Co-Created with Community

Our task was to create a strategic plan that truly reflects the hopes and ambitions of Emily Carr University’s diverse community of students, faculty, and staff. A plan that is both ambitious and realistic, visionary and practical – one that can be successfully implemented and evaluated.

To undertake this work, we created an inclusive plan development process that involved widespread engagement. This will be complemented by an implementation plan that will help us measure our progress.

The process began with an open call sent to the entire ECU community inviting participation in the new Strategic Planning Advisory Group.

This 29-member group oversaw a series of engagement activities to ensure the entire community had opportunities to provide input and contribute to the plan.

As a result, over 400 students, faculty, staff and alumni participated in consultations to shape the plan. This resulted in five key priorities and corresponding objectives that were refined through additional engagement with community members, with a strong focus on inclusivity and open dialogue at every stage.

• 400 students, faculty, staff and alumni took part in the process
• 29 members on the Strategic Plan Advisory Committee
• Six project teams
• 13 focus groups
• 112 focus group participants representing students, staff, faculty and alumni
• 13 “Question of the Week” feedback opportunities
• 265 Question of the Week contributions

A Focus on Implementation + Measurement

To ensure that the strategic plan moves off the page and into action, an implementation plan is being created to bring the plan to life. Each unit or department will initiate implementation planning to establish clear, measurable objectives.

The implementation plan will improve accountability and make it easier to measure progress on the rollout of the strategic plan.