Strategic Plan

KEY OUTCOMES

• The opportunities and value that NDSU Agriculture provides to students and stakeholders are quickly recognized in and outside North Dakota.
• NDSU Agriculture is identified as an organization with three divisions working synergistically to support a vibrant and healthy agriculture, economy, land and people.

KEY METRICS / MEASURES OF SUCCESS

1. Adopt name and develop a marketing strategy for NDSU Agriculture.
2. Increase targeted marketing efforts and outputs.
3. Increase recognition of name among students, faculty, staff and stakeholders.
4. Increase perceived value of NDSU Agriculture research, teaching and Extension by students, faculty, staff and stakeholders.

ACTION STEPS

• Utilize external and internal expertise to identify a marketable name and brand for NDSU Agriculture (previously NDSU Ag Affairs).
• Encourage and incentivize adoption of new name and brand by staff, students and supporters.
• Develop and implement a marketing strategy for NDSU Agriculture that includes traditional and social media.
• Improve relationships between NDSU Agriculture Communication and the units with which it collaborates or serves.
• Increase communication training opportunities and/or professional communication support for administration, faculty and staff. Help us tell our story.
• Identify and support students, stakeholders, private sector partners, and others who promote NDSU Agriculture. Help them tell our story.

KEY OUTCOMES

• Celebrate diversity amongst the three divisions of NDSU Agriculture, inspiring innovation that reaches new audiences, areas of research and groups that wouldn’t necessarily identify with agriculture.
• Increase awareness of the value of diversity and continuously improve the NDSU Agriculture climate for students, faculty, staff and stakeholders.

KEY METRICS / MEASURES OF SUCCESS

1. Design and integrate programs, curricula, outreach opportunities and policies that uphold inclusivity, diversity, respect and connection.
2. Increase inclusive and collaborative opportunities and partnerships that prepare staff, faculty and students to be successful in a diverse and globally connected world.
3. Prioritize and deliver creative education and Extension opportunities that optimize educational experiences for different types of learners (reaching diversity of thought, ability, location, age, race, ethnicity, gender, etc.).
4. Increase participation in programs and enrollment of students identified as non-traditional agriculture audiences.

ACTION STEPS

• Establish and encourage partnerships that increase diversity within NDSU Agriculture and enhance the ability of NDSU Agriculture to reach diverse populations.
• Actively encourage and support connections within the state, U.S., and globally to understand diverse perspectives, for example, ag diversity lectureship, cultural exchanges and study abroad opportunities for faculty, staff and students.
• Identify and address barriers to creating connections and diverse partnerships.
• Encourage professional development related to diversity and inclusivity that can be integrated into curricula, creating partnerships and reaching diverse students.
• Integrate Extension programming and CAFSNR recruiting to reach non-traditional agricultural audiences and youth learners.
• Enhance efforts to recruit, hire and retain diverse faculty and staff.
• Be recognized as a leader among our peers in training diverse, highly-qualified students and lifelong learners.

KEY OUTCOMES

• The talents and skills of people and programs in NDSU Agriculture meet or exceed the expectations and needs of our students and stakeholders.
• NDSU Agriculture team members experience a high level of job satisfaction that leads to increased performance, recruitment and retention.

KEY METRICS / MEASURES OF SUCCESS

1. Increase the number of team members participating in and reporting benefit from, self-directed, internally-provided and externally-provided professional development programs.
2. Establish, expand and support opportunities for team members to develop skills.
3. Increase and enhance the incentives, rewards and recognition for high individual and team performance in each area of the NDSU Agriculture strategic plan.

ACTION STEPS

• Establish and improve a system that logistically and financially supports output/outcome-driven self-directed professional development programs and opportunities.
• Expand and enhance internally- and externally-offered faculty and staff development programs and opportunities.
• Establish and enhance logistical and financial support for immersive development programs, for example, short-term/part-time assignments, adjustments to position descriptions and development leave.
• Establish or enhance a promotion system for team members at all levels.
• Explore a mechanism to re-direct resources, people and programs to meet the changing needs of our students and stakeholders.
• Consider increased flexibility of position descriptions and appointments to maximize individual and/or team performance.
• Establish a Faculty Fellow program (similar to the Office of Teaching and Learning, Research and Creative Activities or Provost’s office).
• Establish and enhance recognition and rewards for high performers and incentivize performance increases at all levels, as examples, bonus structures (individual or unit) or space adjustments (individual or unit), title adjustments, researcher/teacher/Extension educator of the month, etc.
• Restructure and significantly enhance NDSU Agriculture awards so that:
  • Awards are established that reward excellence in every theme and goal within the NDSU Agriculture strategic plan: 2022-2027.
  • The nomination process is simplified, and the materials and details required for submission are less onerous and more limited.
  • Nominees are evaluated against like position rather than like division (i.e., Extension faculty and Extension agents do not compete for the same award).
  • Consider unit level awards that celebrate and reward success locally and frequently.

KEY OUTCOMES

• Strengthen the formal and informal relationships among the disciplines, units and locations within NDSU Agriculture
• Utilize the strengths of the divisions and disciplines to address complex problems.

KEY METRICS / MEASURES OF SUCCESS

1. Increase the value placed on cooperation and collaboration (informal and formal) both within and across units and divisions.
2. Increase the number of outputs and outcomes that are developed from multi-location and multidisciplinary teams within NDSU Agriculture.
3. Increase the number of multi-institutional and/or regional/national competitive grants and projects that are led by NDSU Agriculture.

ACTION STEPS

• Establish an ‘NDSU Agriculture’ multi-day conference that brings all (688+) employees together to foster collaboration and increase awareness of NDSU Agriculture.
• Establish an informal culture that supports and encourages cooperation across units and divisions of NDSU Agriculture.
• Explore formal programs and opportunities to create useful collaborations amongst divisions, for example, a 4-H to NDSU day bringing 4-H students to NDSU CAFSNR to experience agriculture in action.
• Explore opportunities to create internal competitive grants that encourage collaborative efforts to solve complex real-world problems.

KEY OUTCOMES

• Provide opportunities for our students and stakeholders where they live, learn and work.
• Provide high-quality, relevant and innovative educational opportunities that prepare students for their career and future.
• Provide life-long learners (from children to seniors) high quality, relevant and innovative educational offerings that advance skills and knowledge.
• Meet workforce demands for a thriving North Dakota.

KEY METRICS / MEASURES OF SUCCESS

1. Enhance traditional coursework and Extension programming through transformational education experiences, hands-on and immersive learning opportunities, and leading communication technology delivery methods.
2. Increase the number of certificate programs and opportunities offered to both degree and non-degree seeking students and stakeholders.
3. Develop and deliver an educational model where select degrees and certificate programs can be obtained while being predominantly or fully remote.
4. Increase CAFSNR enrollment and participation in Extension programming by enhancing relationships with K-12 schools, reaching traditional and non-traditional agriculture students.
5. Increase scholarship dollars, numbers of scholarships awarded, and assistantships supporting undergraduate and graduate students.

ACTION STEPS

• Prioritize and recognize the value of hands-on and immersive learning opportunities across units and divisions and in collaboration with partners.
• Identify and invest in certificate programs and high-intensity short courses most valuable to the diverse groups we serve.
• Identify and invest in online and remote offerings and/or programs most likely to increase enrollment.
• Identify and provide resources to address barriers of successful online course development.
• Establish a structure that incentivizes personnel participating in K-12 learning opportunities including high school courses, competitions, teaching CAFSNR courses that meet the requirements for early-enrollment or dual-credit options, and creating teacher credit hour programs that involve teachers in the work of NDSU Agriculture.
• Increase scholarship dollars, numbers of scholarships awarded and competitive assistantships supporting undergraduate and graduate students.

KEY OUTCOMES

• Local and global partnerships increase the opportunities and value we provide for our students, faculty, staff and stakeholders.
• Partnerships ensure our research is utilized by private sector partners, our Extension teaching is adopted by stakeholders and our students graduate ready for the workforce.

KEY METRICS / MEASURES OF SUCCESS

1. Increase the number of public-private partnerships that NDSU Agriculture engages in and/or leads that bring value to our staff, faculty, students and stakeholders.
2. Increase the number of public partnerships that NDSU Agriculture engages in and/or leads that bring value to our staff, students and stakeholders.
3. Establish and enhance local, national and global partnerships that provide real-world teaching and learning opportunities for students, faculty, staff and stakeholders.
4. Establish and enhance partnerships beyond the traditional discipline-based strengths of NDSU Agriculture that broaden our reach and increase the value of our research, Extension and teaching.

ACTION STEPS

• Establish a formal system and informal culture that leads to the creation of partnerships.
• Encourage and support student and staff engagement, collaborations and professional development opportunities within the public sector, private sector, and at a local and global scale.
• Encourage and support student and staff engagement, collaborations and professional development opportunities that result in multi-disciplinary skills and teams.
• Identify and mitigate barriers that limit partnership formation and success.
• Explore the creation of a position to support and facilitate partnership development and establishment.
• Explore the creation of Public Private Partnership ‘institutes’ to address the most high-impact and high-visibility problems of today’s agriculture.