Strategic Plan

Outreach has created a five-year strategic plan to help us prioritize, focus, and measure our work creating impactful partnerships and programs that amplify Penn State’s land-grant mission.

Priority 1: Unified Outreach and Collective Impact

Grow Penn State’s collective impact by fostering a unified outreach across University and Commonwealth communities that supports the diverse needs of Pennsylvanians and ensures equitable access to resources and opportunities.

Penn State Presidential Goal Alignment: increase land-grant impact

Planned Actions

Identify what the University wants to measure regarding impact and document what the University and Outreach are currently measuring.
Identify and leverage what Pennsylvania’s other institutions are using in the areas of impact.
Identify the ways Pennsylvania is moving toward performance-based funding and use that to inform metrics.
Identify Outreach’s priority areas when it comes to reporting/measuring impact.
Define the areas of impact to measure.
Develop metrics for reporting on impact.
Increase awareness and build consensus around definitions and priority areas.
Document alignment between metrics and Broader Impacts reporting to build a broader impact infrastructure.
Work with the Penn State Office of Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research (OPAIR); Penn State Office of Government and Community Relations (OGCR); Commonwealth campuses; and the Office of the Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses (OVPCC) to gain clarity on ownership, centralization, and expectations of metrics and reporting.

Planned Actions

Establish shared understanding of KCP and develop marketing and communications plan to secure buy-in and support.
Establish KCP governance structure.
Create metrics to be used to report on collective impact.
Provide staff and faculty with KCP onboarding/awareness training.
Conduct advanced trainings/workshops for KCP.
Identify KCP champions within each unit.
Align metrics with Broader Impacts reporting to include KCP in the research grant proposal process.

Planned Actions

Establish a partner inventory.
Collaborate to create a shared and nuanced definition of an Outreach partnership, explicitly identifying roles, responsibilities, commitments, and expectations.
Determine who will manage current partnerships and how it will be done.
Understand, document, and communicate the value we provide to our partners.
Document and formalize the partnerships we have with campuses and units who also do outreach work.
Conduct check-ins with existing partners to enhance the partnerships.
Address the concierge need by creating a single place for partners to contact.
Develop partnership strategy by compiling a list of the services, programs, and expertise we have and pursuing potential partners based on our skills and expertise.

Number of initiatives where Outreach serves as a strategic partner
Number of Outreach partnerships focused on collective impact
Number of projects using Keystone Community Partnerships (KCP) framework
Number of University initiatives/units represented in impact reporting
Amplification of University’s collective impact via holistic storytelling and reporting

Priority 2: Enhance Student Success

Enhance student success by promoting experiential learning through inclusive programming, diverse opportunities, and partnerships that empower all students to thrive.

Penn State Presidential Goal Alignment: enhance student success

Planned Actions

Determine and define criteria for identifying experiential learning and establish metrics to demonstrate student benefits.
Identify current activities that provide experiential learning opportunities to students. Document if and how units are currently evaluating experiential learning.
Establish baseline efforts for student success at Penn State, including definitions, target audiences, and parameters. Create experiential learning reports to highlight each unit’s current contributions and establish an Outreach-wide baseline for student success.
Create a repository of partners who contribute to student success.

Planned Actions

Identify student competencies to track and measure during experiential learning.
Identify key metrics based on competencies. Conduct strength and feasibility analysis of metrics to identify currently accessible data and what additional data may be needed.
Create Outreach-wide awareness about metrics and integrate reporting into unit processes. Work with units to identify and implement data collection relevant to experiential learning.
Identify what academic partners want students to gain through experiential learning. Document program objectives of academic partners.

Planned Actions

Document what Outreach provides and expects from a partnership.
Increase capacity for working with/in communities. Provide training to staff to do this work or hire/invest in acquiring this skill set.
Proactively pursue internal partnerships by documenting, amplifying, and supporting the efforts of other units.
Develop marketing and communications strategy for communicating the value Outreach provides through experiential learning.
Pursue partnerships that bring students into the work Outreach is already doing. Identify academic programs that align with the work each unit does.
Pursue a more formal relationship with the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School to establish experiential learning opportunities that focus on conducting research or gaining applicable experience.

Number of students participating in experiential learning opportunities
Number of unique experiential learning opportunities offered
Reported student growth/development in National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) competencies through participation in experiential learning opportunities
Number of partnerships focused on enhancing student success

Priority 3: Financial Self-Sustainability

Strive toward a self-sustaining financial model that reflects our commitment to inclusivity and equity in revenue generation, fiscal stewardship, and partnerships, ensuring all communities are supported and benefit from our efforts.

Penn State Presidential Goal Alignment: transform internal operations

Planned Actions

Develop a process to prioritize and filter grant opportunities.
Establish grant funding goals for Outreach and individual Outreach units.
Develop process/workflow to streamline grant application submission and post award.
Connect grant proposals to Broader Impacts reporting. Communicate how grant-funded work aligns with University’s Broader Impacts reporting.
Provide training and set expectations for staff regarding profitability index responsibilities.
Address post-award capacity concerns by setting expectations and providing training.

Planned Actions

Determine and document the value Outreach provides to partners.
Develop a process for reaching out to potential event/program sponsors and provide training to appropriate staff.
Prioritize current sponsorship opportunities within the existing Outreach portfolio.

Planned Actions

Develop an outreach process to ensure the correct units approve the creation of new programming and revenue generating opportunities.
Meet with each unit to discuss/brainstorm revenue generation ideas and create an avenue for bringing the best ideas forward.
Form an innovation group to receive innovative ideas from all units and to review/score the ideas to determine which ones to pursue.

Dollar amount awarded via government and foundation grant applications
Dollar amount received via corporate/industry sponsors
Dollar amount received via private gifting and philanthropy
Net dollars generated via new initiatives

Priority 4: Outreach Culture

Through our people, our processes, and our decisions, we embrace actions that inspire impact and invite every member of our team to build the culture of Penn State Outreach. Together, we aspire to:

Appreciate fully: Recognize every contribution and embrace diverse perspectives
Collaborate openly: Work side by side with trust, respect, and shared purpose
Innovate boldly: Turn curiosity into creative solutions that drive progress

Penn State Presidential Goal Alignment: transform internal operations

Planned Actions

Collect leadership best practices for showing appreciation.
Use best practices to establish an employee recognition program.
Develop Outreach annual awards program (with nominee visibility, inclusive categories).
Establish a more regular and stronger Vice President Office presence across units.
Explore and select a peer recognition platform (e.g., Bonusly, Teams’ Thanks app).
Hold an Outreach staff event for World Gratitude Day.
Establish a process to recognize supervisors (likely in coordination with Boss’s Day).
Establish an Outreach version of the “We Are” shout outs and include them in the Outreach newsletter.
Leverage Topic Talks as an avenue for recognizing staff and good work.
Create staff surveys and pulse checks to determine how they prefer to be recognized.
Starting with Outreach leadership team, create process to systematically perform 360-degree evaluations for supervisors.
Align supervisor professional development with 360-degree evaluation feedback.

Planned Actions

Regularly highlight unit work as aligned to Commonwealth Commitments through webinars, topic talks, and other forms of internal communications.
Create regular pulse checks with staff to collect feedback on strategic planning, Commonwealth Commitments, and cultural aspirations.
Hold regular cross-unit staff meetings to share priorities and upcoming work.
Create and host more informal connection opportunities for staff.
Host Outreach open houses to showcase collaborative work aligned to the Commonwealth Commitments.
Designate physical and virtual space and time for purposeful collaboration and brainstorming (e.g., Pro-Action Café).
Document and communicate what happens at Outreach leadership meetings.
Create and maintain a master list of ongoing and future potential collaborative projects.
Host webinars highlighting successful cross-unit collaborations and progress of initiatives.
Host Outreach-wide town hall–style engagement sessions.
Begin holding regular Lunches with Larry.

Planned Actions

Provide teams and staff with designated space and time for creative problem-solving (e.g., Pro-Action Café).
Support staff skill development in relation to their role and future opportunities through professional development opportunities.
Create a staff-led innovation committee to ideate and advance new ideas.
Identify a platform to identify staff strengths and develop a recommendation to leadership on how to systematically implement across Outreach.
Create and standardize reflection questions and action plan development after professional development to share and showcase learnings.
Operationalize after/action reports (lessons-learned conversations) for projects, events, and milestones.
Establish avenues and feedback loops for new employees to share input and new perspectives on how we work.
Develop more communications from Outreach leadership regarding big-picture direction, decision making, and supporting data.
Create regular messaging on Commonwealth Commitments and Outreach’s collective impact.
Host workshops for staff to explore how their work aligns to Commonwealth Commitments and Outreach’s direction.

Priority 1: Unified Outreach and Collective Impact

Establish Shared Metrics for Reporting on Impact

Initiate and Grow Keystone Community Partnerships (KCP)

Enhance and Expand Partnerships Within and Beyond Penn State

Metrics of Success

Priority 2: Enhance Student Success

Understand Current Efforts Regarding Experiential Learning for Students

Develop Criteria to Assess How Students Are Benefiting

Pursue Partnerships to Further Enhance Student Success

Metrics of Success

Priority 3: Financial Self-Sustainability

Increase Government and Foundation Grant Applications

Increase Corporate and Industry Sponsorships

Develop New Revenue Generating Opportunities

Metrics of Success

Priority 4: Outreach Culture

Appreciation

Collaboration

Innovation

Metrics of Success