Org Review

Our organizationa review began last spring after Jan Simek became Interim President. Below is my message from August 21, 2009.


The organizational review task force that is examining the structure of IPS met for the first time yesterday. The meeting went well. I provided the group with extensive materials on all the agencies of IPS, including strategic plans, customer data, and outreach stories. The information was well-received and will give each team member a good understanding of how we are currently organized and why.

The team includes me, Dr. Joe Johnson, Dr. Jack Britt, Dr. Joe DiPietro, and Dr. Jimmy Cheek. Our charge is to determine how IPS can best prosper within the organizational structure of UT with (1) no damage to the mission and (2) opportunities for improvement and/or enhancements. Again, there is no intention of modifying our reporting structure unless it is the right thing to do.

Our next steps are to talk to our constituencies; report IPS' project, activity, and economic impact numbers by county; gather a list of the faculty we use throughout IPS; and meet again to discuss that information. By the first of the year, the team will determine its recommendation and will report how and why that conclusion was reached.

Yesterday's meeting was only the first, but I want to keep you informed as we move along.

Thanks for all you do. Your excellent work allows me to tell our extraordinary story.

Strategic Plan Update

With input from many of you, your customers, and your advisory councils, IPS and its agencies have set strategic plans for 2010-2015. The agency plans are the foundation for the IPS plan, which in turn supports the outreach and economic development initiatives in the university's updated five-year plan.

I encourage you to review the agency and IPS plans, all of which are posted in their entirety on the IPS Intranet's Strategic Planning page, http://intranet.ips.tennessee.edu/default.asp?id=38 . The general agency plans, without SWOT analysis or development background information, also are available on the "About Us" page of each agency's Web site.

Your daily activities and work plans drive the success of the goals and initiatives in the plans. Now is a good time to check your progress toward your performance goals and discuss with your supervisor how your annual goals tie into the strategic plans. We will highlight this real progress in The Exchange quarterly. (See page 3 of the July Exchange for an example, (http://www.ips.tennessee.edu/?id=32 ).

Also, there are several teams setting goals for cross-agency efforts on internal and programmatic issues. Last month, the environmental/safety, economic development, communications, and resource generation teams presented their plans to the IPS leadership team. Those plans and presentations are available on the IPS Intranet's Strategic Planning page as well. Each agency has representatives on these teams, so please talk with them about the progress being made and offer your assistance in meeting the goals they've established.

As you'll see when you read through the plans, IPS has much to offer our customers and the public. I appreciate all you do each day to not just help the university reach its goals, but more importantly, to help the people of Tennessee.