SRCD President's Update June 2026

Dear SRCD Members,

I’d like to share two updates from the Governing Council (GC) with you this month.

First, I’m pleased to let you know that we have a draft of new strategic goals ready for your feedback here. In brief, these strategic goals are as follows: 

• Goal 1: Cultivate Genuine Belonging as a Professional Home for Developmental Scientists. SRCD will redesign the member experience across the full career trajectory – from students to emeriti members. Professional value and belonging to the developmental science community will be visible and accessible across all career stages and in each year—not just during the Biennial meeting. SRCD will proceed with humility, creativity, and in the spirit of enfranchising members who have been marginalized in the field.
• Goal 2: Advance Global Scholarship to Understand Child Development Worldwide. SRCD will become a genuinely global organization. We will honor the full diversity of child development worldwide, both in the participants in research studies and in the scholars leading the research, with particular attention to the Global South, to reflect the majority of the world’s population.
• Goal 3: Establish SRCD as the Definitive Scientific Voice in Policy and Public Discourse on Child Development. SRCD will position itself as the definitive, trusted voice for developmental science. Dissemination of academic publications and presentations will be amplified through policy, practice, media, and public discourse in ways that are credible, member-relevant, and integrated. We will seek partnership opportunities that can help us use developmental science in service of all children, especially those who are marginalized due to systemic inequities.
• Goal 4: Build a Sustainable Financial Model in Service of Mission. SRCD will align budget decisions with mission priorities and organizational aspirations from a diversified revenue base. We will reduce dependence on any single funder category and develop sustainable earned income streams, through a documented path to a balanced budget that does not depend on investment reserves. We will continue to consider how to equitably leverage our fiscal resources to advance our organizational aspirations.

Each goal is accompanied by example objectives and a brief statement of what success will look like by 2029 if we meet the goal. The goals were developed through a process that incorporated ideas not only from the GC but also from SRCD committees, caucuses, journal editors, and other members through an open call for input and a member survey. After we incorporate feedback from members on the draft strategic plan, GC will vote on the final version, which will then be used to guide SRCD’s activities through 2029. The SRCD staff, with input from GC, are working on an implementation plan with specific metrics to track progress on each of the four strategic goals. In this way, we can be sure that the plan does not just sit in an archive but instead is used to guide the day-to-day activities of SRCD. 

Second, GC has revised and elaborated the process for making presidential statements. The purpose of presidential statements is to address SRCD’s membership on urgent issues and events affecting children and families, developmental science, and the broader scientific enterprise. We want this process to be transparent, so I invite you to read the full description here. Some of the key points are as follows. 

In deciding whether to issue a presidential statement, the issue must meet at least two of these three requirements: Aligns with SRCD’s official mission and scientific vision; Has clear and significant implications for the safety, well-being, or development of children and families; Aligns with SRCD’s current policy priorities. We consider whether SRCD has a unique contribution to make and whether we are duplicating effort by other organizations. We take into account who is benefiting or being harmed by the development and what the scale of this benefit or harm is in the short- and long-term. We also consider a number of other factors, such as risks, capacity, and alternative actions we could take instead of or in addition to making a presidential statement. 

The process also describes who is involved in making decisions about whether the presidential statement is issued and who provides input on the content of a statement once the decision to issue is statement is made. We recognize that these statements are sometimes controversial, but there are also risks in remaining silent, so we try to carefully balance risks, benefits, and the perspectives of different stakeholders. 

Please feel free to reach out to me with questions or suggestions. Thank you for your engagement with SRCD!

Warm regards,

Jen

Jennifer E. Lansford, Ph.D. 
SRCD President

Read May's GC Update
Read April's GC Update
Read March's GC Update