VIU Launches Strategic Planning Process

Titled The Future We Want to See, the process will help the University develop a strategic plan that will articulate VIU’s vision and direction as an institution.

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Vancouver Island University (VIU) is looking to engage students, employees and the wider community in a conversation about its future this spring.

Over 2020 and 2021, the University is leading a strategic planning process titled The Future We Want to See. The process will lead to the development of a five-year strategic plan that will outline a vision and direction for the institution, and help VIU build an even more powerful experience for students.  

“An institutional strategic plan will allow us to chart the course for the future university we want to be,” explains Dr. Deborah Saucier, VIU President and Vice-Chancellor. “It will guide the decisions we make when determining how to best invest our resources, ensure we are all pulling in the same direction, and showcase for our stakeholders our unique strengths and positive opportunities.”

Students and their experiences, ambitions and ideas will be the focus of the plan and the activities will first engage VIU students and employees before moving to the broader regional community.

“Vancouver Island University’s main community, by proportion, is the student population, so it is very important to have the main users guide a vision for the future of the institution,” says Hayley Burns, a Master of Community Planning student who is part of a team leading the community engagement and data analysis process. “I am thrilled at the opportunity to put my learning from the classroom into practice in working with the facilitation team to create an overall vision for the future and continued success of VIU.”

The goal is to have a first draft of the plan ready for review and feedback in the fall. The process was approved by VIU’s Board of Governors on Thursday, February 27.

Manley McLachlan, VIU’s Board Chair, says strategic plans help organizations understand what they are doing and what needs to be done to ensure the continued success of the organization.

“The intent is to collect strong feedback to create a forward-looking document that will lead to even stronger performance,” he says.

There are several ways to participate:

Participate in World Cafés:

• Nanaimo campus: 10 am - 1 pm, Tuesday, March 10, Building 300, Royal Arbutus Room
• Nanaimo campus: 4 pm - 6 pm, Thursday, March 12, Building 108, Room 105
• POST-PONED: Powell River campus: 12:30 pm - 3:30 pm, Monday, March 16, Room 148/9
• POST-PONED: Cowichan campus: 9:30 am - 12:30 pm, Tuesday, March 17, Room 135

Stop in at pop-up kiosks across the Nanaimo campus in March

Take the online questionnaire

Use the Conversation Kit to organize your own strategic conversation

Invite the planning team to your discussion

Email strategic-planning@viu.ca with your ideas

Stay tuned to Strategic Planning for more information and updates on what the strategic planning team is hearing. Watch Saucier talk to one of the University’s Media Studies students, Bjorn Samson in this video, and describe why this process matters and how you can take part.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Jenn McGarrigle, External Communications Advisor, Vancouver Island University

P: 250.740.6559 | C: 250.619.6860 | E: Jenn.McGarrigle@viu.ca | T: @VIUNews