IX. Strategic Area 6: Institutional Resources

Objective 1: Maintain Financial Stability

Initiative 2022-2027

KPIs Responsibility 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

Optimize the use of facilities and equipment to achieve safe, healthy, and sustainable campus

Actions by Initiatives

Implement Financial plan reflecting ECoE strategy

Diversify income streams

Deviation percentage (positive or negative) of expenditure and income from the budget (measured monthly, quarterly, per semester and annually)

Percentage of self- income of the institution to total income (KPI-I-14)

% of achievement for each source of income to budget

LEAD: DEAN OTHERS: DEPT. CHAIRS

LEAD: VPPD

OTHERS: MF d. Maintenance and support services.

% of fulfillment of facilities and equipment of the needs for the department

Average of beneficiaries’ satisfaction rate with facilities and equipment services on a five-point scale in an annual survey in terms of: a. cleaning services b. Safety and healthy campus c. access for disabled d. Maintenance and support services e. security f. restaurant, CDC, residence g. transportation

Enhance/Upgrade the Technological Solutions to Support Academic and Administrative Operations

• Develop and implement digital transformation to accelerate administrative operations performance.

• Maintain data and system security to ensure high performance.

• Improve the website presence by implementing search engine optimization best practices.

LEAD: DEAN QA – SES & PES

OTHERS: DEAN/DEPT. CHAIRS

• Improve the quality and equipment of the lecture rooms and computer labs to ensure high quality of teaching and facilitate the interaction with students.

Optimize the Use of Facilities and Equipment to Achieve Safe, Healthy, and Sustainable Campus

• Revise and update Master Campus Plan to ensure its alliance with ECoE needs (including vacant land parcels) and to maintain compliance with Ministry of Education Bylaws.

• Annually review campus building and facilities to meet the emerging needs of academic and administrative units.

• Establish a smart campus deployment plan to maintain best practices in a sustainable and healthy campus infrastructure.

• Upgrade current campus facilities with the emerging needs of students.

Risk Management

The following table indicates the key risks associated with each strategic recommended area and a corresponding mitigation plan for every risk:

Topic Risk Mitigation Plan

Untenable financial demands for new technology commitments

Prioritization and smart allocation of funds based on more lucrative opportunities

• Support Faculty in identifying external sources of funding to supplement funding from the University, thus ensuring their financial autonomy.

• Assisting faculty with the process of writing proposals for funding by, among other things, organizing proposal writing workshops, marketing the capabilities of EU Researchers among the funding agencies, and incentivize EU Researchers for networking.

• Delegate responsibilities to the most credible names within the research faculty to write proposals for funding.

• Identify ECoE research clusters and link them to the activated research partnerships nationally, and internationally.

Improve ECoE Infrastructure

Strong faculty and staff resistance to new solutions related to buildings and grounds on philosophical or other grounds

Long-term benefits to the ECoE should be clearly communicated before taking capital decisions

X. Strategic Area 7: Research & Innovation

Objective 1: Develop Diversified Research Impact in Areas of National and International Priority

Number of national, and international research partners per year

Percentage of national and international partnered research/total research output

Monitor and Respond to National Policy on International HE Regarding Research

• Scan, on a yearly basis, the possible updates of research by checking the governmental research related institutions (i.e., KACST, RDO, SAIP).

• Design a timeline to review research related policies, and update if needed.

Objective 2: Consolidate Research Achievements

Increase proportion of active researchers KPI-I-16 / KPI-PG-15 Percentage of publications of faculty members

Extend integration of graduate students and programs in published research

Proportion of graduate students with a) at least one refereed publication during their study) presented paper in a conference to the total number of students in the PG program during the year. (KPI-PG-18)

LEAD: DGSR

OTHERS: DEAN/DEPT. CHAIRS

LEAD: DGSR

OTHERS: DEAN/DEPT. CHAIRS

Identify and establish focused research relationships with national and international partners

Proportion of external funding for research to the total ECoE research budget (KPI-I-21) The degree of international diversity in terms of partnered international research network is as: Formula = (Number of partners -1)/ln (number of collaborated research output)

Percentage of collaborative research to the total research output (Including internal collaborations amongst ECoE and its departments)

Increase researcher productivity

LEAD: DEAN OTHERS: DEPT. CHAIRS

Improve research impact

KPI-I-15 / KPI-PG-16 –

Rate of published research per faculty member

Citations rate in refereed journals per faculty member (KPI-P-16 KPI-PG-17) Number of patents, innovations, and awards of excellence (KPI-PG-19

Number of Scopus publications per year

LEAD: DGSR

OTHERS: DEAN/DEPT. CHAIRS

LEAD: DGSR

OTHERS: DEAN/DEPT. CHAIRS

Monitor and respond to national policy on international HE regarding research

Actions by Initiatives

Percentage of operational steps completed

Identify and Establish Focused Research Relationships with National and International Partners

LEAD: DGSR

OTHERS: DEPT. CHAIRS

• Review policies and procedures related to research for faculty participation in national and international research venues.

• Promote research collaboration by enhancing ECoE visibility through national media communication.

• Scan, identify and collaborate with possible opportunities for national, regional and international research partners.

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the research partnership and set the new goals for next cycle.

• Prioritize fund-raising efforts through collaborative research proposals targeting national and international funding organizations and businesses.

• Develop capabilities to raise funds (5% from the total research budget not less than 125 K SAR) through external sources by targeting national and international funding organizations.

Actions by Initiatives

Increase Proportion of Active Researchers

• Foster the recruitment of leading national and international scholars, leading in their respective fields of research (postdoctorates, scholars on sabbatical, retired scholars as they can contribute through their experience).

• Offer adequate compensation or incentives for the active researcher, based on the research projection.

• Conduct regular workshops and meetings to promote collaborations between ECoE faculty with active researchers.

Extend Integration

of Graduate Students and Programs in Published Research

• Promote the process of involving PG students in research publication by co-authoring with their faculty.

Increase Researcher Productivity

• Focus further in the faculty recruitment on candidates with a proven track record in research.

• Aid new researchers and early careers in the process of publications and grant proposal writing.

• Provide adequate internal seed funding (Internal Financial Support) to increase the research productivity of active scholars.

• Allow teaching release time for very active researcher whenever possible to spend the needed time on research production.

Improve Research Impact

• Improve the quality of the research production published in national and international journals and books and impact through:

• Raise awareness for internal cross citations.

• Facilitate the university support for open access publications to increase the opportunity of citations.

• Indexing Effat Journals to help in increasing the number of indexing citations.

• Empower faculty to publish with top 2% (highly cited) scholars.

• Spread the research advancements made by ECoE researchers through effective PR communication, both internally and externally.

• Establish a regular newsletter to highlight and celebrate the achievements of ECoE researchers.

• Create awareness of research activities on ECoE website and blogs as a gesture of promoting research culture both within and outside the university.

• Instill and grow a strong research culture amongst all departments to bolster research output through support and motivation to the researchers.

• Encourage ECoE Faculty & Students to produce quality research by providing variety of venues (Indexing Effat Journals/ Proceedings, incentive systems, Editing Office Services).

• Maximize the opportunities for faculty to collaborate with highly cited researchers.

• Develop capabilities to increase the production of IPs, patents, and innovations through the establishment of an intellectual property office in the ECoE.

• Support ECoE faculty, students & researchers to obtain external research awards across various fields and categories.

Objective 3: Promote the Research Environment

Establish

Actions by Initiatives

Establish Endowed/Named Research Chairs

• Identify research strengths and opportunities of the ECoE and develop plans for scientific chairs.

• Scan, identify and collaborate with governmental and/or ECoE bodies for the selected research areas.

• Address potential donors/ sponsors for research chairs.

• Manage the chairs and evaluate their effectiveness.

Utilize Existing Research Labs /Units /Centers

• Enhance the research environment and infrastructure to increase the research productivity through effective use of state-ofthe-art research laboratories, research centers, online databases and resources such as Scopus, Thompson Reuters Web of Science, and software for both qualitative and quantitative research.

• Evaluate the satisfaction of the users of research facilities and equipment.

Risk Management

The following table indicates the key risks associated with each strategic recommended area and a corresponding mitigation plan for every risk:

Topic Risk Mitigation Plan

Research collaborations Competitive space to get grants and funding from external sources

Research Output & Alignment to National Objectives

Financial constraint, lack of resource and skill

Increase credibility of ECoE research Enhanced communication and marketing to get ECoE out there in the public space thereby enhancing visibility

Focus on high ROI through spends to hire more resource Conduct training workshops to develop skill Focus on winning grants and getting funded

Utilize existing research labs/units / centers

KPIs

Number of chairs established

Degree of utilization of existing facilities & resources

Satisfaction of beneficiaries with research facilities, and equipment (KPI-PG-14)

XI. Strategic Area 8: Community Engagement

LEAD: DGSR

OTHERS: DEANS/DEPT. CHAIR

LEAD: DGSR

OTHERS: DEANS/DEPT. CHAIR

Objective 1: Institutionalize Community Engagement Governance

Establish coordinated approach to community engagement (Partnership and Agreement)

LEAD: DGSR

LEAD: DGSR

OTHERS: RCI/ MCPR/ DGSR/DEPT. CHAIRS

Actions by Initiatives

Identify and Establish Focused Research Relationships with National and International Partners

• Develop, review and implement policies for community engagement relations.

• Nurture and continue community engagement activities both locally and internationally through constant communication with organizations in the community, showcasing the mutual benefits that can be achieved by partnering.

• Develop relationships with the community leaders by inviting them to the ECoE for their expertise and problem-solving abilities.

• Focus on developing agreements and partnerships with key government, economic and service sectors, to support the sustainability of environmental resources.

• Increasing the awareness hereabout the important of community engagement.

Increase Memberships with Well-known Organizations

• Evaluate the current ECoE memberships and recommend the renewal of efficient ones.

• Scan, identify and activate new membership opportunities with prestigious national/international organizations.

Promote Consultancy Services

• Assess consultancy needs of the market, develop the marketing plan to promote consultancies, and implement & analyze the effectiveness based on the market study.

Objective 2: Engage with the Community (Activities, Events, and Exhibitions)

Improve quantity of community engagement activities: volunteering activities, Conferences, events, workshops, sports, webinars industropedia, etc.

Actions by Initiatives

Improve Quality of Community Engagement Activities

KPI-I-22 Satisfaction of beneficiaries with the community services

Number of volunteering hours/Effat employees and students per year

Number of Conferences, events, workshops, and webinars per year

Objective 3: Provide Training with Community Partners

Establish a PACE-HIT training center and programs Percentage of executed program

Offered professional and certified training Percentage of registered students from the projections

Actions by Initiatives

Establish a PACE-HIT Training Center and Programs

• Finalize all the required process to authorize PACE-HIT.

DEAN ER OTHERS: HEAD PR / DGSR / DEANS / DEPT. CHAIRS

• Align the ECoE’s training programs to the economic development, job creation to support Saudi Vision 2030.

• Develop, and license the identified training programs by the TVTC.

Offered Professional and Certified Training.

• Design, and approve an offering plan for the training programs,

• Implement a recruitment plan for the training programs to achieve the projected number of trainees, and

• Evaluate the results of the plan to modify and enhance the offering plan.

Objective 4: Enhance ECoE Visibility

Number of new external stakeholders per year

Market ECoE with all key external stakeholders

DEPT. CHAIRS

• Review, update and enhance the quality of the community engagement activities.

• Increase the engagement level of students, faculty, staff and alumni in quality community engagement activities to nurture the culture within the university.

Improve Quantity of Community Engagement Activities: Volunteering Activities, Conferences, Events, Workshops, Sports, Webinars Industropedia, etc.

• Review the needs of the community to offer community engagement activities.

• Plan, and implement the annual community engagement activities (volunteering activities,

• Conferences, events, workshops, sports, and webinars).

• Evaluate the impact of the offered community engagement activities and plan for future improvement.

Develop revised social media presence

Promote the participation in external Awards opportunities for Effat University Faculty and Students

Number of new followers for each platform (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) per year Number of reaches per post

Number of external awards obtained

Actions by Initiatives

ECoE contribution to MCPR/Media Center:

• Specify the function, tasks and responsibilities of ECoE contribution to the media center.

• Develop and implement the annual plan of ECoE contribution to the media center.

• Assess the impact of the implementation of the plan on the ECOB visibility.

Market ECoE with all Key External Stakeholders:

• Maintain and update ECoE content and insights as per international standards to attract the best talent and connect with all external stakeholders.

• Expand ECoE stakeholder network, categorize them and tailor-made communication strategy plan.

• Interact with the prospect students or their families through the chatbot to help resolving any query.

• Participate in major exhibitions to promote ECoE.

• Scan, and identify, the solicitation opportunities in the market.

• Design a marketing plan to attract the attention of potential companies and evaluate its success.

Develop Revised Social Media Presence

• Intensify the presence of social media platforms such as Instagram, twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

• Enhance targeted ad-strategy to market the content on these social media platforms to increase the number of followers (Audience Growth) and post reach (impressions).

Promote the Participation in External Awards Opportunities for Effat University Faculty and Students

• Encourage the internal participation with awards and certificates to foster more participation.

MarCom (Marketing & Communication) Planning Framework

The following is an integrated marketing and communication (IMC) framework followed widely around the globe because of its strong fundamentals:

Review of the marketing plan

Analysis of the communication process

Develop integrated marketing communication program

Integrate and implement marketing communications strategy

Integrate and implement marketing communications strategy

According to the research conducted by IPSOS, digital marketing is the most accessed channel by both the UG and PG potential students, with Instagram and Twitter being the most popular social media venues explored by the potential students. The visual representation of the same is depicted below:

The following table indicates the key risks associated with each strategic recommended area and a corresponding mitigation plan for every risk: Topic

Institutionalize and Enhance Community Governance and Engagement

Assistance needed by the students engaging in community services

Lack of motivation for students and alumni to continue with community engagements

Financial constraints

Provide support to the students in the form of transportation, food, and guidance

Reward the service providers in the form of awards and certificates

Events can be done in collaboration with the local community bodies to reduce the financial burden on the university

Enhance ECoE Visibility

Marketing team hiring constraints

Avail the services of an external marketing agency while slowing ramping up internal marketing capabilities