UniForum Program
Background
In its most recent institutional strategic plans - first For the Public Good, and now Shape - the university has committed to driving continuous improvement in administrative, governance, planning and stewardship systems, procedures and policies that enable students, faculty, staff, and the institution as a whole to achieve shared strategic goals.
Building on the commitment to drive administrative efficiency, beginning in the autumn of 2018, the University of Alberta (U of A) embarked on a multi-year exercise to better understand our current distribution of administrative services and activities, in support of the university's mission and goals. Through UniForum, we are gathering and analyzing data on an annual basis in a way that allows for comparisons of our results with other member institutions from Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Results are scaled and adjusted for regional differences and size, using numerous metrics to enable like-to-like evaluations. The program also enables in-depth internal analysis by providing metrics across the full range of services and functions undertaken on campus, viewable at any level within the university.
UniForum was founded in 2009 and has had over 70 universities participate in the program. This includes 11 current Canadian members (including the U of A). UniForum is owned and operated by Nous Data Insights.
UniForum results and information help our institution identify what we are doing well, where we can work to improve services, and what we can learn from other institutions. UniForum results have shone a light and provided insights into areas where the institution previously had no information. This gives us a better picture of what is happening on the ground, and has enabled more informed decision-making.
HOW IT WORKS
The UniForum program has two primary data collection components. The first is a satisfaction survey, and the second is the Activity Data Collection. The second component collects resource expenditure data from across the university in terms of time and dollars spent on all relevant university services/functions (including staff activity, in addition to services contracted out to external third parties).
Satisfaction Survey
The satisfaction survey is conducted every two years in two parts run concurrently, typically in November.
The survey:
- covers a total of 70 services - approximately half of these are covered during each part;
- allows for sector-wide comparisons to be made by service so as to understand the relative performance of each service;
- is designed to listen to academic and non-academic staff by gauging the importance of and satisfaction with support services/functions; and
- gathers feedback in a structured and consistent manner to help identify improvement opportunities in systems, processes, and people capabilities.
Activity Data Collection
The Activity Data Collection occurs every spring and summer. This component is designed to capture data on how support services are delivered across the university.
Completion of this exercise allows us to know, on an annual basis:
- how much professional services capacity the university employs in-house and how much is outsourced;
- the cost of these services, both in absolute and relative efficiency terms; and
- where each service/function occurs.
Combining information gathered through both components, we can see what we are doing well, where we can look to improve services, and how we can learn from other institutions.
QUESTIONS?
For more information, view the FAQ or contact uniforum@ualberta.ca.