Next Phase of Strategic Planning – Responding to the Strategic Framework

Message from President Tony Collins and Provost Robyn Hannigan 

GOLDEN KNIGHTS RISE
The Strategic Framework & Next Phase of Strategic Planning

To:  University Community

From: Provost Robyn Hannigan

Re:  More Details, Timelines and Examples of Next Action Items

With the support of both the Board of Trustees and the President, I am delighted to share Clarkson University’s strategic framework. The framework captures input from across campus garnered over the past 18 months resulting in a collective vision for Clarkson’s evolution into the future and the creation of an aligned and living strategic plan we are calling “Golden Knights Rise.” The framework integrates opportunity and action across the institution from academics to budget structures to master plan and beyond.  Threaded throughout Golden Knights Rise, sustainability and diversity, equity, inclusion, & belonging (DEIB) remain our synergistic guiding principles.

Next Steps.

• The Opportunity: We recognize that demands on our time and the weariness of virtual meetings makes the suggestion we fast-track strategic planning unpalatable.  We also are all too aware that higher education is at a pivot point and that our long-term success resides in bold and innovative action now.  With these in mind, we are looking for early adopters, those who are willing to imagine our exciting new future now while asking all members of our community to start regenerative thinking so that when we can be together in person again we are bubbling over with ideas.

• Starting now, we are calling on colleagues in Academic Affairs, Chief Inclusion Office, Athletics, and Student Affairs to respond to the framework and propose bold, necessary actions we should take over upcoming years.  However, these bold actions cannot be implemented in silos whether divisional or unit-based.  The challenge is to respond to the framework by engaging across units and in collaboration with partners across the entire organization.
• Importantly, this is the first step in building the plan. We are now putting “flesh” on the framework that will be refined and defined over the next several months. Those who can share ideas now, please do.  Those who need to await a less stressful time but will join in in the summer, no worries we await your great ideas!
• We want this next stage to be ‘fun’ for all participants and provide a broad opportunity to apply our collective wisdom and entrepreneurial spirit to proposing responses to the framework’s goals and strategies.

• The Approach:  Athletics, Chief Inclusion Office, Student Affairs, and Academic Affairs (each school, institute, TCS, and the Honors Program as well as the common experience committee), will form working committees who will lead the division/unit’s response to the strategic framework.  Ideally, the working committee should have no more than 6 members, to keep it manageable, of which three must be from outside of the unit and at least one of these from outside of the division.  Remember, committee members are NOT the only ones that will be engaged in responding to the strategic framework but will be the working team who reaches out to all unit members and appropriate partners and subject matter experts to  collect input and provide feedback. 
• The “Final” Product: To begin, we are currently looking for one “big idea” from each school/institute and division.  We know there will be more than one great idea and we will continue to solicit ideas over the coming months as well as convene in person to ‘see what sticks’. In this first round, we want to capture the top of the mind idea from each group.  A template is outlined below.  We will begin gathering final products in late March into April.  One-pagers will be passed to an ad hoc committee of the faculty senate who will review and ask clarifying questions.  Those ideas we’ve received may be shared with the Board of Trustees at the May meeting  A second round solicitation will launch at the end of May with the hope we can meet in person to discuss ideas from both rounds and work across the university community to identify strategic actions.

Timeline

End-February	March 30	April 10	April 20	May 1	May 14
Release of Framework and begin work	Submit 1-pagers to Senate ad hoc committee for review	Edits to1-pagers and continued stakeholder engagement	1-pagers shared across divisions for additional feedback and edits	1-pagers submitted to Provost for President review and feedback	1-pagers shared with community
June 1	August 15	September 10	September 20	September 30	October
Next Round Solicitations	Submit 1-pagers to Senate ad hoc committee for review in September	Edits to 1-pagers and continued stakeholder engagement	1-pagers shared across divisions for additional feedback and edits	1-pagers submitted to Provost for President review and feedback	1-pagers shared from both rounds with community and with Board of Trustees

Response to the Strategic Framework Template

1.       Division/Unit Name

2.       Committee members and home division/unit

3.       Which strategic goal(s) are you tackling?

4.       What strategy(ies) are you focusing on?

5.       What is your winning scenario?

6.       How does your winning scenario reflect and support Clarkson Values?

7.       What divisions/units are essential to being successful?

8.       What are your metrics of success?

In addition to the above, each 1-pager must be accompanied by a graphic that represents the scenario and its connections in and out of the division/unit.

Here is an example of one group that has begun to outline their response to the framework.  

Sample graphic (courtesy of Founding Dean Lenn Johns, Lewis School of Health Sciences)