Viewing page 133 of 151

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

-103-

In addition, the Smithsonian Quincentenary Council of the Americas is being formed of prominent individuals from the corporate, academic and media sectors who can assist with the Quincentenary efforts. It is hoped that some of these individuals will eventually take part in the Smithsonian's efforts to establish an "Institute of the Americas" that will focus on hemispheric issues in much the same way that the Quincentenary addresses some of these relevant themes.

[[underlined]] Strategic Planning [[/underlined]]

The small planning group formed last fall by the Secretary completed interviewing several consulting firms with experience in strategic planning in December 1989. After evaluating the results of the interviews, the group recommended engaging the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) to continue to assess the Institution's ability, readiness, and need to undertake strategic planning. NCHEMS is a highly respected, non-profit organization based in Boulder, Colorado, whose consulting specialty is strategic planning for institutions of higher learning.

The Secretary accepted the recommendation, and on January 23, 1989, the Institution entered into a contract with NCHEMS for their professional and educational services. Mr. Dennis Jones, President of NCHEMS, and Mr. Robert Lisensky, President of NCHEMS Management Services, are personally conducting the project. NCHEMS' approach is to lay advance groundwork prior to assembling the leadership of the Institution for further discussion of strategic planning, by systematically collecting pertinent information about the Institution's resources, audiences, goals and priorities. Accordingly, NCHEMS will collect, analyze and develop a profile of quantitative and qualitative indicators of the present "State of the Institution" and its future needs and opportunities.

Messrs. Jones and Lisensky began the initial quantitative data gathering phase in a visit to the Institution on March 20-21, and they are now analyzing various data and other information that the Institution has made available to them. They will return April 18-21 to conduct a series of interviews with central management and a broad cross-section of bureau and office directors. NCHEMS will also be in touch with members of the Board of Regents in the near future to gain their perspectives on priorities, desired ends and audiences. During May and June, NCHEMS will conduct a workshop involving the Secretary, the Management Committee, and bureau and office directors. The workshop will describe strategic planning concepts and methods that have a contextual basis in their Institutional profile.

Over the years, NCHEMS has developed very pragmatic methods for undertaking strategic planning within the college and university setting, methods that have been particularly successful in decentralized environments. It is reasonable to expect that their assistance and recommendations to the Smithsonian will be practical and in keeping with the firm's considerable reputation.