Quality and Productivity Awards

Committee Information: Annual Report

2007-2008 Annual Report

The goal of the Quality and Productivity Awards program is to facilitate the sharing of ideas on how to improve organizational practices, increase productivity, and reduce operating costs. This year, the Q & P Committee received 44 submissions which provided many creative ways to do just that.

As in the past, many applications centred around using information technology to streamline processes, several within the human resources function. Additionally, this year’s submissions included activities for protecting and maintaining facilities and assets, promoting and facilitating research, and providing new or improved services for students. With a focus on sustainability, implementation of programs to promote environmentally sustainable practices also surfaced this year. With such an array of proposals, selecting the winners was indeed challenging.

The criteria for assessing the proposals included the extent to which the initiative improved quality and measurable productivity within the organization. Equally important was portability – the potential use for other institutions, originality, and the level of involvement and acceptance by the institutional community. Based on these elements, the committee is pleased to select The University of British Columbia’s Ecotrek Project as the national winner.

We would like to thank all participants and recognize the achievements of those who submitted their initiatives for consideration. It was apparent that these innovative ideas included countless hours of time and energy to implement, and a commitment to making Canadian universities and colleges a better place to teach, research, work, and study.

CAUBO will post all submissions on its web site and the selection committee encourages you to review them to garner ideas that may help you improve your institution in some way. From the University of British Columbia’s Ecotrek Project, to the University of Ottawa’s Project Delivery Manual, if any one of the proposals can add value to your organization, then it was worth your time to read about what your peers are doing.

Moreover, the committee would like to thank the sponsors of the Q & P Awards program for their involvement: Budget Rent a Car, Macquarie Equipment Finance Ltd., and SunGard Higher Education. Without their support, the program would not be possible.

Chair
Patricia Hibbitts , Vice-President, Finance & Administration, Simon Fraser University

Members
Gary Bradshaw , Vice-President, Administration, University of Prince Edward Island

Gary Brewer , Vice-President, Finance & Administration, York University

JD Christman , Account Manager, Macquarie Equipment Finance Ltd.

Colette Lepine , Account Executive, SunGard  Higher Education

Valerie Nilsson, Regional Travel Manager, Budget Rent a Car

Carole Workman, Executive Director, CAUBO