What is the Centre of Excellence?

In a large and complex organization like UBC, changes — whether planned or unplanned — are constantly happening. While it may be uncomfortable, change provides us with an opportunity to improve our collaboration and service delivery by identifying and enhancing activities that generate the most value while identifying and reducing waste activities.

In order to create a solid foundation for university-wide continuous improvement, the VPFO Project Management Office has mobilized a team of experts that will lead our practice from a Centre of Excellence.

As a Centre of Excellence, we work directly with business units across UBC to support their projects and initiatives, under the guidance of our Governance Committee.

What services do we provide?

We coach and help units apply Lean Six Sigma methodologies to effectively, efficiently and consistently deliver their projects and initiatives.

Project management

We aim to implement a consistent structure for Operational Excellence initiatives across the university. To achieve that, we have established a standard framework with a well-defined project process, combined with project management support on large cross-functional projects.

Business Intelligence reporting

We implement business intelligence to track initiatives and report on progress for projects across the university. Through data gathering, analytics and storytelling, we support informed decision making to improve service delivery.

Training & coaching

In addition to sharing our expertise and guidance, we have partnered with UBC’s Sauder School of Business to offer professional Lean Six Sigma training and certification that supports your career growth and your ability to drive operational excellence in your work.

What will our future look like?

In the initial stage, we are piloting the rollout of the Center of Excellence within the VP Finance & Operations, VP Human Resources, UBC Information Technology, and the Office of Enterprise Risk and Assurance. As our process, infrastructure and teams strengthen, we will expand our services to other units and faculties across UBC and work towards delivering effective and efficient services together as a community.