Advancing Higher Education
Engaging the university community to build strategic alignment
SECTOR
Higher education
SERVICE
Strategic Planning, Employee and Stakeholder Engagement
FORMAT
In person
The situation
Northern Arizona University engaged Springboard to support its strategic planning efforts with a process designed to meaningfully involve people from across the university.
For an institution as large and complex as NAU, broad engagement was important. The university wanted to hear from different parts of the campus community and create opportunities for faculty, staff, leaders, and other stakeholders to contribute their perspectives to the institution's future direction.
What we did
Springboard designed and facilitated a stakeholder engagement process that brought members of the university community together in a series of facilitated cohorts. Nineteen groups participated in the initial round of engagement, giving stakeholders an opportunity to discuss the university's direction and provide input into the planning process.
Springboard then facilitated a second round of engagement, allowing the university to bring emerging ideas back to stakeholders and continue the conversation as the strategy developed.
Our work with NAU also extended beyond the institution-wide process. Springboard supported strategic planning for individual areas of the university, including Athletics and a university research institute, helping connect their priorities and direction with the broader institution.
Throughout the work, Springboard served as an independent facilitator, creating structured opportunities for people to participate in strategic conversations and helping university leaders hear perspectives from across the institution.
What changed
The process gave NAU a structured way to engage a broad cross-section of its community in strategic planning rather than limiting the conversation to a small group of institutional leaders.
The multiple rounds of engagement allowed strategic planning to become an ongoing conversation with the university community. Springboard's additional work with individual units helped carry strategic thinking further into the institution and supported greater connection between university-wide direction and the priorities of specific areas.
Together, the engagements demonstrate Springboard's ability to work at both the institutional and unit levels of a university, helping connect stakeholder engagement, strategic direction, and organizational alignment.
90% of our work comes from repeat clients and referrals.
THE NUMBER WE CARE ABOUT
THE SERVICE BEHIND THIS WORK
Strategic Planning
Part of Building Sustainable Organizations.
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