed action report from a previous GNA Membership Assembly is also available at www.georgianurses.org/sample.

Please complete ONE Letter of Intent per action report to be submitted for review by the Reference Committee for the 2009 Membership Assembly. All Letters of Intent, whether faxed, emailed, or hand-delivered are due to GNA by 5:00 PM EST on March 1, 2009. The deadline for submission of an Action Report is June 1, 2009