After a brief hiatus, I would like to welcome you back to the March issue of the Dossier! It is redesigned and in a new format and I hope you like it. The entire process started last fall with a meeting with Li Gwatkin and Melissa Bronez from the CCR Office of the Director's Communications team. Their evaluative input on the effectiveness of our newsletter was invaluable. Following this assessment, we posted a survey to which we received overwhelmingly positive responses. Thank you for taking the time to give us your insights! Once we had your feedback, the section editors met and brainstormed about the new redesigned Dossier. Then it was back to the Communications Office where Lianne Priede guided us on software choices and several other details that go into making an effective newsletter. Our Communications Office is an invaluable resource and have been so generous with their time and expertise!

In direct response to your valuable feedback, you will notice some big changes in this issue. For one, the Dossier will be distributed as an e-mail, instead of a pdf attachment. The instant visibility of an email newsletter will allow our readers to scan the linked table of contents and go straight to information that might interest them with one click. Second, we have included new sections that you voted for such as “Getting to know our new SSSC” and “Congratulations” that will enhance the community feeling among SSSC that the Dossier aims to promote. Third, we will publish three issues/year and our regular “corners” will be rotated, freeing up space and time to include relevant and current information. Fourth, we have set up a mailbox (that you can find at the end of each issue) where you can leave us feedback, so communication between us and our readers remains active.

We will continue to bring you reports of SSSC events like our Professional Development Day in the fall and the Retreat in the spring. At the last Professional Development Day, we heard from recent grads of the SCEP and STEP programs about how these programs have helped their projects and careers. In this issue, we have an article from members of the first SCEP cohort about their experiences with the program. The SCEP and STEP programs were developed specifically for SSSC, and both programs have entered their second year and are now part of the new fabric of professional development for SSSC. Recognition, appreciation and resources bestowed by the inaugural SSSC-RA and Merit awards are also powerful motivators, and represent a continuing commitment by our Director to put in place an empowering workplace culture for SSSC. 

So, in short, lots of exciting changes to our newsletter and for SSSC in general! What has not changed, however, is our steadfast commitment at the Dossier to highlight information that is pertinent, useful and helps us succeed. 
 

Lakshmi Balagopalan, AS
Editor-in-Chief, The Dossier