Flinders Future Focus Strategic Plan 2012-2016 - Flinders University

Flinders Future Focus 

Strategic Plan 2012-2016 

DiFFerentiate Focus intensiFy 

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Flinders Future Focus 2012-2016 

Building on our successes 

The Flinders Strategic Plan, Inspiring Flinders 

Future 2010-2014, affirmed the University’s 

ongoing commitment to change and 

transformation. Flinders Future Focus 2012- 

2016 builds on the progress we have made 

and identifies our key strategic goals to 

2016. At the centre of the plan is a vision 

for Flinders as a medium-sized university 

characterised by a distinctive high 

quality undergraduate program, selected 

postgraduate coursework programs and 

focused research excellence. 

The University will continue to serve its 

local communities – in particular the 

southern suburbs of Adelaide – and be 

recognised as playing a significant role 

in the economic transformation of that 

‘experiment and experiment bravely’ 

Peter Karmel, Founding Vice Chancellor, 1965 

region. At the same time we will broaden 

and deepen the University’s engagement 

with Charles Darwin University and the 

Northern Territory to help build the regional 

economic corridor between South Australia 

and Northern Territory. 

The key strategic goals and the actions 

underpinning their implementation are 

all critical to delivering this vision and 

ensuring that in doing so Flinders is 

recognised as one of the most innovative 

and effective members of Australia’s 

higher education system. 

strategic context 

There have been some significant changes 

since the publication of the 2010-2014 

Strategic Plan. The deregulation of the 

undergraduate higher education market 

in Australia following the Bradley Review 

has allowed Flinders to grow at a rate 

of around 7% over each of the last three 

years. We expect growth to continue 

over the period of the new plan, subject 

to any changes in government policy. It is 

important in so doing that we focus on the 

quality of entrants to our programs, while 

maintaining our commitment to providing 

opportunities to widen participation from 

historically under-represented communities. 

This means that our focus on high quality 

teaching, student retention, the relevance 

of our qualifications and the development 

of graduate qualities must continue. 

At the same time we must develop our 

teaching practices to make best use of 

technology-assisted learning and enhance 

the experience of our learners across all of 

our onshore and offshore locations. 

A 2012 report by Australia’s Workforce 

and Productivity Agency emphasises 

health care and social assistance as the 

top employment growth industry with 

professional, scientific and technical 

services and education and training as 

the next two growth sectors. Flinders is 

well positioned to respond to these skills 

needs and will ensure that we maintain our 

academic focus in these areas.

differentiate, focus and intensify 

Flinders Future Focus 2012-2016 updates our 

priority activities to achieve the challenging 

goals and aspirations for the University. 

To deliver the Plan fully and successfully 

requires us to make some hard decisions 

and choices. The choices are as much about 

our behaviours and attitudes as our actions. 

Each of us needs to be willing to: 

› seek better and more efficient ways to 

deliver our enabling services in more 

standardised ways, 

› better use technologies in support 

of learning, 

› consider our traditional approaches in 

areas such as teaching and learning from 

best practice at Flinders and elsewhere, 

› look sideways and collaborate internally 

and externally in ways that deliver 

better student outcomes and greater 

research focus, and 

› recognise that some things that we 

have done or taught or researched have 

come to a natural end and that new 

opportunities need to be actively sought. 

To assist with differentiation and 

concentration, a University purpose 

statement has been added. This reiterates 

the University’s social mission and role 

in the development of the ‘central South 

Australia-Northern Territory corridor’ of 

Australia including its connection to Asia 

and the wider world. 

The Plan itself is more focussed and has 

a reduced number of high level strategic 

actions. These will in turn inform and guide 

our reporting to the Council and our wider 

external stakeholders. 

While the 9 key strategies of the 2010 -14 

Strategic Plan have been retained, they 

are now more tightly linked to, and help 

characterise, the University’s 5 main values: 

› Socially responsible 

› Student centred 

› Distinctive in research 

› Globally connected 

› Sustainable and rewarding 

In 2013 a new cross-University planning 

process will be developed and rolled-out. 

This will enable Faculties and Schools to 

align their planning and priority setting 

in such a way that collectively we deliver 

the Strategic Plan. In this context, the 

strategic approach – differentiate, focus 

and intensify – is vitally important. The 

Plan does not lay out specifically where 

we will invest, what we will research or 

which course we will offer. However, 

if in every decision we contemplate, in 

every appointment we make and in every 

relationship we develop and/or foster we 

ask: “How will this differentiate, focus and 

intensify?” I am confident that we will 

not only deliver on this Strategic Plan but 

perhaps more importantly deliver on our 

shared vision for a great Flinders University. 

I challenge us all to embrace the necessary 

change and continue, as Peter Karmel 

said over 40 years ago, to ‘experiment and 

experiment bravely’. 

Professor Michael Barber 

Vice-Chancellor and President 

March 2013 

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Vision 

flinders is the university 

that engages 

PurPose 

We aim to transform the lives of 

individuals and communities, and to find 

ethical and innovative solutions to make 

a positive difference to society’s most 

challenging problems. 

Our attention on South Australia and the 

Northern Territory has the explicit objective 

of encouraging the sustainable economic, 

social and cultural development of the 

’central corridor’ of Australia and expanding 

its connection to Asia and the wider world. 

We commit to: 

› High quality teaching 

› Internationally respected and high 

impact research 

› Rigorous intellectual enquiry 

› The promotion of fairness, integrity, 

equity, social justice, ethics, diversity and 

cross-cultural understanding and respect, 

with a special recognition of Australian 

Indigenous cultures 

› Environmental sustainability 

› Individual responsibility and 

achievement complementing 

collaboration and teamwork. 

To deliver our purpose, Flinders University 

must be flexible, responsive, efficient 

and highly collaborative both internally 

and externally. We need to identify clearly 

the areas in which we are excellent and 

distinctive, and align our activities to 

support those areas. Each of the nine key 

strategic priorities is individually important. 

More important, however, is the way they 

interact and combine to advance this 

Strategic Plan and our underlying vision of 

making a real difference to the world in 

which we live. Our approach over the period 

of this Plan is to: Differentiate, Focus and 

Intensify our activities.

VAlUES AND Key strategic Priorities 

SOCIAllY 

RESPONSIBlE 

STUDENT 

CENTRED 

DISTINCTIVE IN 

RESEARCH 

GlOBAllY 

CONNECTED 

SUSTAINABlE 

AND 

REWARDING 

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Building supportive communities 

By being outwardly engaged, with strong links to our 

stakeholders and serving the communities in which we operate 

enhancing educational opportunities 

Through innovative and flexible entry pathways, a relevant 

and dynamic course profile, and improving the retention, 

progression and achievement of our students 

enhancing the student experience 

By showing respect for their views and care for their welfare, 

by providing effective support services, and maintaining a lively 

campus culture 

Valuing Quality in teaching 

As an unwavering commitment and a defining characteristic 

of Flinders 

focusing research 

On those who are research active and early career researchers, 

and on high quality, targeted and collaborative research and 

research training that makes a difference 

strengthening internationalisation 

By expanding opportunities and benefits for students, staff and 

our communities to engage in the global society 

Valuing our People 

By supporting and encouraging all staff to achieve the highest 

level of performance, deliver our vision and adapt to the 

changes required 

committing to environmental excellence 

By becoming internationally recognised for innovative 

research and teaching by reducing the environmental impact 

of our activities 

improving our capacity to deliver 

By ensuring that our available resources are increased and used 

in the most effective and efficient ways 

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SOCIAllY RESPONSIBlE 

At the heart of Flinders University, from its birth in 1966, is our 

commitment to social justice and human well-being. This runs 

through all of our learning and teaching, our research and our 

collaborations and is the passion of our staff. 

This updated Plan highlights our commitment to the purpose of 

the University. We engage with our communities to enhance the 

social, cultural and economic lives of the regions we serve, in South 

Australia, the Northern Territory and across Australia and the 

world. In particular, we reaffirm our commitment to working with 

Indigenous communities and across the centre of Australia which, 

in part, will be taken forward through our Indigenous Engagement 

Framework. 

Our partnership with government and local councils in the 

development of Flinders at Tonsley – a major regeneration project – 

will take shape over the period of this plan, and will strengthen our 

engagement with local enterprises and communities.

KEY STRATEGIC PRIORITY 

1 We will 

Building suPPortiVe communities 

› Support our students – past and present – 

and staff engaged within communities to 

expand horizons and transform the lives of 

individuals and the communities we serve 

Actions 

› Develop Tonsley as a driver for economic 

and community regeneration 

› Enhance our strategic partnership and 

positive local outcomes with Charles 

Darwin University 

› Further Schools and Faculties engagement 

with business and community designed to 

focus on their priorities 

Indicators 

› Strategic delivery model agreed with key 

partners and Tonsley building project 

delivered on time and on budget 

› Future joint priorities for South 

Australia and Northern Territory agreed 

with Charles Darwin University and 

implemented 

expand horizons and transform 

the lives of individuals and the 

communities we serve 

› Business, alumni and community 

engagement increased by each School on 

baseline measurement from 2013 

› Quantitative increase in impact of 

University engagement as measured by 

a range of economic indicators 

› Increased number of alumni who are 

actively engaged in University projects 

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STUDENT CENTRED 

Students are at the centre of Flinders University. As a result of our 

success in widening access to University education, our students are 

more diverse than ever, as are the locations in which we deliver. 

We will continue to ensure that our approaches to learning and 

teaching and all aspects of the broader experience of our students 

are relevant and of consistently high quality across all of our 

locations in Australia and beyond, and in our virtual as well as our 

physical presences. Critical in this is ensuring that every Flinders 

graduate has the opportunity to develop values and competencies 

which will enable them to be successful in a variety of roles 

throughout their working lives. 

This plan emphasises the centrality of our student experience and 

the need to personalise that for each and every learner. We will 

do further work on all aspects of that experience – to broaden 

pathways into Flinders, to support successful transition for new 

students, to improve learning and employability outcomes, to enable 

access to high quality information, advice and support at a time and 

place which meets student needs, and to improve our physical and 

virtual learning environments including enhanced support for online 

learning development.

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KEY STRATEGIC PRIORITIES 

enhancing educational oPPortunities 

enhancing the student exPerience 

4 We will 

Valuing Quality in teaching 

› Develop innovative and flexible 

entry pathways, build a relevant and 

dynamic course profile, and improve 

student achievement 

› Engage with our students, show respect 

for their views and care for their welfare 

through effective support services 

and provision of attractive opportunities 

to engage in University life whatever 

their circumstances 

› Insist upon, support and recognise quality 

in teaching 

Actions 

› Define/scope Student Hub 

› Review academic priorities and 

graduate qualities 

› Plan for online learning 

Indicators 

› New Student Hub, virtual and actual, in place 

› Student targets: 

– Total student enrolments to exceed 

25,000 

– Proportion of low SES students to increase 

by 10% (23% of total enrolment in 2012) 

– International student enrolments to 

exceed 5,000 (just under 4,000 in 2012) 

engage with our students, show 

respect for their views and care for 

their welfare 

› Student successful completion to increase 

from 4,800 in 2011 to 5,500 in 2015 and 

graduate employment to increase from 

77% to 80% in 2015 

› Student and employer satisfaction 

improved against all key national quality 

of teaching measures 

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DISTINCTIVE RESEARCH 

Continuing the theme of differentiation and focus, Flinders has 

developed a new Research Plan. Our research must continue to be 

relevant, of high quality and with real impact. 

We will continue to support and grow the areas in which Flinders 

makes a real difference in our communities through further 

development of research centres and institutes that draw on 

expertise across disciplines to address society’s most challenging 

issues . This will be supported through our ongoing program of 

strategic professorial appointments to lead and intensify our 

research effort. We will continue to improve the experience of our 

research students including enhancement of the Office of the Dean 

of Graduate Students and support for early career researchers. 

The principal challenge over the period of this Plan is for us to build 

scale and impact in our priority research activities. This requires 

selective and strategic external collaborations and focussed 

internal efforts.


5focusing 

research 

We will 

› Focus on those who are or may be 

research active and on research that is 

high quality, targeted, and collaborative, 

so that we can make a positive 

contribution to resolving society’s most 

challenging problems 

Actions 

› Identify and invest in targeted areas of 

strength and opportunity and reach 

critical mass in these areas 

› Ensure that the majority of our disciplines 

are rated as world standard 

Indicators 

› Research income increased by 20% from 

$53m (2011) to $64m (2016) 

› Priority areas identified, investment 

strategy implemented and quantitative 

scale targets introduced for research 

impact and collaboration 

invest in targeted areas of strength 

and opportunity 

› 100% of academic staff in balanced 

portfolio roles are research active 

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GlOBAllY CONNECTED 

Flinders has a wide international reach and will build on our 

existing successful international partnerships over the period of this 

Plan. Our focus must be on widening our academic engagement 

where we have strong current or potential partnerships to ensure 

maximum opportunity for academic exchange and learning for our 

students and our staff. Partnership and outward mobility are key 

themes and the University will develop its support mechanisms to 

ensure both opportunity for and recognition of international activity 

to build these relationships. 

The University recognises the importance of the dynamic region of 

Asia for Australia and, in particular, the economies of South Australia 

and the Northern Territory. We also recognise the importance 

of international connectedness – of Asia to the wider world. We 

will develop and intensify our activities in and across this and 

other significant regions of the world through partnerships that 

differentiate, focus and intensify our global engagement.


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strengthening internationalisation 

We will 

› Develop sustainable partnerships with 

targeted partners to expand opportunities 

and benefits for students, staff and 

our communities 

Actions 

› Increase international opportunities for 

students including through online learning 

and outward student mobility 

› Support development of the Flinders 

International Study Centre (FISC) 

› Intensify and focus our Asia engagement 

including specified education, research and 

community partnerships and measures 

Indicators 

› Number of domestic graduates who have 

had an international experience increased 

from 4.8% of graduates to 10% by 2016 

(221 in 2011) 

increase international opportunities 

for students 

› Achieve Business Case targets for FISC 

student intakes – 300 students by 2016 

› Focus international plan and develop 

associated measures 

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SUSTAINABlE AND REWARDING 

Critical in the delivery of our purpose and the commitments above 

are our professional support services and the University’s physical 

and virtual infrastructure. Over the period of the plan, the University 

will review and plan for our approach to the delivery of facilities 

and services for Faculties and Schools. This will ensure that Flinders 

has the capacity and capabilities we need for the future and that 

our professional, as well as our academic staff, have full access to 

support and development. 

Our commitment to diversity and opportunity across our workforce 

is an intrinsic part of ensuring the success of Flinders University. The 

University’s processes will ensure that we focus on and recognise 

contribution to the achievement of our priorities. 

Principal activities will include finalising the new University estates 

and information technology strategies and associated investment 

plans. Building Flinders at Tonsley is the first stage of what will be 

an ambitious infrastructure plan for the next 20 years. Flinders 

will implement its Sustainability Action Plan over this period as 

reaffirmation of its commitment to environmental excellence. 

To ensure that University investment is commensurate with the 

ambitions above, we will embed our 5 year rolling financial plan and 

work towards the achievement of the key financial performance 

indicators agreed by Flinders University Council.


7Valuing 

our PeoPle 

We will 

› Nurture leadership and change 

management skills and actively promote 

awareness of, and respect for, the 

diversity of our staff 

Actions 

› Provide high quality professional 

development staff activities to ensure 

staff are well prepared for, and 

well supported in, their change 

management roles 

› Embed effective performance 

management throughout the University 

so that good performance is recognised, 

support and career development 

opportunities are provided, and action 

is taken to remedy unsatisfactory 

performance 

Indicators 

› Improved levels of engagement and 

commitment as evidenced by the YourVoice 

survey of staff satisfaction 

nurture leadership and change 

management skills 

› Greater diversity in the workforce: 

– under the University’s Employment 

Strategy for Indigenous Australians – 

increase in the number of Indigenous staff 

(from 40 in 2012 to 60 in 2016) 

– a 10% relative increase in the number of 

women in senior leadership positions (from 

a base of 8 of 36 in 2012) 

› Improved effectiveness of the performance 

review process as measured by compliance 

data generated through the key actions taken 

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committing to enVironmental excellence 

We will 

› Develop curricula and cross-disciplinary 

research addressing sustainability issues 

and reduce the environmental impact of 

our activities 

sustain a supportive community 

of practice for academics conducting 

sustainability oriented teaching 

and research 

Actions 

› Develop a range of training, engagement 

and communication activities to build 

awareness amongst Flinders staff 

and students 

› Encourage and sustain a supportive 

community of practice for academics 

conducting sustainability oriented 

teaching and research 

› Implement a range of renewable energy 

and water efficiency projects 

Initial artist’s impression of the 

proposed Flinders University 

building at Tonsley Park 

Indicators 

› An increase of 20% in the number of 

Flinders enrolments in topics in relevant 

discipline areas 

› Increased levels of funding secured 

by research units in the areas of 

environmental sustainability 

› Reduction in use of energy, water and 

paper and an increase in the supply of 

renewable energy at Flinders campuses 

FLINDERS@ 

TONSLEY_ 

Revision 

00 

Date 

28-Fe

uary-2013 


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Scale 

Not to Scale 

imProVing our caPacity to deliVer 

We will 

› Ensure that our strategic and operational 

priorities can be met by working with the 

University’s resource base – our people, 

our finances and our locations – in the 

most effective and efficient manner 

Actions 

› Undertake support services refresh and 

renew program to achieve improvements 

in efficiency and service delivery and to 

increase academic capacity 

› Establish an asset efficiency program 

to increase the utilisation, flexibility 

and cost effectiveness of our facilities 

and ICT framework 

› Establish a development fund-raising 

program 

Client 

Flinders University 

Project Name 

Flinders University: School 

of Computer Science, 

Drawing 

External view from South East 

(Artist’s Impression Only) 

Indicators 

› Improved delivery of support services as 

benchmarked against sector and targets 

› Improved utilisation of University assets 

against sector benchmarks and targets 

› 15% increase in revenue generated per FTE 

from 2011 baseline 

› Support services costs reduce to 30% of 

total University revenues 

› Increase in donations against 2012 baseline 

undertake support services refresh 

and renew program to achieve 

improvements in efficiency and 

service delivery and to increase 

academic capacity 

Health Science lecture Theatres 

Image credit: Grant Hancock 

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“My employments and 

inclinations lead to the 

extension of happiness and 

of sciences, and not to the 

destruction of mankind.” 

matthew flinders 

Private Journal, 13 October 1805

NOTES

contact 

office of the Vice chancellor 

Vice President strategy & community engagement 

P: +61 8 8201 3833 

flinders.edu.au 

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Flinders Future Focus 2012-2016

Flinders Future Focus Strategic Plan 2012-2016 - Flinders University

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