Developing a framework and toolkit to align strategy with budget priorities using metrics
This project will provide UC Berkeley leaders and managers with a best practice Strategic Management Process and toolkit that will enable them to link their strategies with their budgets and other metrics, so that they can make decisions and run their units in a way that clearly reflects their priorities and the inevitable trade-offs.
Project Resources
Project Leadership
| Sponsor | John Wilton |
|---|---|
| Project Manager | Louise Davidson |
Project Description
Metrics are not new at UC Berkeley. Examples of good unit performance measurement, including strategic plans aligned to metrics and dashboards, exist across the campus. Interest and willingness to use metrics has been strengthened following the recent implementation of infrastructure, such as CalPlanning and the Enterprise Data Warehouse, which is producing meaningful financial data and reports. However, there is a need for a consistent, comprehensive Strategic Management and Metrics framework that enables the roll-up of metrics and provides campus leadership with robust information and useful management reports to make better decisions and to communicate achievements with internal and external audiences.
Given that strategy is an iterative, top-down, bottom-up process, with planning occurring at all levels, the Strategic Management and Metrics project will focus on providing support both at the campus-wide and unit levels. It will consist of three key components:
- At the campus-wide level, the project will focus on providing an integrated framework for strategic focus and resource allocation, including supporting UC Berkeley to clearly communicate its overall goals and priorities related to “access” and “excellence”. This will allow for well-aligned metrics to be cascaded to units and allow UC Berkeley to better communicate progress.
- At the unit level, the project will develop a framework and toolkit that supports units in defining strategic goals, linking their strategic initiatives with their budgets, and measuring performance, based upon meaningful metrics. This framework will link to the annual budget cycle and will build upon the university’s recent budget reform work, which has provided a critical financial baseline to inform long term strategic planning.
- The project will also provide a useful set of web-based, up-to-date management reports that report graphically on a unit’s comprehensive set of metrics, including financial, non-financial, academic and administrative metrics, and improve consistency of measures across campus. (Academic metrics are out of scope for this project; however, this framework will have the ability to integrate them.)
To ensure that the framework and toolkit reflect the needs and priorities of actual campus units, in early 2013 the project team will work closely with several pilot units, on a voluntary basis, using their actual data to help develop the overall framework and key reports. The pilots will represent a group of academic, research and academic units. Following this “working model” phase, a set of templates, tools, training materials, and planning resources will be developed to help other units adopt the framework and toolkit. Finally, beginning in mid-2013, rollout and implementation will take place in units across campus on a phased basis.
Delivering the Vision
The Strategic Management and Metrics project will help achieve the goals of Operational Excellence by advancing an effective and efficient operating environment, more effectively utilizing resources, and supporting a culture of continuous improvement.
Timeline
The OE Executive Committee approved the project in June 2011 and implementation commenced in June 2011. The project is slated to be completed by December 2013.