Who are we?

The Strategic Planning & Analytics Group at Warwick falls under Chief Information and Digital Office (CIDO) at Warwick. The Group has responsibility for a number of key functions including providing Analytics and Management Information institution-wide, Space Management and Timetabling (SMTT), support for Academic Resourcing Committee (ARC) including oversight of the Strategy Development process, and Planning (including Student Number Planning). The Group also has responsibility for the submission of a number of student number reports as part of the University’s statutory requirements.

About the Director, Faye Murray

Prior to joining as Director at the start of 2019, Faye had spent a several years at WBS in a number of positions including Section Head (Research & Doctoral Programmes) and Executive Officer – part of the School’s executive team. She has worked in Higher Education in both the UK and Australia, as well as in a breadth of roles in the corporate sector and with a number of start-ups, often with a focus on strategy and data. Faye holds an MA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and an Executive MBA from Warwick Business School. 

What do we do?

Guide and support university-wide decision-making and strategic planning processes through enhanced analytics/MI capabilities and ensuring we meet statutory reporting needs for student data. The broader functions within the Group which support this activity institution-wide include:

• Analytics, led by Paul Johnstone
• Planning, led by Rory McIntyre
• Space Management & Timetabling, led by Scott Lloyd

Analytics

Analyse and leverage both internal and external data, institution-wide, to help inform decision-making. This is achieved through data visualisation techniques and the provision of analytical insights. To makes this possible, data is pooled in a warehouse which continuously collects and integrates data from a number of different University systems. Through this management of data – and its associated metadata – Analysts can extract, transform and load data, in order to produce consistent, timely reporting across a range of activities.

Planning

Oversee and support many of the University’s planning processes, primarily through the Academic Resourcing Committee (ARC) for which SPA provides administrative support. ARC allocates the budget for the support of academic activities for all academic departments, ensuring alignment with the University Strategy. Processes supported include Strategy Development, Student Number Planning, the Planning Round and the process to support in-year resource bids. Planning also responds to FoIs, codes courses onto SITS and prepares all statutory reporting relating to student numbers – the most significant being the HESA Student Return.

Space Management & Timetabling

Ensure space is utilised and managed effectively and efficiently, through data-driven insights and modelling. Integral to this is managing the booking of all centrally timetabled spaces and rooms, and the creation of the teaching timetable prior to the start of each academic year. This is enhanced through the administration of the Capital, Space and Amenities Group (CSAG), working groups and a number of linked processes, including the Annual Accommodation Round and Timetable Improvement Project.

Why?

How can you get involved?