Think Differently
Dear Faculty Colleagues,
As you will recall from various emails from the VC, meetings and other activities in which you are engaged, Deakin is working to build our capacity, align many functions and reduce duplication of process activities through the Think Differently program. We are working to realise the goal of One Deakin and to maximise our effort and improve our work experience as much as possible. The program aims improve delivery of administrative and support services to enable improved communication and collaboration between areas of the University and reduce frustrations for academic and professional staff.
Many of you will be invited to contribute to the Think Differently initiative. Some will be deeply involved and others invited to consultations and discussions. While the data gathering will involve many professional colleagues, some academic colleagues will also be consulted.
The program has been established to enable the University to continue investment in the Live the Future strategic priorities: furthering research, continuing to delight our students, further pursuing the digital frontier and investing in the development of our staff, facilities and the communities we serve.
The program will increase university wide collaboration across our professional areas to improve delivery of administration and support services to further enhance the student and staff experience.
The program is under-pinned by three core values:
- One Deakin continue to build an aligned and collaborative culture to support Deakin wide initiatives
- Nimble continue to develop capability to adapt without being hindered by unnecessary bureaucracy and applying new approaches to how Deakin works
- Secure continue to invest in research and improved facilities and the development of staff and student services.
The Student Service Network project is the first initiative in the program of work and is well advanced.
Phase 1 of the program (Discovery) will enable us to understand how administrative work is done at Deakin, what challenges and frustrations we all experience and explore opportunities to improve.
We will be coming to you soon to seek your input about and to gather your ideas for improvement.
I am looking forward to you getting involved in this important program. We have a great opportunity to get participate in shaping the improvement of administrative and support functions across the university.
The next step is Phase 1 of the Program (Discovery) and the Administrative Functional Review kicked off on the 15 August, 2017. Janelle Leonard, Program Director and colleagues from the Bevington Group, led by Brett Smith and including Chris Pepperell, Chris Reed and Tiffany Goh will conduct 230 individual interviews with people across the University performing administrative functions.
This will be followed by a series of workshops – Solution Generation, Target State and Project integration.
We have a great opportunity to get participate in shaping the improvement of administrative and support functions across the university. I strongly support your engagement with this work and hope you will welcome the opportunity to help shape the future of the University. Please let Matt, your Manager or me know if we can assist your participation in any way.
With best wishes and thanks
Brenda