Incorporating National Priorities in Strategic Planning and the Effect of Organizational Interventions in Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

Strategic planning is essential in higher education institutions (HEIs) to effectively navigate the challenges in today’s academic environment. It plays a crucial role in institutions' development and contributes to achieving national priorities. This paper focuses on investigating the importance of strategic planning within HEIs, investigating challenges, and evaluating fundamental elements and exemplary practices. The paper highlights the importance of aligning an institutional strategic plan with its vision, mission, values, and objectives by considering internal and external factors that might impact the coming years. The significance of strong leadership, ongoing assessment, and active participation of internal and external stakeholders in developing and executing the plan was covered. The education sector plays a vital role in national development to achieve national goals, and its operations need to be harmonized. One of the structured approaches to defining long-term objectives is strategic planning, which formulates specific themes and strategies to achieve them. Organizational interventions are vital factors affecting an organization's functioning and its goal of achieving targets. Henceforth, strategic planning lays a pathway for achieving goals and promotes coordination and collaboration in effectively implementing long-term strategies. The proposed research framework was developed considering various organizational interventions that include internal and external collaborations by involving stakeholders, and it helps future studies to enhance institutional practices for improving strategic planning and its effectiveness.