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Strategic planning
In 1971, Alan Kay, inventor of key technologies behind the first graphical computer user
interface, said, “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”1 The sentiment arose, one can
infer from the context of the citation, from circumstances in which stakeholders involved in a
project did not share a common vision. In this specific instance, the conflict was between
researchers at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center and a team of researchers who, by 1979,
had a lab of computers networked together, sharing email and running a crude version of a
mouse- and windows-driven user interface. Yet all of these core technologies were developed
and brought to market with wild success by companies other than Xerox. In hindsight, it is easy
to look back and judge winners and losers based on how the marketplace responded to the
companies commercializing the technologies, but the core lesson is more subtle and more
powerful: Had all stakeholders embraced the same vision and strategic plan
for Xerox the company, as opposed to having been in conflict, perhaps Xerox
might have left behind a richer, more transformative technological legacy.
The heart of good strategic planning works to resolve the conflict
between keeping operations running as efficiently as possible and the
need to drive an organization to new and exciting places. Shifting
from an operational mindset to a strategic mindset can be difficult and
confusing, however. In fact, multiple sources and surveys point to the
lack of good strategic planning as a top concern for information and
communication technology (ICT) in education.2, 3 The processes that
define “operations” typically approximate closed-loop systems with
well-defined approaches to management and resourcing. Strategy, on the
other hand, requires consideration of the environment outside of the walls
or the network. Good strategies must consider the core competencies
that will drive future success and must therefore take into account how
the internal environment compares to others in the global marketplace.

Especially during times of scarce resources and increased accountability,

leadership at all levels must strike a different balance between operational
excellence and strategic relevance—it is no longer enough to be “good
enough” with the resources at hand. Institutions must demonstrate to
all of their stakeholders that the future everyone desires is a better, more
engaging, more efficient, and more prosperous one, and that is the future
that policymakers are betting on with their scarce resources.

Strategic planning that aligns all policy stakeholders with an exciting and
transformative vision of education for a prosperous future can turn cynics
into optimists and can be a key driver of future economic success. We
believe that strategic planning for education policy can invent the
future for your own geography.

Strategic planning in context

There is a growing culture of accountability within education systems. As a result,

pressure to deliver successful learning outcomes has increased dramatically over
the last few years. Local governance boards, administrators, parents, and students
are all clamoring for evidence that the money and time they invest in a particular
institution or broader education system is, in fact, good value. What will this key
investment achieve? How will we get the best teaching, learning, career, and life
outcomes for our people? Do we feel that the time we invest will result in a
personally satisfying and economically sound career for all students? Are we
allocating our increasingly scarce resources in the people and programs that will
contribute most strongly to our plan and mission? All of these questions are
being asked with frequency and fervor among the key stakeholders in education,
and effective strategic planning must build measurable accountability into its
desired outcomes.

For education policy, considering the needs of all stakeholders—policymakers,

teachers, students, administrators, funding sources, and lifelong learners—and
getting them enthusiastically aligned with a common vision are absolutely essential
requirements for driving transformative change.

Education leaders and policymakers can benefit from working with partners who
understand these ideas and who take the time to work through approaches that
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 drive scalable innovation in efficient ways. Such partners would also understand the
core wants and needs of all key stakeholders—not from reading about them but
from deep experience of working with them, at scale, across all facets of the global
education ecosystem.

Moving forward with Microsoft

At Microsoft®, we are committed to helping expand access to quality education

worldwide. We recognize that although technology has helped drive significant
advances in education, there is still enormous potential for transformative change.
The consistency of the Microsoft training and The following diagram and descriptive text provide a concise overview of the
certification platform and its global scalable Microsoft approach to strategic planning for education. The approach begins with a
resources and support can give policymakers, common vision of delivering a 21st-century education and then focuses on the core
learners, and educators peace of mind that
needs and concerns of all key stakeholders.
their investments in training and education
keep pace with technology as it develops.
Microsoft is passionate about facilitating the
success of each educator and learner and ex-
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The Microsoft approach to 21st-century education includes an all-encompassing vision,

while focusing on core individual needs.

1. Vision. Leadership at all levels is needed, and governments must involve all key
stakeholders in the creation, planning, and delivery of education policy.
2. Policy. Schools do not have the resources to build ICT infrastructure without
appropriate ICT policy for allocating the proper resources. Policy should define
plans, goals, and milestones so that each school can address their own needs
within the context of the overall plan.
3. Research. Stakeholders must assess, quantify, and evaluate the impact of ICT
investment on the education community and use this evidence to provide
real-time guidance to the planning and implementation processes.
4. ICT Infrastructure. Education infrastructure must provide access to reliable

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 power, Internet resources, and affordable computer hardware. Additionally, the
latest PC technology, coupled with local content and quality software, can help
to promote social and economic inclusion.
5. Software. Innovative solutions capable of incorporating ICT into the education
process can give students, teachers, and parents the tools they need to help
ensure effective instruction and optimal student performance.
6. Curriculum. Classroom content must match the needs and priorities of the local
education community.
7. Training. Educator development should not only help ensure that all teachers
have basic literacy with core ICT tools but also provide for ongoing training for
all educators so that education remains relevant to local communities and the
global marketplace.
8. Communities. Educators must find and develop connections with each other
and with education partners so that they can share best practices, test ICT
solutions, and connect with others working on similar issues. Dynamic learning
communities can help drive transformative change by helping to bridge the
divide between borders, cultures, and languages.
9. Support. Sustainable use of ICT in education requires an ongoing commitment
to deploying service and support that is both affordable and effective, while
meeting the needs of staff and students within the school.

Bill Gates, referring to education, states, “Of course technology by itself is not
the answer. It needs to be part of an integrated, holistic approach that includes
teacher training, relevant curricula, parental involvement, and programs.” Microsoft
understands that the introduction of ICT into education is not a panacea; building
systems and support that foster local innovation and workforce development requires
deliberate and strategic planning. We believe that after these drivers of social
inclusion are satisfied, we will be one step closer to our wider global goals of
increased wealth, better health, greater prosperity, and improved economic and
environmental sustainability.

From policies to practice

Successful education policies are routinely built around a vision—a clear and
articulate view of criteria and objectives. It is essential that a clear vision narrative be
created as a context for policy development.

Working with local authorities, public sector and school officials, and ICT providers,
Microsoft has developed a unique Envisioning Workshop in conjunction with its
education partner, Education Impact. Education Impact (www.educationimpact.net)
is an independent global fellowship of the world’s leading consultants focused on the
effective use of information technology to transform teaching, learning, systems, and
institutional administration. The fellows at Education Impact are leading strategists
who share your vision and appreciation for the transformative power of technology
in education, and all of them come from a strong education background—whether at
the policy level or from a grass-roots teaching environment.

The Envisioning Workshop and its related resources were developed to support
policymakers as they create, refine, or confirm a vision of transformed
learning wherever they are on the ICT spectrum, from building infrastructure to
1:1 computing.

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Overview of Envisioning Workshops
The three-day Envisioning Workshops offer ways for educators to develop, refine,
and share the education vision that supports new initiatives, policies, or reforms—
regardless of existing infrastructure and resources.

The workshops focus on helping to ensure that strategic plans and new initiatives
are deployed in thoughtful and comprehensive ways. This helps achieve goals
and smooth transitions, despite the complexities of context, location, and existing
systems.

The workshops facilitate a detailed discussion among stakeholders to develop an

education vision and strategy. After the vision and strategy have been described,
the workshop then focuses on identifying priorities and creating an action and
implementation plan for achieving the vision.

Outcomes of the Envisioning Workshop can include:

• Consensus-building facilitated by independent educational advisors.
• Stakeholder commitment to a common vision and strategy.
• Improved risk management.
• Increased confidence with the transformation agenda.
• Alignment of the vision and strategy consistent with international trends,
research, and local context.
• Development of an IT roadmap to support implementation and educational
transformation.

Education Impact can assist in mapping the opportunities represented by

technology to the best strategy for a particular geography to develop, adopt, and
sustain ICT initiatives for education institutions. A clear education vision is critical
and central to the entire program—from initial discussions with stakeholders to the
successful implementation of new programs and technology in schools. Learning
applications, policy, pedagogy, curriculum, teacher training and enablement, and
student resources all work in concert to prepare students to be valuable participants
in the 21st-century economy.

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Case Studies
Results from pilot Envisioning Workshops with Education Impact

Kazakhstan
Challenge or issue leading to workshop
• The Ministry of Education chose the workshop to help integrate international
perspectives and modern trends on ICT in education into the ministry’s vision
for e-learning.

Outcome
• International perspectives and modern trends were integrated into the Ministry
of Education’s strategic plan for education.

Next steps
• Develop secondary school portal.
• Establish a remote monitoring system to monitor students’ progress at a
regional level.
• Organize distance learning.
• Create electronic information-sharing model.
• Provide database for administrators and decision-makers.

Malaysia
Challenge or issue leading to workshop
• The Ministry of Education wanted to consolidate and prioritize national
initiatives for ICT in education for K–12 schools in Malaysia.
• The ministry also wanted to enhance the alignment of private/public
partnership programs in support of the goals identified.

Outcome
• The Ministry of Education strengthened the education partnership with
Microsoft by extending the Partners in Learning (PiL) program until 2013.
• The ministry signed a three-year consortia agreement for Microsoft licenses
covering 10,000 public schools and 300,000 desktops.
• It also integrated PiL programs into the National ICT Strategic Plan, which
goes into effect in 2011.

Cape Verde
Challenge or issues leading to workshop
• Cape Verde wanted further development of its existing ICT strategy road map
for its ICT-in-education program, Mundu Novu.
• It hoped to overcome key change management issues in Mundu Novu by
bringing a global perspective to attendees and by telling the Cape Verde story
to a global audience.

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Outcome and next steps
The Envisioning Workshop yielded the following recommendations on the Mundu
Novu program:
• Help ensure that future ICT rollouts are driven by use of ICT for core functions
of schooling.
• Emphasize professional development and leadership capacity.
• Deepen local ownership of Mundu Novu.
• Develop showcase to share Cape Verde’s vision and achievements.

Other countries or regions that have run Envisioning Workshops include

Colombia, Indonesia, Latvia, Morocco, Panama, Peru, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia,
South Korea, Tanzania, Trinidad & Tobago, and Ukraine.

If you have completed an Envisioning Workshop, or if you have a strategic

plan in place for transforming education, working with Microsoft on a Partners in
Learning Alliance can map key Microsoft programs and offers to your specific needs
for education.

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 Microsoft Partners in Learning Alliance
Microsoft has significant investments in programs that offer affordable solutions
for students, educators, institutions, and governments. The Microsoft Partners in
Learning Alliance focuses on aligning our solutions against your unique needs. It is
an agreement tailored specifically to the requirements of your region or
country. Microsoft can work with you to understand which of our programs would
be most beneficial for your geography.

A Partners in Learning Alliance Agreement, in recognition of the critical need

for sound strategic planning, works to establish firm commitments from all key
education stakeholders to help ensure that every participant is working toward a
common, transformative vision. Perhaps most importantly, a Partners in Learning
Alliance Agreement with Microsoft forms the basis of a long-term, ongoing
education partnership that allows regular review and measurement to help
ensure that all our undertakings remain aligned in the future.

The table below shows how specific Microsoft programs map to the Microsoft
approach to strategic planning for education:

ICT Infrastructure

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Premier Support 

The Microsoft approach to strategic planning for education supports a

transformative vision.

1. http://www.smalltalk.org/alankay.html

2. EDUCAUSE Review Magazine Top Ten IT Issues 2009. http://www.educause.edu/2009IssuesResources. (Additionally, “IT
Funding” has been at or near the top of the list of concerns for IT for each of the last 10 years.)

3. 2009 EduTracker survey of global education markets.

Visit us at www.microsoft.com/education.

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