University Centres that Matter

1. University Centres that Matter Margaret Hallock Centre for Work Life September 2007

2. My Background • Director of two university centers at the University of Oregon: • Labor Education and Research Center • Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics • Organizational and strategic consultant to labor organizations, labor studies programs, and community organizations

3. Mission is Key • Well-defined, explicit, specific • Understandable to university and community • Not idiosyncratic to one person • Close ties to University • Complements existing structures

4. Mission is Key, cont’d • Unique in part; Place matters • Values: point of view • Authentic community participation • Offers funding opportunities

5. Defining the Mission • Why do we exist? • Who do we serve? Who cares? • What do we provide? • What are our unique contributions? • How do we know when we are effective? • In what areas must we be highly effective to be successful?

6. Mission and Programs • Based on these focus questions, the Centre exists to ...…”produce high-quality research that can be used to improve public policy…” • We accomplish this through the core activities of: • Research on employment policy • Public programs • Internships for community scholars • ?

7. Mission must be focused • “Focus is a resource.” • Tom Woodruff, SEIU, as quoted by Mark Butler of LHMU.

8. Strategic Planning • Important to do regularly, change with times • “If we don’t change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed.” Chinese Proverb

9. An Outline for Strategic Planning • Team building to discover “working styles” • Review or Define Mission • SWOT Analysis: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats

10. Strategic Planning, cont’d. • Name Goal or Program Areas and evaluate “current performance” and “urgency of improvement” • E.g., Research,Education Programs,Policy advocacy, Dissemination, Management, Resources • Identify Critical Issues necessary for success • Set measurable goals and annual plans

11. Power of a Bad Example • Air traffic controllers • Teamsters • Food and commercial workers

12. Good examples • International Longshore and Warehouse • Service employees • LHMU in Australia

13. Critical Decision Points • Leadership • Advisory Board • Relationship to the university • Role of academics and students • Relationship to the community

14. Leadership – Who? • Three to five people with passion. • Key leader from university. • Different expertise or perspective • Reputation and trust is paramount, cannot be recovered • Need someone from community who will live or die with you; and a trusted advisor • Entrepreneurial skills

15. Board Issues • Advisory or governing? • Working v. titular? • Composition: NOT academics only

16. Board Roles • Vision: Catalyst, advisor, leader • Technical: planner, monitor, evaluator, governor • External: organizer, promoter, networker • Funding: fundraiser • Pitfalls: time on trivial, small picture bias, fuzzy expectations, rehash

17. Relationship to University • Must contribute to academic mission • Mimic academic structure and activities, complement existing structures • Top leadership support. Must be defensible, need leadership backstop. • Pick battles carefully – be pragmatic and keep internal disputes internal. • Help university see benefits of community involvement. • Tensions regarding using public funds.

18. Role of Academics • Promotion and tenure criteria are paramount • Incentives – what’s in it for them? • Faculty life can be petty and jealous • Impact on teaching: role of applied research, new classes • Pay attention to deans and department heads

19. Multi-disciplinary Issues • Individual contributions difficult to cite • Walk v. talk (funding, incentives) • Difficult to publish; separately publish basic research and applications • Prestige and style issues differ by discipline • Can lead to new classes

20. Role of Students • Recruitment tool • Internships, research possibilities • Networking opportunities for employment

21. Involving the Community • Authentic role from the beginning • Takes time to build relationships and trust • Tension – University holds the cards and centres must perform academically • Center as bridge to the community • What’s in it for them? • Expertise, resources • Networking and visibility • Internships • Pay for their time?

22. Involving the Community, cont’d. • Need Process for involvement • Roundtable sessions, planning • Review proposals • Collaborative processes, agreements • Deliver for the Community • Multiple products • Events • Don’t promise what you can’t deliver

23. Funding • Need sustained funding in the long term • Build an endowment • Separate development effort necessary • Chasing funds can change mission • Shift or die? • Beware of unintended consequences

24. Staffing • Beware of overstaffing • Academics’ time –balance involvement with resources • Use funds for seed grants rather than staff • e.g. project grants are experimental, expand networks. • Criteria must include longer-term impact • Internships for students and community.

25. Management and Administration • Need visionary leader • Also need competent management and administration • Project and research management • Personnel management issues: hiring, motivation, effectiveness, roles, feedback, rewards. It is endless! • Dealing with the university

26. Draw the Organizational Chart • Avoid this: Director

27. Measuring Effectiveness • Sustainable • Accomplishments • Public service and education • Relationships count. Bridge to new communities who otherwise would not come to the university • Societal applications • Innovations, patents, policy changes • Public Relations and recognition • Awards, certificates, Heroes and Sheroes