BUILDING A STRATEGIC PLAN FROM THE GROUND UP AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN LIBRARY
"At the University of Michigan Library, we partnered with cosyn to reimagine the library's next set of strategic work. With their guidance and support, we were able to design an inclusive planning process that centered the voices of our community. The result of our engagement was a meaningful list of commitments and actions that represent our unique strengths and challenges. I am grateful to cosyn for creating an inspiring strategic planning process full of joy and learning, and for modeling an inclusive and equitable approach for my organization to use moving forward."
— meghan musolff, Director of Strategic Planning, University of Michigan Library
At a Glance
Client: University of Michigan Library
Engagement: Equity-Centered Strategic Planning
Timeline: January – September 2025
Methodology: Appreciative Inquiry | SOAR Framework
The Opportunity
The University of Michigan Library already had strategic directions in place. What they needed wasn't a plan built from scratch — they needed one that could actually do more work: aligning how the Library manages resources and makes decisions about services, partnerships, and future investments. They wanted a planning and decision-making structure clear enough to guide where the Library would commit its energy over the next three to five years.
Critically, they came in knowing that process mattered as much as product. The Library wanted consultants who would center diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility values not as an add-on but as the foundation of how the work got done — consultants who would work in partnership with the library community, not on behalf of leadership alone.
The Approach
cosyn brought the full Appreciative Inquiry process to this engagement — including a formal environmental assessment that grounded the work in context before community discovery began.
Environmental Assessment.
We started by reviewing the Library's existing strategic documents, institutional data, and relevant peer benchmarks. This gave us a preliminary SOAR analysis — a picture of where the Library stood, what it had already built, and where the most meaningful opportunities for growth were concentrated. It meant that when we entered community conversations, we weren't starting from zero.
Core Team Formation.
A representative Core Team drawn from across the Library's constituencies became the spine of the process. Core Team members led logistics, helped design outreach, and served as bridges to the broader community throughout.
Discovery, Dream, and Design.
Community participation wasn't confined to a single phase — it was at the heart of the process. Throughout the process, the Library community engaged through in-person gatherings, virtual sessions, and surveys — so that participation was open to everyone, regardless of schedule, role, or comfort with formal processes. People reflected on when the Library was at its best, what they valued, and what they hoped for — and in doing so, surfaced the strengths that would anchor the plan. They gave feedback on the strategic directions as they were taking shape, and had a direct role in designing the specific actions that would bring the commitments to life. The result was a plan genuinely co-created by the full community. The goal across all three phases was the same: make sure participation wasn't limited by schedule, role, or comfort with formal processes.
Co-Created Strategic Plan.
The final strategic plan was built in community and designed to be used in community. The framework came from what people had said, organized through a SOAR lens — Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations, Results. The Library's equity and inclusion values weren't layered onto the plan at the end; they shaped which questions got asked, whose voices were centered, and how the final directions were framed.
Implementation Infrastructure.
A plan that lives in a document isn't a plan — it's a record. cosyn developed a suite of tools to help the Library carry this work forward: leadership talking points, a meeting facilitation best practices toolkit, a group agreements exercise, and a supervisor's guide to implementation. Deliverables were designed for accessibility at every level, so the people responsible for putting the plan into practice had what they actually needed to do it.
What Made This Different
Strategic planning in large institutions often moves in one direction: consultants surface themes from stakeholder input, leadership refines them behind closed doors, and the community receives a finished product. Feedback becomes data; data becomes a plan; the plan arrives.
This engagement worked differently. Participants described the process as warm, engaging, and approachable — a space where anyone could contribute, regardless of title or tenure. They could see how much had gone into what they ended up with. They recognized their own voices in the final directions. As one participant put it: "We really did build this from the ground up."
That's Appreciative Inquiry working as designed. The methodology assumes that the people closest to an organization's work hold the most important knowledge about its strengths and possibilities. cosyn's role is to create the conditions where that knowledge can surface and shape what comes next — where leadership and community build the plan together.
What the Library Received
The engagement produced a publicly published set of Strategic Commitments and Actions — five community-identified focus areas guiding the Library's work for the next three to five years:
Welcoming spaces — accessible, inclusive physical and virtual environments that center the experiences of employees and users
Partners in scholarship — interdisciplinary partnerships that advance research, teaching, and learning grounded in deep expertise
Stewardship of collections — responsive, mission-driven stewardship of diverse materials for current and future generations
Ethical adoption of emerging technology — responsible evaluation and adoption of new technologies, with equity at the center
Culture of care — a community built on transparency, shared responsibility, and demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility
Each commitment is accompanied by specific, co-created actions that the Library community can hold itself accountable to.
Beyond the strategic plan, cosyn delivered:
Environmental assessment and SOAR analysis summarizing organizational strengths and opportunities
Implementation toolkit: leadership talking points, meeting facilitation best practices guide, group agreements exercise, and supervisor's guide to implementation
Presentation-ready versions of the plan for multiple audiences
Recommendations for monitoring and ongoing application
Is This the Right Fit for Your Organization?
This engagement is a strong model for institutions that:
✔ Are ready to build or evolve a strategic plan with their full community at the center
✔ Want a process where community voice shapes outcomes, not just informs them
✔ Are ready to center equity and inclusion in how they plan, not only in what the plan says
✔ Need deliverables that support implementation across levels of the organization
