1. Strategic Plan Environmental Considerations

2. Environmental Considerations
Strategic planning cannot ignore the environmental contexts in which Brock exists
Environmental factors may constitute threats or opportunities
Some environmental factors may constitute both threats and opportunities 
The following lists are open to modification, discussion, etc

3. Technological Change and Increased Access to Knowledge
Digital access to information
Corporate and other training and educational offerings
Expansion of  and competition among PSE Institutions–provincially, nationally, and internationally
Open access to information initiatives

4. Demographic Context
Stagnant or shrinking age group (traditional university student body)
Growing percentage of pop’n with post-secondary credentials who may need updates/upgrades
Growing indigenous population with low PSE attendance rates
Immigrant population that may need additional education for professional and other accreditation
Niagara region: youth outmigration, larger percentage of population 55+, low PSE attainment rate

5. Government Policy and Context
Provincial funding formula (stagnant or declining grant per student, corridor funding) and ongoing tuition regulation
Federal research funding initiatives (STEM, AI, Women in Science)
Three new campuses and Francophone university in Ontario
Recognition of Aboriginal Educational Institutes as colleges and universities
Federal and provincial focus on link between PSE, labour market outcomes, and economic development
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Emphasis on Access and Service for equity seeking groups and health
Lack of coherent and organized Niagara municipal government (12 municipalities for less than 500,000 population)

6. Economic Context
University resources largely determined by enrolment (tuition and per capita student grant)
Ongoing economic globalization (despite Brexit, Trump, etc)
Intense economic competition (globally, nationally, provincially)
Labour market disruption due to tech change
Youth un- and under-employment rates (the “precariat”)
High levels of household debt
Rising interest rates
Regional economic weakness (rates of poverty, employment, household incomes, etc in Niagara)

7. Cultural and Social Context
Increasingly diverse student, faculty and staff population
Truth and Reconciliation Report recommendations
Changing student interest in academic programming
Growth in cultural “industries”
Increase in anti-intellectualism
Spread of Social media