July 29, 2015
Memorandum
To: Marie-Cine Renaud
Adjointe exécutive | Executive Assistant
Cabinet du recteur | Office of the President
From: Gilles Morier
Danielle Ménard
Date: July 29, 2015
Re: Operational Plan – School of Government
We are pleased to provide the following documents in fulfillment of the deliverables for our “Mandate for the Development of an Operational Plan” for the School of Government:
1. An estimate of the human and physical resources needed in order to implement the Working Group’s recommendations, and particularly the creation of the entity proposed as the “College”:
Please find attached the following documents in response to this requirement:
Appendix 1: Gantt Chart for the implementation of the School of Government. As recommended by the Working Group, this document assumed a significant up-front investment as a pre-condition of starting which, based on our discussions, we have assumed to be about $2,000,000 per year. We have also assumed that it will be very important to act quickly after securing this investment so we have proposed an aggressive strategy.
Appendix 2: A month-by-month schedule and task breakdown, with assignment of responsibility to key staff and participants, for Year 1. Some activities flow naturally into following years. This document is on a spreadsheet to facilitate searching and sequencing the various tasks.
Appendix 3: A five year budget, a five year plan for space with a month-by-month schedule and task breakdown for year 1, and a staffing plan also with a month-by-month schedule and task breakdown for Year 1.
2. A budgetary framework for the “College” that will reflect operating and overhead costs, including one-time and baseline costs: Provided in Appendix 3.
3. The budgetary framework should also take into account the amounts needed to maintain and “scale up” the activities and events conducted by the various campus entities already active in public policy, including ….: The budget provided does take this into account. It is premised on four basic assumptions: 1) the existing entities do valuable and important work and will continue to do so under their own auspices, 2) the School of Government will be very selective in the events it holds in the Forum for Dialogue and in its support of research activities to ensure strong alignment with the School’s focus and vision, 3) the School and the various entities will work together to develop common activities where each can contribute to bring value to each other, stakeholders and students, and 4) the School will have staff and financial resources to add value to such common activities.
4. An examination of potential sources of revenue that the new entity might have available: To start the School, we have assumed a budget of $2,000,000 per year. Over time, it will be important to generate additional revenues. Strategies and revenue-generating activities would need to be developed by the management team and its advisors. Some possibilities include:
i. Fund raising in support of specific activities – for example, student scholarships, construction of high visibility meeting rooms or gathering places, etc.;
ii. Sponsorships for public events or perhaps even specific research projects;
iii. Revenues from registration fees for certain public events with broad appeal;
iv. Research funding: Research grants and contracts do not generate much net free revenue because all funds are typically applied to the project at hand. They would, however, result in increased research activity within the School and its partners and, in the case of contracts, may generate some indirect cost recovery (although experience has been that these are not generally large amounts).
v. Service contracts: The School will, over time, develop specific expertise that may be of interest to clients from governments, political parties, and the private sector who may be willing to pay for various kinds of analyses and advice. Such activities may be great learning opportunities for students and may be vehicles for the practical application of the fruits of the School’s independent research. Although participation in such activities depends entirely on the willingness of the School’s researchers, such contracts could generate revenues and profits for the School over time.
vi. Not-for-credit professional development programs and Summer School: A partnership and revenue sharing model would need to be worked out with the Centre for Continuing Education for professional development programs. It is interesting to note that a number of innovative programs are emerging in the US, Canada and Europe for professional training, ranging from webinars, certificate program, intensive short courses, etc. This area may offer a lot of potential.
We have proposed that the Vice-President, External Relations be a member of the Management Committee to help provide some guidance in this regard and to support the School in its fund raising efforts.
5. An estimate of the time required before the “College” can be fully operational: This is provided in the Gantt chart. We believe the School can become operational quickly and that the Crossroads program, the Leaders of Tomorrow Scholarships, and the Forum for Dialogue can all be launched in the first year with the resources being envisaged.
6. Criteria and milestones to help measure progress throughout the implementation process: These are provided in the Gantt chart (highlighted in Red). Also attached is an overview of the key elements of the plan with target dates, rationale and a summary of key tasks to be carried out.
7. Identification of potential opportunities and challenges during the implementation phase: These, along with risk mitigation strategies, are discussed in Appendix 11.
In carrying out this project, it became clear that to us that the School’s administrative structures would need to be put in place very quickly and that some of its mission-critical programming would need to be launched fast. As such, we have prepared a series of additional documents listed below, along with a brief covering memo where needed outlining key assumptions or issues which need further consideration by the School’s management and academic advisory team.
Appendix 4: Draft Terms of Reference: Management Committee
Appendix 5. Draft Terms of Reference: Academic Advisory Committee
Appendix 6. Draft Profile: Executive Director
Appendix 7. Draft Profile: Fellows
Appendix 8. Draft Program Description: Crossroads: Please note that this description is presently being reviewed by the Office of the Vice-President, Research.
Appendix 9. Draft Program Description: Leaders of Tomorrow Scholarships / Memo on Public Policy leadership program
Appendix 10. Draft Performance Measurement Framework
Appendix 11: Risks and mitigation / Opportunities
We stress that these drafts represent ideas only. Nevertheless, our hope is that they will be useful, at least to serve as a basis for the important discussions to come.
We would like to draw your attention to the following issues:
1) Planning Horizon: We have focused our effort on the first year – launching the School, establishing its management structures, administrative teams, and launching its pillar programs. Our thinking is that the School’s Executive Director, Management and Academic Advisory Committees will undoubtedly strongly influence the School’s directions and evolution from the outset. As such, our planning strategy was focused on establishing a solid base for the School and its programs.
2) Start-up Strategy: In order to meet timetables proposed to the potential Sponsor for year 1, work on program development and launch must be initiated prior to i) arrival of the interim Executive Director, ii) operationalization of Management and Academic Advisory Committees and iii) staffing of the new School’s operational team. As such, we suggest the following start-up strategy:
- Appoint an interim implementation team immediately upon Sponsor approval consisting of a senior executive with overall authority (or alternatively, delegate members of the Management Committee to lead specific components), a senior project manager and administrative support.
o The Senior Executive would be in place until the Interim Executive Director arrives (Month 4)
o The Interim Executive Director would be in place for 9 months, to allow for some overlap with the Executive Director and to manage the risk of delays in the recruitment of the Executive Director.
o The Senior Project Manager would be in place for one year or until the arrival of the Assistant Director (who would be recruited by the Executive Director)
o The administrative support person would be in place until the Assistant to the Director arrives in Month 8.
- Support from the Convention and Reservations Service would be needed in the first few months of the School’s launch while awaiting the arrival of a Communications / Events Planning specialist.
- Key stakeholders who could input into scholarship and academic enrichment program development and who would become members of the Academic Advisory Committee (with approvals of their Deans) should be identified immediately.
3) Space: We have planned for the School’s short term needs based on its staffing and program requirements. We have assumed that the Forum for Dialogue can start within existing facilities at the University of Ottawa and locally within Ottawa for special events. This would get the program running and, with a track record of success, would help build the fund raising case for a major investment in conferencing facilities. Until then, we estimate that the school would need the following space during and by the end of the first year:
· Office for Executive Director (on arrival)
· 3 Offices for Staff (Senior Project Manager, Communications / Events Planning specialist, Interim Executive Director which would be taken by the Financial Administrator on arrival)
· 2 Offices for fellows (two fellows per office, 2 sets of furniture / electronics per office)
· 4 Workstations (Analyst, Assistant to the Director, Administrative Assistant, Web Developer)
· Reception area with waiting space for visitors
· 3 conference / meeting rooms (one large for 16 people, one medium for 10 people, and one small for up to 8 people)
Five additional offices would be needed for Fellows by the end of year 5 at the planned recruitment rate.
We have provided cost estimates for fitting up the spaces with furniture, communications and electronics, etc. However, and although there is much uncertainty in the budget, we estimate that there is about $500,000 available for space renovations etc. if needed over the first five years of the School.
4) Timing: The operational plan is conceived so that it can be implemented as soon as Sponsor approval is obtained. However, the Leaders of Tomorrow Scholarships are very sensitive to timing since they need to be integrated in the academic cycles and student applications / acceptance processes. If these scholarships are not launched early in the fall of 2015, they risk being delayed until the second year.
5) Budgeting uncertainty: There is much uncertainty around the budget. Ultimately, the budget depends on the nature, complexity, and volume of the School’s activities. Much remains to be determined. As such, we have had to make many assumptions and have explained them in various documents throughout.
6) Staffing risk: We think the major staffing risk in the first year is that the Senior Project Manager will be overloaded. This remains to be seen but it may be necessary to get some help for that person at some point.
In conclusion, we hope this plan and its accompanying documents will position the University of Ottawa to act quickly to get the School of Government up and running and that it will provide a foundation upon which solid structures, teams and programs can be launched.
Please accept our very best wishes for success in this important and challenging endeavor.
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