This message was sent to campus faculty, staff and students on March 30, 2016:
Dear Campus Colleagues:
This is the first in what we expect will be a series of regular updates about the campus strategic planning process Chancellor Dirks announced last month. The goal of these updates is to keep you informed of our progress, our timeline, as well as opportunities to get involved.
First and foremost, the list of initiatives and workstreams that make up Berkeley’s strategic portfolio is now posted on the website of the Office of Strategic Initiatives. The individual initiatives are at varying points in their conceptualization phase, and therefore a work in progress. The list identifies the strategies under consideration relative to the four categories of initiatives the Chancellor described last month: Academic, Administrative, Fundraising and Finance, and Intercollegiate Athletics.
Each initiative is assigned a campus leader, or sponsor. At this point, the sponsors are diligently working with their teams to develop proposals. Each proposal will include a brief description of the initiative, a work plan with an estimated timeline and milestones, and a budget plan including anticipated financial projections for new revenue or savings.
All proposals will be made available for public comment on the OSI website for two weeks prior to their review by the Advisory and Executive Councils (see governance structure). In a parallel process, the Staff and Student Engagement Groups will also participate in the review and comment process. This will ensure that campus leaders have the benefit of the community’s input before any decisions are made. In some instances, the vetting process might be iterative; in all cases, the OSI staff will coordinate public notifications and updates to the community, including communicating the outcome of the review process.
If you are interested in participating in the public review and comment period as proposals become available, we encourage you to sign up for the OSI email update list. This will ensure you receive timely notifications and updates.
Other recent activities related to the development of the campus’ strategic framework include steps we’ve taken to:
- Work closely with faculty and Deans on the academic realignment initiative, which aims to answer the question whether our current organization is the one that will best support excellence in our research and education programs in the decades to come. (An update will be provided within the next week on the status of some areas included in this initiative.)
- Define the composition and finalize the charge to the Staff Engagement Group, in close collaboration with staff leaders from the Berkeley Staff Assembly and the Chancellor’s Staff Advisory Committee. See the call for staff nominations open through April 11. There are two opportunities for Berkeley staff to participate: as a member of the Staff Engagement Advisory Group or as a staff member providing periodic input as the work plans are developed.
- Develop with the leadership of the ASUC and the Graduate Assembly the engagement mechanisms to ensure students are effectively represented and informed;
- Engage directly with faculty, managers, staff and students through a series of meetings with campus groups – e.g., Academic Senate forums for faculty, a Roundtablefor campus staff, and many others.
We will continue to update you as the work on the initiatives progresses. We invite you get involved, and share your ideas and suggestions on the feedback form on the Office of Strategic Initiatives website. Our goal is to develop a transparent process that takes into consideration broad input from all members of the campus community, and we invite your feedback and participation in this conversation.
Best regards,
Rosemarie Rae and Andrew Szeri, Implementation Co-leads
Lyle Nevels, Executive Director, Office of Strategic Initiatives