The new strategic plan has been made publically available, for comment and criticism
A new sign, and a new plan. /Haley Klassen
The first draft of the University of Regina’s new strategic plan has been released for the public to view, to comment on, and to criticize. The new plan will guide the institution from 2015 to 2020. The plan, so far without a name, is to be approved by the University’s Board of Governors in late fall, so as to be ready for the New Year. In between then and now, three town hall meetings will take place in September for the community to give feedback to the Facilitation Team on the first draft.
Joe Piwowar, the head of the Geography Department and the Chair of the Facilitation Team, underlined the importance of community feedback.
“We would like to get some feedback on what people think of what we’ve written from what we’ve heard [in the sessions] if they think we’ve missed anything, or if we’ve not emphasized some areas well enough or [if] there’s something we are overemphasizing.”
Piwowar maintains that community feedback on the draft will make the plan the best it can be, and he wants the best version of the plan to be submitted for approval.
“We want the final plan that’s written up to be as strong as it possibly can be and have incorporated people’s opinions as much as we can.”
People can send their feedback in multiple ways for the next three months to help shape the plan that will guide the institution for the next five years.
As for the cost of the whole process, there is a preliminary, ballpark figure, with a budget to be released with the final document, according to Piwowar.
“This whole procedure is probably in the range of over 100,000 dollars. The bulk of the money has been spent on hiring a consultant to work with the Facilitation Team to develop the draft,” Piwowar explained.
McNair Business Development Inc. from Regina was hired to do the job. Piwowar was happy with the approach McNair took.
“Our consultant did an excellent job in helping us coordinate the consultation sessions and gather all the information.”
To turn to the draft strategic plan, it has a very focused feel, especially when compared to its much broader predecessor, mâmawohkamâtowin: Our Work, Our People, Our Communities, the 2009-2014 strategic plan. The draft plan commits to focusing on “three Strategic Priorities,” and those are Student Success, Research Impact, and Commitment to Our Communities. Intertwined throughout all of these three are “two overarching areas of emphasis that thread throughout each priority.” These areas are “Indigenization” and “Sustainability.”
The plan then goes on to meticulously detail specific objectives under each “Strategic Priority” related to the two areas of emphasis. Also, indicators of success, essentially the ideal results, and the actions to get there, are specifically listed. The twelve-page draft is goal-orientated and quite expansive. It will be interesting to see the criticism and feedback from the community over the coming months, then the plan in its final form when everything is said and done.
The draft plan can be read here.
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