Universities and Colleges

Our consultants advice colleges and universities on strategies to build a research focus and acquire the capability to increase performance and recognition. We can help you to develop strategies to engage potential and current students.

Canadian universities have proven themselves to be world-class organizations with the tools to adapt and thrive in changing and competitive environments.

Below is a small sample of projects we have managed for Universities and Colleges:

Governance- Strategies to improve Board Performance

The State of Governance: Arcus interviewed 65 board directors of organizations to identify the key barriers to strengthening board performance. Most directors are interested in spending more time on strategic planning and in steering the direction of the organization. These areas will require a greater level of involvement and time commitment of board members. However, there is agreement that optimizing the time spent by board members towards more high impact areas is a key to better performance, for example, a greater focus on longer term imperatives that could support the success of the organization is an area of interest.

Market and Customer Research

Research expertise and techniques for surprising customer insights: Our focus is on leveraging our industry knowledge to identify surprising and relevant insights that can add substantial value on our clients businesses. Arcus is a corporate member of the Market Research and Intelligence Association and follows MRIA research standards.

Strategic Planning Processes

Arcus offers clients a unique combination of fact-based industry knowledge and superior functional expertise. Our consultants have an average of over 22 years experience, twice the industry average. Find out more about our growth, change management and operations services. Click on the links above.

At Arcus we believe that a strategy is only as good as the results it delivers. Strategic outcomes are most predictable and effective when companies develop a portfolio of initiatives that are aligned with core competencies and aligned activities enable the company to offer a superior value proposition.

Concepts and strategy: Our approach is to first use our collective experience to come up with 15-20 provocative concepts for a strategy. These are based on a series of questions that probe various topics and drivers of change. The outcome of the process is used to build several strategic maps to define and strengthen each hypothesis for a strategy.

  • Arcus Strategic Planning Processes
  • Arcus Strategy Map
  • Balanced Score Card

Corporate and Business Unit Strategy: We apply proven methodologies and best practices that are based on a scan of how successful companies worldwide have approached similar problems and opportunities. The process minimizes risk and ensures strategic options are arrived with a fact based methodology. Our methodology includes approaches such as the blue ocean strategy.

Competitive Dimension: Integrating diverse products, services, consumers, vendors, partners, R&D and product support services can be daunting.But a great strategy is an aggregation of numerous compartmentalized strategies that are scalable and ladder up to a broader corporate and business strategy. The corporate mission is a critical influencer of all strategies across levels and functional areas.


Arcus offers clients a unique combination of fact-based industry knowledge and superior functional expertise. Our consultants have an average of over 22 years experience, twice the industry average. Find out more about our growth, change management and  operations services.

At Arcus we believe that a strategy is only as good as the results it delivers. Strategic outcomes are most predictable and effective when companies develop a portfolio of initiatives that are aligned with core competencies and aligned activities enable the company to offer a superior value proposition.

Please contact Arcus for case studies and to discuss how we can help you.


Service coverage

The variety, breadth, and depth of the projects where Arcus can be a resource are made unique by each client’s specific needs. By providing a very small sample of projects we’ve completed, we can help you understand how and when to use our services. Visit the links below to find out more about a specific problem or opportunity you would like to address.

Below is a sample of the range of services that Arcus has provided to clients.

  • A survey of 2,350 consumers and 1,320 business leaders for feedback on sustainability trends
  • Architecting a multi-year change strategy for a Fortune 500 company
  • Mentoring a CEO on organizational change
  • Excellence transformation of a leading B2B services company
  • Creating a new sales deployment model for a healthcare company
  • Developing a position evaluation and compensation model for a professional medical association   
  • Improving services to customer segments by deepening their understanding of customer attitudes