Monthly Webinar | Creating a Strategic Plan for Your Grants Office-Video Recording

Video Transcription

Video Summary

The webinar, moderated by a representative from Grow LLP, features Rebecca Antley and Becca Poehler from Ellucian, who discuss creating a strategic plan for organizational grants offices, primarily in higher education but adaptable to other sectors. Key points include the importance of aligning the grants office’s strategic plan with the overall organizational mission and priorities. The grants office should engage in broad activities beyond just seeking funding, including faculty training, policy development, compliance monitoring, and fostering a grant-seeking culture.<br /><br />The presenters emphasize starting with an assessment of current resources, stakeholders, and organizational needs, including input from diverse groups. They recommend using tools like logic models to map inputs, activities, and outcomes, and suggest incorporating measurable metrics to evaluate office success through both financial and non-financial indicators.<br /><br />Operationalizing the plan requires creating a work plan and master calendar to manage proposal deadlines, administrative tasks, and reporting. Communication with leadership and stakeholders is vital, with the need to periodically review and update the strategic plan to remain flexible and responsive to change. Simple tools like Excel, sticky notes, and project management apps can aid planning. Overall, the presentation advocates strategic, collaborative planning to enhance the effectiveness and capacity of grants offices in supporting institutional goals.

Keywords

strategic planning

grants office

higher education

organizational mission alignment

faculty training

policy development

compliance monitoring

logic models

project management