The Strategy Pulse, published regularly on SUSSED News and cascaded to senior managers, is intended to keep you informed on the progress of our 10-Year Plan, and fill in any gaps in knowledge about the plan itself.
Moving forward with our 10-Year Plan – an introduction by Professor Mandy Fader, Pro Vice-Chancellor (10-Year Plan)
While talking with colleagues across our campuses as part of the consultation process for finding our next Vice-Chancellor, it was evident that, while many have heard of the 10-Year Plan, a number of colleagues weren’t sure what it actually is.
The strategy began in 2016, with the aim of propelling our University to the top ten national and international rankings by 2026. It focuses on our core principles of: Quality, Internationalisation, Collegiality and Sustainability. The purpose of the 10-Year Plan is to deliver this strategy.
Some of this work is progressing through Faculty and Professional Service business plans while other work, such as Estate projects, is driven within a portfolio of University-wide projects. These are co-ordinated and supported by the University’s Change Portfolio Office, led by Helen Everest.
The University Executive Board (UEB), chaired by our Vice-Chancellor and comprising the Chief Operating Officer; Deans; Vice-Presidents; Executive Directors of Human Resources, Finance, Planning & Analytics, and Engagement & Advancement and myself, meets weekly and has governance oversight of the 10-Year Plan.
I have taken on the role of academic lead for the 10-Year Plan, and chair monthly UEB meetings where work-stream and project works are reported, monitored and discussed, and where business plans are presented for approval.
The steady momentum we’ve been building with delivery of our strategy through the 10-Year Plan is reflected in our rise in all UK and international rankings in 2018, as well as our healthy research income and in the delivery and progress of strategic projects such as OneWeb.
University Council were very pleased with the progress that was reported to them at their annual awayday. They also heard from some of our newest senior colleagues: Kieron Broadhead (Executive Director for Student Experience) and Winnie Eley (Vice-President International). You can find out more about the work Winnie is doing to develop our University’s International Strategy on her recently launched blog, or by attending one of her townhall sessions.
Our portfolio of strategic projects is also moving forward, and you will find updates below on OneWeb and ICT Transformation. Our Campus development plans are progressing, with the Estates team taking steps forward in line with the plans set out last summer.
I’ve been keeping staff updated on the recruitment of our next VC through regular updates, all of which you can see on our dedicated site. We are hoping to be in a position to confirm the appointment of our next President and Vice-Chancellor during April 2019.
I welcome your feedback on what it would be useful to know more about through Strategy Pulse, and what other types of communications you would value on the 10-Year Plan.
Mandy Fader
Pro Vice-Chancellor (10-Year Plan)
Introducing Kieron Broadhead
Kieron joined our University in late 2018 as Executive Director of Student Experience.
Watch the short video below to find out more about the priorities around Student Experience, including the importance of delivering ‘brilliant basics’ as well as ‘brilliant optional extras’.
We’ll hear more from Kieron about the ongoing plans to transform student experience in future editions of Strategy Pulse.
OneWeb secures funding
OneWeb is our ambitious web transformation project which is crucial to the delivery of our strategy. The project is aimed at ensuring that anyone who visits our websites or accesses our digital services has an outstanding user experience.
Last week Finance Committee formally approved the business case and budget for the project, which will take three years to complete. Work to ramp up the project will start immediately.
A key part of the project governance is the newly created OneWeb Advisory Group (OWAG) which is designed to keep the University community closely involved in the programme’s delivery. The group is made up of staff and students who bring a wealth of expertise, seniority and specialisms from across the faculties and professional services. You can see who is in the Advisory Group on the OneWeb SharePoint site.
Follow our OneWeb journey by subscribing to the blog.
We’re getting to know Office365
With Office365 (O365) rolling out to staff across our University over the coming year, our awareness raising week in partnership with Microsoft, named Waffle Week, aimed to help colleagues get to know Office 365 by exploring our toolbox of apps (the waffle icon).
The fully booked launch event, in partnership with Microsoft, saw Dominic Williamson, Microsoft Product Manager, host a hands-on introductory workshop on Microsoft Teams. Our in-house expert, Peter Gibbs, hosted two introductory sessions on the new SharePoint Online.
For more information on how the University is transforming our digital experience using Office 365, visit the Office 365 Migration Help Centre.
Look out for details on recruiting digital champions, which will be published on SUSSED News in the near future.
New Project Management resources available
The Project Management Resource Hub is a new online resource, designed to support anyone involved in project management across the University. The site’s purpose is to help ensure projects are run consistently and effectively, making use of best practice.
The Hub has been created by the Change Portfolio Office, the team who co-ordinate and support the 10-Year Plan Portfolio, working in partnership with programme sponsors and project leads to support 10-Year Plan projects from idea through to delivery.
If you’re a project manager, sponsor or involved with a project at the University at any level, we encourage you to visit the Project Management Resource Hub. The Hub will evolve and be enhanced over time, with new content added regularly. If you have ideas to contribute, please get in contact with the Change Portfolio Office.
Related news:
- 11 of our academics among 2018’s Highly Cited Researchers
- We entered a partnership to develop life-saving unmanned maritime vehicles
- How staff can support our student experience surveys
