Planning Council Committees

Planning Council Committees

All committee meetings are held either on Zoom or in person at the Nonprofit Center (89 South St., Boston, MA) for two hours per month. Committee meetings are open to the public. Guests are welcome to attend but may not participate or vote. Guests may contact PCS at pcs@bphc.org to request meeting schedules. The Consumer Committee is open to any member of the community that would like to participate.

Read more about the work of each committee below!

Services, Planning and Evaluation Committee (SPEC)

This committee makes recommendations about the local service continuum. Each year, SPEC reviews funded service categories and develops the Priority Setting Process. The committee proposes the prioritization of various service categories for the EMA based on existing and emerging needs and service gaps. This committee also conducts the Assessment of the Administrative Mechanism, a survey that collects feedback from Part A funded agencies about the process of procurement and distribution of funds. The committee then analyzes the feedback and makes recommendations to the recipient. 

SPEC's Charge:

• Summarizing and making recommendations to the Planning Council on service categories 
• Providing guidance on the prioritization of Part A service categories
• Assessing the efficiency of the administrative mechanism in rapidly allocating funds within the EMA

Needs, Resources and Allocations Committee (NRAC)

This committee is responsible for recommendations to the Planning Council regarding potential federal, state, local, and private resources available to meet service needs and recommends action to the Planning Council as appropriate. To do so, NRAC develops funding scenarios that will allow for rapid disbursement of funds in case of level funding, decrease in funding or an increase in funding. These funding recommendations are then presented to Planning Council.

NRAC's Charge:

• Develop and implement a process to identify the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS and their caregivers by conducting a community needs assessment that is objective and ethically, culturally and linguistically sensitive and includes both quantitative and qualitative data where available
• To make recommendations to the Council as appropriate about potential federal, state, local, and private resources available to meet service needs
• To make recommendations to the Council on the distribution of funds among priority service categories using available information about community service needs, current funding for HIV care services, and service use and cost trend data

Executive Committee 

This committee handles the orderly and integrated progression of Planning Council work. The Executive Committee encourages active and meaningful participation for all members. The Executive is open to Planning Council leadership (chairs and vice-chairs of Council and subcommittees) and also at least one designated Member at Large.

Click here to learn more about the Planning Council Leadership Responsibilities. 

For the 2023-2024 Planning Council Year, here are our Chairs and designated members on the Executive Committee:

Membership and Nominations Committee (MNC)

This committee is in charge of:

• Member training and orientation
• Member satisfaction
• Outreach and recruitment in the community
• The nominations process to appoint new members

MNC members attend community events to recruit and educate prospective members on the role of a Planning Council. This committee also leads the nominations process to recommend new members to the Planning Council. 

The committee has designated mentors that sit on the SPEC and NRAC committee. Mentors connect with members who would like help understanding content. They also connect with members who want to improve and enrich their experience on the Planning Council. 

Committee members attend events in the community such as Pride, World AIDS Day, and National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. Members will represent the Planning Council and help recruit new members. 

Membership and Nominations Committee meetings take place monthly on Mondays from 4:00 - 5:30 pm on Zoom until further notice.

Consumer Committee 

The mission of the Consumer Committee is to ensure that people living with HIV are empowered, supported, and encouraged to work on the full range of activities that the Planning Council undertakes in the execution of its mandate. The Consumer Committee acts as a place for Planning Council members to receive more education on Planning Council topics and topics relevant to their experience as consumers. This committee also provides people living with HIV a place to share their personal and community experience by: 

• Fostering and developing consumer leadership 

• Ensuring that at least one Consumer Committee member is on each Planning Council committee, including the Executive Committee 

• Collaborating with PCS staff to develop a work plan that may consist of educational presentations, the development of anti-stigma materials, and other activities that the committee see fit 

• Ensuring that diverse consumer input and participation are included in all Planning Council and committee activities 

The Consumer Committee is always open to the public! Please email pcs@bphc.org to learn more about the schedule and upcoming events.