22 September 2010

Update on Integrated Planning Following the August Joint President/Vice-President Executive Committee and Provost’s Planning Group Planning Retreat

From the Office of the Provost and Vice President Academic

Colleagues:

This update provides a brief review of the joint President/Vice-President Executive Committee (PVP) and Provost’s Planning Group (PPG) Planning Retreat held at the end of August 2010 to consider the content and next steps of the integrated planning process.

The Planning Retreat considered the 75 unit-level plans that were submitted from across the University in June 2010. As a new member of the university community I was impressed with the range of ideas and initiatives in these unit-level plans and the strong commitment to innovation and shaping of Trent’s future.  It is our responsibility now to do justice to the many good ideas, initiatives, and significant needs expressed in plans. Together with unit-level plans, three other major documents were considered at the Planning Retreat:

1) A synthesis document entitled Values, Vision, Renewal – to Action (see Update No. 7 on Integrated Planning from the President and Vice-Chancellor);

2) A draft Terms of Reference for Senior Administrative Committees document (see Update No 8 on Integrated Planning from the President and Vice-Chancellor); and

3) The Multi-Year Enrolment and Retention Plan (approved by Senate in April 2010 and the Board of Governors in June 2010)

The over-riding goal of integrated planning is to align the necessary resources and structures to guide the institution in making strategic decisions on actions and increase the potential to achieve a stable future. Trent now has an opportunity to commit to actions at the institutional and unit-levels that support our Vision, and will advance the Mission and Strategic Directions.

Outcomes of the Retreat:

1. An initial review of all unit-level plans was completed which identified several potential new initiatives. This initial review considered ideas in the unit-level plans that were consistent with the following broad criteria: initiatives that will have a positive impact on enrolment and retention; initiatives with positive financial implications; initiatives that provide new opportunities to support Vision, Mission and Strategic Directions.
2. In September, the deans will consult with departments and individuals on all initiatives that were identified in this initial review for possible further development. Deans will report back to PPG in early October, clarifying additional details regarding these initiatives.
3. Deans will also review all unit-level plans for a complete list of ideas that could be identified for further development. 
4. Concurrently, a review of administrative unit plans with appropriate management teams will be led by the responsible Vice-President in each of their portfolios.  Where academic and administrative initiatives appear to intersect, the appropriate executive team members will review these ideas together.
5. Overall unit-level plans will not be approved in this process, but initiatives and ideas that are considered appropriate for inclusion in the integrated plan will then be assigned to specific ad hoc working committees to be further developed with a goal of implementation in the coming years. 
6. A multiyear budget framework will be synthesised during the month of October, with the goal of finalizing this component of the integrated plan in advance of the usual detailed annual (2011-2012) operating budget discussions.
7. The draft institutional integrated plan will be prepared, for circulation in December, 2010.
8. Work toward the second round of unit planning will begin in spring 2011 for a submission date in late spring.

The integrated planning process has already made progress in identifying an overall strategic intent for Trent University – to foster our role as a university that offers high quality, challenging and distinctive academic programming; to continue to develop our national and international research record and reputation; to be financially stable; and to be organizationally and administratively responsive to changes in external and internal climates (Values, Vision, Renewal – to Action, pg. 4). It is our firm belief that an integrated plan for Trent will identify resources, prioritize actions, introduce business planning principles, and monitor measures of success for the next three years of this planning cycle.

 

Unit Plan Workshop Dates:

May 19, LEC 201, 1:00-2:30pm
May 20, CCS 307, 1:00-2:30pm
May 25, CCS 307, 1:00-2:30pm
May 27, LEC 201, 1:00-2:30pm

All those responsible for submitting a unit plan are welcome to attend, with the May 20 and May 25 workshops directed towards academic units and the May 19 and May 27 workshops directed towards administrative units.

Update from the Provost Planning Group

April 26, 2010

At its meeting of April 6, 2010, Senate approved the new Vision for Trent University. Senate also endorsed the general direction of the report from the Special Advisory Committee on Changing Academic Structures, thereby offering its support to the President to exercise his authority to implement the recommended changes when and how he saw fit. A revised Mission will be taken to Senate on May 11, 2010 for approval, and a revised Strategic Directions document will be taken to Senate on May 11, 2010 for endorsement. Both documents will then go to the Board for approval or endorsement, as appropriate, at its June 24th meeting.

The Acting Provost and Vice President Academic, Prof. Christine McKinnon, and the Director of Institutional Planning & Analysis, Ms. Michelle Willson, will be hosting workshops later in May to assist units in the completion of their unit plans. Workshops are scheduled for May 19th in LEC 201, May 20th in CCS 307, May 25th in CCS 307, and May 27Th in LEC 201. All workshops will be from 1:00-2:30. The first and fourth workshops are directed towards administrative units. The second and third workshops are directed towards academic units. Chairs/directors of academic units are encouraged to attend one of the workshops on May 20th or 25th. Directors of administrative units are encouraged to attend one of the workshops on May 19th or 27th.

Units are asked to submit their completed plans by June 30th electronically to Michelle Willson (michellewillson@trentu.ca) and in hard copy to the Office of the Institutional Planning and Analysis (BH 129.4). (Please note that this submission date will be confirmed subsequent to the May 11th Senate meeting.) A June 30th submission date will permit the Provost’s Planning Group to begin to draft the integrated planning document over the summer and to consult widely on its draft document in the fall.

Units are encouraged to discuss their ideas with other units. Please see the Provost’s Planning Group website for documents which may be of use when drafting unit plans. Further documents (including Mission and the Strategic Directions document, as well as a document providing the financial context) will be available by the middle of May. Please contact Michelle Willson (michellewillson@trentu.ca) should you have any questions about developing your unit plan or about the integrated planning process.

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Update from the Provost Planning Group

March 25, 2010

As the work of the Vision Renewal Review Committee, the Strategic Directions Committee, and the Changing Academic Structures Committee is nearing completion, the University is well positioned to begin to develop its first integrated plan. This plan will, in turn, permit the University to make strategic choices about which new initiatives and which ongoing activities it wishes to support and in which directions it wishes to grow over the next five years. These choices will have to be made in the contexts of increasing costs not being matched by increases in tuition and grant revenue and of the need to develop new revenue sources. To realize our preferred future, we will have to make choices about what we continue to do, how we do it, and what we might do differently or better.

Each unit at the University is being asked to develop and submit its own unit plan. “Unit” is being interpreted liberally: it includes academic and non-academic departments, but it also includes any grouping of people who think of themselves as cohesive enough to participate collectively in supporting the University’s mission and strategic directions and to develop a plan for the next five years to enhance this contribution. People can belong to more than one unit. Whether there is cross-over in membership or not, units are advised to consult with other units as appropriate.

Each unit will be asked to fill out the accompanying template, which is provided now to permit units to begin their planning. The template asks you to identify the members of your unit and to explain your unit’s structure, to identify your unit’s mission and core functions, to explain how your unit supports or complements the vision, mission and strategic directions of the University, to describe what you would like your unit to be known for in 2014, and to explain plans your unit has to achieve your goals. Where it is anticipated that resources over and above those your unit currently has will be required to support your unit’s planned initiatives or ongoing activities, you are asked to identify the resources. In all cases, you are asked to provide measures of success by which you think your unit and any proposed initiatives should be evaluated, as well as relevant timelines.

The planning template is being released now in order that units can begin discussions internally and amongst other units. Further instructions, including timelines, will be provided along with the relevant supporting documentation in April. Workshops will be scheduled to assist units in the development of their plans.

Download Template for Unit Plan (Word doc)

 

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Provost's Planning Group (PPG)

Chair: Christine McKinnon

Welcome to the new Provost Planning Group (PPG) web site. 

PPG has been created to develop integrated planning processes and a multi-year budget framework for the University.  As Chair of this planning group, I will be collaborating closely with other Vice-Presidents, the Deans, the University Librarian, and other resource persons to identify and co-ordinate Trent’s planning and budget priorities. 

University planning and budget priorities will be identified after each unit – academic and administrative – across the University has developed its own unit plan, and after PPG has reviewed these plans, consulted with the appropriate committees and governing bodies, and drafted an integrated plan for the University. PPG will assist units in the preparation of their plans by developing templates, guidelines, and timeframes. But the success of the University’s integrated plan will depend on the active participation of members of the University community in the development of unit plans and on the feedback provided on draft plans.

PPG is responsible for developing a multi-year budget framework as well as annual budgets for approval by the Board that reflect University priorities as identified through the integrated planning process. PPG is also responsible for assessing high level space planning issues and new space requirements. PPG will make recommendations on the creation of new steering groups, tasks forces and committees on an as-needed basis. PPG will also track those individual projects for which members of PPG are serving as Executive Sponsors, and will link PPG’s work to system-level planning initiatives.

PPG’s work will be more effective if there is active participation of the University community in the integrated planning process. A first request is for feedback on the draft terms of reference for PPG. This web page provides a feedback mechanism which we encourage you to use to comment on the integrated planning process and PPG’s draft terms of reference.

As a new academic year begins, on behalf of members of PPG, I welcome new and returning students faculty, and staff, and I wish all students, faculty and staff a successful academic year. 

Dr. Christine McKinnon
Acting Provost and Vice President Academic

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Terms of Reference

1. to implement integrated planning processes and develop an integrated plan for the University

• to initiate and develop procedures and protocols for the creation of an integrated plan
• to develop templates and guidelines for the development of unit-level plans
• to receive, compile, and evaluate unit plans from every academic and administrative unit
• to integrate philanthropic and other revenue generation plans, funding priorities and multi-year fundraising targets into the integrated planning process
• to conduct the planning process in an open and transparent manner
• to have draft plans reviewed by the appropriate Senate, Board, and administrative committees
• to recommend approval/endorsement by Senate and the Board of the integrated plan
• to establish a communications framework for the dissemination and review of the adopted integrated plan
• to monitor success and progress in implementation of Trent’s integrated plan

2. to develop a multi-year budget framework within a five-year integrated planning cycle

• to review, recommend and monitor the budgetary allocations by Presidential and Vice Presidential portfolio
• to develop criteria for, and recommend, allocations from the Strategic Initiatives Fund
• to identify priorities in-year and over a multi-year framework, and to budget accordingly
• to monitor in-year budget on a monthly basis
• to prepare a multi-year budget framework and an annual budget for Board approval

3. to be responsible for high-level space decisions and appropriate planning for existing and new space

4. to consult with and obtain appropriate input from governing bodies and existing committees

5. to recommend new Steering or Review Committees, Task Forces, Working Groups or other mechanisms, and to refer matters to PVP and existing committees and governing bodies, as appropriate, in order to ensure smooth operations, consultation and implementation of university priorities

6. to receive updates and identify actions on projects for which members of PPG are Executive Sponsors

7. to integrate the on-going work of the Strategic Directions Advisory Committee, the Changing Academic Structures Advisory Committee, and the Vision Renewal Review Committee to clarify institutional priorities and to evaluate specific proposals and initiatives in 2009-10

Membership:

• Provost and Vice President Academic (Chair)
• Vice President Administration (Alternate Chair)
• Vice President Research, Internationalization, Strategic Enrolment Management
• Vice President External Relations and Advancement
• Dean of Arts & Science
• Dean of Graduate Studies
• Senior Director, Public Affairs & Government Relations
• University Librarian

Resource Personnel:

• Director, Institutional Planning and Analysis
• Senior Director, Public Affairs and Government Relations
• Assistant to the Provost and Vice President Academic and Dean of Arts & Science (administrative support)

Other faculty and staff to be invited as resource personnel, as required.

Meeting Schedule: Weekly, Tuesday mornings 9am, September to June