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Integrated Planning: Streamlining Success
An MKThink Research Publication
11 December 2009For further information, please contact:Chloe Lauer at 415 288 3394
Colleges and universities engage in continual planning efforts to bring their visions for high-quality educational experiences into reality. Multiple planning theories provide frameworks to guide visioning, decision making, and implementation. Yet, in spite of the proliferation of planning models, planners and university leaders still experience intense frustration and loss of morale stemming from derailed plans and repetitive cycles, all of which contribute to a significant waste of resources.Through its extensive work with higher education clients, MKThink observed and then tested the hypothesis that it is not the planning process itself but the human factors surrounding the process that are crucial to ensuring success. Through outliningthe “three essential ingredients” and demonstrating their effectiveness in client case studies, MKThink paves the way for headache-free planning nationwide.
 
© MKThink 2009. Reproduction prohibited without permission.Integrated PlanningPage 2
Integrated Planning: Streamlining Success
Institutional planning processes are always under scrutiny, andnew models are often heralded with great anticipation as theultimate solution to the frustrations and wasted resources thoughtto be caused by previous models. The most recent evolution inplanning theory, Integrated Planning, stresses the synergistic valuegained by bringing academic, financial, and campus and facilityplanning together. By focusing on value (as demonstrated byoutcomes, experiences, and costs), encouraging cross-functionalparticipation, providing frequent feedback, combining analyticsand alignment, and measuring performance and improvement,integrated planning is an excellent tool for strategic visionaries atany institution.While working with a number of leading college and universityclients, MKThink observed that even the best integrated planningprocesses failed to consistently achieve their desired results. Bycomparing integrated planning efforts that were successful withthose that were not, MKThink discovered that the addition ofthree essential ingredients to the integrated planning process, or,in fact, any planning process, is the key to reliably accomplishingplanning goals and realizing even the loftiest of visions.
ESSENTIAL INGREDIENTSStrategic Guidance.
The first essential ingredient is StrategicGuidance. After reviewing the school’s foundational valuesand finding inspiration in the mission, vision, and positioningstatements of the university, university leadership must definetwo elements of Strategic Guidance: Guiding Principles andBoundaries. The Guiding Principles define the project’s strategicintention and core values in language that is specific andmeasurable. Boundaries are non-negotiable directives thatgive players a comprehensive understanding of the playingfield; boundaries include both internal limits, such as numberof students admitted each year, and external limits, such asallowable density according to city zoning, for example.Together, Guiding Principles and Boundaries establish actionablecriteria for planning decisions and set the overall direction of theplanning process.
Active Integration
is the second essential ingredient. The activepart of this concept is critical. Looking at the definition of active,four terms are highlighted to illustrate that active integrationrequires the ongoing energy and participation of a dynamicgroup of people – it’s not merely a change in an organizationalchart or a single meeting bringing all groups to the table. Saidanother way, integration won’t happen on its own; it requiresthe commitment of a group or an individual to keep weaving theintegration conversation and associated activities throughout theentire process. The active integration team is like a hummingbirdgoing from fl ower to fl ower: they check in with all groups and“pollinate” each group with the ideas and insights of the othergroups, ensuring that each group involved is aware of everycomponent of the project scope and is enabled to shape theirparticular content contribution to synergistically support thewhole.The Active Integration team or individual needs to possess theability to act and think in a way that is at once strategic, intuitiveand grounded in reality. Practically speaking, this means the
Figure 1: Outside forces can continually derail plan implementationFigure 2: Typical Integrated Planning Process
 
Integrated PlanningPage 3© MKThink 2009. Reproduction prohibited without permission.
Active Integration team is responsible for continually bringingall groups back to the core mission, vision, and values of theinstitution in general and the project in particular, performingregularly scheduled feasibility checks so that no idea goestoo far in development without being vetted, and finally, andperhaps most importantly, facilitating constant communicationamong all groups involved in planning.
Figure 3: “Active” Visual Thesaurus DiagramFigure 4: Whole Brain Theory Mo
 
delFigure 6: “Integrated” Visual Thesaurus Diagram
The People Factor
is the third and final essential ingredient. Allpeople, including those on integrated planning teams, havenatural strengths for particular types of thinking, as demonstratedby the Whole Brain model theory. Understanding individuals’dominant abilities in strategizing, analyzing, organizing, andharmonizing assists in matching people with appropriate rolesand responsibilities, balancing out teams, and knowing whenadditional support will be needed for leaders playing roles thataren’t fully aligned with their inherent gifts.The planning process can be divided into three primary areas– Decisions, Process, and Content – and it’s crucial to be clear“who’s who” in each area. Decisions are made by UniversityLeadership, particularly in setting the foundation for the planningprocess by establishing guiding principles and boundaries. TheIntegration Team ensures the smooth unfolding of the process byperforming the duties required keep it “active.” And the subjectmatter experts drive the content in each chapter of the plan.Interested in testing this at your institution?Make sure to understand these fundamentals before embarking:• Strategic Guidance is the indispensable link between Visionand Planning• Ensure consistent awareness of economic feasibility• Active Integration is a strategic and intuitive way of working,which requires a human element• “Integrating Agents” infuse Vision and Strategic Guidance intothe planning process• “Integrating Agents” are the most essential component of thewhole process, providing direction, momentum, fl exibility, andadaptability• Recognize individual strengths and identify alignment withorganizational responsibilities• People are the essence of planning; process is simply anorganizing framework
CONCLUSION
Planning processes are only as effective as the people managingand participating in them. So instead of repeatedly changingframeworks in an attempt to put a stop to wasting recourses,address the people component directly by employing the threeessential ingredients. No matter where your institution is in itsdevelopment, what project is at hand, or how many people areinvolved, the three essential ingredients are a valuable tool forstreamlining success.
Figure 5: Who’s Who in the planning process
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