Setting the strategic course on the good ship GLAD!
Peter Drucker, known to be a guru of the contemporary management theory, once said on the importance of strategy:
“Objectives can be compared to a compass bearing by which a ship navigates. A compass bearing is firm, but in actual navigation, a ship may veer off its course for many miles. Without a compass bearing, a ship would neither find its port nor be able to estimate the time required to get there.”
To ensure that GLAD’s ship successfully finds the port, the team met for a strategic planning retreat. Now you might be pondering over the word retreat and what it could imply in this context. Let me preempt some of that thinking by acknowledging that indeed the trip was a combination of professional discussion and fun time in the company of good people.
The location of the retreat had also had a nautical theme. It was a small village of Lauwersoog in the north of the Netherlands that hosted the team. A few interesting facts about the place include that it hosts a world heritage park and that in the middle of the last century most of its territory was still a sea bed. Shipping and fishing are one of the most common ways to make a living. So, with its past and present history, Lauwersoog was a perfect venue for the GLAD meeting.
The days worth of discussions allowed GLAD to review and fine-tune its strategy. This was done as a follow up on several strategic meetings conducted by the GÉANT Association and designed to ensure success and continuity of the GÉANT work and community. Focusing on what GLAD can do for the community, the following strategic imperatives were derived:
Mission
We believe that technical innovations are powered by curiosity and collaboration. Through our activities we nurture minds and foster working together.
Vision
Our vision is that learning and curiosity secures GÉANT’s leading position.
Strategy
We are here to facilitate knowledge transfer and learning to help sustain GÉANT’s leading position in delivering infrastructure and services for research and education in Europe.
Services
We facilitate knowledge transfer and deliver learning services to the GÉANT community in areas of technical skills and professional competencies.
Strap line
You learn, to grow. We share, to succeed.
We have also reviewed a set of programmes set to be executed in 2020 and beyond. They include:
- Technical knowledge programme to ensure a top class level of technical knowledge and skills within the GÉANT community.
- Capability building programme to harmonise capability level across the European NREN community.
- Future talent programme to build a pipe line of young talent and innovative ideas.
- Professional competencies programme to ensure flexible, agile and innovative ways of working.
- GEANT community curriculum to capture, externalise and share GÉANT’s community knowledge.
- Technology for learning to increase access to learning through the use of technology.
- GLAD branding project to communicate recognition of a trustworthy learning partner for the GEANT community.
- Corporate learning to support GÉANT Association staff in their development and growth.
It seems like a lot, but we are passionate about every single one of these programmes. We look forward to working with the community on making them happen. If any of them resonate with you personally, drop us a line. We would love to hear from you. For now, we raise the gangplank and hoist our sail to take GLAD ship to the next destination. Ahoy!
