Land and Food Systems' "bright idea"

What’s one way to improve the way the university operates? By inviting faculty and staff to be part of the thought process.

And that’s exactly what’s happening across UBC right now, with faculty and staff being invited to identify new revenue sources and efficiencies for the university. The UBC-wide initiative aims to involve faculty and staff in a conversation about new ways of working.

This approach is already bringing success to the Faculty of Land and Food Systems in Vancouver, who launched their own ideas program in October of last year. The ‘LFS Bright Ideas’ program invites their community to submit ideas that improve the way the Faculty works.

“We wanted to provide a platform for our staff and faculty to share their ideas,” says Dean Rickey Yada. “This is a great way to engage our community in the process of making our Faculty stronger, and we’ve received positive feedback on the program. Sometimes what might seem like a small idea can have a significant impact.”

We wanted to provide a platform for our staff and faculty to share their ideas.
Rickey Yada

The program is the brainchild of Jennifer Honeybourn, Director of Communications and Barbara Hsiao, HR Director. Already they have seen a whole host of great suggestions, ranging from creating a free library to purchasing a bike and trailer as an alternative to using vehicle transportation around campus.

The program welcomes all ideas – as long as they are not directly related to the duties of staff and faculty and have the potential to save energy or resources, improve service to students, increase safety or improve the quality of work life.

Every quarter, suggestions go to a review committee of staff, faculty and students and the most feasible ideas are selected and shared with the relevant individuals in the Faculty to implement.

What advice do Jennifer and Barbara have for colleagues who are looking to set up something similar? “The program itself is simple,” explains Barbara. “Setting it up consists of defining parameters, identifying a review committee and getting the message out. Once it’s up and running, maintenance of the program is a relatively minimal time commitment and cost.”

“But of course, you can’t do it without the support of your senior leadership team,” Jennifer adds. “Anyone interested in implementing their own program are welcome to contact us for guidance.”