ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the strategic planning function. It utilizes survey data from three sources: a 2015 UK Russell Group Strategy and Planning Director's survey; subsequent 2016 Higher Education Strategic Planners Association (HESPA) member's questionnaire about the strategy and planning functions in UK universities; and a similar survey conducted in Australia amongst directors of planning in Australian universities administered in April-May 2015. The results collected from the surveys suggested there was a small core of activities that consistently commonly sat firmly within the remit of the typical strategy or planning director or their team. These might most commonly include business planning/planning round, external competitor analysis/benchmarking and internal performance monitoring/indicators. Direct comparisons between the results of the Russell Group and HESPA surveys and the Australian Network of University Planners (ANUP) survey have to be made cautiously given the different functional listings used and the different jurisdictional contexts.
