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Finding Our Focus

In order to develop a sustainable plan and vision for the UW, we needed community input. During 2009–2011, more than 3,500 faculty, staff, student and community stakeholders participated in 2y2d focus groups and surveys to help envision the future and identify priorities.

Where should the UW be in 20 years?

Initial focus groups addressed seven key areas of interest:

2y2d 2009-2010 word cloud


Discovery focus group


Diversity focus group


Engagement focus group


Globalization focus group


Interdisciplinary education and research focus groups


Learning focus group


Technology focus group


As they considered where UW talent and expertise would be most needed in the coming decades, these groups:

Each focus group summarized their vision and recommendations in a report, Two-Decade Trends.

Which of society’s major issues should we help solve?

After initial focus groups asked the UW to provide solutions to “society’s most pressing issues,” we sought additional input from stakeholder groups to help identify what issues those might be. Results are shown in the concept cloud below. The size of each word corresponds to the frequency of responses naming it a priority.

2y2d concept word cloud

Subject-specific concept clouds and the collected comments of faculty, students, staff, and community stakeholders:

Environmental sustainability and clean energy

Environmental Sustainability and Clean Energy word cloud

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Education

Education word cloud

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Educated & engaged local/global citizens

Educated & Engaged Local/Global Citizens word cloud

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Economic vitality

Economic Vitality word cloud

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Health

Health word cloud

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Justice & equality

Social Justice word cloud

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The vision and recommendations of these stakeholders have informed the work of campus groups like the Clean Energy Institute, the Diversity Council, and Advancement, as well as the Sustainable Academic Business Plan and strategic initiatives.