Strategic Plan 2026 Process & Steps

Beginning in the spring of 2025, Yale School of Medicine (YSM) embarked on refreshing our strategic plan. To begin, members of the dean’s office team interviewed approximately 80 individuals to gather ideas. Approximately 700 members of the community then completed a survey addressing the strengths and areas requiring improvement in YSM and prioritizing goals. In June, the Executive Group (chairs and deans) and members of Yale New Haven Health System (YNHHS) held a retreat to elaborate on the prioritized goals. Faculty and staff volunteers then conducted 21 focus groups - including faculty, staff, trainees, students, alumni, Yale New Haven Health System (YNHHS) leaders and community members – to review these goals and reflect on their aspirations for the school. In October and November, writers transformed this, drafting of the next iteration of the YSM Strategic Plan. In December, YSM community members were invited to review the draft and recommend improvements.

The resulting plan is grounded in our mission statement:

Yale School of Medicine educates and nurtures creative leaders in medicine and science, promoting curiosity and critical inquiry in an inclusive environment enriched by diversity. We advance discovery and innovation fostered by partnerships across the university, our local community, and the world. We care for patients with compassion and commit to improving the health of all people.

The plan is organized by mission, with mission goals and cross-cutting themes. Cross-cutting themes capture threads that recur across missions and include enhancing communication, breaking down silos, building and stewarding resources, and achieving administrative excellence. For ease of tracking these threads, cross-cutting themes are annotated and linked.

Strategic plans require prioritization. The priorities outlined here are not exclusive, and we will continue to execute our daily work and initiatives we have already begun. The intent of this strategic plan is to develop compelling vision for our future.

Much of the work to reach the YSM strategic goals has already begun. We will share progress in focus groups, department town halls, and the state of the school.

• In Aug. 2025, we invited the community (faculty, staff, students, trainees, alumni, health system leaders, and the greater New Haven community) to sign up for focus groups to provide feedback on the survey summary. 444 faculty, staff, students, and trainees; 54 alumni; and 36 New Haven community members responded.