The Budget and Strategic Planning Round

The Budget and Strategic Planning Round is a conversation between the University’s Executive and its Institutes and Professional Service Departments. The aim is to work collaboratively to set rolling five-year targets for each area in the University to support the achievement of our Strategic Plan, and to align resources to strategy.

Planning and Governance provides dashboard data with which Institutes may assess their past performance, forecast trends and set future targets. Through discussion with Institutes and service departments (and considering the strategic direction required for the University to meet its own targets), individual targets are set for student recruitment and retention. Targets to drive forward continuous improvement in terms of academic quality and the student experience are also discussed, as are targets for research awards and other income, and engagement with business and with the community.  A key part of the Planning Round is identifying the resources both delivered and needed to deliver as our Strategic Plans.  Planning and Governance therefore works very closely with Finance and Human Resources in designing and developing the Budget and Strategic Planning Round.

Institutes and the Departments think through what targets are realistic and how they will need to allocate resource to deliver those targets and both targets and resource allocations are agreed through the budget setting round which also needs to take full account of the 5 year possible income and expenditure horizon, and areas where strategic investment might be needed to deliver elements of the Strategic Plan.

The Budget and Strategic Planning Round takes place in the Spring.