Purpose
As the Council of University of California Staff Assemblies (CUCSA) approaches its 50th year in existence, there are many things to be proud of. Looking to the future, it is important to understand how CUCSA can best position itself as the pre-eminent staff voice within the University of California. To do this, CUCSA must understand where it has gone up to this point as well as where our key populations (staff, CUCSA alumni, and local Staff Assemblies among others) think we should go.
In the 2022 – 2023 academic year, CUCSA leadership established a Strategic Plan Workgroup that was charged with developing a strategic plan that would chart the organization’s course for the next five years (2023 – 2028). Over the course of the year, that workgroup designed and executed a development plan that included data gathering, synthesis, prioritization, and implementation planning. This resulting document addresses what the Strategic Plan Workgroup, CUCSA leadership, and CUCSA delegates consider to be the most pressing strategic issues that the organization faces.
Methodology
As an advocacy organization sponsored by UCOP, CUCSA depends almost wholly on its relationships to and influence with its partner institutions. As such, understanding the expectations, needs, and dynamics of its stakeholders was the foundation of the strategic planning process.
Identifying Stakeholders
As an advocacy organization sponsored by UCOP, CUCSA depends almost wholly on its relationship to and influence with its partner institutions. As such, understanding the expectations, needs, and dynamics of its stakeholders was the foundation of the strategic planning process.
The strategic planning work group gathered information from the following stakeholders during the planning process:
| Stakeholder | Collab. Planning | Focus Groups | Delegate Outreach | Feedback Surveys | Town Hall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CUCSA Leadership |  | | | | |
| CUCSA Current Delegates | | | |||
| CUCSA Past Chairs | | | | ||
| Past Strat. Plan Leaders | | |  | ||
| CUCSA Alumni | | | |||
| Local Staff Assembly Reps | | | | ||
| Local CHROs | | | | ||
| UC Systemwide HR | | | |
lighter checkmark denotes that the stakeholder group was invited but none participated.
Focus Groups and Information Gathering
The Strategic Plan Workgroup connected with a range of external partners through focus groups, individual interviews, town halls, and email outreach to understand their perceptions of CUCSA in the following areas:
- Core identity and purpose
- Expectations and mandates
- Strengths and weaknesses
- Opportunities and threats
Identification of Strategic Issues and prioritization
As a result of the information gathering we identified 77 needs/issues that mapped into 16 strategic issues. The Strategic Planning Workgroup took the identified strategic issues and, in consultation with internal stakeholders, assessed the importance and impact of each issue through:
- CUCSA Current & Past Delegate Priorities Survey
- Response Analytics
- SWOT Analysis
Strategy Formulation
With the member priorities now clearly identified, the workgroup, in consultation with leadership, was able to establish a goal-based planning model where we:
- Defined our goals
- Set the objectives by defining our desired outcome
- Set metrics for how we would define progress toward the objective
- Set initiatives that would help reach metrics
Review and Revision
The draft went through multiple iterations based on feedback from all stakeholder groups identified. With the workgroup’s steps outlined below:
Adoption
Through securing formal endorsement from CUCSA Leadership and the delegation the Strategic plan is finalized for implementation.