Following the unveiling of the Queen’s Strategic Framework, six working groups have now begun their work to advance the strategy towards its next stage. Established by Principal and Vice-Chancellor Patrick Deane, the working groups are set to meet throughout June and July 2021 to formulate operational priorities best capable of progressing the six strategic goals articulated in the framework. The teams held their first set of meetings over the past few weeks.

“The overall aim of our new Strategic Framework is to maximize the impact of the university in society and in the world at large, so our working groups will focus on imagining initiatives that hold promise in increasing Queen’s impact,” says Principal Deane says of the Operational Priorities Working Groups.

Championed by faculty chairs and comprised of faculty, staff, students, and Senate representatives, each working group will develop two or three operational priorities that align with each goal in the framework. The groups span the following areas: research impact, student learning, research and teaching interdependence, global engagement, Queen’s in the community, and organizational culture.

“It is invigorating to participate in a collaborative process with a remarkable group of faculty, staff and students working together to suggest impactful, implementable ideas that bring Queen’s new strategic framework alive,” says Erik S. Knutsen, Professor at the Faculty of Law and Chair of the Student Learning Working Group. “From the ideas generated thus far, I can already envision a very synergistic dynamic with each of the different working groups, all moving Queen’s closer to its strategic goals.”

The priorities developed by the working groups will be shared with a steering committee—headed by Principal Deane and comprised of senior administrators, deans, and working group chairs—in August 2021. The Queen’s community will have an opportunity to review and comment on the working groups’ submissions before the steering committee moves to use their work in development of a larger operational plan.

You can learn more about the six working groups and submit your ideas on the Operational Priorities Working Groups webpage.