"The third quarter of 2017 marked the mid-point of NEEA’s current five year Business Cycle. The organization is on track to meet many of its five year goals, however the size and complexity of the current portfolio present a challenge, as does diminishing energy savings from previous investments. Both of these themes were top of mind as NEEA kicked off its 2018 operations planning process in Q3. From July through October, NEEA staff worked with funders to plan 2018 activities finding efficiencies and synergies in the portfolio and targeting resources to meet NEEA’s Business Plan goals. The resulting draft 2018 Operations Plan will be presented to the NEEA Board for approval in December. In Q3, NEEA’s Board and staff completed a major strategic planning milestone - the draft strategic direction for NEEA’s 2020-2024 Strategic Plan. NEEA’s Board sponsored regional outreach in October and will focus next on defining success metrics and boundary conditions. The 2020-2024 Strategic Plan will provide a road map for the alliance post 2019 and form the basis of NEEA’s next 5-year business plan."