Delegation of Authority redesign approved by Board of Governors

The University of Calgary’s Board of Governors has approved the redesign of part of a major process in order to help better clarify and streamline decision-making across the institution.

UCalgary’s Delegation of Authority Policy is a foundational governance document that details organizational accountability for those empowered to make decisions on behalf of the university and sets the limits of those powers. The board has approved a redesign of the policy’s appendix — a chart visually representing how the policy works.

In addition to the redesign, a website has been created with a variety of resources to assist the university community in searching for who is responsible for certain decisions, who needs to be consulted and who needs to support various initiatives. These updates align with Strategy 4 of the university’s newly approved strategic plan, Ahead of Tomorrow.

“This redesign, along with the website launch, will allow the campus community to efficiently navigate decision-making processes here at UCalgary,” says General Counsel Jacqueline Lacasse, LLB’05. “This is an important step forward in making our processes clearer, simpler and, as a result, easier to navigate.”

Here’s what you need to know about the redesign and the next steps:

Why the Delegation of Authority Policy is important

The policy aids in efficient organizational operations and reinforces accountability and proper oversight. It is important to note that no changes have been made to the policy itself at this time.

Why these changes are being made

The policy’s appendix has been redesigned to help increase usability and clarify that certain decisions require official consultation and support by other portfolios. Increasing the usability of the appendix is the first phase of a broader review of how decisions at UCalgary are made.

By focusing on usability and centralizing resources on a dedicated website, the goal is to create a baseline of how the current policy is used across the university. Increasing awareness of the policy and the appendix, and assisting the UCalgary community in better understanding the decision-making process, will support our culture of accountability.

Next steps

Future phases of the updating project will be used to address more complex issues surrounding the policy itself, and a broader consultation will occur to identify additional areas for improvement.

Throughout the rollout, education sessions will be offered to key stakeholder groups on campus commencing in the summer and continuing through the fall. Following the education sessions and a six-month period of use, feedback will be sought to inform improvement to the education and resource materials, as well as future phases of this project. Feedback from the redesign will help support the scoping of these future phases.

To learn more about the Delegation of Authority Policy and to see the appendix redesign, visit the website.