About NCCI



NCCI positions higher education institutions to be agile, lifelong learning models to transform lives and communities around the world. All efforts of NCCI trace back to the goal of advancing sustainable excellence in higher education by promoting successful practices and approaches used to drive change, innovation, and continuous improvement across academic and administrative functions.


our Purpose

NCCI’s mission is to advance change and innovation in higher education.

NCCI’s Vision

NCCI positions higher education institutions to be agile, lifelong learning models to transform lives and communities around the world.

NCCI’s Values

We value integrity, respect, and diversity in all its forms. We share generously and celebrate excellence. We aspire to be innovative and agile and are dedicated to continuous improvement and lifelong learning.


planning for the future

NCCI Strategic Plan

NCCI monitors several key performance indicators in order to ensure success in achieving our strategic goals.

  • Emphasize diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging values throughout into NCCI’s culture ​ 
    • Provide resources for our members to educate themselves on racism and the history of racism and the implications of racism on our work in higher education. 
    • Offer annual diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging training for board members and Association leadership.
  • Diversify membership  
    • Develop and implement a plan to increase diversity among those serving in NCCI leadership positions
  • Award and celebrate diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging change-maker leaders in higher education in relation to change, continuous innovation, and organizational climate 
  • ​Identify additional new revenue streams​
  • Maintain low operating costs
  • Increase membership and conference revenue​
  • Monitor key metrics and processes to ensure NCCI’s overall health and relevancy
  • Build strong networking opportunities, including Communities of Practice and Discovery ​
  • Pursue mutually beneficial partnerships, sponsorships and alliances 
  • Encourage membership engagement at all levels ​
  • Provide members access to network research and resources  
  • Engage senior leaders in higher education to define current and next generation challenges as well as the competencies needed to address them ​
  • Partner with leaders representing other parts of higher education, including academic leaders and financial leaders, to explore areas for collaboration and joint programming​
  • Promote and recognize leaders of change and continuous innovation 
  • Facilitate the sharing of leadership development trends and best practices in higher education ​
  • Demonstrate and communicate the positive impacts of continuous innovation and effective leadership in responding to contemporary challenges facing higher education​
  • Provide expertise, tools, and approaches to support financial stability and share best practices in higher education ​
  • Adopt recruitment and retention practices that increase diversity ​
  • Clarify and promote a modified professional development framework to provide coherence regarding offerings for members 
  • Provide diverse and value-added Power60 programming through virtual platform ​
  • Continue to sponsor thought leadership roundtables ​
  • Utilize a data-informed approach to developing Professional Development programming 

Education and Professional Development Pillars

NCCI’s Education and Professional Development Pillars were announced at the 2023 Annual Conference. The Education Council was charged with the development and administration of core competencies for NCCI’s educational offerings. This group developed a framework wherein educational content will fall into unifying themes or anchors of NCCI that serve as a guide; areas of focus, categories of our core offerings, and units of analysis, or the scope of the educational impact.

Our Unifying Themes: 

  • Change 
  • Innovation 
  • Ethics 
  • Equity 

Our Areas of Focus: 

  • Leading and Managing Change  
  • Personal Improvement 
  • Continuous Process Improvement 
  • Interpersonal Relationships 
  • Leadership Effectiveness 
  • Strategy and Emerging Trends 
  • Strategic Planning, and 
  • Organizational Development 

Our Units of Analysis: 

  • Individual Excellence 
  • Interpersonal/Team Excellence 
  • Organizational Excellence 
  • Higher Education 

History of NCCI

The Network for Change and Continuous Innovation was originally formed as the National Consortium for Continuous Improvement in 1999 by national leaders in continuous improvement, organizational development, planning, quality, institutional effectiveness and related areas. Our vision is to be the premier network for change leaders in higher education.

In our respective institutions, NCCI members are addressing critical issues facing higher education by converting policies and ideas into action and results. Our involvement with NCCI enables us to improve our institutions through collaboration and sharing.

The Board of Directors approved a name change to the Network for Change and Continuous Innovation in 2012 to reflect both our growing international network and the current work roles of our members.

Since its founding, NCCI has benefitted from the leadership and expertise of an outstanding group of higher education professionals.