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Integrated Planning Competencies

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Published September 20, 2023
By SCUP

Build Capacity for Integrated Planning

Whether you’re preparing a committee for an upcoming planning process or simply looking for directions for your own professional development, the Integrated Planning Competencies can help you determine the knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for successful integrated planning.

What it Takes to Practice Integrated Planning in Higher Education

Integrated planning requires building capacity in the people who do planning so they have the necessary knowledge and skills for success. But higher education institutions that focus only on developing planning-related expertise often face hurdles when they attempt integrated planning. Why? Because colleges and universities are complex environments and using an integrated planning approach in those environments requires a wide range of knowledge, skills, and dispositions. Some of the required expertise might seem obvious (like writing goals or analyzing information). But some of it may be less so—particularly expertise related to “soft” skills or human skills, like communication or collaboration.

Integrated Planning Competencies for Success

To provide more clear and specific guidance, SCUP identified competencies—knowledge, skills, and dispositions—that individuals need for successful integrated planning. We analyzed the experiences and viewpoints of around 300 planners and higher education administrators in order to surface the competencies—both obvious and inconspicuous—that underpin integrated planning success.

In particular, we identified competencies for two types of roles critical for integrated planning:

Institutional Planner

The person tasked with leading integrated planning in the institution, or the person responsible for coordinating and supporting planning activities institution-wide–in other words, the institution’s resident planning expert.

Example:
Director of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness

Unit Leader

The person responsible for a unit in the institution. Depending on the institution, a unit can be a college, academic department, or non-academic department. The Unit Leader is critical to alignment and implementation of institution-wide plans and for planning within their unit.

Examples:
Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
Vice President of Student Affairs

Dig In to the Competencies Today

Advance integrated planning at your campus by sharing the competencies with your planning teams.

Explore Online

The online version of the Integrated Planning Competencies includes related resources to inspire ideas and directions for individual and team professional development.

Download Your Copy

The Integrated Planning Competencies PDF includes Methodologies, Bibliography, and Acknowledgements: To download your free copy of the PDF, please submit the form below: