Pre-conference workshop
Introduction
Pre-conference Workshop: Principles, practice and use of environmental scanning 15th June 2011, 12h00 to 17h00.
Presenter: Angel Calderon
Cost: £20 for delegates attending the HEIR conference, £50 for people attending the workshop only.
Booking: There are 20 places available, on a first come first serve basis. Please register via the conference registration link
Location: John Galsworthy Building, Penrhyn Road campus,
Kingston University.
Abstract
The purpose of this workshop is to engage participants in a preferred framework and approach for the practice of Environmental Scanning (ES) in their workplace.
Participants to this workshop will be guided through an approach for undertaking ES and will be engaged in work-relevant discussions as they will be working through practical examples.
Participants will receive working notes as well as a guide as for undertaking Environmental Scanning.
Prior to the workshop, participants will be provided with some questions which they are asked to bring completed to aid the group discussions and hence maximise the learning experience and intended outcomes.
Background and context
Environmental scanning is the exploration phase of the strategic planning process. It is the systematic process of collecting and analysing information for the purposes of planning, forecasting, or choosing a preferred future.
The environment of an organisation consists of the conditions, circumstances and influences which affect the organisation’s ability to achieve its objectives. Broadly, an organisational environment consists of two elements – the internal and the external.
There are three phases in strategic management:
- Environmental assessment
- Strategy development
- Strategy implementation
Strategic planning combines the first two phases. In practice the three phases merge together and are conducted concurrently. Environmental analysis aims to identify those issues which will inform the decision-making concerned with bridging the gap between the current situation and a desired future.
Session structure
Participants will be introduced to a preferred framework and approach for the practice of environmental scanning and it will be supplemented with salient work examples. In addition, participants will be engaged in group and plenary discussion as we work through the process of ES. Participants will be encouraged to discuss work practices and bring relevant work samples.
Methodology
In addition to describing a framework for ES, this workshop will focus on how it can be done, informed with practical exercises. We will go through the various steps involved:
| Step 1: | Identify Themes or Issues |
|---|---|
| Step 2: | Form work team and identify stakeholders |
| Step 3: | Identify Data Sources |
| Step 4: | Analysing the Data |
| Step 5: | Dissemination Method That Best Matches Audience |
| Step 6: | Include Feedback Loop and Evaluation |
| Step 7: | Assessing the Impact of ES |
Expected outcomes
This workshop aims for the following learning objectives for participants:
- Develop competency in environmental scanning practices
- Gain familiarity with the process of environmental scanning in other organisations
- Understand the relevance of environmental scanning to institutional researchers in changing / setting policy or strategic directions
- Develop an understanding about accessing different sources of information
