FROM MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES TO A DRAFT STRATEGIC PLAN
On April 26-28, 2019, we convened faculty, program administrators, industry scientists, government researchers and leaders from non-profit organizations at our first ever Strategy Retreat. During this event, we charged them to work together to develop outcomes and initiatives for the next strategic plan for the Leadership Alliance. Through the process of Appreciative Inquiry, these stakeholders built a draft strategic plan, which will lead us to realize our vision to accelerate the diversification of the research workforce through sustainable collaborations and thought leadership on inclusive excellence.
The plan focuses on four goals to move the Leadership Alliance forward:
- Develop regional, organizational networks to promote awareness of academic and professional development opportunities
- Expand programs and resources to ensure seamless education and career transitions
- Build strategic national and international partnerships to accelerate the development of a diverse and inclusive research workforce
- Leverage the collective knowledge of the Alliance to advance national discussions on research workforce diversification.

At the strategy retreat, participants worked together in a generative process that allowed for ideas from multiple perspectives to be refined through group discussion to create outcomes for each goal (Figure 1). The strategic plan development will continue through the summer, with committees creating operational plans based on the ideas from the strategy retreat.