University Executive Board update
We continue our termly look at the work of the leadership team and the discussions they have on the University Executive Board (UEB).
The following took place at formal UEB meetings between September and December 2017.
Please note that some UEB agenda items are categorised as commercial in confidence and cannot be reported here.
10-Year Plan
Since the Vice-Chancellor’s announcement about shaping the University for the future in November 2017, members of the UEB have been discussing how to move forward with our faculty restructure and with activities that will help us achieve the savings set out in the 10-Year Plan.
A Programme of work has been established with a number of workstreams looking at specific areas of the restructure, including Systems and Processes, Organisational Design, People, and the Academic Student Journey.
Workshops and meetings have taken place with Deans, Executive Directors of Professional Services, Heads of Faculty Operations and other key groups of staff in order to shape the work required over the coming months to deliver the change.
Other areas of the 10-Year Plan that are progressing include the ‘One Web project,’ which will transform our externally facing websites, creating a web presence that is more reflective of the needs of our key audiences.
Closure days
Each year the UEB is asked to sign off the University closure days for the following year. All University staff are entitled to six closure days in each leave year. The HR team take into consideration school holidays and look at Hampshire and Southampton term dates in order to make things easier for staff with children. The UEB has approved the 2019 dates, which can be found on SUSSED.
Extended Carers Leave Policy
After a 12-month pilot of the Extended Carers’ leave policy, Human Resources (HR) asked the UEB to approve full adoption of the policy. The UEB wholeheartedly agreed to the recommendation as the Policy supports the principles of collegiality and the goal of providing an excellent staff experience. This Policy enhances the University’s suite of family friendly policies.
Pre-retirement planning
In response to some key issues around retirement planning, the UEB was asked to review a proposal for an annual provision that would support staff considering retirement. The proposal was for the University to provide pre-retirement planning workshops with the aim of supporting staff as they transition to life after work at the University.
This kind of provision had been provided previously by LaterLife through the former Institute for Learning Innovation and Development (ILIaD). UEB fully supported the proposal.
Health and Safety Policies
During September, UEB signed off three Health and Safety Policies: Biological Safety, Audits and Inspections, and Expectant Mothers. These Polices went through rigorous checking and consultation with union representatives via the Consultative Health and Safety committee before coming to the UEB.
The UEB members are always keen to work together, sharing best practice on how to implement new or updated policies in their directorates and faculties. The new Health and Safety structure will improve the communication of these policies, making all University staff aware of any changes and enhancing an effective and consistent culture of Health and Safety.
You can view these policies at the bottom of the Health and Safety intranet page.
Annual Assurance Statements
In the last UEB update, there was an explanation of the Annual Assurance Statements. During October, the UEB was presented with an overview of the latest Annual Assurance Statements. The UEB was asked to review the statements to identify any areas of underperformance and training needs. Five areas of concern were highlighted, most of which were as a result of staff at various levels being unclear on our University process and procedures.
The UEB noted the Annual Assurance Statements and asked for an action plan to address areas of concern.
Implementation of the Research and Innovations Services (RIS) restructure.
In 2017 the UEB agreed a proposal in principle for the restructure of Research and Innovation Services (RIS). RIS is a department of the University which focuses on our enterprise and research activities. It assists and facilitates academic collaborations, industrial interactions and knowledge transfer, and provides support to academics on research funding streams, preparing bid proposals and negotiating research contracts.
The new structure will enable RIS to meet their objectives and priorities, which are aligned with the University’s 10-Year Plan and the Research and Enterprise Strategy.
In particular, this means providing a focus on research funding, Research Excellence Framework (REF) performance and reputation enhancement. The new structure will ensure a streamlined, efficient and sustainable service to the academic community. It will focus on high-value key funders, corporate partners, and specialist staff able to work effectively in partnership with academic colleagues and those from other professional services.
In November, the UEB received an update on the RIS restructure consultation process and were asked to approve the final proposed structure and the implementation date of 1 February 2018.
UEB approved the final proposal and structure for implementation.
