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The planning process starts with the establishment of a framework that represents the
many intricate relationships and sequences of events and activities discussed as follows:

The Planning Framework

Environmental scanning of the service area of the University

Based on the established vision, mission, goals and objectives of the University as
articulated and as understood by its various stakeholders to include the governing board, faculty
and support staff, students, farmers and various other clientele in the industry and other sectors,
the first and fundamental step in the planning process is the holistic scanning of the University’s
service areas.

It is a known fact that the usual piecemeal research approach especially in the countryside
often resulted in fragmented and in-appropriate technical solutions. It is in this regard that the
power of the interdisciplinary, or multidisciplinary, or interdisciplinary research approaches shall be
explored and implemented where several researchers should look at a common problem, adopt a
common framework, and relate the findings of one discipline to the other. However, while the
above approaches may be very relevant, it is advisable to concentrate more on determining the
potentials of the service areas in terms of economic growth and development and how these
growth and development objectives and processes can be interwoven into the major functions of
the University particularly along the generation, advancement, dissemination and transfer of
knowledge or technology, as desired.

The environmental scanning processes and procedures will be done as follows:

• Reviewing the institutional research mandates of ISU and local development plans
of the target municipalities;
• Gathering of data of the various sectors in the locality, including the industries, their
products, marketing systems, other industry services and levels of competitiveness;
• Assessing the involvement of other development agencies in the development
process and in the rural economy to complement intervention activities rather than
duplicate them; and
• Determining possible researchable areas and other extension modalities that could
be implemented through participatory planning processes involving experts from the
various disciplines, those responsible in their implementation, the members of the
Board of Regents, middle-level managers, faculty members and support staff,
students and other stakeholders.