On 20 May 2024, the Crowe Consulting team were invited to host a workshop at the Association of Students' Union Administrators (ASUA) Annual Conference. ASUA is a not-for-profit educational professional network that brings together the Students' Union, Student Centre, Student Engagement, Student Activities and Student Life professionals from educational institutions across the island of Ireland.
This gathering, Celtic Connections 2024, was based at Dublin City University and brought together delegates from Ireland and Scotland. This is based on the tradition of education and shared learning between the two countries. The aim of the conference is based on a common purpose in both jurisdictions, to enhance the student experience and to nurture and support the next generation of leaders.
The title of our session was Developing Strategy – From Step One to Completion. Our objectives were to:
As part of this session, we examined case studies of previous projects we have worked on for Students' Unions. These projects included a variety of approaches tailored to the individual organisations' needs, including strategic planning, development planning, trusteeship establishment support and membership surveying. These initiatives have enabled the Unions to gain a better understanding of their priorities for the future.
Furthermore, this list of projects highlights that in recent years, a number of Students' Unions have begun to recognise the importance of strategic planning within the sector.
We also examined the approach and toolkits that we regularly deployed in successful strategic planning exercises and discussed the benefits of strategic planning via an external party, including an objective and experienced approach which leads to more impartial and rational strategic choices.
Strategic planning is crucial for all organisations as it establishes a clear mission, vision and goals for them to pursue. It aids in setting priorities and aligning resources to achieve specific objectives. Moreover, it enables organisations to anticipate and prepare for future challenges and opportunities. Ultimately, a strategic plan provides a clear roadmap for the organisation's future.
This is particularly relevant for strategic planning in Students' Unions. Due to their structure and work, SUs are highly volatile organisations that experience annual changes in their leadership teams. This frequent leadership turnover can make medium-to-long-term planning difficult in the absence of a comprehensive strategy.
Throughout the session, a number of key points were identified for Students' Unions embarking on their strategic planning journey. These insights included:
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