Divergent Ideation Workshop

January 25, 2013

WELCOMEMike Mullen & Carrie Zelna

Today’s Schedule REVISED

Morning

9:00 Welcome

9:15 The Planning Process

9:30 Ideation

10:00Ideation Exercise One

10:35Report Out

Afternoon

11:15Voting/Building on Ideas

11:30Ideation Exercise Two

12:15Report Out (lunch)

12:50Closing Remarks, Voting, and

Adjourn

THE PLANNING PROCESS

Rob Brodnick & Carrie Zelna

Why Planning Now?

1. design2. divergent thinking3. convergent

planning4. alignment

Four Stages of the Planning Process

divergecreate choices

convergemake choices

Planning from the Future Backwards

what is happening now?

what is the future in 10 years?

how does this affect us? many

opportunities

D I V E R G E C O N V E R G E

DESIGN ALIGN

NOV DEC JAN FEBMAR APR

Planning Process Design & Timeline

sense making

several big ideas

3-5strategies

scanning

futuringideation

filtering

selecting & promoting

Some Important TermsSHAPING/DRIVING FORCE: Existing or expected force acting on a situation that acts to hold things in place or to create change in a certain direction.

SCENARIO: A future oriented synopsis of events, actions, or conditions.

POSSIBLE FUTURE: Likely, expected or intended situation or circumstances.

OPPORTUNITY: A favorable or advantageous circumstance or combination of circumstances.

BIG IDEAS: The best of the opportunities – high potential.

STRATEGY: A general, undetailed plan of action, encompassing a long period of time, to achieve a complicated goal.

Planning TimelineJan Futuring Template Distributed/Returned

Jan 18 Futuring Analysis Completed

Jan 25 Divergent Ideation Workshop

Feb 11 Opportunities Synthesized

Feb 27 Convergent Planning Seminar

Mar 8 Big Ideas & Potential Strategies

Mar 22 External Planning Symposium

Apr 1 Potential Strategy Summary

Apr 8 Drafting Workshop

Apr 22 Final Plan Submitted

Strategies, Deliberate and Emergent

Focus

IDEATIONRob Brodnick

Shaping and Driving Forces

• Two questions were asked:1. What forces are shaping the student experience

or higher education today?2. In 10 years, how will forces shape changes in

higher education? How will work, professional practice, and the student experience of the future be affected?

• A summary of the responses is available at each table (we’ll use this later)

• These (and other) data were rolled up into an environmental scan

Environmental Scanning Summary

POLITICAL ECONOMIC SOCIAL TECHNICAL ENVIRONMENTAL

P.E.S.T.E. Framework (or STEEP)PoliticalEconomicSocialTechnicalEnvironmental

Common way to frame future, shaping, and driving forces.

Environmental Scanning Summary

POLITICAL ECONOMIC SOCIAL TECHNICAL ENVIRONMENTAL

NATIONAL/GLOBAL

STATE/REGIONAL

LOCAL/CAMPUS

Environmental Scanning Summary

POLITICAL ECONOMIC SOCIAL TECHNICAL ENVIRONMENTAL

NATIONAL/GLOBAL

1. many kinds of changes in job market

2. decreases in federal support for higher education

1. national financial crisis

2. protracted recovery or possible stagnation

1. higher education as a public versus private good

2. national demographic shifts & trends

1. increased student expectations

2. rapid & accelerating pace of change

1. global and cultural literacy

2. continued degradation of the environment

STATE/REGIONAL

1. system-level planning and efforts

2. decreases in state support for NC State/others

1. ag/factory to tech/service

2. employer pressure on which skills to develop/train

1. more students need to work

2. increase in mental & physical needs

1. shift from brick and mortar to virtual world

2. technical skills required by the job market

1. regional drier, hotter summers, cooler winters

2. more impact from larger storms

LOCAL/CAMPUS

1. alignment with local businesses as partners

2. students start at community college and transfer

1. rise in tuition & decrease in financial aid

2. pressure on time to graduation

1. value proposition for education & NC State

2. students want flexibility in learning

1. how courses are delivered

2. social media & social skill development

1. students demand more sustainable campuses

2. classrooms & learning spaces evolve & change

Identified Opportunities

• The question was asked:This future will affect how NC State’s Division of Academic and Student Affairs plans now for the future. List up to three of the most significant strategic opportunities for the division that you see.

• Hundreds of opportunities were generated

• Responses were clustered and sorted• A summary of the responses is available

at each table (we’ll use this later)

Identified Opportunities• ways to gain

efficiency

• suggestions for funding increases or decreases

• health & wellness

• academic development

• students as individuals & citizens

• programs &program outreach

• curriculum

• course formats & course content

• campus life

• organizational changes

• collaboration within the University

• collaborations & partnerships

• advising

• accessibility

• dealing with technology

What is Ideation?

• idea generation• a facilitated process for creating new

ideas

Ground Rules:1. Suspend Judgment2. HEADLINE your thoughts3. Use a pad to scribble, sketch, and create4. Wish for the moon5. That was then, this is now6. Strategic focus

IDEATION EXERCISE ONE

Rob Brodnick

Goal of This Exercise

To build a likely scenario

for the future and identify

additional opportunities for

future strategy.

Scenarios & Opportunities

SHAPING/DRIVING FORCE: Existing or expected force acting on a situation that acts to hold things in place or to create change in a certain direction.

SCENARIO: A future oriented synopsis of events, actions, or conditions.

POSSIBLE FUTURE: Likely, expected or intended situation or circumstances.

OPPORTUNITY: A favorable or advantageous circumstance or combination of circumstances.

Shaping/Driving Force OneShaping/Driving Force Two

Force One in Full Effect

Force One Not Apparent

Force Two in Full Effect

Force Two Not

Apparent

Building a Scenario Grid

Shaping/Driving Force OneShaping/Driving Force Two

Scenario A

Force One in Full Effect

Force One Not Apparent

Force Two in Full Effect

Force Two Not

Apparent

Scenario B

Scenario C Scenario D

Building a Scenario Grid

Shaping/Driving Force One: Adult LearnersShaping/Driving Force Two: Job Market Changes

Scenario A

Proportion of Undergraduate AdultLearners Dramatically Increases

Undergraduates RemainMostly 18-23 Years Old

Job Market Recover

s

Job Market Erodes

Scenario B

Scenario C Scenario D

Building a Scenario Grid

Scenario DescriptionsScenario AAdults return to school or seek first degrees to compete for scarce jobs. Demands are placed on job placement and toward employer selected competencies. Traditional services and teaching methods are challenged.

Scenario BAdults flood to higher education for retraining and to gain critical technology skills. Traditional teaching modes, calendars, and services require revision. Adult learners bring life experiences to their learning.

Scenario DescriptionsScenario CJobs, when they are available, go to adults with experience, not students fresh out of college. Enrollment declines as 18 year olds choose menial jobs rather than college. Many disciplines find they have no demand for enrollment at all. Small colleges begin to close and funding declines.

Scenario DEnrollment demand soars as the workforce becomes more highly skilled and employers raise salaries for the best trained graduates. Adult learners have many opportunities and tend not to further their education. More students work and seek better internship and service learning opportunities.

Example Likely Future

Scenario B: Adults flood to higher education for retraining and to gain critical technology skills. Traditional teaching modes, calendars, and services require revision. Adult learners bring life experiences to their learning.

Opportunities this Creates:1. develop, design, and implement programs

that expand service coverage in evenings and weekends

2. shift learning modes to more active learning

3. reframe career development for midcareer learners

Small Group Instructions

1. Write the driving forces that you select on a blank scenario building grid

2. Agree on 2-3 sentences for each scenario that describe a possible future

3. Identify the one scenario that is most likely to occur to share with the group

4. On a separate sheet, identify 2-3 opportunities for the division given the likely scenario

Report OutPost 2 sheets on the wall (1 grid + 1 opportunities)

• Identify your driving forces

• Identify your likely future

• One person from each group – share your new opportunities created by the possible future

Be prepared to vote on opportunities that you believe should be acted on

BUILDING ON IDEASRob Brodnick & Carrie Zelna

what is happening now?

what is the future in 10 years?

how does this affect us? many

opportunities

D I V E R G E C O N V E R G E

DESIGN ALIGN

NOV DEC JAN FEBMAR APR

Planning Process Design & Timeline

sense making

several big ideas

3-5strategies

scanning

futuringideation

filtering

selecting & promoting

IDEATION EXERCISE TWO

Rob Brodnick

Goal of This Exercise

To begin to generate the

“big ideas” that will help

the Strategic Writing and

Planning Team draft a

Division Strategic Plan.

Refining Opportunities• consider the opportunities that arose

from the futuring and those generated today

• discuss which opportunities might be the best to pursue in the next three years

At your tables:1. chose 2-3 opportunities2. complete the “big idea” template for each

one3. complete at least 2 templates4. be prepared to post and present your “big

ideas”5. you will have 45 minutes to complete the

task

Basic Requirements for Big Ideas

1. recognizes the changing environment

2. division-wide

3. compelling

4. creates value

5. serves as a focal point of effort

Big Idea Template

What is it?

Why is it a big idea?

• recognizes the changing environment

• division-wide

• compelling

• creates value

• serves as a focal point of effort

At your tables:

1. chose 2-3 opportunities

2. complete the “big idea” template for each one(responds to all five requirements)

3. complete at least 2 templates

4. be prepared to post and present your “big ideas”

5. you will have 45 minutes to complete the task

CLOSING REMARKSMike Mullen

As you go to depart, please take your voting dots and vote for the “big ideas” you would most like to see implemented as strategy. Vote before you leave today. Thank you!