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Task Groups: Strategies, Actions + Metrics/KPIs

Each Task Group was asked to draft and submit their strategies, actions, metrics/key performance indicators (KPIs) on March 10. This page highlights the work of these Task Groups. You can see their work for deliverable #1 (rationale, research, goals) here.

STRATEGY/ACTIONS
Develop 3-5 specific action recommendations, each tied to a goal and strategy.
How will we get to the goals? What specific actions are required?

METRICS + KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIs)
Define how CBE should measure progress to the specific goals.
What metrics or KPIs (key performance indicators) can CBE use to measure progress toward your goal(s)?

Strategic Planning Task Groups

Contact: Kate Simonen (ksimonen@uw.edu)

CBE encompasses unique sets of expertise covering the whole life cycle of built environments, from financing, planning, designing, construction, to use (facility management). The strategies and action items we select to implement our goals focus on aligning our expertise within UW and stepping out to drive change in our local, state, regional and global communities.

Goal 1: Rapidly decarbonize and enhance climate resilience of the UW campus.

Strategy 1.1: Form a Steering Committee to provide support, guidance, and oversight on climate and the campus built environment

  • Action Item: Recruit expertise to the Committee within and outside the CBE.

A concentration of expertise in decarbonization and resilience. Faculty and perhaps key administrators plus student representatives to launch in Fall, 2020.

  • Action Item: Establish administrative relationships for the Committee within UW.

Candidate administrative relationships at UW: Facilities, Faculty Senate, Provost’s Office. Examples of ongoing teams to join: Energy Roadmap (facilities), Sustainability Action Plan Executive Committee (facilities).

  • Action Item: Formalize the Role of the Committee within UW Plans and Procedures.

Possible roles: review and approval in the Capital Planning Process; pre-schematic design review of Capital Projects for MEP, renewables, and embodied carbon; produce a climate-specific appendix to the Campus Master Plan; review UW financial investments for climate implications and green bonds; oversee a campus-wide climate revolving fund for capital investments; oversee strategies for the energy and transportation sectors; update of emergency management plans with climate impacts.

Strategy 1.2: Actively engage in University-, City-, State-, and Global-level resilience and climate action planning efforts

Promote integration of climate measures with campus planning, budgeting, finance, capital planning, and campus life. Seek out opportunities to scale up.

  • Action Item: Promote the integration of climate action into the UW Capital Planning Process, the UW Sustainability Action Plan, and the Campus Master Plan

Start by articulating a more active role in the UW campus plans. Example: integrating measures of greenhouse gas emissions, embodied carbon, and resilience dividend into the prioritization of investments in the UW capital plan. Example: promote campus decarbonization targets in keeping with the UW Climate Impacts Group recommendations.

  • Action Item: Develop climate scenarios and action plans to enhance resilience in decision-making for UW campuses and their environments

Create a systematic, all-hazards framework for addressing the challenges of climate for the built environment

  • Action Item: In the medium term, scale involvement from the University-level up to City- and State-level resilience and climate action planning

Use campus-scaled scientific study of climate impacts to scale to a Washington Statewide version of California’s Cal-Adapt system, with a systematic framework for addressing the built environment.

Goal 2: Encourage CBE students, alumni, faculty, and staff to actively participate in resilience and climate planning, solutions and action.

Highlight different research and applied research efforts

Strategy 2.1: Host regular annual CBE climate action seminars, speaker series, and field trips/tours

  • Action Item: Establish a BE seminar series co-taught by college-wide team of faculty with expertise in climate and the built environment

Representation of the five departments is critical to achieve consistency with department-level curricula

  • Action Item: Develop and fund a speaker series of climate activists and their organizations

Invite the dynamic energy of climate activist groups into the CBE

  • Action Item: Organize and support cross-curricular events such as field trips or tours of sites indicative of climate problems and solutions in the built environment

Self-standing events can become the backbone of multiple curricular offerings across the college, if open for instructors to sign up their classes for attendance.

Strategy 2.2: Encourage student interest, experimentation, and career opportunity at the intersection of climate and the built environment

  • Action Item: Host a college-wide culminating showcase of graduating student research, designs, and technologies on climate and the built environment

One model for this could be the Information School’s Capstone Event, a showcase which features over 100 tables of student work and attracts 100’s of employers every year

  • Action Item: Engage the CBE in the development of climate scenarios and action plans to enhance resilience for UW campuses

Would be led by faculty and supported by the administration, and could take the shape of a plan or a recurring college-wide studio to visit each of the major shocks and stressors for the campus due to climate change

  • Action Item: Offer a wide range of curriculum choices that address climate solutions, offer problem and subject centered learning, and provide service opportunities through community based projects, awareness campaigns and research

Service-learning activities could focus on the University as a test bed, for issues faced by neighboring, national or international communities.

Goal 3: CBE should have a communications strategy in place to help us speak in a unified voice toward climate action

Strategy 3.1: Communicate in a unified voice toward climate action

  • Action Item: Align expertise and interests within CBE regarding climate change

Convergence research entails integrating knowledge, methods, and expertise from different disciplines (departments, colleges, universities and industry partners) to form novel frameworks to catalyze discovery and innovation.

  • Action Item: Create an aligned value definition of sustainability in built environments. 
  • Action Item: Promote CBE participation in multi-disciplinary teams and the incorporation of a climate agenda

Examples: Team Science, Sustainability Science, NSF Growing Convergence Research, EarthLab, Urban @ UW

Strategy 3.2: Launch a CBE communications strategy for climate-related research, teaching, and service

  • Action Item: Develop a lexicon and/or repository of communication materials on climate and the built environment

Consider the fast pace of research, development, and policy-making in this field, and the time-saving possibility of tapping into written works, graphic communications, and applications specific to our Campus, City, State, Region, as well as the need to elevate our own research products and policy papers.

  • Action Item: Update web communications with climate-forward content

Could highlight the research, teaching, and service activities of CBE members and alumni, and provide context for these activities

  • Action Item: Fortify CBE alumni, industry, and advancement networks with those who are curious about or share an interest in climate solutions for built environments

Industry concern grows with the financial sector’s growing awareness of vulnerability of built assets to impacts.  To bolster reputation and possibly returns, firms are beginning to announce ambitious climate targets that implicate their own physical assets. Washington State policy is similarly advancing more ambitious targets. All of these are drivers of change for the built environment.

Goal 4. Establish CBE as a leader in climate action education and research.

Strategy 4.1: Organize CBE climate research expertise, with affiliates in UW, into a formal UW City Climate Institute

One possible model is the UW Clean Energy Institute, filling the gaps in UW expertise from bench science to commercialization and scaling of clean energy technology

  • Action Item: Host and support coordinated meetings to link researchers with opportunities such as research announcements and requests for applied research
  • Action Item: Raise funding pursuant to applied and basic research on climate and the built environment, in the State of Washington and beyond

The UW Clean Energy Institute was launched in 2013 with a $40M allocation from the WA State budget.

  • Action Item: Leverage the university’s power as a demonstration model for establishing ambitious decarbonization rates

Setting goals, executing strategies and verifying results so that we mitigate risk, adapt for uncertain future and demonstrate solutions that can scale to our State and beyond

Strategy 4.2: Establish a climate-forward strategy for recruiting and retaining CBE expertise in climate research and education

  • Action Item: Perform a gap analysis of basic and applied climate research and educational expertise in CBE

Complete the analysis by Winter, 2021.

  • Action Item: Recruit and raise funds to endow faculty and graduate research positions that fill gaps and expand opportunity with CBE climate expertise

Target foundations as well as industry partners to provide equal opportunity to fill gaps in the five departments

  • Action Item: Engage all five departments to create a curricular plan for CBE to comprehensively address climate and built environment in our educational offerings

Leverage the gap analysis to make a curricular plan, to be implemented within the next three academic years.

Contact: Nancy Dragun (dragun@uw.edu) and Laura Osburn (lbusch@uw.edu)

Document communication processes, people, and tools and aid in identifying gaps which might require additional resources

ACTION #1: Make communications resources clear
Metrics/KPI’s:

  1. earned media- internal to UW; external to UW
  2. number of submissions to comms help form or new story form per quarter
  3. number of people helped per month;
  4. number of emails sent by 3rd party tools per month
  5. number of people trained

ACTION #2: Ensure everyone has options to communicate in ways that are accessible, secure, and honor opt-out rules
Metrics/KPI’s:

  1. track number of emails sent by 3rd party tools per month
  2. standardize an accessibility review process and apply it to our communications

Document communication processes, people, and tools and aid in identifying gaps which might require additional resources

ACTION #3: Where cost effective, ensure all Dean’s lectures and other key CBE events are livestreamed or at a minimum recorded for later viewing by those students and alumni that cannot attend events in person.
Metrics/KPI’s:

  1. track number of people joining via livestreaming or accessing recording after the event.
  2. track number of submissions to comms help form or new story form per quarter

Cultivate and in turn, propel stories that impact on the CBE mission and values as identified by the strategic planning process.

ACTION #1: Define an overarching strategy for generating, propelling and disseminating the CBE story as departmental stories; develop the framework of overall CBE story/brand as guidelines for further communications.
Metrics/KPIs

  1. click through and read rates
  2. social media and digital story engagements and donations
  3. earned media rates
  4. shares across our networks
  5. recruitment of students, volunteers
  6. long-term engagement of alumni, donors, etc.

Contact: Rachel Berney (rberney@uw.edu) and Rick Mohler (remohler@uw.edu)

Here is our Deliverable 1, written up using the template provided in the Charter to create the beginning of Deliverable 2.

Goal 1: Focus on college-age recruitment

Strategy: Attract undergraduate students to CBE coursework starting as freshmen   

Actions:

  • Increase CBE visibility within UW
  • Increase enrollment into CBE undergraduate classes, minors, and programs
  • High school outreach and recruitment – leverage/connect with existing programs on campus such as the Robinson Center, Hip Hop Architecture, 2050 Workout, and the tech camp that uses Gould Hall in the summer

KPIs:

  • ABB revenue increases for freshman, sophomore, and non-majors (and helps support future outreach work)
  • Increased student diversity in application and enrollment
  • Leverage/create select large-lecture classes (blockbusters) such as Arch 150
  • Track marketing efforts and changes in attitudes before/after

 

Goal 2: Create/support interdisciplinary opportunities in UG and Grad programs

Strategy: Leverage college-wide strengths as bridges across departments

Actions:

  • Encourage students to understand cross-disciplinary needs (e.g. CBE professional program exchange/practice class)
  • Require interdisciplinary engagement to address contemporary challenges
  • Increase support for interdisciplinary research involving students within CBE
  • Advance CBE reputation in technology, craft, history/theory, public-interest design, climate and so forth
  • Maximize role and benefit of Fab Lab within CBE
  • Provide a college-wide design-build program
  • Co-locate studios from different disciplines within same space – break-down the spatial divisions
  • Support coordination among departments for the studio scheduling and selection process
  • Require more coursework outside home department

KPIs:

  • Students take coursework outside their department
  • Track marketing efforts
  • Track interdisciplinary enrollments in relationship to opportunities
  • Build a catalog of college-wide design-build courses
  • Track what is actually done in terms of scheduling and selection

Strategy: Build and coordinate infrastructure for community-engagement efforts

Actions:

  • Increase collaboration and partnerships between CBE and community groups
  • Engage a practice-based curriculum focused on equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI)
  • Foster increased interdisciplinary engagement
  • Consolidate existing community engagement efforts into a CBE Community-Engagement Center

KPIs:

  • Create a college-wide community engagement center (consider the Center for Livable Cities, LCY, and Urban@UW)
  • Create an Assistant Dean position to run the community engagement center
  • Increased engagement with underserved communities
  • Increased diversity in student, staff, and faculty groups

 

Goal 3: Create/support interdisciplinary opportunities in the PhD and Post-Doctoral Programs

Strategy: Augment College PhD Programs

Actions:

  • Increase viability and standing of Ph.D. programs
  • Support CBE-wide research and scholarship
  • Increase teaching opportunities for PhD candidates in pre-major and professional degree programs
  • Provide support for sponsoring faculty of PhD students and program administration

KPIs:

  • Assessment of marketing efforts
  • Increased funding support for Ph.D. students (e.g. TA-ships, RA-ships, etc.)
  • Increased acceptance of those opportunities
  • Decreased reliance on individual faculty to support Ph.D. students
  • College-wide programmatic support – provide support from ABB funds from goal 1

Higher-level issue: need more funding for PhD students to compete with other universities. Need to reform the TA-ship-focused method of supporting doctoral students.

Contact: Kim Sawada (sawada@uw.edu), group lead

Revised Goals:

Provide the educational and workplace conditions that prioritize physical and mental well-being of students, faculty and staff.

+Develop policies and best practices resources and intranet toolkit for CBE students, faculty and staff for their learning, teaching and personal well-being. This CBE toolkit should be specific to the needs of our students, such as learning in a studio environment and should also refer to resources in the Husky Experience Toolkit. 

  1. Review existing college, departmental and studio policies for unmet needs. Identify areas where new resources need to be developed. Consult with faculty particularly those involved in CBE Raising Resilience Initiative to learn more about their outcomes.
  2. Look at HWB policies and documents in other units and from other institutions, such as UW Austin’s “Texas Well-Being.”
  3. Produce resource material and organize a launch/rollout campaign. Host this information on CBE Intranet, review at orientations and include on syllabi.
  4. Implement identified strategies and best practices
  5. KPI: Evaluate effectiveness by taking inventory of stress levels throughout the quarter and looking at click through rates on HWB information resources page.

It was surprising to learn that roughly half of the student respondents were aware of campus-wide student directed HWB (Health and Well-Being) services and resources.  And fewer than half of those students utilized them.  This could indicate an opportunity to highlight and strengthen the connection to campus services.

Through the results of CBE Strategic Planning Survey, we were able to sketch a picture of student, staff, and faculty stress levels at different points in the quarter.  This information can be used to target HWB messaging to these respective groups.  This messaging should include resources as well as tips to deal with stress.  Additionally, this information along with student check-ins at targeted times in the quarter can be used by staff and faculty to gauge when to introduce preventative and

Promote and support innovative research and teaching on health and well-being issues that informs and directs best practices in our professions.

+Sponsor and host events that showcase the HWB work of our faculty, students, alumni, research centers and labs.

  1. Explore interest and viability of hosting and annual public lecture or event around an HWB topic, possibly in coordination with another campus unit or initiative, such as the Population Health Initiative, School of Public Health, College of the Environment etc..
  2. Host continuing education opportunities that engage and bring together our professional communities around current topics of research in CBE
  3. KPI: Evaluate activities by attendance and feedback to determine areas of improvement and continuation

Connect current faculty research related to health and well-being to other opportunities at the UW.  Connecting with other academic units and capitalizing on already identified initiatives holds the potential to allow us to expand capacity.

+Expand and Strengthen our relationships with other campus units through shared new interdisciplinary HWB courses and undergraduate minors and graduate certificate programs.

  1. Inventory our resources including faculty expertise, programs, labs, centers and facilities
  2. Connect with leadership in other units across campus as a meet and greet and to explore synergies and opportunities to share resources.
  3. Identify unmet needs and opportunities for additional specialized coursework and programs around HWB, such as developing new interdisciplinary courses and/or certificate programs to serve both CBE students as well as students and programs in allied disciplines such as the School of Public Health, and College of the Environment, which has both undergraduate and graduate programs and students.
  4. KPI: Evaluate initiatives based on the number of new initiatives generated, participation and enrollment numbers and feedback such as course and program evaluations.

Contact: Jennifer Dee (jendee@uw.edu) and Ann Huppert (ahuppert@uw.edu)

Goal: Identify Humanities + Histories + Futures values, ethics, narratives within the CBE

Action: Inventory existing HHF-related efforts within the CBE and survey student interests in research into humanities and historically-established lines of investigation

Survey and assess existing:

  • Courses in history, theory, urbanism, ethics, humanities, futures, communication and presentation tactics
  • Research activities – funded and non-funded or under-funded projects
  • Centers and Labs (i.e., Green Futures Lab, Center for Preservation and Adaptive Reuse)
  • Programs (i.e., the CBE PhD; the Dean’s Distinguished Lecture series)
  • Interdisciplinary Initiatives

Measure:

Analysis will include identifying what is missing, overlapping and synergetic, redundant

Success measured by completion of information-gathering

Assessment of our current position relative to aspirational programs including:

Goal: Establish a Center for Humanities+Histories+Futures

To amplify and develop support for teaching, research and service in this critical area.

To provide a platform for communication and interaction with other areas in the strategic plan such as technology and climate action around shared values and narratives in order to envision humane and just futures within the College and the professions.

Actions:

  • Coordinate and broadcast information via a website about relevant courses, research, programs, scheduled events across the UW and Seattle to serve as a clearinghouse/network*
  • Generate and support innovative H+H+F curricula, events such as lectures, symposia, workshops, initiatives within and for the College**and broader University and civic communities
  • Highlight and support faculty research, positioning H+H+F-focused research as an existing and central component of CBE activity
  • Build capacity for student communication competency and develop support for ongoing activities such as communications-focused efforts, ie writing and professional presentation skills, within the College.

*Urban@UW is a model to develop structure for H+H+F Center website
**Simpson Center is a model for hosting symposia, lectures with associated short 1 credit seminars, or workshops that promote interdisciplinary discourse and interaction.

Measures:

  • Attendance and participation in new activities
  • Increased website hits/list-serv membership
  • Measure queries of interest from prospective students

Contact: Jennifer Davison (jnfrdvsn@uw.edu), group lead

Strategies and key performance indicators for improving interdisciplinary research (IDR) within CBE

CBE recognizes that IDR is a powerful method of addressing today’s complex challenges, engaging many ideas for more just solutions, and preparing built environments leaders for our collective future. To increase the number, diversity, and quality of IDR efforts, including collaborations across disciplines, units, campuses and sectors, we recommend three goals, with the following associated strategies and KPIs. Each of these goals, the strategies to achieve them, and the KPIs of the strategies and goals, are interrelated (please see

Appendix 1 for details).

1. Better understand and communicate CBE’s interdisciplinary research.

    1. Create shared definitions, and examples, of IDR in CBE, so that we develop a shared understanding and increase visibility.
    2. Aggregate, analyze and synthesize data on IDR: create a robust data capture and management infrastructure with attendant capacity to maintain and analyze the data.
    3. Communicate/connect across CBE’s IDR efforts.
    4. Communicate externally about CBE’s IDR.

Key performance indicators to measure progress toward this goal include:

  • More stories are told about IDR and its impacts.
  • Robust documentation and tracking of IDR exists across CBE.
  • CBE provides regular college-wide reports about IDR and the drivers, barriers and impacts are shared strategically, enabling researchers and the college to assess, adapt, and achieve these strategies and goals.

2. Increase administrative support for interdisciplinary research in CBE.

    1. Have staffing dedicated to leading the strategies and efforts to achieve IDR goals, as described herein.
    2. Provide advancement and research development support.
    3. Provide administrative support for grants and service contracts that specifically relieves fiscal barriers for both cross-campus and community partnerships.
    4. Provide project management including convening/events/coordination.
    5. Provide trainings for IDR for faculty and staff.
    6. Provide support for teaching faculty to integrate IDR into curricula through practical training, exercises and/or experience.

Key performance indicators to measure progress toward this goal include:

  • Additional FTE supported by CBE that has a specific job description, roles/responsibilities and measures of success that relate to improving IDR as above.
  • IDR projects and programs’ burdens are reduced.
  • More IDR funding opportunities are accessed and attained.
  • More courses explicitly state and engage in IDR methodologies, exercises, or experiences.

3. Align college-level incentives and address institutional barriers to interdisciplinary research.

    1. Align promotion and tenure criteria to acknowledge the value of IDR.
    2. Provide professional development, funding, and awards for faculty, staff, and students that communicate how CBE values IDR.
    3. Align relevant search criteria and position descriptions to acknowledge the value of IDR.
    4. Examine and address barriers in academic programs so that more students can undertake more intentional skill-building in collaborative research.
    5. Examine and address barriers within funding and fiscal mechanisms and make changes in policies and procedures to more effectively support IDR.

Key performance indicators to measure progress toward this goal include:

  • Departmental and College-wide P&T guidelines state the importance of IDR, describe how faculty can document it, and provide criteria for evaluation.
  • New faculty and staff positions explicitly describe how a candidate’s IDR work is/will be expected and/or supported, as appropriate.
  • College-level awards for IDR are implemented for faculty, staff, students, and research teams.
  • College-level seed grants or other small support opportunities are implemented.
  • New fiscal and funding policies and procedures are adopted and utilized, leading to quicker nd for IDR grants and post-grant administration.

Appendix 1 IDR Strategies and KPIs
Appendix 2 IDR Presentation Notes

Contact: Jeff Hou (jhou@uw.edu)

Strategies & Actions

  1. Establish a Center for Local/Global Initiatives (tentative name) with dedicated space and staff to serve as a key mechanism for accomplishing the goals in creating synergistic projects, to coordinate, support, and promote local and global activities at CBE, to develop EDI capacity, including support for student and faculty leadership and outreach through local and global engagement, and to engage community partners and potential supporters. Goals 1, 2, 3
  2. Develop and regularly update a centralized database of global and local activities at CBE through systematic collection and documentation that can be accessed online through the CBE website. Leverage these activities and records for enhancement of CBE reputation, profile, recruitment, and advancement efforts. Goals 1, 2 
  3. Create a need-based faculty grant and a student scholarship fund to support study abroad and international collaborations at the level of $100,000 a year to make study abroad and other international programs accessible to faculty and students regardless of their level of financial resources.  Goal 3

Metrics + KPIs

  • Establishing the Center: Defining missions, activities, and structure, allocation and amount of budget, the formation of a steering committee, regular meetings and reports, list of activities and accomplishments
  • Development of global/local activity database: Completeness/coverage of database, accessibility, searchability, development of materials for outreach, evidence of CBE reputation in local/global engagement
  • Curriculum, courses, and programs that engage in local/global engagement: Number of existing and new courses, programs, etc.; student enrollments; community partners engaged; faculty involvement
  • Student recruitment from underserved and underrepresented populations: Number of recruits, scholarships and financial aids offered
  • Student & faculty leadership: Number of projects supported, funds allocated, project impact
  • A need-based scholarship for study abroad and international collaboration: Amount raised and distributed

Contact: Meegan Amen (meegan@uw.edu) and Kimo Griggs (kimog@uw.edu)

GOAL 1

Improve efficiency, synergy and equity through a holistic review of current space allocation; identify opportunities; and explore additional resources.

Strategies:

Allocate space to promote community engagement.

  • College level studio assignments by program level. For example, Graduates/Architecture; undergraduates/Gould.
    • Proximity allows for student engagement in underutilized public areas and promotes collaboration.
    • Organize activity zones floor by floor or by adjacency.
  • Improve Student Services Accessibility
    • Reduce office closures (lunch, all-college meetings, part-time or flex-hour employees, etc.).
    • Improves safety and community by relocating empty summer faculty offices.
    • Possibly creates new secured student breakout spaces in lobbies
    • Departments can share student employee support.
  • Research proximity or combining resources (increasing student researchers/ hourly employment, etc.) and PIs exposed to research intersectionalit

 

Create a Materials Store and Career Center.

Review under-utilized spaces and associated costs and the value to the student experience.

Continue to identify and implement  interior and exterior place/space opportunities. See comprehensive list of ideas.

GOAL 2

Review instructional space allocation—CBE studios and classrooms—through the lens of space and (student) time management.

Strategies:

Re-evaluate the entirety of Time Schedule Construction by quarter and year.

  • Improve student life balance by consolidating the instruction window.
  • Review class time-length to optimize learning.
  • Minimize evening instruction, particularly after studio.
  • Scheduling consistency for 1) recruitment and 2) life-balance.
  • No class through a set lunch hour so rooms are available for clubs/info sessions.
  • Evaluate curriculum (e.g. 007) for redundancy: offer college wide for better efficiency.
  • Schedule and publicize annual schedules as a recruiting tool.

Determine college space capacities.

  • Identify the appropriate spaces, infrastructure and technology needs that provide the most forward and inclusive instruction and research.
  • Review increased faculty:student studio ratios, hot desks, etc., and improved student outcomes.
  • Review course offerings over entire year for equally weighted quarters (both quantitative and student stress load).
  • Explore instruction mediums that improve accessibility and free physical space.
  • Confirm dual degree, certificate, minor, department electives, and freshmen and sophomore courses don’t overlap.

GOAL 3

Explore how college space can create opportunities for the cross-fertilization of cultures within the college.

Strategies:

Design public and instruction break-out space for student learning and mental needs including daylight, quiet, and personal engagement.

Display current student studio work in  public beyond just review so students can identify like-focused cohorts across disciplines and create community.

Tiers of display everywhere possible (curated/impromptu, digital/analog, inside/outside, etc.). Likewise, prominently showcase alumni accomplishments to exemplify how the CBE community reaches beyond campus and making students feel an affinity for CBE.

Improve ventilation, lighting, and building access systems.

GOAL 4

Create space guidelines to provide guidance and continuity while incentivizing spontaneous and planned creativity.

Strategies:

Create a visual sense of community between Gould and Architecture Halls by creating a committee to evaluate a uniform space and place guidelines/templates for furniture, paint color, blinds, signage, etc..

Document space-use policies.

Support non-destructive, temporary student work; leave breathing room for tactical urbanism.

Align with the University, as able, to create space guidelines.

KPIs (timeline TBD)

  • Review student enrollment and employment data annually for increases.
  • Asses improved student experience/life-balance through annual student exit survey (Student Experience task group).
  • Has student assistance for research increased?
  • Visually and anecdotally, are constituents engaging our space more? Less public clutter?

Contact: Manish Chalana (chalana@uw.edu)

CONTEXT AND DRAFT KPIs – CBE SOCIAL JUSTICE, EQUITY AND INCLUSION TASK GROUP

DRAFT – UPDATED 03/13/20

Overarching objective: UW CBE recognizes that current and emerging built environment practitioners & educators have a duty to work to undo and  address historic systemic injustices in the built environment professions. To achieve this, the Social Justice + Equity Task Group of the CBE Strategic Plan is setting goals that center diversity, equity and inclusion in all of our work, and use it as a lense for cultivating a welcoming and empowered college culture. 

GOAL 1: CLIMATE & CULTURE  Cultivate and Ensure an inclusive College identify, climate and culture that fosters a welcoming environment for all students, faculty and staff particularly those groups that have been historically underrepresented in our professions.

Strategies

  1. Integrate social justice and EDI in all aspects of the CBE’s operations
  2. people understand the importance of Equity Diversity Inclusion( EDI) and have self-awareness and skillfulness in actions

Potential KPIs

  1. EDI established as a key pillar of the strategic plan and commitment is reflected in an increasing number of public documents and processes
  2. Standing committee established to review overarching concerns and promotion of EDI and social justice concerns. Additional targets set after first year
  3. College IDI score – moves towards adaptation by x%
  4. Annual student climate survey and exit surveys established to affirm improvements in culture and support. Targets set after first year
  5. X% increase  topics and lectures by leaders from historically underrepresented communities and/or integrating topics that address concerns prominent in these communities 
  6. Affinity groups established to support safe environments for support, grassroots engagement; supported by financial and communications support
  7. Establishment and x% increase in funding for department grassroots efforts to support social justice and EDI 
  8. Increase visibility online and recognition for faculty, staff and students that model and champion EDI and social justice goals and objectives, measured by online articles/stories and awards (exact measure TBD by SJEDI Committee – however it is named and constituted)

GOAL 2: PEOPLE & PROCESS  Create systems that center and honor voices of historically underrepresented communities. (Add wording about the most impact and benefit from these efforts in our learning community.)

Strategies

  1. promote a curriculum that engages multiple and diverse topics and voices in all CBE courses; centering and honoring voices of historically underrepresented communities
  2. increase recruitment admissions, retention and allocation of financial support and scholarships for underrepresented students
  3. increase hiring and retention of underrepresented faculty and staff

Draft KPIs

  1. Curriculum guidelines established to support review to further integrate multiple and diverse topics and voices in all CBE courses; centering and honoring voices of historically underrepresented communities
  2. X% year over year decline in student reporting concerns re: equity and inclusion (need to discuss best measures)
  3. X% year over year increase in admissions of students from historically underrepresented communities
  4. X% year over year increase in retention of  students from historically underrepresented communities 
  5. Increase staff FTE to support centralized student services
  6. Increase in scholarship and financial aid to underrepresented students
  7. Increase in candidate pools for staff hires by x%
  8. Increase in staff hires from  historically underrepresented communities by x%
  9. Increase in candidate pools for faculty hires by x% 
  10. Increase in faculty hires from  historically underrepresented communities x% 
  11. Align and integrate total business planning process and communications plan; set measures over the course of the first year and review annually after
  12. Departments and college reviews HR policies and on-boarding annually, looking thru the lens of diversity, communicates results and plans for improvements to stakeholders

GOAL 3: LEARN &  MODEL  Learn best practices and be accountable for integrating social justice and EDI practice to benefit the college and the professions and communities we work in.

Strategies 

  1. Create spaces and offer resources to cultivate grassroots ideas furthering
    social justice and EDI into college wide practices to model best practices
  2. Develop and showcase equitable practice in education to transform professions 

Draft  KPIs

  1. x% increase in number of grassroots activities at both the department and college level
    (can be correlate to the climate survey and/or exit surveys)
  2. Guidelines for best practices for curriculum development and classroom management established, reviewed annually and integrated into faculty evaluation
  3. Activities and systems to track, evaluate and determine best practices for behavior: institutional, group and individual levels 
  4. Publication of papers or conference presentations at professional conferences (or other means to share stories, resources and knowledge demonstrating learning in the field )

Contact: Megan Herzog (herzomeg@uw.edu)

Goal 1: Expand CBE Student Outreach

Strategy: Identify and develop CBE interagency relationships to promote student recruitment

Actions:

  1. Consult with the following entities to improve referrals to CBE degree programs:
    1. U W General Advising: UAA, OMAD, SAAS, and University Honors
    2. Other academic institutions such as high schools, community colleges, Bachelor programs, etc.
    3. UW Career Center Interest Communities
    4. UW Graduate School and GO-MAP
    5. Metrics/KPIs: Schedule meetings quarterly and annually
  2. Encourage faculty to take an active role in recruitment and use current, research-based strategies
    1. Metrics/KPIs: All 100- and 200-level CBE courses will provide information about CBE majors
    2. Metrics/KPIs: Track how students find out about programs
  3. Identify and develop resources that will allow us to recruit and retain a diverse student population such as:
    1. Establish a CBE general fund
    2. Help students identify funding via scholarships, grants, work-study/TA positions, etc.
    3. Metrics/KPIs: CBE degree programs to compile and strengthen existing efforts in a shared document

Goal 2: Improve CBE culture, resources, and opportunities for students

Strategy: Identify, assess, and mitigate sources of friction towards student success

Actions:

  1. Research and identify areas of improvement regarding student health and well-being
    1. Implement a required training, such as Husky Health & Well-being, for all faculty & staff on UW student wellbeing and how to support a student in distress. Ensure it meets the Policies being established by Health & Wellbeing Task Group and any future policies at the University level.
      1. Metrics/KPIs: Record those that attend trainings
    2. Partner with UW Resilience Lab on their Well-Being for Life & Learning Initiative
      1. Metrics/KPIs: Track Faculty participation rates
    3. Reduce student anxiety around design critiques by providing faculty constructive feedback training; develop best-practices and share with outside reviewers
      1. Metrics/KPIs: Develop and then record those that attend trainings
    4. Host a series of recurring wellbeing events, such as those offered UW Mindfulness, Yoga & Meditation
      1. Metrics/KPIs: Schedule events and track number of attendees
    5. Familiarize CBE students with health and well-being resources on campus and how to take advantage of them
      1. Metrics/KPIs: Integrate at orientations or welcome days
  2. Promote an equitable, diverse, and inclusive learning environment for all CBE students
    1. Metrics/KPIs: Track reported incidents
  3. Ensure students are referred to by their preferred names and pronouns
    1. Metrics/KPIs: Faculty make note on the first day of every class
  4. Ensure all CBE students obtain one or more Internships in their field; Additional High-Impact Learning Experiences such as hands-on learning, study abroad, and research & leadership projects should be emphasized
    1. Metrics/KPIs: Track student internship participation rates
  5. Expand interdisciplinary learning opportunities — both internal to CBE and with other Colleges at UW
    1. Metrics/KPIs: Promote cross-listed courses and concurrent degrees
  6. Train CBE administrators on existing data (SERU, exit interviews, Course Evaluations, survey feedback, UW-IT data analysis) to identify barriers students experience and then work to remove those barriers
    1. Metrics/KPIs: Track participation rates
  7. Ensure courses take advantage of online tools to accommodate different learning styles; lectures, events live-streamed and/or recorded
    1. Metrics/KPIs: Verify presence of instruction materials online; Track number of participants in live streams or viewing recorded events
  8. Identify where building environments can be changed to benefit students including:
    1. Increasing informal gathering / discussion / collaboration spaces and dedicated team project spaces
    2. Applying biophilic design
    3. Providing access to comfort amenities such as vending and coffee machines
    4. Metrics/KPIs: Gauge student satisfaction
  9. Provide additional tools to prepare for post-graduation success, such as:
    1. Portfolio workshops and reviews
    2. Writing workshops
    3. Encourage Faculty to translate classroom work into career skills to improve Student resumes such as “What the Husky Experience Means in the Classroom”
    4. Metrics/KPIs: Record number of workshops conducted per year and attendance numbers
  10. Develop and Implement a regular CBE culture survey
    1. Metrics/KPIs: Report out results of CBE culture survey at All College meetings

Goal 3: Strengthen connections with CBE alumni

Strategy: Identify, strengthen, and maintain comprehensive engagement opportunities

Actions:

  1. Develop a uniform CBE exit interview and 6-month post graduation s urvey similar to the Office of Educational Assessment
    1. Metrics/KPIs: Track statistics and results of survey
  2. Share alumni success stories
    1. Metrics/KPIs: Post stories on CBE websites and amplify via social media
  3. Establish CBE alumni ambassadors to assist in recruiting new students, job placement for graduates and expanding the CBE brand recognition
    1. Metrics/KPIs: Track ambassadors and their efforts
  4. Develop alumni profiles similar to Arts & Sciences’ There’s a Job for That
    1. Metrics/KPIs: Track site metrics and engagement with students

Contact: Tyler Sprague (tyler2@uw.edu)

  1. Make the CBE Task Group a permanent, college-recognized advisory group (CBE Tech, or TAC)This group will serve as a resource to faculty, staff and students interested in CBE technology issues. This group would meet once per quarter to discuss CBE Tech issues, assess & maintain college-defined directions, and advise the Dean on larger Technology decisions, including funding of college resources.  The group will have representation from each department (at minimum), and welcome involvement from tech partners outside CBE.  For reference, this group would be like both College Council, and the departmental Professional Advisory Councils.
  2. Develop a cohesive teaching approach to CBE TechnologyDepartments work with CBE Tech to identify knowledge/skills common to CBE, incorporate them into shared lower-level courses & tutorials, and facilitate advanced tech seminars.  Departments would maintain upper-level, discipline-specific courses

Develop College-level, introductory course(s)

This would be an opportunity for CBE faculty & staff to collaborate on a course, establish college identity and attract freshmen to CBE.

For Example: BE1XX – Technology and the Built Environments

Freshman-level, intro course providing intro to Rhino, ArcGIS, ‘Bluebeam’, Adobe, fabrication as means to address BE issues.  Course instructor adjustments would be needed to staff the course, and scale with demand.

Develop/Expand College-level interdisciplinary Course(s)

This would allow undergrad/grad students to learn about integrated methods and technologies used in a collaborative environment to carry out projects in built environment.

For example: BE5XX – Design+Build Project Studio

Students attend an integrated studio (taught by Arch/CM departments) to learn about design/construction tools and collaborations required in the design and pre-construction process.

Organize College-level Resources (on-line)

This would entail collecting technology resources in a single location – including short, curated on-line videos that provide introductory skill-based instruction, tutorials from other sources (UW licenses, UW library, Public Library), and other tech resources. This could be utilized by students enrolled in classes as foundation, or others interested.  Compensation would be needed for creation of videos, assessment, and maintenance of resource.

Schedule College-level Tech Seminars (CBE Tech Seminars)

This would entail organization of short sessions – single lecture, spring break course – intended to advance new tech knowledge in CBE.  Seminars could be offered by grad students, high-level professionals, faculty, etc. – as peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing of cutting-edge ideas and expertise.  These would be scheduled in advance (like lecture series), intended to place CBE in a larger tech conversation, and open to all.  Minimal compensation would be needed for instructors, organizers.           

  1. Facilitate research connections within the professional communityAssist faculty in identifying potential research partners, articulating the value of CBE perspective & capabilities to the larger community.  Similar to the Architectural Research Consortium, this program would help organize masters level research aligned with professional community and promote interdisciplinary research.
  2. Establish a technology-focused, Ph.D. level research track, fundedPursue technology-focused support from the larger Seattle tech community, through partnerships with visionary firms and institutions (outside the professional community).  This would require larger amounts of funding (coordination with UW advancement), only possible through high-level strategic partnerships.   In order to achieve this, CBE would need a consistent message articulating the value that the CBE perspective brings to solving larger issues, and the visibility of research produced (in both academic and public realms).

Metrics + KPIs

Metrics

  1. Is there an active CBE Tech group? Do they effectively advise the Dean, and is this advice considered?  Is there discourse and clarity in College-wide decisions?
  2. Are there college-wide CBE technology courses? Are the courses well attended, online tutorials used, and do the seminars present leading ideas?  Are students able to meet their technology needs?
  3. Are faculty empowered to explore new technology-enabled research directions?
  4. Do students feel like they are prepared for the technology issues they face in the future?
  5. Does the college maintain a dialogue and relationship with technology companies?

Specific KPIs for the identified strategies

  1. Reporting regular meetings and tracking members’ participants. Ensuring representation of college-wide technology-related programs and resources, tech task group self-evaluation.
  2. Number of developed courses and tech seminars, students’ satisfaction, Tech task group evaluation. Long-term KPIs: a) tracking progress based on an established roadmap containing identified BE technologies and ideas, b) tracking progress based on the feedback from industry partners.
  3. Number of newly added consortium members, number of granted research projects, Tech task group evaluation. Long-term KPI: industry partners’ feedback
  4. Amount of funding, number of opportunities created for PhD-level students/postdoc researchers, CBE PhD students/ postdoc researchers’ feedbacks, tech task group evaluation.