The Administrative Services Renewal (ASR) Initiative is working with campus leaders on co-designing an enhanced administrative environment that aligns our people, operations, and resources, and is purpose-built for collaboration and support.

Administrative services support the operational needs of the university community and assist the institution in achieving its academic and research mission. These services are divided into functional workstreams such as human resources, financial operations, facilities, information technology, procurement, administrative support, communications and marketing, alumni relations, donor engagement, research administration, student support and more.

Building off USask’s Shared Services model, the ASR Initiative is focused on aligning administrative services within colleges, schools, and units across campus.  This important work is a continuation of USask’s efforts over the past decade to enhance service design and delivery in ways that support the university community in achieving its teaching and research goals.  

Two projects currently in development are the Administrative Network Project, and the Communications and Marketing Project. 

USask is focused on a future of excellence. As a member of the U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities, we need an optimized administrative environment to support our world-class research, scholarly, and artistic work, and academic mission.

Guided by the University Plan 2025, and specifically Commitment #2: Boundless Collaboration, the Administrative Services Renewal (ASR) Initiative is taking a “One University” approach by enhancing and aligning our administrative environment so that it is purpose-built for collaboration. Through consultation and collaboration across campus, we are co-designing enhanced administrative structures that uplift our campus community and help us build a brighter and more sustainable future for USask, while providing:

• Effective end-to-end support services
• Greater organizational alignment
• A consistent approach to administrative service delivery
• Enhanced staff retention and development

The vision is for a best-in-class approach that ensures USask’s partners across campus receive the right administrative services at the right time and from the right providers, while operating sustainably within the university’s financial means.

As part of its second commitment, Boundless Collaboration, the University Plan 2025 identifies opportunities for USask to align its administrative infrastructure. In doing so, USask can break down silos to support collaboration and reduce the administrative burden on faculty, while uplifting our administrative professionals by fostering a community of practice and a network of colleagues across the institution. USask can also nurture their career development, help build their capacity, and create an environment where they will continue helping the university excel in teaching, learning, research, and community engagement. 

Currently, resource decisions related to administrative services are made centrally and by individual colleges, schools, and units at USask. Although some institutional support is provided centrally, this devolved model can create:

• Confusion around individual staffing roles and responsibilities.
• A lack of clearly defined and institutionally approved processes for administrative procedures.
• Inconsistent onboarding and ongoing training for administrative professionals.
• A disconnect between service expectations and delivery within the colleges and schools and what is provided centrally.
• A strain on resources.
• A significant reliance on external vendors, with limited uptake on USask-approved tools, templates, and systems.
• A lack of standard roles and responsibilities for similar positions across the university, resulting in different staff skills and capabilities to deliver similar services.
• An imbalance in service across the institution.
• Misalignment if colleges, schools, and administrative units take on processes and/or functions without consulting centrally.
• A lack of process to ensure colleges, schools, and units do not duplicate services.

 

USask greatly values the contributions of administrative professionals across campus and is focused on nurturing a supportive, networked, and integrated organization that fosters well-being and a community of practice.  

In elevating the role of administrative professionals and by building on the existing Shared Services model at USask, intended outcomes include:  

• More effective, coordinated, and consistent service delivery for faculty, students, and staff, and greater support for a university-wide service culture.  
• Enhanced research and teaching capacity by reducing the administrative burden on faculty. 
• Improved employee retention and greater opportunities for professional development.  
• Less role duplication among administrative professionals.  
• Positive career pathways for administrative employees and opportunities for career progression within the institution.

The ASR Initiative will impact how administrative services are delivered at USask. This type of organizational change requires significant leadership, collaboration, and consultation with stakeholders both centrally and within colleges, schools, and units across campus.

The ASR Initiative is governed by two executive sponsors, Dr. Airini, USask provost and vice-president academic, and Greg Fowler, USask vice-president administration and chief operating officer. The executive sponsors and the two project sponsors—Dr. Vince Bruni-Bossio, vice-provost strategy realization, and Chantel Laventure, director, shared services—make up the ASR executive team.

The ASR Initiative is guided by the ASR steering committee and ASR advisory committees. The steering committee provides recommendations to the executive team on areas of opportunity in the efficient delivery of administrative services and a proposed new service delivery model and includes representation from many of the vice-presidential portfolios and academic units. From December 2021 to August 2023, an advisory committee provided advice to the steering committee on issues of change management and includes representation from information technology, human resources, the university governance office and university library, and the Edwards School of Business. As the ASR Initiative co-designs with colleges, schools, and units, new advisory committees may be established to guide this work.

Supporting the ASR Initiative sponsors is an operational team of professionals who provide data and design support, and guidance on change management, communications, human resources, project management, and process improvement.  

The ASR Initiative sponsors are meeting with individual project teams and with the deans, executive directors, and senior leaders to review the data findings and gain additional perspective and context. These consultations help the ASR Initiative sponsors deepen their understanding of the current administrative structures and need on campus so that the ASR Initiative can leverage leading practices from across the institution. 

As ASR progresses into the co-design phase, advisory committees for individual projects are being established and further consultation is taking place with leaders, faculty and administrative professionals from colleges, schools, and central units. This ensures that recommendations on future administrative structures are sustainable, people-focused, and innovative, and meet the local needs of academic units, while also aligning with an institutional operational model. 

The recommendations will be reviewed by the steering committee and submitted to the executive sponsors, and ultimately the president’s executive committee, for review. 

The ASR Initiative is based on evidence-informed decision-making. The team is using data to shine a light on the current administrative environment at USask and to inform ongoing discussions with deans, executive directors, and leaders within colleges, schools, and central units.

Examples of quantitative and qualitative data being used include: 

• USask Employee Engagement Survey
• UniForum Benchmarking Project  
• Institutional financial systems 

ASR is a multi-project initiative focused on co-designing an enhanced administrative operating framework that aligns USask’s people, operational structures, and resources.  

Since December 2021, the ASR Initiative sponsors, Dr. Vince Bruni-Bossio, interim associate provost strategic priorities, and Chantel Laventure, director, shared services, have been meeting with deans, executive directors, and senior leaders within central units regarding the initiative. 

With two projects now underway—Administrative Network Project, and the Communications and Marketing Project—the respective project teams are beginning to engage further with senior leaders and administrative professionals. 

• The Administrative Network Project is currently engaging with administrative professionals in existing Administrative Networks and with representatives from the College of Law, College of Education, Edwards School of Business, and the Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy. These conversations will help inform the co-design process for an Administrative Network supporting these four academic units. A similar engagement approach will be deployed when working with other academic units across campus. 

• As part of the Communications and Marketing Project, Heather Persson, associate vice-president strategic communications and chief communications officer, and project team are currently consulting with deans, executive directors, and senior leaders from central units to gain greater insight into unit-level needs and opportunities for greater alignment and integration. Marketing and communications professionals are also currently engaged in several working groups that will help inform some of the outcomes of this work. 

These consultations help the ASR Initiative sponsors deepen their understanding of the current administrative structures and needs on campus so that the ASR Initiative can leverage leading practices from across the institution. These discussions will also guide the recommendations reviewed by the ASR steering committee and submitted to the executive sponsors on a new administrative operations framework that is people focused, innovative, and financially sustainable. 

The ASR Initiative sponsors want to thank all deans, executive directors, and operational leaders within colleges, schools, and central units for your open and honest feedback and guidance. We value your input, are listening to your needs, and look forward to co-designing a new administrative services framework with you.

Some of the intended outcomes include:

• Innovative, shared best practices.
• Functional leadership for administration.
• Focused role clarity.
• Financial sustainability and position management.
• Improved integration when implementing policies and processes and access to institutional resources.
• More time available for research and teaching activities.
• Time savings: reduced handoffs and frequency of interactions.

Once the ASR Initiative is fully implemented, the role of administrative professionals at USask will be  elevated and more connected across campus. Administrative professional will have:

• A community of practice.
• Work-life balance.
• A professional network of colleagues.
• Consistent, focused onboarding, professional development, and knowledge sharing.
• Best practices for admin service delivery.
• Clear career paths for advancement within colleges, schools, and across the university .
• Better engagement and greater opportunity for staff employed at USask.

USask knows that faculty and researchers are currently feeling an administrative burden related to their teaching and grant management work. Many of the initiatives funded through the Horizons Project are aimed at creating optimal conditions for success in our academic and research mission and improving our service efficiency and delivery. These initiatives include Administrative Services Renewal, Integrated Services Renewal, Entrepreneurship and Startup Incubator, Research Grant Management, and Removing the Human Research Ethics Bottleneck.

U15 research-intensive universities require excellent administrative services that are aligned to support and facilitate their academic mission.

Once the ASR Initiative is fully implemented, the role of administrative professionals at USask will be  elevated and more connected across campus. Administrative professional will have:

• A community of practice.
• Work-life balance.
• A professional network of colleagues.
• Consistent, focused onboarding, professional development, and knowledge sharing.
• Best practices for admin service delivery.
• Clear career paths for advancement within colleges, schools, and across the university. 
• Better engagement and greater opportunity at USask.

This work will not be completed all at once and will require continuous and ongoing attention.

The ASR Initiative is preparing, equipping, and supporting leaders, faculty, and administrative professionals through organizational changes that result from both the Administrative Network Project and the Communications and Marketing Project. Whether this is through structural, technological, or process change, ultimately it is about supporting and ensuring administrative professionals at USask have the guidance, resources, and tools to deliver effective, coordinated, and consistent service.  

To ensure this is possible, the ASR team is actively engaging leaders both centrally and within colleges and schools and is taking a data-informed and structured approach to change. Key to our success will be frequent and open communication within academic and central units, participation from both leaders and administrative professionals in both identifying current state and co-designing the path forward, fostering ownership and commitment to both the process and outcomes, and ensuring dedicated resources and transition supports are available throughout the anticipated change.  

This approach ensures that future administrative structures are sustainable, people-focused, and innovative, and meet the local needs of academic units, while also aligning with an institutional operational model. 

As the two ASR projects progress and outcomes and milestones are achieved, information will be communicated to those directly impacted by operational changes resulting from ASR Initiative recommendations.  

In 2010, Price-Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) was commissioned to support the Service and Process Enhancement Project (SPEP), with the goal of assessing the university’s services and providing recommendations for service improvements and efficiencies. Through this process, USask recognized that an organizational re-design of the administrative and support services would be an exceptionally valuable project to undertake. The university also noted that this would be a monumental and difficult task that would take years to complete, as it entailed creating a new organizational design for the university’s support services.

The initial focus was placed on payments and procurement, restructuring some communications, improving travel and expense claim processes, and consolidating printing services on campus. Recommendations also informed the development of the University of Saskatchewan Research Management System, an online system to manage research.

In September 2014, the focus turned to service design and delivery, an initiative to align and improve administrative services in ways that would support the university community in achieving its teaching and research goals. This Shared Services work was also intended to clarify administrative roles and to provide opportunities for development and career growth.

Shared Services is made up of three delivery methods: 

• Transactional/service supports are the main point of contact that deals with the majority of questions and transactions using standard systems, tools and policy, all with an emphasis on continually improving services. These supports include ConnectionPoint, ICT HelpDesks, financial operations research services, and facilities services. 
  
  
• Business partners are located/embedded in a college, school, or unit (or a cluster of colleges, schools, or units) and are experts in a specific area of administrative service. These individuals understand the organizational culture of the unit, manage day-to-day relationships, and provide guidance, strategic support and advice to deans, department heads and others in the college, school, or unit (or a cluster of colleges, schools, or units). Business partners also ensure units are aligned operationally with institutional strategy and ensure university supported resources are followed. Business partners include Strategic Business Advisors (SBAs) and ICT College Coordinators. 
  
  
• Centers of expertise provide university-wide policy, governance, strategy, and decision support informed by institutional data. They also design and develop standardized tools and resources for the campus community. Centers of expertise include Financial Operations, Human Resources, Procurement, etc. 

Excellent universities require administrative services that are aligned to support and facilitate their mission. As a member of the U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities, USask needs an optimized administrative environment to support its world-class research, scholarly and artistic work, and academic mission. 

Guided by the University Plan 2025, the Administrative Services Renewal (ASR) and Integrated Services Renewal (ISR) Initiatives are focused on aligning and modernizing our administrative environment through differing, yet complimentary approaches.

The Administrative Services Renewal (ASR) Initiative is working together with campus leaders to co-create a structure that aligns and supports our people, operations, and resources. ASR’s initial focus is on organizational changes to align and integrate administrative professionals that support leaders, faculty, and staff within colleges, schools, and support units.

The Integrated Services Renewal (ISR) Initiative works in parallel with ASR to leverage our people, processes, data, and technology. ISR is supporting a campus transition to a modern cloud-based enterprise system and technology to support human capital management, finance, and procurement services. This will lead to more consistency, clarity, and standardization in job roles, responsibilities, policies, and processes. Through this initiative, USask will replace critical systems that are outdated and will have better processes, policies, and information technology to integrate workflow and provide greater access to data to inform our decision making.

Although both ASR and ISR Initiatives are focused on people, the former is concentrated on the distribution and integration of administration professionals centrally and within colleges and schools, and the latter provides clarity around job roles, expectations, responsibilities, processes, and policies.

In the future state, our administrative environment will be fully integrated, user-focused, and future ready, fully capable of supporting USask to be the university the world needs. However, we still have much work to do and achieving the goals will require commitment from all members of the USask community.