Dear friends of the University of Washington Information School,

For the past year the University of Washington Information School community has been engaged with some fundamental questions—who are we, what do we want to be, how can we achieve our goals, and how will we know when we have succeeded? We have re-examined and refined the School’s vision, mission, core values, and foundational concepts. We have listened to our stakeholders. We have reflected on our individual and collective commitments and practices.

We are now pleased to present the iSchool Strategic Plan: Vision in Action, 2007–2012. The themes of this plan embrace the vitality of our School’s initial phase of rapid development and transformation and propel us into a new era of sustainability and strategic growth. We are poised to build upon our strengths and expand into areas that will truly distinguish us in terms of leadership, visibility, excellence, and innovation.

A Year of Research, Reflection, and Dialogue. Our year of strategic planning has been very rewarding. We pursued our planning process knowing that we would be challenging our community—pressing all our members to participate and testing our core values of openness, inclusiveness, and respectful engagement. Our discussions were sometimes difficult but always conducted with a firm commitment to advancing the Information School. We were determined to develop a strategic plan that would provide a framework for success—including opportunities for reflection, creativity, and the nurturing of unexpected ideas.

We held two faculty and staff retreats. We identified and examined our strengths, challenges, and opportunities with faculty, staff, students, the School’s Founding and Advisory Boards, the President and Provost of the University, and other key stakeholders. We assessed our academic programs through open dialogue sessions with faculty, students, and staff. We interviewed deans of other information schools and obtained feedback from our university and national accrediting bodies.

Leading and Making a Difference. In Vision in Action we advance a core strategic theme of leadership. In the next five years the UW iSchool will become the world-leading information school—setting standards and expectations that other information schools will want to follow. We will make a positive difference in society and advance the expertise and talents of our community. We know that individuals, organizations, and communities flourish when information works. Our students, staff, and faculty will reach their fullest potential and we will enthusiastically celebrate our accomplishments. We will achieve balance in our personal, professional, and intellectual lives.

A Commitment to Action. Our strategic plan is called Vision in Action to emphasize our commitment to making a positive change in the world through well-planned actions that are supported by our community values and that leverage our distinctive expertise. This plan is a living document. It will be our guide as we work together over the coming five years to put our vision into action.