Business Excellence within The University of Bolton Strategic Planning Process 17 th October 2006

Agenda Self Assessment at Bolton Key Findings Main Learning Points

First assessment: -First assessment took place in 2002/03 – corporate wide -Involved a team drawn from across the organisation -Collected evidence, analysed -Facilitation support from another UK university -Informed the strategic plan review Self Assessment at Bolton Team knowledge of organisation Interviews with 22 individuals Focus Groups involving 61 people

Second Self Assessment /05 Portfolio of evidence Comments and amendments from: - Executive - Management team Focus Groups Externally facilitated scoring workshop Licensed assessor site visit Self Assessment at Bolton

Key outcomes: -Overview description document -Detailed notes of good practice and areas for improvement -Mixture of operational / strategic / recurring themes -Prioritised summary themes -Score Self Assessment at Bolton

Embedding Actions within Strategic Planning Process Plan Do Review 3 Years Plan Do Review 12 months University Strategy Positioning Statement Strategic Objectives Supporting Strategies Risk Mgt Strategy Corporate Operational Objectives & Plans Individual Objectives / PDP’s Local Plans Risk Registers Self Assessment at Bolton

Lots of very encouraging findings - 04/05 assessment: -Lots of good practice (e.g. planning process; leadership involvement with stakeholders; people resource planning, personal development and use of team awaydays; financial awareness) -Eagerness to embrace improvement -Many principles of model becoming embedded within our thinking (e.g. results / comparisons / trends, some sound approaches with links to university strategy) Key Findings

-Departmental performance indicators / targets established within local plans -Central store developed on the intranet with a comprehensive suite of corporate performance measures and comparisons Framework for results analysis and feedback: Key Findings

Areas of greatest potential from second assessment: -Some process modelling has started: great potential if developed further to provide clarity, understanding and efficiencies -Good control over strategies and plans: policies are subject to less control and review -Customer surveys undertaken within individual areas and a broad brush survey has been piloted although not repeated. Staff perception surveys are also inherent within the model. Key Findings

Key Learning Points: -Model provides a helpful set of management principles and an overarching framework which embraces other activities – it should not be seen as a standalone initiative -A tool to help drive and recognise continuous improvement -Good practice recognised both via local assessment and external endorsement -Findings must be embedded within the strategic planning process -Can be used at a range of levels (corporate / local) -Demands some time and senior management commitment to its implementation and deployment, but a worthwhile investment Main Learning Points