Editor’s note: The following message was sent to the CSU community on Dec. 14.
Dear Colleagues:
We want to provide you with an end-of-semester update on the Budget Model Redesign initiative, including the progress made during the Planning and Diagnostics Phase this fall, and what lies ahead for the Design Phase that began this month and will carry forward into spring. Here is a reminder of the full initiative timeline as structured across five phases:
Phase 2: Planning & Diagnostics (Fall)
At the start of the fall semester, CSU transitioned out of the initial Phase 1: Research and into the planning and diagnostics phase. Within this phase CSU solicited extensive campus engagement through stakeholder meetings, community fora, and Faculty Council presentations, and we continued to research and compile internal and external data for informing the design phase.
We are grateful to our campus community for their engagement and willingness to provide feedback in this phase of the process. We are currently summarizing that feedback and data to present to the Steering Committee.
Additionally during this fall semester, the Executive Sponsor, Steering, and Technical committees were selected and charged, and began meeting. The list of names and affiliations of committee members is available on the Budget Model Redesign Committees & Governance web page.
Phase 3: Design (Spring)
As we move fully into the design phase, CSU is preparing to host additional campus meetings to provide opportunities for faculty, staff and students to remain engaged with the budget model redesign process. We will share more information on the dates, times, and locations of the meetings at the start of the spring semester.
The committees will continue to meet and move forward with their work over winter break and in the spring. The below provides a graphical representation of the governance structure, and how information will flow among the committees based on each group’s dedicated responsibilities:
In our role as Presidential Leadership Fellows for the Budget Model Redesign initiative, we are serving as advisors to all three governance committees to provide continuity among the committees and help guide the process of gathering feedback from the campus community. We look forward to engaging with you again this spring, and encourage you to send your questions or comments to us at: budget_model@colostate.edu or through the Budget Model Redesign online feedback form.
Enjoy the winter break!
Sincerely,
Rob Mitchell
Presidential Leadership Fellow
Professor, Department of Management
Faculty Council Executive Committee Representative, College of Business
Jennifer Martin
Presidential Leadership Fellow
Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Department of Animal Sciences
Faculty Council Executive Committee Representative, College of Agricultural Sciences
About CSU’s Budget Conversation Series
Colorado State University is inviting all faculty, staff, and students to engage in two different yet simultaneous series of campus conversations and listening sessions around the institution’s budget. The first series of conversations focuses on the University’s current budget for FY23-24 and FY24-25, referred to as the Incremental Budget. This series of conversations includes the Fall Budget Open Forum (October 18), the summer Budget Open Forum (June), and the Fall Budget Retreat (September).
The second series of conversations focuses on options for renewing our budget model for an innovative future in alignment with our land-grant mission and institutional priorities. The goal is to design a budget model that enables greater creativity and increased agility while improving fiscal responsibility and transparency in our financial decision-making processes. This is what is referred to as the Budget Model Redesign.
More information
For more information on the Budget Model Redesign initiative, including on committees and governance, other opportunities for campus engagement, and to provide feedback or ask questions, see the Budget Model Redesign website: operations.colostate.edu/budget-model-redesign.
