STRATEGIES; POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
GUIDELINES
2016-2017
1 PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION FOR STRATEGIES; POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Strategies normally reflect a period of at least 5 years as they outline the organisation’s direction of
travel in terms of objectives and the goals which are necessary to achieve those objectives. The
objective is what is being proposed and the goals are the changes that will take place to ensure that
the objective happens.
"Strategy is the direction and scope of an organisation over the long-term: which achieves
advantage for the organisation through its configuration of resources within a challenging
environment, to meet the needs of markets and to fulfil stakeholder expectations"
(Johnson and Scholes).
Policies reflect the "rules" governing the implementation of the University processes.
Procedures represent an implementation of policy and should evolve over time as new tools
emerge, new processes are designed and the risks associated with an area changes in response to
internal or external environmental changes. (There should be an expectation that individuals will
“challenge” outdated procedures and call them to the attention of their owners.) As a consequence,
rather than combine “policies,” “procedures,” and “guidelines” in a single document, it is
recommended that as a general rule policies and procedures appear as separate documents.
CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD STRATEGIES, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES:
The overall goal for any University document is for the design to be simple, consistent, and easy to
use. In order to ensure a consistent format between documents, the University has developed a
number of Microsoft Word templates to help the writers of strategies, policies and procedures get
started.
Strategies
 The University Corporate Strategic Framework forms the overarching framework from which
each Departmental/Academic Area Strategy should ‘hang’.
 An Academic Area Strategy should be about how the area competes successfully within its
market.
 An Operational Strategy should be about how a department is organised and functions in
order to deliver against the University Corporate Strategic Framework.
 Strategies will form the underpinning evidence for the introduction of policies and procedures
as the University works towards achieving the Corporate Strategic Framework.
 Strategies should not exceed 3 to 4 pages long and should be written for the understanding
of the whole community of the University.
Policies
 Policies are written in clear, concise, simple language.
 Policy statements address what is the rule rather than how to implement the rule.
 Policy statements are readily available to the University community and their authority is
clear.
 Designated “policy experts” (identified in each document) are readily available to interpret
policies and resolve problems.
 As a body, they represent a consistent, logical framework for University action.
2 Procedures
 Procedures are tied to policies, making explicit this relationship, along with how the procedure
helps the University achieve its goals or Corporate Strategic Framework, ensuring
understanding and compliance.
 Procedures are developed with the customer/user in mind. Well developed and thought out
procedures provide benefits to the procedure user.
 There is a sense of ownership among procedure users. For this reason, it helps to involve
users in the development of University procedures.
 The procedures are understandable. Procedures should be written so that what needs to be
done can be easily followed by all users.
 When feasible, procedures should offer the user options.
Procedures which are
unnecessarily restrictive may limit their usefulness.
Writing Style for University Documents
 Concise.
 Factual—double-check accuracy!
 Don’t include information that may be quickly outdated (e.g., names).
 If you use an acronym, spell it out the first time you use it.
 Include step-by-step instructions for completing forms (paper or electronic) (procedures
only).
 Not too technical—simple enough to be understood by a new employee.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF UNIVERSITY DOCUMENT OWNERS:
Strategy, Policy and Procedure “owners” are accountable for the timely review, updating, and
dissemination of such documents in their functional area.
Assignment of responsibility for a Strategy generally falls to the designated Manager of each
respective area. When developing a new Strategy or revising an existing Strategy, strategy owners
have an obligation to consult with relevant members of staff directly linked to the area the strategy
applies to. Ownership and ‘buy in’ are essential to the success of any Strategy and this can only be
achieved if discussion and consultation has taken place. Unrealistic objectives and goals will not
enable a strategy to be achieved.
Assignment of responsibility for policies and procedures is accomplished partly through a series of
delegations of authority. Delegations of authority assign authority and responsibility for actions
and/or activities to specified individuals. Alternatively, in the absence of a formal delegation,
authority will rest with the unit which has been assigned operational responsibility for an area.
When developing a new policy or revising an existing policy, policy owners have an obligation to
identify those who will be directly affected by new or revised policies and to consider their views early
in the policy development discussions.
Similarly, when developing new or revising existing procedures, procedure owners have an
obligation to identify those who will be directly affected and consider a representative sample of their
views early in the procedure development discussions. They must also ensure that their procedures
adhere to the principles of and achieve the objectives of the University including the principles of
incorporating “customer voice” and ensuring each process “adds value” to the service delivered to
“customers.”
In addition to documenting the approved policy or procedure, the owner should develop support and
training options, if appropriate, for the customers/users who are attempting to adhere to their policy
3 or procedure. This includes, at a minimum, the designation of “experts” to which departmental staff
can turn for guidance or to resolve problems.
TEMPLATES FOR STRATEGIES, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES:
Control Information - Each Document should be preceded with the control information which
identifies pertinent information to assist the University in monitoring the currency and ownership of
the said document.
……………………….STRATEGY/POLICY/PROCEDURE
Department
Department responsible for the document
Author
Person who has written the document
Authorised By:
Person who approves the document for submission to relevant
Committee
Implementation By:
Person who will be responsible for the implementation of the document
Strategy/Policy/Procedure
Reference number to be obtained from Senior Executive Officer
Strategy/Policy/Procedure
If applicable
Replaced:
Version No:
Version 1 or 1a, 1b,
Approval
Date approved:
1c if various iterations
Date Committee
Committee:
Minute no:
Status:
approved document
Draft/Approved
Implementation
Period of approval:
Duration of life of
Date:
Review Date:
Committee that is to
formally approve
Minute number
Date to be
implemented
Date to be reviewed by
document
4 STRATEGY TEMPLATE:
1. Title Page
The title of the Strategy should be inserted beneath the Coat of Arms with the date range for which
the strategy is applicable.
2. Table of Contents
This provides the list of sub headings found within the strategy document. This is provided as a
guide only but it should be noted that these are key elements which should be covered within the
strategy and are based on the University’s Corporate Strategic Framework. By following such a
table of contents each individual strategy can be linked back to the University’s Corporate Strategic
Framework.
3. Overview of the Department/Academic Area Strategy.
This provides the context of where the strategy fits within the overall structure of the University.
4. The Mission and Vision of the University.
This is a defined section that will only change as and when the University’s mission and vision
changes.
5. The Core Values of the University
This is a defined section that will only change as and when the University’s core values of the
University changes.
6. Thematic Areas
These thematic areas are based on those found within the University’s Corporate Strategic
Framework and are incorporated into each Strategic Plan to help frame the strategic direction of
each individual plan ensuring that each one reflects back on the University’s Corporate Strategic
Framework.
7. Commitments and Priority Actions aligned to the Thematic Areas
This section is designed to enable the development of the relevant strategic plan by articulating the
priority actions to be set in order to meet the commitments stated.
8. Implementation Measures
This enables a series of goals to be set that will work towards achieving the above priority actions.
9. Summary
This section will bring to a close the strategic plan and provide an overarching statement of how the
strategy is to be implemented.
5 POLICY TEMPLATE:
1. Purpose of the Policy
A concise statement (one paragraph) of the rationale for the policy, including if appropriate, reference
to external regulations should be included.
2. Organisational Definition of the Policy
This section includes the complete policy statement.
If the effective date is different from the issuing date in the control information then an appropriate
discussion of when the policy applies should be included with the policy statement. The policy
statement should also reflect who the policy applies to and the consequences of non-compliance if
applicable.
3. The Scope of the Policy
The specific areas to which the policy refers should be clearly outlined.
4. Responsibilities for Delivery
Each sub-heading can outline where individual responsibilities lie or groups of responsibilities lie and
can be expanded on as appropriate.
5. Implementation Strategy
This section should provide guidance on where additional support and advice can be gained, where
relevant procedures can be located, where appropriate forms are located and how the policy is to
be communicated once approved.
6. Evaluation
This section looks at how the policy is to be evaluated and when a review is likely to take place.
6 PROCEDURES TEMPLATE:
1. Purpose of Procedure
This section describes the rational for this procedure stating the intention and objective.
2. Scope
This is designed to provide the overall functions or tasks that the procedure is designed to
accomplish and the circumstances under which the procedure should be used.
3. References
This provides the link to relevant policies, industry standards, process maps and communication
strategies that are applicable.
4. Procedural Steps
Using an approach which is customised to the subject, the procedural steps should provide the
following:




a statement in outline format of each step required
a checklist of what needs to be done
an explanation of how to complete the necessary forms or screens—including copies of the forms
or screens
or an appropriate combination of techniques
Provides the reader with the necessary procedural and “how to” information in order to complete the
task as required by University protocols.
5. Templates
This section provides the location of relevant templates that require completing as part of the
procedure outlined. 7