All-staff briefing: Strategic Foundations Programme

The Strategic Foundations Programme, previously referred to as Phase-2 of our Post-COVID-19 Response Programme, was the focus of the latest all-staff session on Tuesday 20 April.

Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic Planning & Resources) Mark Fellowes, who is leading this programme, joined Vice-Chancellor Robert Van de Noort for an update.

Through four distinct pathways - Portfolio Review Pathway, Strategic Alignment Pathway, Expectations and Workload Pathway and Ways of Working Pathway - the Strategic Foundation Programme is looking to put in place strong foundations to enable the delivery of our University Strategy.

Introducing the session, Vice-Chancellor Robert Van de Noort said that our University Strategy, launched just a year ago, underpins our institutional priorities. He said that all of our collective work was feeding into four key principles -  Community, Excellence, Sustainability and an Engaged University.

Robert highlighted some of the work that has already contributed to delivering these themes - including our response to COVID-19, the Thames Valley Science Park, the installation of solar panels at the Reading University Students' Union and JJ Thomson buildings and the diversity reviews.

Mark opened his presentation with a reminder about some of the challenges facing the higher education sector, and how we have been working to prepare ourselves. He said each of the pathways has four distinct but inter-related projects within, and are focused on delivering a range of institutional objectives.

The work of the different pathways will be overseen by a Strategic Foundations Programme Board. 

You can access video directly on Microsoft Streams.

The next all-staff briefing will take place on 6 May 2021 at 10:00. All colleagues will be sent an Outlook Calendar invite ahead of the session. If you have any queries, please contact communications@reading.ac.uk.

Videos of recent all-staff sessions

Here are links to some of our other recent all-staff briefing sessions:

• All-staff briefing: video available for 'Research on a platter (13 April 2021)
• Video available for all-staff briefing on pensions (22 March 2021)
• All staff briefing on Digital Strategy - video available (11 March 2021)
• All staff briefing on Portfolio Review: video available (2 March 2021)
• Video of all-staff briefing on financial update (16 February 2021)
• Video of the 29 January all-staff session (1 February 2021)
• Video available for VC all-staff briefing session, 14 January 2021 (18 January 2021)
• Video available for VC all-staff briefing session, 17 December 2020 (18 December 2020)
• Video available for VC all-staff briefing session, 18 November 2020 (23 November 2020)
• Video and summary of VC's briefing on Phase-1 (10 November 2020)