March 2012R esearch Library Issues: A Quarterly Report from ARL, CNI, and SPARCarc RLI 278 15 Bringing Scenario Planning Home to KU Many of the scenario workshop participants subsequently served on the libraries’ strategic-planning groups. As the Steering Committee began conducting an environmental scan with a detailed SWOT analysis, the earlier scenario activities appeared to have both informed thinking and enhanced our ability to de-personalize discussions about the future. Engagement with scenario-planning concepts seemed to create a mindset regarding informed decision making as a tool for adaptive foresight. This, in turn, allowed staff to consider how the future could be seen more clearly from our anchor within present reality. The influence of the scenario project was demonstrated by the surprising connections that emerged between the scenario workshop outcomes and KU Libraries’ new strategic goals that form the foundation of the libraries’ five-year plan, which is currently under development. The robust agenda that emerged from our first workshops included the following strategies: Become an agile organization able to rapidly adapt and change. Develop new and diverse funding models. Create a culture of collaboration and partnership for a broader audience. Rethink and realign resources, collections & infrastructure. Two of the thematic goals from our developing strategic plan directly reflect these workshop strategies: Strengthen KU Libraries’ position as an agile, responsive organization capable of continual improvement and change. Stabilize and grow existing funding sources, secure new funding opportunities, and enhance public accountability. Specific actions under the robust strategies are also reflected in the current strategic planning process. The third scenario strategy, “Create a culture of collaboration and partnership for a broader audience,” included activities focused on learning more about KU researchers and understanding their needs, strengthening partnerships that support research in areas such as publishing and data management and curation, and maximizing support for interdisciplinary research. All of these activities are finding their way into our current strategic planning exercise as well as into our operational work at KU Libraries today. We invested a considerable amount of time preparing for the scenario workshops to ensure a positive outcome and that work was worthwhile. A majority of the participants rated the workshops as “excellent” or “very good.” All participants responded that the balance between presentations by the workshop leaders and group discussion and activities represented a good ratio. Overall, most participants found the workshops were effective in helping them understand the existing and future directions of KU Libraries. By shifting strategic thinking from a reactive to a proactive stance, and from an internal to an external focus, we are better equipped to deal with a future driven by regional, national, and world events beyond our control. As facilitators for the scenario workshops, we feel the time that we invested in preparing and conducting these workshops was well spent and has been instrumental in helping KU Libraries create its new strategic plan to meet the challenges ahead.
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