Collaborative Strategic Planning in Higher Education

In his work with more than 100 higher education institutions over the last 25 years, education consultant Patrick Sanaghan has observed that even the most well-crafted and detailed strategic plans often fail simply because internal stakeholders often are not involved in the process and feel no connection to the outcome.

Sanaghan s five-phase Collaborative Strategic Planning process (CSP) tackles this challenge and guides higher education leaders on involving stakeholders in the process from concept to implementation. The CSP model can be tailored to an institution s needs, resources, and aspirations. CSP goes beyond traditional strategic planning to offer some enduring benefits. It encourages an institution s stakeholders to think strategically every day. It breaks down silos and educates stakeholders on other campus community perspectives. It fosters an interconnectedness that ensures dovetailed campus operations. And it nurtures institutional trust.

Sanaghan supports the CSP model with examples of lessons learned and numerous sample documents and tools that illustrate CSP in action.