ID157 Strategic Space Review & Audit of all campus Spaces

The Idea

Is there a space strategy or any collaboration in decision making around space across campus.? 

There is little or no communication of changes to space to the wider University community. 

Decisions are being made in isolation and seem to be knee jerk with no long-term planning of how the whole campus is used and what is coming down the line and what demands will be put on it. 

It would be useful to know who has oversight of the space, what is the governance around changes and where these decisions are made and what considerations are discussed? 

Develop a Strategic Space group with a range of stakeholders who will develop and govern a campus space strategy. Agree the use of and development of all campus spaces and agree a process to request space moves, changes or additional space. 

There are now many offices and spaces that are not occupied or used. There are also school/faculty meeting rooms that are underutilised across campus.  

There is a demand for meeting spaces and small exam spaces and there is no availability. It also puts pressure on Keele Hall facilities as these are asked for to host internal activity such as training or internal meetings.  

These empty spaces could be used in many ways to solve the demand/supply issues and provide more suitable spaces for activities which are taking space up elsewhere. 

The campus spaces are used for many objectives and activities throughout the year, such as 

• Teaching 
• Recruitment activity, Open days and Offer holder days, GSRA and Higher Horizons activity. 
• Exams and assessments 
• Nursing and Post grad teaching, during summer vacation 
• Enrolment and welcome activities 
• Campus Life Activities 
• Keele Corporate Activity, i.e Keele Debates 
• Keele Arts and public Engagement activity 
• Student Society activity 
• Events and Conferencing 
• Science Park Tenants 
• Keele International College teaching 
• Planned maintenance and capital project works 

The pull-on facilities over the summer vacation is now more than ever. Educational activity from schools is now a 52 week operation form areas such as; ( but not limited to)- Timetabling would be able to supply data around this. 

Foundation teaching, Keele International college, Nursing, Keele Business school, Post Graduate teaching, Law 

Individual exam spaces are requested more heavily now and smaller spaces are required for individual exam spaces. As there is a lack of space that are suitable for the exams, pool spaces are requested, often having only one or two students in a room with a capacity of 20 plus 

Mid June through to mid August are the peak demand periods on pooled space for all activities and the supply does not meet this demand. 

• Allocate a defined budget for campus space activity. The teaching spaces do not have a regular continuous improvement plan. Historically there was a pool room project group and budget to action this spend and the upkeep of pooled/general spaces. 

• Develop a regular audit process of campus spaces to ensure they are fit for purpose and are maintained and upgraded for teaching and commercial use. What is happening with these spaces and has anyone done an audit of them? 

Why This Idea Should Be Considered

Staff are not aware if there is a strategic space strategy and group for the governance of campus spaces. 

• Communicate if there is one and how this operates and how it is governed. 
• If not, form a space strategy group with clear decision-making governance around changes to spaces. 
• The group and governance around space decisions should consider the following areas: 
• • The strategic 5-year plan for the campus and University and does space meet the needs of this strategy. 
  • Teaching methods, online, in person, collaborative, lecture theatre 
  • Teaching sizes 
  • Teaching duration, when, times of day, term time, vacation 
  • Exam and Assessment methods, online, in person, size, requirements, Accessibility needs, EDI needs 
  • New degree /partnership programmes – what space requirements are needed for teaching, staff, research, labs, specialised space. 
  • Commercial activity to generate income for the University. 
  • Review of timetabling process and decision-making timescales to compliment the new system 
  • Consider all stakeholders of existing space and what impact a change will make. 
  • Timescales and resources to make any changes. 
  • Communication of the process, decision making and outcomes to staff  
  • What does space need to look like for staff, meetings, training, day to day role, office hot desking/collaborative meeting rooms. 

How We Would Implement This Idea

A Strategic Space Management Steering group is to be formed. 

The group would be led by a senior member of the University – suggestion is the Academic Registrar with the Director of Campus Services as co chair 

The group would contain stakeholders from across the University, suggestions include: 

Head of Faculty Operations /Deans- roles who develop new teaching courses and activity? 

• Head of Timetabling 
• Head of Student Records & Awards (exams) 
• Head of Campus Life, Events and Catering 
• Director of Engagement and Partnerships 
• Director of Global student Recruitment  
• Strategic Space Manager/ Head of Compliance and Performance (estates)? 
• Students’ Union CEO? 

The group would develop and agree a campus space strategy aligning to the main University strategy to ensure space is considered as part of all campus activity. 

The group would develop and agree a governance policy and process around space management. 

Communicate the policy and process to all campus users on a regular basis. 

Consider a working group under the main strategic group to meet quarterly.  

Suggestion of working group membership: chaired by the Strategic Space Manager 

• Timetabling and Exams lead 
• Head of Schools or Operations managers? 
• Estates Project Manager 
• Campus life, Events & Catering Manager 
• Head of Business Development and KUSIP 
• Development Manager Art and Public Engagement 
• GSRA- Undergraduate student recruitment and access manager and Student recruitment events manager 

The working group would action the following: 

• Review all space requests that meet the strategic direction and put them forward to the strategic group to agree or decline. 
• Discuss any conflicts of objectives, activity and usage of general spaces and find solutions to take to the strategic group to agree. 
• Instruct 6 monthly audits to take place in every building, resulting in all spaces, facilities, fixtures and equipment being kept to a good standard, actioning maintenance and cleaning jobs.

What Success Would Look Like

• A published a 5-year space strategy that aligns with the University Strategy, which all staff can access, understand and implement.  
• Efficient use of an allocated budget 
• Generate Income from campus spaces and facilities, particularly underutilised spaces, for those only used for core activities for part of the year and specialised spaces. 
• Beyond the practical success measures mentioned, it is also important to be explicit about the wider strategic outcomes this approach would enable. This is not just about improving operational management of space, but about ensuring the estate is properly aligned to academic priorities, teaching and research activity, and the evolving needs of staff and students. In doing so, it would allow for far more efficient and flexible use of space across campus, improving overall utilisation and responsiveness to changing demand. It would also support the University’s sustainability ambitions by reducing underuse of buildings and making better use of existing resources.  
• There is also a clear opportunity to enhance campus vibrancy by bringing greater activity and connectivity into existing spaces, rather than allowing areas of the campus to remain underutilised or disconnected.  
• Accessibility and inclusivity should also be strengthened, ensuring that spaces work effectively for all users and support a range of needs and ways of working and learning. Taken together, this positions space management as a strategic enabler of institutional priorities, rather than solely an operational or estates function.