Fall 2022 Progress
Fall 2022 Progress
Dean's Message
I’m excited to share this update on Ivey Next, our new strategic plan. It’s six months since we launched Ivey Next, and our team has been working hard on implementing our ambitious goals.
At the cornerstone of Ivey Next, is our new purpose statement: To inspire leaders for a sustainable and prosperous world. It reminds us that good business and good leadership has a long-term view, and considers the consequences of our actions to the many stakeholder constituents that make up a community.
Ivey’s renewed mission statement challenges us to address the critical issues facing organizations and society. Much of our focus since Ivey Next was launched has been on building our capacity to address critical issues. Pertaining to this topic, we have increased resources and established new organizational structures to support research on critical issues. Over 80 per cent of articles published in 2022 were aligned with critical issues. On the curriculum side, we are currently baselining how critical issues are embedded in our programs today, and have begun to enhance program curriculum on critical issues to better arm our students with these topics in the future.
Read moreWe are excited to share some of the initial progress on our new strategic plan, Ivey Next, and some of the next steps to accomplish our strategic goals and fulfil our new purpose and mission.
Building Capacity to Address Critical Issues
Ivey’s renewed mission challenges us to develop leaders who address critical issues facing organizations and society. The three critical issues we are addressing are 1) The Evolution of Work, 2) Global Citizenship, Competitiveness & Innovation, and 3) Sustainability. We are working to build our capacity to be thought leaders and drive a critical mass of focus and activity to be a main contributor on these issues.
We have focused many early activities on increasing research capacity and resources since our research and knowledge creation are foundational to build thought leadership and meaningful engagement. In addition to the progress below, work in each of our goal areas will be contributing to our long-term capacity and impact on Critical Issues.
Addressing Critical Issues
Addressing Critical Issues
Upcoming activities
- Create structure to increase thought leadership and build Ivey’s capacity
- Establish a steering committee to promote and integrate work around Critical Issues across research, teaching and outreach
- Identify and leverage potential intersections between Research Centres and Institutes
- Promote faculty research through a specific process for research proposal applications
- Create new forums to discuss the connection between research and practice
- Leverage the Ivey Business Journal to amplify thought leadership
- Create a knowledge hub to consolidate Ivey’s insights and activities to drive active engagement with audiences
The six strategic goals we set in Ivey Next will drive the organizational transformation needed to continually deliver on our mission, including building our capacity to meaningfully address critical issues facing organizations and society.
Advance World-Class Research
We will advance and amplify all world-class research, with particular emphasis on confronting critical issues facing business and society
Progress Update
- Increased the School’s research workload capacity by 20% over 2021 with 15 new research faculty and supported 19 faculty through a restructured Research Merit Award
- Increased internal research funding through new research awards, fellowships, conference sponsorships and PhD student funding and awarded over $1.2 million with an additional $300,000 planned for further distribution
- Increased access to external research funding with a new external grant review process and mentorship program leading to an 80% success rate for Ivey faculty and $1.2M in funding
- Increased supports for case writing and development including workshops, a dedicated case writer, and $90K approved in case development requests
- Increased support for students to engage in meaningful research with increased funding and a new development program for PhD students, and provided 15 undergraduate students with research experiences
- Restructured Ivey’s Research Office, including new positions, to improve faculty research support, collaborate with industry and support Centres and Institutes
- Enhanced Ivey’s Behavioural Lab with new psychometric software and hardware to increase our research capabilities
- Increased focus on translation and dissemination of thought leadership by engaging key stakeholders, incentivizing faculty collaboration and disseminating research highlights
Upcoming activities
- Promote faculty research through a research proposal application process aligned with Critical Issues
- Review ongoing internal funding requests and finalize the process for the Junior Faculty Fellowship
- Continue case writing support through additional faculty workshops and an additional case writer
- Facilitate customized assistance for faculty grant submissions by developing faculty research profiles
- Explore strategies to increase incorporation of research in our learning environments through planning and collaboration with the different programs and the Wood Centre for Innovation in Business Learning
- Create a new working subgroup of the Research Policy Committee to promote Reconciliation and Indigenization of Business Research, which will explore the current and needed supports for Indigenous-led research activity
- Continue support for students to engage with research by further defining PhD application process and exploring grant application assistance similar to the faculty mentorship program
Innovate Business Learning & Student Experience
We will innovate case-based teaching, experiential learning, and co-curricular engagement and integrate the latest insights to develop curious, responsible, adaptable, and inclusive leaders
Progress Update
- Expanded Ivey’s HBA program by 24% (up 150 to 765) which will support several strategic goals
- Developed two new Graduate Diplomas (GDip) in Sustainability
- Hired inaugural Director for the Wood Centre for Innovation in Business Learning and appointed four new teacher-scholars
- Launched new tags for Ivey Publishing case materials across Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) categories
- Migrated case materials to primarily digital format to make more accessible and sustainable
- Implemented new absence reporting tool to more quickly identify students at risk of failing and improve reaction time for mental health supports
- Launched Student Leadership Training for HBA Student Leaders
Upcoming activities
- Launch new tags for Ivey Publishing case materials across 16 categories of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)
- Conduct a degree portfolio review to identify optimal mix, size, and scope of our degree programs
- Continue refining admission processes including complete review of incoming student leadership scorecard elements
- Focus on elevating student experience by establishing a key leadership role and organizational structure dedicated to student experience across all programs
- Expand Student Leadership Training beyond HBA
Develop Global Citizens
We will develop the mindset of global citizenship among members of our community and increase the School’s international scope and diversity
Progress Update
- Strengthened Ivey’s engagement with critical international organizations and partners including CEMS, Future of Management Education (FOME), and Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME)
- Created the Academic Shelter Program, welcomed 8 Ukrainian exchange students and built relationships with business schools in Ukraine
- Completed consultations with alumni to expand and formalize more international career management programming
- Began building resource tools and enhanced pre-program engagement to support incoming international students
- Identified the need for a region-based approach to international activities and engagements
Upcoming activities
- Conduct an exchange partnership audit and develop a framework for evaluating current and new exchange partnerships and international opportunities
- Conduct a scan of international activities at peer schools
- Build a framework for Ivey international engagement and activities
- Expand global alumni network reach and value through deeper engagement with Ivey’s exchange students
Create a Lifelong Learning Ecosystem
We will create, curate, and sustain an ecosystem of Lifelong Learning to elevate individuals’ and organizations’ development
Progress Update
- Conducted consultations with internal and external stakeholders for initial scoping of Lifelong Learning offerings and target segments including alumni, programs and various areas
- Identified and confirmed resource needs to build project team
- Identified initial priorities and pilot areas of focus
- Established pilot projects to develop significant initiatives for different learner target segments applying different learning modes including new HBA alumni (early career transition coaching program) and EMBA alumni (keep the journey going)
- Supported Research Centres, Alumni and Ivey publishing with network and outreach activities, and events to enhance their impact
Upcoming activities
- Conduct focus groups with initial target segments and design pilot projects to launch within the next year
- Conduct broad scan of the Lifelong Learning marketplace including for micro-credentials
- Research and analyze technology platforms to support our Lifelong Learning ecosystem
- Develop a catalogue of Ivey learning assets and identify gaps based on market research and feedback from our target learner segments
Foster an Inclusive Culture
We will foster a community where members feel they belong and contribute to a supportive, inclusive, and accountable culture that pursues excellence, is aligned with our values, and is nurtured through curiosity, respect, mentorship, and recognition
Progress Update
- Increased faculty diversity including women faculty from 28% to 34%, and racialized faculty from 34% to 38%
- Appointed an inaugural Assistant Dean for Mentorship to support faculty mentorship and development
- Embedded EDI programing within the core co-curriculum programing across HBA, MBA and MSc programs through the implementation of Ivey’s Equity and Inclusion toolkit which includes learning modules, foundational practices and planning tools
- Redesigned a section of core HBA course, in collaboration with the Office of Indigenous Initiatives, dedicated to learning about colonization, reconciliation and Indigenous knowledge
- Implemented a Gender-Based Violence (GBV) framework that supports a preventative approach to education for students, staff and faculty including learning modules on applicable policies and student disclosures
- Increased accessibility of our programs to a more diverse applicant pool by working with recruitment teams, program leaders and student leaders to create identity questions on applications and increase EDI scholarships.
- Created Women in Asset Management program, available to students across the university, to provide internship and leadership opportunities in financial management
- Completed a pilot of the University Pathways Program (UPP) – a high school program in partnership with the Queen’s and York business schools and the Toronto District School Board
- Introduced new programs for staff including flexible work arrangements, increased mental health support, and staff-led committees to increase staff recognition and representation in school decision making
Upcoming activities
- Build additional EDI programming for “while-you-work” degree programs
- Continue to review and refine program application pathways, including the Equitable Entry for Black Students program and HBA application leadership scorecard
- Expand the UPP program and partner with the Black Students at Ivey Collective (BSIC) to support students through the recruitment process, and provide peer mentorship and financial aid literacy workshops
- Implement culture survey to internal Ivey community to understand “sense of belonging”
- Launch a series of Ivey Culture Studios for faculty and staff to support the work of fostering an inclusive culture:
- Values Studios – a series of opportunities for team and individual reflection on Ivey values and how to contribute to practicing in the Ivey Community
- Arts Studios – three concert series to build community through the arts in collaboration with the School of Music
- Ideas Studios – a community series of dialogue and ideas exchanges on topics community members champion as being important for our community to discuss
Build Organizational Agility
We will adopt more agile organizational structures, policies, practices, and technology to keep the Ivey Community positioned to deliver on our mission
Progress Update
- Developed and began implementing a refined governance structure for the 13 faculty area groups
- Initiated development of an organizational data governance plan
- Identified and advanced multiple priority data management projects across faculty and alumni data to increase operational efficiency and better measure our impact – particularly for critical issues
- Initiated development of benchmarking and business intelligence practices to support data-driven decision making
Upcoming activities
- Develop a School-wide data governance plan
- Create a data inventory to ensure better understanding and access to analyze important organizational data
- Develop a framework for evaluating partnerships, conduct a partnership audit and identify strategic partnership gaps and needs to support our strategic goals
- Embed and empower agile approaches to decision making and data analytics across the school to support decisions at all levels
