In November 2020, BUSSW engaged in a one-year strategic planning process to define what turned out to be ambitious strategic imperatives that will guide our efforts into the future.
Our strategic planning process was guided by our school’s vision to “advance a just and compassionate society that promotes health and well-being and the empowerment of all oppressed groups, especially those affected by racial, social, and economic inequities” and by our attention to the most pressing social problems societies face at the local, national, and global levels.
To guide our process, we worked with Bink, Inc., a consulting organization that specializes in clarifying/building culture, team performance, and strategic planning, and has extensive experience conducting strategic planning with institutions of higher education and BU, in particular.
As a school ranked in the top 4% of schools of social work nationally, situated in a major leading global university, seven strategic imperatives were defined with the ultimate 30-year goal of becoming “a global model in social, economic, racial, gender, and climate justice transformation by 2050.” The school’s goal and strategic imperatives align with the five strategic priorities established by Boston University’s recently completed strategic plan.
Part of the process involved fleshing out our school’s core purpose: Dismantle Injustice. Liberate Possibilities. And developing our core values: Dare to Transform, Radically Collaborative Education, and Dedicated to Compassionate Learning. To ensure our strategic plan was not simply an idealized conceptualization of what our school community would like to accomplish, the plan also identifies measurable 5- and 10-year targets. I am delighted to share that we are making great progress towards many of these and are well on our way to accomplishing others. Please visit our strategic plan webpage periodically to see updates.
I am deeply grateful and immensely proud of what our community has committed to, and wholeheartedly believe we will achieve our goals and better our society in the process.
Dean Delva