About planning and reporting
Deakin University is committed to planning, reporting and continuous quality improvement to ensure that it makes progress towards achieving its mission:
Deakin University aims to be a catalyst for positive change for the individuals and the communities it serves. This will be achieved by ensuring that Deakin's teaching, its research, its partnerships, its international programs and the services that support those activities are:
- Relevant
- Innovative and
- Responsive
By pursuing these objectives, Deakin aspires to be recognised as Australia's most progressive university.
Deakin's Strategic Plan and its Operational Plan include goals and targets to advance the University's mission. Through its annual planning cycle, Deakin monitors and evaluates its progress towards achieving those goals and targets
Annual Planning Cycle
Deakin's annual planning cycle is the process by which the University formally coordinates its planning, resource allocation, systematic monitoring and reporting; it embeds continuous improvement at every level of the University's operations. The cycle is described in detail in the University's Strategic Plan and is summarised below.
Integrated plans
Deakin's planning framework consists of a tiered system of interlocking plans that affect all areas of the University's operations. At the highest level, the Strategic Plan - LIVE the future: Agenda 2020 - sets out Deakin's long-term goals and strategies to advance its mission and core commitments during the period 2012-2020. While the Plan is subject to annual revision, primarily in response to changes in the external environment, major changes are not envisaged over its five-year life.
The Strategic Plan is reinforced by a suite of University-wide plans called Functional Area Plans that address each of its goals, such as teaching and learning, research and internationalisation. The Functional Area Plans provide more detail on the implementation of strategies set out in the Strategic Plan.
The University's Operational Plan sets out the immediate priorities, in the form of measurable targets for the year, to advance the goals contained in the Strategic Plan. Faculty, Institute and Other Area Operational Plans are also developed annually to reflect and advance the University's Operational Plan and the goals and strategies contained in the Strategic Plan and Functional Area Plans. The planning framework is cascaded further to Schools within Faculties and to work units within other organisational areas and, ultimately, to individual performance plans.
Linked planning and resource allocation
Deakin's strategic and operational planning is linked to business planning. The process of aligning budget allocations with planning priorities is primarily the responsibility of the University's Planning and Resources Committee (PRC). The University's Operational Plan for the next year is drafted in the context of funds available to support planned activities, taking into account progress made towards achieving current year targets. Major refinements to the Operational Plan occur as a result of the PRC's July Performance Review and Planning Conference and final adjustments are made following PRC's September Budget Conference. Following the September Conference, the PRC recommends the University's Operational Plan, Budget and Capital Expenditure Program for the following year to the Council, which considers them at its November meeting.
Reporting and evaluation
The planning framework clearly connects the longer term goals of the University (contained in the Strategic Plan) and annual targets (contained in the Operational Plan) that, over a period of time, will culminate in the achievement of longer term goals. Two forms of reporting have been developed to demonstrate progress made in advancing the immediate and longer terms goals:
- An annual Strategic Plan Report provides an assessment of the University's progress against the goals set out in the Strategic Plan. Benchmarking is used in the evaluation of performance.
- A University-level Performance Review, Evaluation and Planning (PREP) Report provides an assessment of progress made against the targets set in the University's Operational Plan.
In February each year Council receives the Strategic Plan Report and the PREP Report and evaluates Deakin's performance; minor revisions to the University's Strategic Plan may be made.
View the Strategic Plan Report and the PREP report
View further information about the PREP process
