$31 million
reinvested in facilities since 2020 using the facilities renewal plan
Taking care of what counts
At the University of Iowa's historic and diverse campus, facilities needs will likely always outnumber available funds. By implementing a strategic facilities renewal plan, funding is allocated to projects based on a series of objective factors determined by institutional priorities, operational costs, student impact, and other important considerations. This system allows for further refinement for the University of Iowa to evaluate and advance projects.
To address the gap between renewal needs and available funding, Facilities Management developed a strategic project prioritization system for projects over $100,000. Using an objective scoring matrix and informed by data and the expertise of frontline staff, projects are scored and selected for funding based on this process which is further refined by FM leadership.
The university invests roughly $4-5 million each year in General Education Facilities across campus with renewal funds from central funding each year through a block allocation. In the past, Facilities Management has also been able to leverage an additional $3 million in funding from recuperated operational savings.
Why strategic building stewardship matters
How it works
The facilities renewal plan has four main phases that strategically select projects for funding. The process starts with the highest-level overview of campus need and becomes more specific through several filters to determine the most critical projects.
First, a facilities condition assessment calculates the total campus need relating to deferred maintenance. Facilities Management, with the help of data experts, is responsible for conducting the facilities condition assessment and determining the total campus need. An initial condition assessment was completed in 2018, and in 2024, Facilities Management is embarking on a new condition assessment to provide updated data to inform the facilities renewal process.
Next, Campus Planning and Development, applies the campus master planning, through the Building Improvement Plan, strategy to further focus the facilities considered for renewal projects. Projects in buildings slated for demolition are removed from the project selection process. Projects in buildings scheduled for major renovations and modernizations are removed from the project selection process. Updating those spaces will negate the need for project work sourced from the limited renewal funds.
Then, Facilities Management and Campus Master Planning break down the remaining campus need by category of space: Classrooms, Academic/Research, Multipurpose, Oakdale, Administrative, and Service.
Finally, individual projects are selected for funding by putting them through a scoring matrix that was developed to score projects based on institutional need. There are four main categories for determining which projects are prioritized for funding: asset criticality (how important is the project to the function of the facility), urgency (does the project need to be done soon or can it be scheduled later), student success (how this space and project impact students and their experience), and operational impact (how does the project impact our operational abilities, does it affect our operational costs). Based on these factors to determine priority, projects are scored and selected by FM leadership and endorsed by Master Planning and Central Administration.
Want to learn more?
Check out this video presentation on the Facilities Renewal Plan from Jeff Harney, Associate Director and Senior Advisor, Facilities Management.
This video was part of a presentation to the Building Coordinators group in September 2023.
Facilities Renewal Plan Presentation
