August 22, 2022

Greetings Nelson community!

Over the past several weeks, Associate Dean Colleen Godfriaux and I, along with a member of the UW Office of Strategic Consulting, have started work to prepare the Nelson Institute for a strategic plan update.  Our last strategic plan was completed in 2014 and we have come to a point where the work informed by that strategic plan has either been completed or is no longer relevant.  With new leadership in Bascom, moreover, the timing is excellent to look at our mission and vision and set some concrete goals across the institute.

I want to stress the goal here.

It is NOT to produce a dust-gathering glossary of platitudes (through a glossy would be handy with donors, yes…).

It IS to produce a prioritized action plan for where we put our very limited chips in the next few years and detail a bit about how the Institute can benefit its constituents (which include you!) and maybe a little foresight into what we should NOT do.

I see this less as “strategic” planning, therefore, and more as “action and investment” planning.

As such, each unit in the Nelson Institute will spend much of the coming academic year engaged in exercises designed to surface thoughts around the mission and vision of each unit along with identifying goals necessary to achieve that vision, and any real or anticipated impediments to achieving those goals.  Much of this work will take place in the fall semester.  Leads in each unit have been identified and will be working with you to gather this information.  Your contributions are extremely important to the success of this process. 

Over the semester break, several folks from the leadership team with the assistance of our consultant will compile the results of each unit’s work and identify preliminary themes.  Those themes will be presented at a February retreat where time will be spent developing overarching strategies in response to those themes. Some discussion around prioritization and operationalization of those strategies will also occur.  After the retreat, specific implementation (action) plans will be developed, with those expected to be finalized by the conclusion of the spring semester. 

I sincerely hope that you will step up to this very important work.  My hope is that by all of you contributing to our collective vision and actively engaging in the process that you will also then embrace the work that is needed to accomplish the goals we set.  It will take all of us working together to successfully execute our strategic plan.

Your unit lead will be meeting with the other unit leads on September 20.  Expect more information about the exercises you will be asked to participate in after this meeting.  Until then, my best wishes for a successful start to the new academic year. 

With appreciation for all that you do,

Paul

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Paul Robbins
Dean, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies

View the unit summaries from the 2014 strategic plan