Illinois Leads
Process
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The Illinois Leads Implementation Framework
It is not enough to have a plan. A leading university must also have a strong foundation for turning strategic priorities into action.
The Illinois Leads Strategic Plan rests on an implementation framework designed to support each of the university’s strategic priorities with systems, strategies, people, measurements, and ways to tell our story. The framework serves as both a strategic guide and an implementation roadmap to help reach our goals and address some of this moment’s most critical societal challenges. It defines what the university intends to achieve to be a leader, and establishes how that work will be carried out, coordinated, measured, and shared.
The implementation framework is organized into four sequential layers. Each layer addresses a distinct dimension of the plan, and together they allow the university to examine its priorities, identify the gaps between the current and desired state, and build the path that achieves our goals. A priority placed into the framework moves through each layer in turn, gaining the support, direction, ownership, and accountability it needs to become operational.
The four layers are:
- Layer 0 — Foundational Systems
The infrastructure that supports the work - Layer 1 — Goals, Strategies, and Priorities
The substance of the plan, from intent to action - Layer 2 — People, Coordination, and Belonging
The ownership and collaboration that advance the work - Layer 3 — Measurement, Telling Our Story, and Thought Leadership
The evidence of progress and the account the university gives of it
Layer 0 — Foundational Systems
Layer 0 is the foundation on which the plan operates: the data platforms, governance/organizational structures, data, technology, other tools, financial structures, sufficient human resources, supportive policies and processes, and shared services that enable collaboration, strategic work, and efficient resource management across the university. These systems establish a shared baseline while preserving flexibility and determining how clearly the university can see itself, how easily people can navigate it, how internal teams can work together, how readily opportunities can be seized, how soundly it makes decisions, how it can support the work, and how effectively its people can direct their shared efforts toward the mission so that Illinois can be a leading university. This often includes removing barriers we have inadvertently created for ourselves. Resiliency and sustainability are at the forefront as we aim to support programs, partnerships, and projects that last. The university maintains and modernizes these systems continuously, because the success of the strategies and goals above them depends on their strength.
Layer 1 — Goals, Strategies, and Priorities
Layer 1 holds the substance of the plan. It begins with the university’s strategic goals, which define what Illinois intends to achieve as a leader. Each goal is then advanced through strategies, and each strategy through implementing priorities that specify the concrete steps required.
The work of this layer rests on a clear assessment of the present and future. For each goal, the university defines where it stands today and where it intends to be, and the distance and practical timelines between the two states guides our strategies and implementation of priorities that follow. This mapping keeps the plan grounded in evidence and ensures that every priority that is implemented responds to a defined gap rather than a general intention. Additionally, the strategies and priorities must be long-lasting and built on our strengths to be resilient against institutional changes.
Each committee will distinguish between immediate actions, near-term priorities, and longer-term commitments. Near-term priorities will be driven by achievable and time-bound projects. Longer-term priorities should identify the sustained coordination, resources, policy changes, and institutional capacity necessary for success. This approach makes the plan actionable from the outset while preserving the discipline required to pursue transformational goals over time.
Layer 2 — People, Coordination, and Belonging
Layer 2 establishes who leads the work forward. It names the owners accountable for each goal, the teams who advance the day-to-day work, the coordination that allows all units, colleges, and departments, to act in concert, and through belonging, support, and career growth for those who enact the work. The university’s experience, and that of its peers, shows that strategic work progresses when it has a clear owner with the authority to convene people across organizational lines and sustain long-term relationships.
The Framework emphasizes empowerment over complexity, connecting the right people to the right work so that collaboration across the university is increasingly the standard practice and internal and external stakeholders experience the university’s strengths through reciprocal, lasting partnerships and a coordinated front door rather than its organizational structure.
To support this, teams are given clear decision-making and coordination matrices that define who decides, who contributes, and who is informed, facilitating clarity and transparency about how the work moves. Deliberately showcasing coordination with public clarity that connects the right people to the right work and proudly demonstrates that collaboration across the university, and alongside impacted communities, is a standard practice in service of the strategy and the people we serve.
Additionally, strategic planning feedback emphasized that we cannot lead without providing strong internal support to all university employees who make this work possible. This layer will focus on exploring meaningful professional development opportunities for employees across the university while strengthening our culture of belonging, and providing staff with a clear connection between their work and the university’s goals.
Layer 3 — Measurement, Storytelling, and Thought Leadership
Layer 3 establishes how the university knows its work is succeeding and how it conveys the impact of its work to others. Measurement serves the plan in two ways. It supports operational health and data-driven decision making, identifying where strategies are working, where they are not, and where adjustment is required, so that decisions rest on evidence.
It also supplies the foundation for the university’s impact story. Through our expertise and measurable impact, we will connect the university community with policymakers, industry, and media through coordinated thought leadership to show stakeholders just how Illinois is leading the way.
Through this layer, what the university measures becomes what it tells, so we are recognized not only for the work we do but for the difference that work makes. We have a long history of significant contributions through our research, teaching, public engagement, economic development missions, and will engage its audiences in a coordinated account of that impact. Layer 3 addresses this directly. The data the university gathers creates a clear and credible account of the value of what Illinois accomplishes, the impact of an Illinois education, how the university leads, and why our work matters, sharing with students, families, the people of the state and beyond, government, partners, and donors building public trust through visible impact.
To implement the Illinois Leads Strategic Plan, steering committees are assigned to each goal with a specific charge to define how the university should successfully implement the identified priorities. At the core of their work will be the identified societal challenges: people-first technological transformation; health and well-being; a sustainable future; and public trust, democracy, and civic life.
While each committee has a distinct charge, the goals of Illinois Leads are interconnected. Through each committee’s work, we will identify shared opportunities, dependencies, and areas of overlap. Together, we will build the priorities of this plan into actions that leverage our unique Illinois strengths and culture of collaboration.
Steering committees will use the Illinois Leads Framework to move beyond broad recommendations to transform institutional ambition into action. Each steering committee will bring together stakeholders, subject-matter experts, and decision-makers from across the university community. This will ensure the right people participate in consequential discussions, that those closest to the work help shape its direction, and that the recommendations reflect both institutional ambition and operational reality. Through this process, the steering committees will identify what priorities we can advance in the short term, what will be long-term efforts, and help Illinois pursue the identified priorities and establish the capacity to execute them effectively. Distinguishing immediate opportunities from longer-term commitments will allow Illinois to demonstrate early progress while building the capacity required for lasting change.
While steering committees will have clear deadlines, the expectation is that work — and outcomes — will be constant and ongoing.
Information sharing is a critical component to the success of Illinois Leads. The committees will be given ambitious timelines for their work, and outcomes will surface based on short-term and long-term priorities. The university will keep you updated on the progress through routine communication so we all know what is happening and why.
Additionally, this work cannot happen without leveraging the talent and expertise of our university community and external partners. All university community members will be given opportunities to engage.
