Preview 50 IDEA$ pitched so far for UC Davis budget and process improvements

Jan. 31 is deadline to participate for prize drawings

Quick Summary

  • Campus is trying to identify $50M in savings and revenue
  • Faculty and staff have submitted nearly 400 ideas so far
  • Ideas welcome even after prize drawing deadline
"IDEAS AT WORK" with UC Davis employees in lab and library settings

Faculty and staff members have submitted nearly 400 ideas for innovative ways UC Davis could generate savings or revenue as part of the IDEA$ at Work budget campaign.

Now is the time for you to send in your ideas and insights, as Tuesday, Jan. 31 is the deadline to participate in the campaign’s prize drawing for Mondavi Center tickets, UC Davis Stores gift cards and UC Davis swag packs. Everyone who chooses to enter the prize drawing will receive an email with coupon codes for free Athletics tickets and a discount to UC Davis Stores.

All ideas and insights will be reviewed by the Revenue Generation and Institutional Savings Task Force in its quest to identify $50 million in ongoing savings and net revenue to help address UC Davis’ core funds deficit. If your idea isn’t selected for broad use, it will be shared with specific leaders within colleges, schools or departments for further consideration at a local level.

The task force will continue to welcome ideas beyond Jan. 31, with the goal of collecting at least 1,000 — and when that happens, the campus will split a $6,000 donation between the ASUCD Pantry and the Staff Emergency Funds at UC Davis and UC Davis Health.

So keep those ideas coming, and while you’re thinking, here’s a look at 50 of the suggestions for budget opportunities and process improvements that have come in since the campaign launch in November:

  1. Establish grant-writing infrastructure
  2. Standardize IT tools
  3. Develop or expand nontraditional learner programs
  4. Establish a staff mentorship program
  5. Create a campus bike fleet
  6. Rent out laboratory space for private use
  7. Establish additional endowments to name schools and colleges
  8. Rent out space in the summer for camps or vacation programs
  9. Establish a centralized unit to provide consulting
  10. Lease roof space for cell phone towers and solar panels
  11. Maximize online general education offerings in the summer
  12. Create cannabis partnership research opportunities
  13. Transition to a four-day workweek
  14. Evaluate use of recharge on campus to improve efficiency
  15. Streamline new degree program approval
  16. Increase use of systemwide contracts
  17. Offer workforce certificate and credential programs
  18. Expand special education programs on campus
  19. Offer popular courses online to the public
  20. Expand academic administrative support to reduce burden on faculty
  21. Create flexible workspaces and expand hoteling
  22. Hire more instructors to allow research faculty to focus on research
  23. Offer a year of coursework online
  24. Expand flexibly scheduled course offerings
  25. Invest in tools to improve academic advising
  26. Centralize campus messaging
  27. Create an on-call nurse pool for UC Davis Health
  28. Allow sales at the Craft Center
  29. Expand the Research Administration certificate
  30. Establish Community Development Financial Institution designation to provide financial services to the community
  31. Increase delegation of spending authority for departments
  32. Create a ridesharing app for getting to and from campus
  33. Develop staff purchasing specialists
  34. Retrofit obsolete heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems
  35. Evaluate efficiency of the current Vendor Risk Assessment process
  36. Increase research collaboration outside the UC Davis community
  37. Implement DocuSign across the Sacramento campus
  38. Invest in an electronic regulatory system for research/clinical trial offices
  39. Improve the AggieBuy search tool
  40. Formalize an internship program
  41. Create a comfort animal program
  42. Charge for weekend parking
  43. Streamline the hiring process for faculty
  44. Add motion sensors to lighting
  45. Create a cycling safety class
  46. Install a billboard along Interstate 80
  47. Establish an electronic diploma system
  48. Create a campus tent rental service
  49. Establish a staff mentorship program
  50. Add an Amtrak train stop closer to campus

Do you have your own ideas or insights to add to any of these? Then make sure to share your thoughts now. Ideas can be submitted anonymously.

The task force, led by Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Mary Croughan, has been doing outreach to gather ideas — and you’re invited to help. A toolkit with a slide deck and flyer is available for your use for brainstorming with your team or sharing this opportunity with colleagues.

A version of this article originally appeared on UC Davis News.

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