Space Management Essentials for Higher Education

Defining Space Management

What is it? Is it formalized? What is the best way to communicate space management throughout our institution? Are we owners or stewards?

Contrary to popular opinion and behaviors, space is not free on any campus. Many institutions have millions of dollars in deferred maintenance and yet there is a demand to build more space. Doing more with less, changing paradigms, natural disasters, strategic initiatives, and capital renewal all start with understanding what you have. Space should support the vision and mission of an institution. What is space management? How is space management understood throughout the campus community? Is space owned or is it something where with good stewardship a little goes a long way?

Topics:

• Defining space management: purpose and importance for institutional success.
• Ownership vs. stewardship: shifting perceptions of space use.
• Communicating the true cost and value of campus space.

Outcomes:

• Define the concept of space management and its purpose within the institutional context.
• Explain the difference between space ownership and stewardship and describe why stewardship is essential to sustainable campus operations.
• Distinguish how formalized space management practices, such as policies and communication strategies, impact institutional planning and resource allocation.

Space Classification: The Red Bible

What’s the best way to classify spaces? Collaboration spaces, capstone spaces, wellness and lactation rooms, break-out spaces, internal suite circulation, non-employee office spaces, etc. Counting seats can’t be that hard – can it?

Space classification is an art form and not a science. What’s the best way to classify spaces at an institution? Is the NCES Facilities Inventory Classification Manual still relevant? In addition to the space nomenclature, there are many considerations when classifying space like: utilization expectations, indirect cost recovery for research, circulation spaces, and informal collaboration spaces to name a few. Understanding how space data will be used will assist in making smart decisions about space classification.

Topics:

• Fundamentals of Space Classification: Frameworks and considerations.
• Relevance of the NCES Facilities Inventory Classification Manual.
• Specialized Spaces: Classifying collaboration, capstone, and wellness spaces.

Outcomes:

• Understand the foundational principles of space classification and its importance in institutional planning.
• Evaluate the relevance of the NCES Facilities Inventory Classification Manual for their campus needs.
• Develop a strategy to maintain accurate space data, supporting informed decision-making across the institution.

Establishing and Enforcing Space Management Policies

Is it formalized? What are some good policies and how do you enforce them?

Space management policies can be difficult to put into place; but what’s more difficult is the enforcement of those policies. Policies can include classroom scheduling guidelines, office and research space assignments, and the relinquishment of space for repurposing. Space management policies that are in place at different institutions will be reviewed along with the enforcement of those policies.

Topics:

• Defining and Formalizing Space Management Policies: Key elements and best practices. Examples of successful policies at various institutions.
• Types of Space Policies: Classroom scheduling, office and research assignments, and space relinquishment.
• Policy Enforcement: Challenges and solutions for effective enforcement.
• Communicating Policies: Ensuring understanding and buy-in across campus.

Outcomes:

• Identify key components of effective space management policies and their role in supporting institutional goals.
• Differentiate between types of space policies, such as classroom scheduling and office assignments, and recognize their specific applications.
• Evaluate enforcement challenges and assess strategies for promoting policy compliance.
• Design a framework for communicating policies across campus to foster adherence and support.

Creating an Effective Space Committee

There can be multiple types of space committees at an institution. For example, there can be a generic space committee, classroom committee, research committee, or an open space committee. Establishing and communicating purview, role, and guiding principles is important to success. How key leadership responds to and channels the committee influences the institutional perception of its usefulness. Who should be on the committees will be discussed as well as various governance structures.

Topics:

• Types of Space Committees: General, classroom, research, and open space committees.
• Establishing Committee Purview and Guiding Principles: Defining scope and objectives.
• Influence of Leadership: How leadership engagement affects committee effectiveness.

Outcomes:

• Identify the different types of space committees and their specific functions within an institution.
• Develop clear purview and guiding principles for a space committee that align with institutional goals.
• Analyze how leadership support and engagement impact committee success and campus perception.

Maintaining a Space Inventory: Best Practices and Practical Applications

How often should the inventory be maintained? By whom? What are the checks and balances? Training?

Keeping  a space inventory updated is not an easy task. Without a regularly implemented process of updating the space inventory, space data becomes inaccurate and unreliable as a data source. How can an institution manage its capital resources wisely without an accounting of what types of spaces exist and who is occupying those spaces? Consideration of how the space inventory will be used and pre-determining the space classification codes is important to the level of detail that needs to be maintained. Users of the information may include executive level management as well as facilities maintenance for work orders. Setting up training is important for maintaining a level of consistency. Reviewing the changes needs to be part of the process.

Topics:

• Importance of a Space Inventory: Purpose and benefits of accurate space data.
• Updating Frequency and Responsibility: Best practices for determining who should update and how often.
• Checks and Balances: Implementing quality control measures for data accuracy.
• Training for Consistency: Establishing a training program for consistent data entry and maintenance.

Outcomes:

• Understand the importance of an accurate space inventory and its impact on resource management.
• Identify best practices for determining update frequency and assigning responsibility for inventory maintenance
• Evaluate effective checks and balances to ensure reliable and current space data.
• Design a training plan to maintain consistency and accuracy across inventory updates.

Transforming Space Perceptions

Space is expensive. The expense doesn’t end after initial construction, it continues on with operational and maintenance costs. It is often said that the greenest space you can build is the space that is already built. How can the cost of space be communicated throughout an institution? What are the change management processes that need to be implemented to help transform attitudes about space? For example, many employees think that the sign of success is the corner office with lots of windows. Does that cultural attitude align with the concept of daylight equity? Departments, schools, and colleges, think they own space when, in fact, the institution owns the space, they are merely the occupants. Implementing a responsibility center management (RCM) budget model could help but not always. Learn how institutions take steps to change the attitudes about space making them better space stewards.

Topics:

• Communicating the True Cost of Space: From construction to long-term maintenance.
• Cultural Attitudes and Space Perception: Shifting mindsets from ownership to stewardship.
• Change Management: Effective strategies for attitude transformation.

Outcomes:

• Understand the full cost of space, including construction, operational, and maintenance expenses.
• Identify cultural attitudes toward space ownership and develop strategies to foster a stewardship mindset.
• Apply change management techniques to communicate the institutional value of space effectively.