RSO All-In Event

OLE is pleased to congratulate and promote the Research Services Office (RSO) for their commitment to transformation and change!

On Tuesday October 16th, more than seventy RSO staff participated in an ‘All-In event’ designed to rollout their 2013–2015 strategic plan.

The event involved strategic planning team members presenting on the background of the planning process. This was followed up with a strategy marketplace, also known as the 'creative' part of the event. This included seven uniquely personalized booths.
Each presenting group used innovative designs to describe the objectives of the plan to their fellow colleagues. The booths used fun and experiential learning activities to demonstrate how the objectives of the strategic plan:
  • align to the University’s Academic Plan,
  • are driven by clients,
  • are enabled by the RSO internal processes, and
  • are powered by the RSO people.

One participant commented: “It was a fun and engaging event creating understanding and alignment across the organization.”
 

The RSO strategic plan consists of a one-page quick reference handout. On one side is the strategic map and on the reverse is the strategy at a Glance. For the RSO, this one pager symbolizes simplicity, alignment, and purposeful decisions.

The RSO transformation involved an integrated strategic planning process separated into four phases, including: elements of transformation, current state analysis, formal strategic planning activities, and implementation. The process started in the spring of 2011, during which time many hours of conversation, learning, reflection, and experimentation consumed the strategic planning team members.

Together, their next step will be to move into the implementation phase by inviting people to sign up and participate on specific objective teams.

Well done RSO! You are leaders in transformation. 

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