2026 – 2028 Strategic Plan
Telfer School of Management
University of Ottawa
Business for a Better Canada.
Leadership for a Better World.
Our ambitions may be bold, but they are matched by our will and belief that they can be achieved. Our strategy, as well as our overarching intention, comes to life through our best-in-class programs and initiatives, delivered by the passionate people and dedicated resources we have at our disposal.
Our intention with our Strategic Plan is not to deviate or reinvent, but to build on our ongoing momentum and to serve as a natural evolution to our vision. While realizing a better Canada remains a keystone of our strategy, our leadership role as an institution, a community, and a country has also become increasingly critical on the global stage. We intend to let the world know that Telfer has truly arrived as one of the preeminent business schools in Canada, while realizing the bold ambitions in this plan to help shape both a better Canada and a better world.
Dean of the Telfer School of Management
Our Pillars
Omnipresent in everything we do at Telfer is our vision of helping to build a greener, healthier, happier, wealthier, and more prosperous Canada for all. These pillars are woven into the day-to-day pulse of our campus and deeply embedded into the fabric of every one of our programs and initiatives, and are integral to bringing this Plan to life.
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Wealthier
We are contributing to a wealthier and more prosperous future by building strong partnerships, supporting impactful research, and providing exceptional learning opportunities.
Healthier
We are leaders in health systems innovation as well as management research and education. In collaboration with hospitals, practitioners, administrators, researchers, and community groups, our innovative solutions will lead to a healthier Canada, and by extension, a healthier world.
Happier
Through research, we are developing the knowledge and trainings that enable every member of Telfer Nation to contribute to an inclusive, welcoming, strong, healthy, and productive work environment.
Greener
In a world where globalization, digital transformation and climate impacts are accelerating at an unprecedented pace, we are demonstrating our commitment to a greener world by equipping leaders, generating new insights and driving impact through better business practice, policy, and partnerships.
Our Overarching Intention
Be recognized as one of the top 5 research-intensive business schools in Canada
through our vision and four core pillars
- Strive to produce impactful research
- Differentiate the Telfer School of Management through experiential learning across all programs, in order to increase student employability and enhance our reputation
- Preserve and, in some programs, grow student enrolment by focusing on student recruitment and retention
- Reinforce our infrastructure (facilities, administration, and services) to sustain our progress in research and programs
- Support our people and culture for fulfilment and a high level of engagement
- Strengthen the School’s commitment to Sustainability
Telfer Strategic Framework
2026 – 2028 Strategic Plan
Telfer School of Management
University of Ottawa
Building a Better Telfer
Our objectives are not mutually exclusive. They are interconnected, interrelated, and intersectional. They rely on common elements, resources, and foundational capabilities. Progress in one permeates the others and lifts us to collectively higher results. Our new Strategic Framework has been designed to reflect these realities and to illustrate to our stakeholders the tangible impacts of their contributions.
Produce Research That
Matters
We have achieved an impressive research momentum and soon, our reputation will catch up to this undeniable fact.
Objectives
- Continue to develop and support research groups aligned with the four pillars
- Increase support for research activities that have impact within and beyond the academic community
- Increase support for Sustainability-focused research
- Increase Knowledge Mobilization Support Structures at the school, researcher, and student levels
- Strengthen our research culture
- Strengthen the PhD and MSc in Management programs
Preliminary Initiatives
- Develop infrastructure that will encourage new, and support existing, research groups to apply for large grants (PI at Telfer)
- Introduce new seed funding programs and dedicate staff hours to support Knowledge Mobilization activities and partnerships with non-academic stakeholders
- Implement additional funding models for PhD students to increase student quality and enrollment
- Expand on training offered to professors, PhD, and MSc students on Knowledge Mobilization strategies
- Institutionalize supervision practices to ensure better preparation of PhD students for the job market
- Introduce new scholarships for research in Sustainability
Preliminary KPIs (1/2)
- Number and dollar amount of grants received by Telfer PI
- Quality of publications by Telfer professors as measured by comprehensive journal rankings and impact factors
- Indicators of impact on research end-users such as policymakers, industry partners, and community members
- Number of professors, PhD and MSc students receiving KMb-specific training
- Number and type of Knowledge Mobilization activities led by research groups, and individual professors and PhD students
Preliminary KPIs (2/2)
- Quality of placement of PhD and MSc students
- Quality of publications and conference presentations involving PhD students
- Percentage of PhD and MSc students graduating on time
Provide the Richest Possible Learning Experience
In the past three years we have redesigned all of our programs, focusing on innovative and flexible curricula. Our recipe is working.
Objectives
- Further integrate the four pillars into our program offerings and delivery/activities
- Develop attractive programs, microprograms, or options
- Focus on student retention
- Increase Sustainability content in all programs
- Position career readiness as a key outcome of experiential learning for all undergraduate students
- Embed AI literacy, competency, and fluency development into all programs
Preliminary Initiatives
- Provide a minimum of 4 meaningful experiential learning opportunities for all students in the BCom program
- Develop an Experiential Learning Hub
- Further ‘greening’ of our MBA and BCom curriculum
- Create a Real Estate Management microprogram
- Develop joint MBA-type offerings with other faculties (e.g., Law, Medicine, and FSS)
- Direct entry to francophone MBA in North Africa using role-based modules
Preliminary KPIs (1/2)
- Percentage of BCom students in French and English programs undertaking at least 4 experiential learning activities
- Increase in the number of high school workshops and activities we undertake (approx. 50 to 60 by 2028)
- Increase student enrolment in microprograms
- Add 5 new countries to our offerings for international exchange through new student mobility agreements
- Number of International programs (partnership or joint degrees) with international partner institutions
- Number of international students and satisfaction level
- Number of MBA français students and satisfaction level
Preliminary KPIs (2/2)
- Incremental revenue from new professional graduate programs
- Percentage of BCom graduates completing the basic level of the new AI Fluency credential (by 2028)
- Percentage of BCom graduates completing the intermediate or advanced level of the new AI Fluency credential (by 2028)
Matter to the Communities That We Serve
We are now deeply embedded in our community. Telfer graduates, organizations in Ottawa and beyond, and community partners increasingly rely on us.
Objectives
- Strengthen our community engagement
- Position Telfer as a place for ‘lifelong learning’
- Maintain our reputation for producing workforce-ready graduates
- Offer meaningful international experiences to help graduates become employable on a global scale
Preliminary Initiatives
- Consolidate alumni groups
- Optimize alumni communications and event relevance
- Promote the notion of ‘lifelong learning’ to have graduates return for additional studies
- Enhance capacity of the Career Centre to ensure that students are ‘employment ready’ upon graduation
- Increase emphasis on International Exchanges
- Make our offerings clearer and better known to organizations and students
Preliminary KPIs
- Attendance of alumni in events
- Social media connections
- Alumni donations
- Employer satisfaction with our graduates
Operate as a Green, Healthy, Happy, and Prosperous Organization
We are dedicated to fostering an environment where all our pillars are integrated into our processes and culture.
Objectives
- Integrate the Greener pillar into Telfer administration
- Develop the Happier and Healthier pillars for integration into Telfer Administration
- Ensure that Telfer is a destination for faculty and staff
Preliminary Initiatives
- Establish a vibrant community of practice for teaching and learning (for professors to share experiences and practices, new colleagues to get support, program offices to offer awareness and training, etc.)
- Reinforce the culture of service excellence
- Develop a tradition of a regular and continuous staff satisfaction survey
- Complete the review and implementation of Polaris initiatives that meet Telfer’s organizational needs
- Develop and strengthen sustainable operational systems, and develop supporting metrics (e.g., food management, paper use, active commuting support, etc.)
Preliminary KPIs
- Metrics to support sustainable operations
- Increased staff satisfaction
- Increased attainment of service standards
Foundational
Achievements
2022-2025
We have made meaningful and lasting progress towards our objectives over the past four years, and have summarized this momentum and progress here. We are looking forward to building on these significant achievements as we continue to shape a Better Telfer – for both today as well as far into the future.
Overall Achievements
(2022-2025)
+26%
Increase in full-time, research-intensive faculty members (84 to 106)
+8%
Desmarais Building (DMS) becoming the de facto home of Telfer students, with an increase of Telfer courses delivered in DMS (+8%), as well as dedicated lounge spaces (+27%)
+26%
Increase in professors with external grants (from 54 to 68 percentage points, the only faculty at the University of Ottawa to show an increase)
+233%
Increase in the number of alumni volunteers who engage with students as guest speakers in classes, mentoring, and judging case competitions (From 90 to over 300).
+47%
Increase in Fellowships, Professorships, and Chairs (19 to 28)
Read detailed achievements on page 30 of the Strategic plan.
