Strategic planning for research administration.

Introduction

Research administration is an academic support function that facilitates research activity through the administration of grant applications for internal and external resources. As such, the mission of the responsible unit must closely align with the strategic plan of the university. By linking the activities of the Office of Research Administration with the larger mission of the university, research administrators can successfully negotiate for a larger fraction of university resources. Likewise, by explicitly distinguishing the relative importance of funded research, the university can more successfully recognize and celebrate faculty accomplishments.

Successful strategic planning centers on establishing realistic goals and developing workable strategies for attaining those goals. By focusing on its core competencies and central mission, the unit can readily establish a short list of major goals. Creating a limited list of strategies for each goal then sets work priorities for the unit.

Assessing success at attaining goals is essential not only for annual evaluation but also for reforming and evolving the strategic plan. By fostering a process of continual assessment and planning, the university can create a culture of strategic thinking and strategic management within the office of research administration. Such a cultural change is of great benefit in the face of increasing competition for internal and external resources.

Creating a Strategic Plan for Research Administration

A vast literature on the process and pitfalls of strategic planning exists (e.g., Besanko, Dranove, & Shanley, 2003; Bryson & Alston, 1995; Dudik, 2000; Fogg, 1994; Kaplan & Norton, 1996, 2000; Kotter, 1996; Napier, Sanaghan, Sidle, & Saraghan, 1997; Wootton & Horne, 2002), and any basic reference can prove helpful when undertaking strategic planning for research administration. In the fall of 2000, Purdue University undertook a comprehensive, systemwide, strategic planning initiative. As part of that process, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) developed a campus-wide strategic plan that the Trustees of Purdue University approved in November of 2001 (IPFW, 2003a). A significant outcome of the plan was the creation of the Office of Research and External Support (ORES). Previously, research support services had been a somewhat neglected function of the Office of Academic Affairs. Creation of a new research administration organization demanded undertaking a comprehensive strategic planning effort. A completed plan would then serve as an operational foundation for this newly created unit, as well as a guide for future growth of the organization. Presented below is an outline of the strategic planning process ORES used to create a strategic plan closely paralleling the IPFW strategic plan. Throughout the discussion, examples are presented from the ORES plan. While the sequence of steps presented below worked at IPFW, alternative processes might be equally successful. Success is determined by how open the planning process is and how extensively the completed plan links to performance review and budget planning.

Step One--Foundations.

One of the keys to successful strategic planning is establishing a solid foundation for the process (e.g., Napier et al., 1997; Wootton & Horne, 2002). This initial step consists of several related tasks, the first of which is creating an organizational profile. Developing a clear understanding of how the process of research administration is organized, who has responsibility for specific tasks, as well as the relationships between the organization, its faculty clients, and its administrative supervisors combine to establish a complete snapshot of the current organization. From this information, the reasons for undertaking strategic planning are addressed by summarizing specific issues or challenges as well as identifying the data required to guide the planning process. Finally, the university must create a strategic planning committee, the membership of which reflects the variety of stakeholders associated with research administration. Each member of the committee must accept a very clear role in the process as well as a specific set of duties to accomplish. By completing these three initial tasks, the planning process can move forward with a minimum of organizational problems.

Step Two--Articulating mission, vision, and values.

Strategic planning documents generally consist of two parts: (a) framing statements that define the organization and its operation and (b) the set of goals and assessment techniques that constitute the action items of the plan (e.g., Dudik, 2000; Fogg, 1994). Developing the framing statements is often one of the most difficult and time-consuming aspects of strategic planning. These statements are, however, the most publicly visible components of the plan, and one must take great care in their crafting, especially considering the confusion that can develop concerning the terminology of strategic planning. The first of the framing statements is the mission. A mission statement also generally comprises two parts: (a) a purpose, defining why the organization exists and what it seeks to accomplish, and (b) the function, describing the main process through which the Office of Research Administration achieves its purpose (Figure 1). Whereas the mission statement summarizes the organization and its activity, the vision presents an image of what organizational success will look like (Figure 2). The process of clearly staring the definition of organizational success in the vision statement facilitates construction of the action items later in the planning process. Finally, the values consist of a set of shared principles that help guide the accomplishment of the mission of the organization (Figure 3). Together, these framing statements define and direct the activities of the organization as well as the development of the remainder of the planning document.

Step Three--Strategic thinking.

Successful strategic planning extends beyond simply writing a planning document. Establishing a culture of strategic thinking is the only way to ensure organizational success in the face of the dynamic landscape of higher education and the intense competition for internal and external resources. The first component of strategic thinking is establishing a baseline of past activity as well as a longitudinal study of organizational performance. Together, these studies provide a complete situational assessment that informs the strategic planning committee about the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. From these data, the committee can highlight critical issues that face the Office of Research Administration and develop plans for how to address those issues. This process is similar to the commonly used SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) approach, but differs in that quantitative data alone provides the basis rather than the more typical quantitative and qualitative mix used in a SWOT analysis. By creating a culture of strategic thinking as part of the planning process, the organization may respond to future changes much more easily.

Step Four--Creating the action items.

The second major component of a strategic planning document is the set of detailed action items associated with defining and measuring the activities of research administration. The institution may divide these actions into three hierarchical levels: goals (what needs to be done), strategies (how it is to be done), and performance indicators (how to measure completion of action items) (Figure 4). Goals reflect the strategic vision, informed by the values, which aid in the accomplishment of the mission of the organization. Generally, a strategic plan for an administrative sub-unit, such as an office of research administration, should have between four and seven goals, depending upon the range and complexity of services the organization offers. For each goal, the organization must identify several strategies that define the process by which the unit will meet that goal. Likewise, for each strategy at least one performance indicator must establish the mechanisms to use to measure achieving the goal. Two distinct types of performance indicators are commonly used in strategic planning documents, metrics and milestones. A plan employs a metric when the descriptor is a quantitative measure defined in terms of number of occurences, financial value, frequency, or percentage. Conversely, a milestone describes an either/or condition, where no quantitave characteristic is readily definable. Examples include completion of strategic plan, publication of annual or hiring a new staff member. Either the tasks were completed or they were not.

Step Five--Key indicators.