The approach

Roadmapping was selected to facilitate and structure discussions on the development of strategy for the UoC. Roadmapping is a strategic planning technique that enables the development and communication of strategy and innovation. It is used extensively across industry, government and academic organisations to bring clarity to complex problems and alignment of purpose.

Senior stakeholders from across the University, including Pro Vice-Chancellors, Heads of Schools, Secretaries and Directors contributed to pre-work and a half-day workshop, and their views and insights were openly discussed, aligned and documented during the process.

Ahead of the workshop held at the University, IfM Engage captured the perspectives of the most important aspirations, academic rationale, external drivers and challenges from across the central University, schools, non-school institutions and colleges. These were presented to the room at the start of the workshop, and then prioritised in groups using two consideration factors: opportunity and feasibility.

Opportunity was defined as the magnitude of the opportunity plausibly available to the UoC. Considerations in this area included how aspirations enhance excellence, and how the aspiration will underpin efforts to widen access and participation. Feasibility was defined as how well prepared the organisation is to grasp the opportunity. Considerations in this area included questions around resource capacity to deliver on aspirations and whether the aspiration generates contributions to the collegiate University’s financial sustainability.

From the list of prioritised aspirations, six were selected for further discussion and scoping within small expert groups. The groups worked to create detailed outlines of the academic rationale behind each aspiration, the key external drivers, and the barriers and challenges that stand the way of implementing the aspiration.