The working teams focused on the 2020-22 Key Initiatives identified by Interim President Gregory Postel are developing their plans to tackle current obstacles and explore innovative ideas to prepare UToledo for the future.
The teams will be providing preliminary updates of their planning process over the next several weeks. The campus community is invited to follow along with each team’s progress and offer ideas for improvement and innovation using the online recommendation form.
The Develop and Implement Budget Modernization team is led by Sabrina Taylor, assistant vice president of budget and planning, and Brenda Grant, associate vice president for academic finance.
What are the key goals the team hopes to accomplish?
The team is reviewing UToledo’s approach to resource allocation across campus. The primary goal is to develop a new incentive-based budget model and process that is transparent and empowers local units to manage to an all-funds budget. In addition, the team will look at ways to build a model with incentives to promote an entrepreneurial and collaborative spirit while still promoting responsible fiscal stewardship of UToledo’s resources. The team also will formalize the necessary infrastructure (e.g., governance, reporting, etc.) to create and maintain a new incentive-based model.
What processes/issues is the team discussing and reviewing?
The major objectives the team has identified are:
• A holistic review of the UToledo’s current approach to budgeting;
• The creation of a set of guiding principles to inform UToledo’s future state budget methodology;
• The formulation of a new, customized incentive-based budget model that fits UToledo’s culture, mission and future objectives; and
• The development of a new annualized budget process for campus units to plan and manage to.
How is the team planning to engage members of the campus community throughout their process?
The team has formed a steering committee to help guide the budget modernization process, which comprises 12 members including the team leaders and deans, faculty and staff. In addition, the team has partnered with Huron Consulting Group to help engage campus throughout the budget modernization process. The team will engage with each academic dean and their staffs through a multitude of unique touch points throughout the process. The team also will engage with other campus leaders and community members through interviews, campus forums and an active budget modernization website. The team welcomes recommendations or questions through the online recommendation form.
How does the team plan to measure success?
Success will be measured by the timely, widely agreed-upon creation of a new budget methodology and model for UToledo to utilize in the coming fiscal years. The team will incorporate feedback throughout the process to ensure UToledo’s new budget methodology is aligned with campus culture and goals.
