Awaydays

Last week we had an awayday with all members of our SSB (Service Strategy Board) which is made up of the Executive team, the Service Managers and the Head of PPU (Programme and Projects Unit). The Board has been in place for 18 months now, so a good time to review how it's been operating, what's gone well, and what could we improve on. It was also the first time we'd met as a group. not tin an actual meeting.  A good day, well facilitated, and some lively  - and in some cases full and frank :-) discussions. We all agreed that in general the SSB had been very successful in raising awareness of all work in the department not just projects, improving information flows, surfacing issues, and looking at new projects. The whole change management process and change advisory board was also seen as a success of the introduction of service management. There were other areas we need to improve on, especially around prioritisation and resource allocation, and we've developed an action plan that we'll be discussing and refining over the next few weeks.

This week I've had another awayday. This time with the architects of the new building that the University is developing on the Jessop East side. There's been some local press coverage of it here. An exciting development, and we're working with the Faculty of Engineering to develop the student-led learning part of it. It's the same architect who designed the Information Commons, so it's really great being part of a design team again. Lots of discussion today abut the sorts of space we need to satisfy student demand, the way teaching and learning might develop and change over the next few years, and urinals. Yes, we always get round at some point to discussing toilets....

The other thing that's keeping me occupied at the moment is packing for the move to our new building. My office, like many others, is full of packing crates and bin liners. The trick is remembering the right one to put things in!