Implementation Plan Puts Strategy Into Action

NC State’s strategic plan, Wolfpack 2030: Powering the Extraordinary, is fully underway, building upon the significant accomplishments and progress achieved under the prior plan, The Pathway to the Future. You can view the final report for that plan here.

The university operationalizes its strategic plan through a series of implementation plans. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to visit the FY22-24 implementation plan and see the high-level, priority initiatives that have been identified — many of which are already underway — to move the university toward meeting its seven strategic goals.

“Implementation planning ensures the university that we’re making steady progress toward our goals and gaining momentum in creating a brighter future for all of NC State,” said Chancellor Randy Woodson. “We’re not just creating goals and letting them sit on a shelf — we’re putting our strategic plan into action.”

Recommendations from the nine Wolfpack 2030 strategic planning task forces, as well as the four post-COVID innovation task forces and feedback from the community, formed the basis of the initiatives found in the FY22-24 implementation plan. This living document reflects the near-term initiatives requiring our focus in order to meet NC State’s long-term strategic goals. 

Through this process, the university hired Courtney Thornton to serve as associate vice provost for strategy, implementation and communication in Institutional Strategy and Analysis (ISA). Moving forward, she will be NC State’s main point of contact for strategic planning. Thornton, along with Senior Vice Provost for Institutional Strategy and Analysis Margery Overton and Provost’s Office Chief of Staff Kelly Wick, finalized the development of the implementation plan.

“The hard work of so many within the university community helps bring our strategic plan to life,” said Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Warwick Arden. “With the support of Institutional Strategy and Analysis, our faculty, staff and students can stay fully informed throughout the duration of the implementation plan with fully transparent data and communications.”

The university community can also learn more about the metrics against which NC State will measure overall progress on the strategic plan. These metrics provide consistency and continuity between the prior strategic plan and the current one. NC State will also continue to develop new metrics as needed to fully capture performance and progress toward strategic goals. ISA will be responsible for maintaining a metrics dashboard that will be updated regularly to showcase what work is currently being toward strategic plan goals, along with what the university aims to achieve throughout the lifespan of the strategic plan.

Anyone with questions about Wolfpack 2030: Powering the Extraordinary, the FY22-24 implementation plan or strategic plan metrics should contact strategic-planning@ncsu.edu.

This post was originally published in NC State News.