Our strategic plan 2025-2029 is informed by an extensive review of DGHI’s vision, mission, and core values. We employed an appreciative inquiry (AI) process, involving peer-to-peer interviews and group discussions with more than 140 faculty and staff, to help us better understand our key strengths and develop a shared vision for the future. Through this grassroots approach, we refined a collective vision of the institute's most important priorities, which form the basis of these overarching goals. 

The goals in this plan are intended to set overall targets for the entire institute, and they create a foundation for more specific plans that have been drafted by DGHI teams and units that outline the actions they will take to achieve them. It is also meant to be a living document, which will continue to be informed and shaped by current circumstances and opportunities, and which will require the  efforts of everyone across the institute to advance. 

This process highlighted our institutions core values including: a deep commitment to improving lives, kindness and compassion, inclusivity, diversity, cultural awareness, passion for our shared purpose, ambitious research, strong partnerships, community engagement, acknowledging others’ achievements, teamwork,  interdisciplinary collaboration, investment in people and their ideas,  strong operational support, and a dedication to educating the next generation of global health leaders.

Using information collected during the interviews and discussions, DGHI’s leadership and strategic planning committee developed the following actionable goals. These goals build upon our strengths and provide a strategic direction to address existing and emerging global health challenges.

Deepen our interdisciplinary strengths to take on emerging global health challenges.

• Develop and support a world-leading research program on the health impacts of climate change and other emerging interdisciplinary priorities.
• Support DGHI research centers and teams in securing external research funding to have a sustained impact and be self-sufficient.
• Leverage multi-country regional consortia among our global partners to facilitate interdisciplinary research projects.
• Maximize on-the-ground impact of research knowledge through community-facing research, enhancement of implementation science, and policy engagement.
• Deepen collaborations around basic science, data science, and the humanities with aligned Duke centers and departments.

Enhance and expand educational opportunities built on collaboration and experiential learning.

• Evaluate and revise curricula to ensure alignment with our core competencies, Duke’s institutional priorities, and the changing landscape of global health, with a focus on global health equity.
• Establish a sustainable level of enrollment in undergraduate and master’s programs through increased marketing and awareness, as well as exploration of new pipelines with partners and Duke units.
• Develop online learning platforms that include addressing the needs of our international partners
• Expand opportunities for doctoral students to pursue research in global health.
• Secure financial resources to support more scholarships and ensure the sustainability of equitable experiential learning programs

Become the model for equitable global partnerships. 

• Invest resources to deepen bilateral partnerships in a limited number of locations with a strong foundation for mutually beneficial collaboration.
• Encourage communication and collaboration across partnerships to take on complex regional problems.
• Evaluate and enhance incentives and rewards for researchers to invest time in bilateral research and training projects with partners.
• Address structural barriers to working with and growing partnerships, and align incentives around share priorities.
• Expand bidirectional learning opportunities for DGHI’s global partners and Duke learners
• Promote and support leadership opportunities for DGHI’s global partners 

Nurture and preserve a community of diverse talents and perspectives. 

• Enhance cross-team connections and collaboration throughout DGHI.
• Align appointment and promotion structures for faculty with our core values, including contribution to building equitable partnerships.
• Improve retention of junior faculty.
• Expand opportunities for staff to advance within DGHI and be rewarded for excellence.
• Create and support welcoming work environments so faculty, staff, and students feel more inspired, connected, and valued.

• Strategic Plan 2019-2024
• Strategic Plan 2013-2017
• Strategic Plan 2007-2012