The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board wants stakeholder input on where its goals should focus in the next few years.

In a request for comment filed Monday, the MSRB asked municipal market participants to comment on what the board should be focused on in the next three to five years. The last strategic plan was created in 2017.

“The MSRB invites stakeholders to share their perspectives on how effectively the MSRB is fulfilling its Congressional mandate to develop rules and information systems that support a fair and efficient municipal market and its role as the industry’s central repository for data,” the MSRB wrote in a press release. “The MSRB seeks input on opportunities for the organization to improve its effectiveness, address emerging and evolving market risks, and better serve the municipal market of today and tomorrow.”

Creating new or tweaked goals comes at an ideal time for the MSRB. The board announced its new CEO Mark Kim in October and changes to its board size, with a slightly smaller board this fiscal year. There are now 17 board members down from 21 following significant changes to the MSRB’s governance rules.

The MSRB also, as of a few months ago, migrated all of its market transparency systems to the cloud, which will make it easier for the MSRB to access and analyze market data, the board has said.

The MSRB is asking stakeholders about trends they see in the coming years, improvements the MSRB needs to make and how to modernize its EMMA system, among others.

After comments are filed, the board will take next steps to create its new goals in 2021.

The MSRB’s 2017 strategic goals included diversifying funding sources, advancing EMMA, optimizing market data among others. Seventeen stakeholders commented on the MSRB’s last set of strategic goals in 2016.

The Government Finance Officers Association plans to reiterate past comments.

“We are glad to once again participate in the inclusive planning process of the MSRB,” said Emily Brock, director of GFOA's federal liaison center. “We’ll very likely reiterate some comments we have shared with them in the past, including rulemaking efforts aimed at protecting issuers and technology systems modernization that will assist issuers.”

In 2016, GFOA asked the MSRB to make changing or correcting data on EMMA easier for issuers and commit attention to the needs of smaller issuers.

Comments are due by Jan. 11, 2021.