Organization Anchors & Goal-setting Engagement: ORI
CLIENT: North Carolina State University’s Office of Research and Innovation (https://research.ncsu.edu/)
BACK STORY: NC State’s Office of Research and Innovation (ORI) enables promising academic research to be as productive, collaborative, and financially secure as possible. ORI is responsible for identifying and fostering funding, collaboration, and commercialization opportunities for the NC State research community; providing resources, information, and training so that NC State researchers can focus on advancing research; and promoting NC State’s research results. Research at NC State can’t happen successfully without this important organization.
As of January 2019, ORI’s executive leadership team included new members, and the organization wanted to ensure it was in alignment across its team. Additionally, every 10 years, NC State creates a strategic plan that guides the decisions, investments, and progress for the entire university. NC State is currently in the process of creating its 2021-2030 strategic plan, and ORI wanted to be positioned as an influencer and major contributor in this planning.
WHAT WE DID: Stabilimenta conducted an organization anchors and goal-setting engagement with the executive team of ORI following a three-phase approach.
Phase I: Discovery & Research
ORI had conducted extensive research with its faculty, staff, and partners in 2018. Stabilimenta reviewed this research and existing content as well as conducted a discovery session with the senior members of the executive team.
Phase II: Organization Anchor Creation
Building on the discovery and research phase, Stabilimenta facilitated an organization anchors workshop with the 14-person executive team. Stabilimenta then created ORI’s new organization anchors (positioning, mission, vision, values and beliefs, services, and audiences) and reviewed these with the executive team.
Phase III: Goal-setting
Once the executive team was in alignment on (and inspired by) its defined organization anchors, Stabilimenta facilitated a goal-setting workshop to define the high-level themes and focus areas for ORI in 2020. Stabilimenta reviewed these themes with the team and then discussed specific goals for 2020.
ORI’S PREVIOUS MISSION & VISION:
ORI’S NEW MISSION & VISION:
KEY OUTCOMES:
Newly defined organization anchors that incorporate all voices within the organization
Organization anchors embraced by the entire ORI team and incorporated into all hiring and onboarding practices
Mission and vision shared across the NC State research community
Newly articulated strategic themes and focus areas
Better aligned ORI executive team with deeper collaboration
“Stabilimenta provided valuable assistance to the Research and Innovation leadership team to help us sharpen our mission and vision and to better define our strengths. Having this foundation will help us as we move into NC State’s strategic planning process.”
WHAT’S NEXT FOR ORI?
ORI is currently redesigning its website to incorporate language from its new organization anchors. ORI’s executive team is refining 2020 goals and is working closely with University committees to shape the 2021-2030 strategic plan.