The process to develop a Strategic Plan
The process of developing a Strategic Plan was designed in response to the many opinions and concerns heard across the campus, many of which can be summarized as an expression of desire that the new Plan be effective.
Our Strategic Plan must be developed through consultation, and it must lead to outcomes that can be meaningful for the governing bodies of the University of Windsor and the whole University community. Many people have expressed apprehension about going through another strategic planning process, and yet there is recognition of the need for the University to set a new course for itself.
There are several steps in the process. They include an online questionnaire to solicit feedback and ideas on our mission, vision, principles, and overarching strategic goals. A great amount of discussion has occurred over this past year, and the web site is being used to gauge the response to suggestions for our mission, vision, principles, and overall strategic goals, and to provide an opportunity for everyone to offer their own input to them.
The responses to this web survey will be reviewed by a Strategic Planning Advisory Group and posted on the web site. This Advisory Group will then be asked to oversee a further, more in-depth consultation process to identify actions that can be taken to reach each goal. To aid in this, for each goal an Action Planning Group will be identified that has members knowledgeable in that area and that will lead the discussion on what action steps should be taken. These groups will be offered assistance to run focus groups or other consultations to help them arrive at recommendations for actions. The Strategic Planning Advisory Group will also be asked to consider the actions being developed in light of the current reality of the University of Windsor, such as our enrolment patterns, research intensity and ranking within the Ontario system.
In addition to this, there will be two town hall meetings scheduled during October, at which time there will be an opportunity for the broad community to hear about progress to date and to provide input to the Strategic Planning Advisory Group.
Strategic Planning Advisory Group
A Strategic Plan Advisory Group will assist the process. It will have the following terms of reference:
- Provide guidance to ensure that the process to arrive at actions for a new Strategic Plan is open and effective
- Review the feedback coming from Action Planning Groups
- Ensure that the communication to all interested parties is appropriate and accurate
- Review draft Strategic Plan
- Provide guidance and advice on the development of an effective base of data/information regarding the "current reality" that the University should consider as it implements a new Strategic Plan
Membership on the Strategic Planning Advisory Group will be finalized before the end of September and communicated.
Action Planning Groups
These groups will focus on the identification of actions that will underpin each strategic goal. They will be comprised of people selected because they have expertise in the area of that particular goal. Selection of people to these groups will be by the Advisory Group. The terms of reference for these groups will be:
- Identify actions the University can take to support each strategic goal
- Make use of focus groups and other forms of consensus gathering to collect and prioritize ideas
- Ensure that the communication to all stakeholders is appropriate and accurate
The work of the Advisory Group and the Action Planning Groups will not be exclusionary. It is vital to the success of the new Plan that everyone has the opportunity to comment on where it is going and provide their own thoughts on what should be in it. To this end, draft recommendations, and a copy of the full draft Strategic Plan, will be made widely available for comment.