Dear members of the University Community:
This past summer, the university established the Office of Strategy Management (OSM) to lead and support in the areas of strategic planning, project management and organizational assessment.
Each semester we will update you on strategic plans and highlight initiatives within these plans. Our goal is to keep us all informed on the many great initiatives happening at Kent State.
In addition to strategic planning support, the OSM team provides project management services and training to optimize project success. We work with colleagues across the institution to ensure successful project implementations by utilizing proven methodologies and practices in the field of project management. We welcome you to visit the Office of Strategy Management website to learn more about our services.
Strategic Framework and Alignment
This past fall, our team was focused on launching a framework & building process to support strategic planning. We will utilize the well-known GOST framework (Goals, Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics). In addition, we are incorporating best practices, tools and resources endorsed by the International Association for Strategic Planning (IASP).
To support our goal of strategy alignment, last fall we created a strategy alignment team, the Strategic Coordinating Committee (SCC), to serve as a collaborative body working toward alignment of initiatives across multiple strategic plans.
The Strategic Coordinating Committee
Much of our work includes coordinating initiatives across various divisional or unit strategic plans. In December, the SCC completed two workshops aligning initiatives across seven of the university’s strategic plans. This alignment is critical to ensure that we use resources effectively and efficiently. The SCC will provide recommendations to executive leadership to help prioritize initiatives as well as challenges and opportunities to successfully advance university level strategic plans. We look to grow the SCC to include additional strategic plans this year.
Strategic Plan Insights
We will continue to provide highlights and updates on work happening within the university’s strategic plans. Today, we highlight the work of the Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) plan as well as updates on the Route to Retention, a multi-year retention action plan within the Academic Affairs strategic plan.