Strategic Planning Process

Aspire strategic planning was shaped by the communities of the University of Windsor, who envisioned a process that valued transparency, inclusion, accessibility, and collective learning. Reconnecting and trust building were important priorities after more than two years of disrupted learning and working environments.

Research and committee development began in Summer 2021. In November, a draft position paper outlining the planned process was released for campus review and feedback, and the Steering Committee began its work. In February 2022, a year-long, multi-stage planning process officially began with the launch of a campus-wide survey focused on values, mission, vision and the kinds of priorities, goals and concerns people wanted the consultation process to address. Each consultation stage shaped the development of the next.

Data from other consultations have informed this work including the University’s first employee engagement survey and an ongoing consultation process engaging in necessary trust and relationship building to create the University’s first Indigenous strategic plan. Analysis of contextual and institutional data including post-secondary sector best practices; local, regional, and provincial planning document; and other reports helped to frame planning.

The Aspire planning team engaged over 5,500 students, faculty, staff, and surrounding community members through virtual and in-person consultation events including town halls, focus groups, world cafés, and one-on-one meetings. The consultation sessions resulted in over 38,000 data points informing what would become this strategic plan.

In December 2022, the Aspire strategic framework and numerous summaries were shared with the campus and surrounding community to solicit feedback before preparing the final draft. This has been a new approach to campus consultation, made possible by the willingness of on- and off-campus communities to engage. As an institution, we want to continue to build these pathways for communication, transparency, data collection, knowledge mobilization, and accountability.