Flagship Program Planning Process

What Is a Flagship Program?

A program is a planned sequence of educational experiences with specific objectives, targeting an audience and addressing identified priority needs and issues.

Criteria for a Flagship Program:

  • Innovative* and entrepreneurial approach
  • Inclusiveness of different disciplines and cross-campus engagement
  • Substantial inclusiveness of county directors
  • New opportunities for teams to work together
  • Responsiveness to local needs
  • Financial sustainability

Main Criteria for Flagship Programs

Main Criteria for Flagship Programs

A flagship program may evolve from:    

  • An existing program that is worthy of expansion
  • An emerging program
  • An entirely new program

*(Innovation is stressed, so if it’s an existing or emerging program it must have a new twist!)

Flagship programs will elevate the visibility and impact of University of Illinois Extension around the state and on campus.  Purposefully, the process for Flagship development has been designed with inclusiveness built-in throughout the various stages.  

Flagship Issues Developed at Statewide Meetings

Two statewide meetings were held in spring 2006 for University of Illinois Extension staff to recommend issues for Flagship programs.   

Three prominent themes emerged from these meetings: 

  • Health and Well-Being
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Sustainability

Efforts to further focus on the three themes

In conjunction with the Flagship issues that have emerged, connections were made to the strategic plans that guide Extension, ACES and the University.   The Pillars diagram below shows the contexts of the flagship programs.  These contexts, or determining components, are the Extension 2006 spring meeting results, team plans of work, and campus strategic agendas.  The pillars that the Flagship program will rest on are:

Pillars of the Flagship Program

Main Criteria for Flagship Programs The Campus / Presidential Strategic Agenda provide the framework to increase our impact on and visibility at the University of Illinois. The Campus / Presidential Strategic Agenda provide the framework to increase our impact on and visibility at the University of Illinois. ‘Global Preeminence and Local Relevance’ – The strategic intent of the ACES Strategic Plan also offers guidance in our planning process. The priorities set within the Extension Strategic Agenda will be used as guidelines for the process. The information gathered from the County Directors on April 19. This spreadsheet of Flagship issues was the first step in soliciting input from Extension. The information gathered from the staff members who met on May 8. This spreadsheet of Flagship issues was the second step in soliciting input from Extension. At this meeting, Extension staff met on campus and built on the input from the April County Director meeting. The plans of work the development teams have created and the initiatives they have launched show our programming areas of strength and potentials for collaboration.

(click on pillars for more information)