UniForum is a multi-year benchmarking initiative that helps participating universities understand how their administrative services are being delivered, how well they鈥檙e operating, and how much the services cost. Participating in UniForum will give us access to data from universities around the world, many from Canada, that will provide insights into how well our services are functioning compared to other institutions.听
This benchmarking initiative offers a robust evidence base that it will help in several ways:鈥
Bolster our capacity for data-driven decision-making
Compare how we deliver services against peer institutions in Canada
Develop insights that will inform continuous improvement of our administrative services
Data collection鈥
There are two major components to UniForum: Service Effectiveness Survey and Activity Collection.鈥
Service Effectiveness Survey (SES)鈥
Opens May 6 and closes May 21鈥
This survey:鈥
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Covers a total of 70 services across two parts鈥
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Listens to employees as users of University support services/functions and their levels of satisfaction 鈥 鈥
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Benchmarks the user鈥檚 service experience with the people, processes, and systems attributes of each service, identifying targeted improvement opportunities 鈥 鈥
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Enables sector-wide comparisons to be made relative to each service 鈥 鈥
UniForum has defined parameters in their benchmarking data to ensure accurate comparability across institutions of similar size and focus. The survey group is standardized across all participating institutions and consists of mid-to-senior level faculty and employees, who are selected based on their experience with people, processes, and systems across multiple services during their day-to-day responsibilities. 听
Those who met UniForum's criteria received an email from Jacinda Reitsma, Vice-President, Administration and Finance on Friday, May 2, letting them know that they would be asked to participate in the survey. The survey was sent to participants on Tuesday, May 6 from noreplyuwaterloo@surveys.cubaneconsulting.com with the title听鈥Take the Service Effectiveness Survey鈥 and听a link to access the survey online.
If you have questions about the selection process, please email uniforum@uwaterloo.ca听
Activity Collection鈥
This data collection involves asking managers, supervisors, or team leaders within each unit to:鈥
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Allocate how much of their team members鈥 role is focused on a clearly defined activity鈥
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Use standardized activities that have been co-designed by all institutions participating in the benchmarking forum鈥 听
Comparative analysis across institutions is then based on resourcing at the detailed activity level or aggregated functional level.鈥
Selection is based on UniForum鈥檚 defined parameters of employees who perform administrative functions (excluding faculty) to ensure an accurate mapping for comparison with other institutions.听
A training session invitation and further communication is forthcoming to those who match UniForum鈥檚 criteria for participation.听
More information鈥
Response data will be anonymized and shared with senior leadership in aggregate. Results of the data will be shared with employees in the fall.鈥
Who runs UniForum?鈥
UniForum was established in 2009 by Jonathan Blakeman, a former VP of Finance and Operations at the University of New South Wales in Australia, and by Edward Curry-Hyde, a former academic and research scientist. Their company, Cubane Consulting was acquired by Nous Group, an international consulting firm, in 2021 to form NousCubane.鈥 鈥
Questions?鈥
For questions specific to UniForum, please contact uniforum@uwaterloo.ca.听