Project planning develops and maintains the University's Facilities Improvement Plan to include all envisioned large-scale projects. The unit works with campus programs and teams within Facilities Management Design and Construction to conduct feasibility studies and project programming. These plans establish the scope of each improvement to ensure projects are well defined prior to design.
Campus Planning and Development is responsible for coordinating programming efforts in support of major capital projects. This work includes evaluation of space uses, benchmarking of space standards, both within the University and with peer institutions, and coordination of project-specific programming. Staff may work with outside professional consultants when necessary. A new two-step approach is being used to improve the programming process for capital projects.
Process
Project planning consists of two phases. The first phase, feasibility, establishes the initial scope of work including potential costs and funding. A feasibility study is conducted on several projects to test the plan before receiving "permission to proceed." If the feasibility plan is approved by campus leadership, project planning proceeds to phase two, the program plan. A program plan further defines the needs and sets expectations of the project in preparation for the design phase. This includes an analysis of long-term investment and ownership and operating impacts.
