Strategic Plan Renewal 2012

Our vision of renewal for the Strategic Plan is two-fold: to advance and refine our performance and to instill long-lasting change in our institutional culture.

The renewal phase of the strategic plan will provide refinement and priority focus during a period of senior administrative leadership transition. The process will entail:

• Considering areas of renewed focus
• Reprioritizing objectives and priority actions
• Determining performance measurements and targets
• Revisiting opportunities for innovation, efficiency and advancement

Milestones

The 2008 Strategic Plan has been remarkably successful in taking Northwestern to the next level of its development. Substantial progress has been made in reaching critical advancements toward strategic objectives, including use of resources and continuous improvement, advancing health care and research, and attracting and retaining qualified students, faculty, staff and administrators.

Building upon our heritage and history, the renewed strategic plan is becoming a reality. The sequence of our renewal is described below. Key documents are available for a reference and guiding point to where we are and our direction. We continue to seek student, faculty, staff, and alumni feedback. Your comments and involvement in the process makes a difference!

We Want to Hear From You - Again!
(March 2013)

We are seeking your feedback about the proposed modifications to the University's Vision Statement. There are two efforts now that address mission and or vision statements:

Northwestern Health Sciences University Mission and Vision - Submit your comments

Each collegiate unit has its own mission and vision separate from, but complementary to, that of the University. While they all work together, each mission is tailored to the unique characteristics of the individual colleges. Feedback is important in the areas that apply to you – students, staff, faculty, and our alumni community.

College of Chiropractic Mission and Vision - Submit your comments

Communicated the University’s Direction (Dec. 2012 – Feb 2013)

With the University’s strategic plan advancing, renewed attention was placed on communicating our direction along with convening the University Strategic Planning Committee. As the alumni community became more broadly aware of the direct changes to the University’s mission statement, much thought and dialogue brought about deeper understandings of the University directions and aspirations from various Northwestern communities. Our direction remains steadfast and supported, and the way we describe this great institution is even more vital. The Board of Trustees and other University leaders heard from numerous stakeholders and opted to clarify Northwestern’s vision to reflect our aspirations for the future.

The University Strategic Planning Committee was launched in January to provide recommendations about the specific directions/action steps to meet institutional goals. The committee consists of academic deans, research dean, faculty and staff senate, student representative, and the director of strategic planning. Recommendations will be brought forward the Executive Strategic Planning Team as developed. 

University Goals and Strategic Objectives (June – Dec. 2012)

The University campus community has reviewed, provided comments, and recommended revisions to 2008 Strategic Plan, and the renewed University goals and strategic objectives are available. Now its implementation requires intentional direction, strategic and methodical thinking, enhanced communications and partnerships cross the institution, and alignment with the vision of the University. You are able to be involved in the strategic planning activities through service on committees, participation at forums, and in your professional goal setting. We will demonstrate our performance of these University goals and strategic objectives going forward and your participation in this and other planning efforts will help move us toward our vision.

Measuring Our Performance (Sept. – Nov. 2012)

Academic and administrative leaders across the campus helped to identify the University’s strategic performance measures and were involved in the documentation of our performance. The annual University Strategic Performance Report‌ was presented to the Board of Trustees at the November 9, 2012 meeting. The report is a single, concise document as a reference and record as a compilation of the institution’s historical and most recent performance. Overall, the University Strategic Performance Report will be an annual model for showcasing our performance and it will be a compliment to the University’s annual strategic plan report.

Revised University Mission and Vision Statements (Oct. 2012)

The renewal of the University’s strategic plan has been a top priority for the Board of Trustees and senior leadership.  This has required considerable effort from faculty, staff and students to provide input, address challenges, and ignite new ideas. The Board of Trustees enthusiastically announced the new University Mission and Vision statements. These statements are the cornerstone of why this University exists and where we are headed into the future.

Campus Community Involvement (June – Sept. 2012)

The University campus community was, and continues to be, invited to share their thinking and seek feedback about the renewal of the strategic plan. Proposed University goals and strategic objectives were a focus that resulted in campus leadership and the Board of Trustees to reconsider the current strategic plan status. A review of the University’s mission and vision occurred and the campus community was further called upon to participate in community forums and focus groups as a way to provide feedback about the future direction of the institution.

Review (April – June 2012)

A review of the Strategic Plan was conducted by a group of the Cabinet convened by Interim President Dr. Michael Wiles in April 2012. The purpose of this review was to:

• Critically assess the strategic plan to determine gaps and strengths
• Formulate a strategy to move toward improvement of our work
• Apply new techniques and best practices for efficient planning
• Ensure measurable progress by instilling accountability

Foundational efforts have been made to prepare for campus community involvement in renewing the Strategic Plan. These critical actions have been accomplished:

• Integrated the balanced scorecard framework perspectives into a mission-driven strategic direction.
• Aligned the strategic objectives into a mission-focused and capacity-related operations frame. (Mission-focus relates to education, research, clinical services and community engagement. Capacity-related refers to critical needs in order to meet the mission, which includes faculty and staff and operations.)
• Refocused strategic objectives have been identified to fill critical gaps.
• University-wide goals were included to support the mission-driven strategic direction.
• Developed guiding principles for evaluating performance measures, which are a critical component for identifying to inform advancement toward goals.

Renewal feedback

Throughout the strategic plan renewal effort, the campus community, alumni and stakeholders are encouraged to provide input and suggestions about the future direction of the University. Your involvement is essential to the success of our Strategic Plan. SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS