Our success has been underpinned by the critical coupling of academic and operational excellence.
We enable both academic and operational excellence through our provision of a supportive, people-oriented and rewarding working environment. We all benefit from opportunities for development, a shared set of common aims, facilitation of delivery and contribution, clear lines of communication and a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusivity, including an active anti-racist approach. We support the wellbeing and development of our community through our People Strategy.
Over the period of this strategic plan, we will further enhance our operational excellence, driving process and system improvements to enable us to be more successful in the pursuit of our vision. All members of our community will play a role in the continuous improvement of our operations, working to ensure that our ‘system of systems’ continues to adapt to make the most of the opportunities we create.
Our operating model is marked by academic and operational excellence paired with financial strength and sustainability. We will continue to be efficient and effective in the pursuit of our ambition, managing investment, our physical assets and information. Ensuring continued financial sustainability as an institution requires that we generate sufficient funds to support both our operating costs and continuing ambitions for investment in our staff and students and in our estates, IT infrastructure and facilities. Over the past decade, we have been recognised as one of the highest investing HE institutions in the UK.
We are committed to ensuring our socially progressive ethos underpins our thinking and decision-making in all our areas of activity. We want to ensure our staff and stakeholders are proud of their institution, of what we have achieved collectively, and are motivated to deliver on each milestone of this Strategy.
By 2030, our operations will be more efficient and effective, underpinned by useful technology, and resulting in further academic excellence and financial strength.
Distinctive Strathclyde
Read more about our ongoing commitment to operational excellence.
People First
In line with our values-led, people-oriented approach and through enhancing operational excellence across the University, we will ensure our systems and processes enable our staff to deliver Strategy 2030, recognise and reward their efforts and support them to fulfil their potential. This will provide an outstanding employee experience and ensure that Strathclyde continues to be a great place to work.
Social & Environmental Sustainability
We are fully committed to becoming Net Zero for carbon emissions by 2040, and to build a greener and more climate-resilient campus. Our target for 2030 is an 80% reduction in carbon emissions.
We will also work with staff and students to promote active travel and sustainable waste management, and to increase awareness of climate change.
Process, Systems & Digital
Our process and systems enhancement programme and our digital strategy are about more than technology and software. They are rooted in the needs of our people and the effectiveness of our processes. We will work to use digital technology and data to transform processes across our operations to continue to evolve these for a leading international technological university.
Our strategic aims
Strategic Aim 5.1: Operational Excellence
Our operations, processes and systems are more efficient and effective, underpinned by useful technology, and resulting in both academic excellence and strong financial performance.
We will achieve this by:
- implementing our ambitious People Strategy to support all in our community to contribute to our ambitions and enabling those in our university community to flourish in work or study. We will promote a positive, inclusive and sustainable wellbeing culture in which everyone is enabled and motivated to play their part, supported by our Safety, Health and Wellbeing Strategy
- embedding and delivering sustainability through all we do
- implementing our Digital Strategy to improve our use of technology and data to enable us to operate in a more effective and data-informed manner
- embracing continuous improvement in our culture, through empowering our staff to make changes to better deliver this strategic plan through systemic and process improvements within the institution. Everyone will understand how they contribute to the whole university system. We will undertake post-investment and post-project evaluations to ensure we are delivering on our commitments
- delivering on our commitment to ensure Strathclyde is financially sustainable throughout its next period of growth. This includes ensuring we are working within our risk framework, considering both risk appetite and mitigation of risks, to build institutional resilience and confidently deliver on our ambitions