UNSW Planning & Performance (UPP) is responsible for developing and coordinating the University’s annual performance cycle activities.
UPP is responsible for:
- Preparing performance reports to Council, Faculties, Divisions and Management Board, including reporting on Council KPIs
- Assisting with the setting of performance goals
- Working with stakeholders to identify planning requirements and priorities
- Providing analytics to assist with strategic plans
- Supporting Faculties and Divisions to set annual goals
- Reporting twice a year to Management Board, via the Annual Reviews and Mid-Year Conversations, on progress achieved against Faculty and Division goals.
- Follow-up with Management Board on action items resulting from the Annual Reviews and Mid-Year Conversations
- Maintaining the UNSW Scorecard repository of metrics data
Council KPIs
The UNSW Council KPIs track UNSWs performance against its strategic priorities over the long term and demonstrate the overall impact of the 2025 Strategy. There are 20 Council KPIs underpinned by 51 metrics for which members of Management Board are the accountable leads. Progress against the 20 KPIs and 51 metrics is reported to Council twice yearly in February and August, providing Council a clear picture of areas of success and of challenges to be addressed, as well as an aggregate view of the overall performance of the University.
Annual Reviews
Each UNSW Division and Faculty meets with Management Board on an annual basis (February) to review & discuss the previous year’s activities. Discussions focus on progress against agreed targets and goals set at the previous Annual Review, draw attention to achievements of note, address financial, student load and workforce movement data, and through SWOT analysis afford Divisions & Faculties opportunity to provide self-assessment of their overall position across a range of activities and areas of focus.
Targets and goals for the year ahead are agreed upon and set through the Annual Review process.
Preparation for Annual Reviews is coordinated by UNSW Planning & Performance and commences in October each year for Annual Reviews being held the following February. Preparation involves collation of data from multiple sources both internal and external to UNSW, including input and review by UNSW Divisions and Faculties.
Mid-Year Conversations
The Mid-Year Conversations afford opportunity for each Division and Faculty to meet with Management Board part way through the year (usually August) to consider achievements to date and to take interim stock of position, progress and trajectory well in advance of the Annual Review.
Mid-Year Conversation discussions rely heavily on year-to-date information only. Review of the interim position is an important tool for identifying areas that may need particular focus prior to yearend in order to achieve overall annual goals. Mid-Year Conversation content is reflective of that in the Annual Reviews, covering financial, student load and workforce movement data, priority area goals, progress against metrics that support achievement of Council KPIs and SWOT analysis of current position across a range of activities and areas of focus.
Preparation for Mid-Year Conversations is coordinated by UPP and commences in early July each year for Mid-Year Conversations being held in August. Preparation involves collation of data from multiple sources both internal and external to UNSW, including input and review by UNSW Divisions and Faculties.
UNSW Scorecard
The UNSW Scorecard reports collate Council, Division & Faculty metrics in a single repository. Metrics afford measurement of performance against established targets and help drive UNSW towards achieving its strategic goals aligned with the 2025 Strategy. Additionally, some metrics provide contextual understanding of how the university is tracking without necessarily driving specific behaviours.
Data for metrics is sourced from a variety of enterprise & internal systems as well as from external agencies. For example, a proportion of data in the Scorecard derives from survey tools used by the University throughout the year: MyExperience, QILT, ISB, Graduate Outcome Surveys and UniForum. Where applicable, data in the Scorecard is also generally consistent with what is reported to the Government.
Metrics in the Scorecard are updated via automated feed or on a scheduled manual basis as is appropriate for each measure as data becomes available. The Scorecard displays both historical and year-to-date data for each metric, as well as targets for future years, in both table and chart form. Metric definitions and data sources are typically indicated, and additional contextual commentary is often provided at the individual metric level.