Dear Hockey Ireland Members
I am absolutely delighted to be able to present, the new Hockey Ireland Strategy 2021-2024, ‘Change the Game’ to you. This strategy document is the culmination of months of hard work by volunteers and staff across the entire Hockey family.
I would like to thank each and every one of you for your contribution in setting out our ambitions for the next four years, particularly during what has been a very difficult period due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Strategically, our focus will be on the following:
- Safeguarding our sports future through developing a financially secure and commercially focused organisation.
- Broadening and growing our Hockey community by providing leadership and direction to ensure the enhancement of member services to all of our clubs.
- Maximising our potential as a High-Performance sport.
- Leading our sport by ensuring that we are operating to the highest standards at all levels throughout the organisation.
- Engaging professionally with all of our stakeholders to build meaningful, positive and collaborative relationships.
- Establishing Hockey Ireland as a nationally respected sports brand.
As you read through the document you will see that there are key actions and delivery goals linked to the achievement of our objectives in each of the six strategic pillars.
One of the pillars, ‘Leading our Sport’, has the following key action, ‘to provide national leadership on key structures, models, processes and pathways’
The delivery goal on this action is to ‘conduct a root and branch review of the national operating, financial and governance model and implement recommendations.
It is my intention to immediately begin the implementation of this review process by engaging an external consultancy firm to carry out the work on our behalf. The review will examine every part of the organisation but will particularly focus on the current structures and resources employed at Board, Branch and Office level. The aim will be to evaluate whether they are fit for purpose and consider how well they integrate under a single agreed operating, financial and governance model.
We will, over the coming days, be in contact with you to provide further information regarding the specifics of the review.
As soon as it is possible to meet face to face, I will visit each of the provinces and meet with you to discuss how we all work together to ‘Change the Game’. Both our Women’s and Men’s teams have achieved extraordinary success over the past number of years through their dedication, commitment and singular focus to succeed. I have no doubt that as an organisation we can also excel by working as one team to achieve our goals as we emerge from this very difficult period.
Stay safe and best wishes.
Eric Brady
Chair – Hockey Ireland