The UTS Governance Project is an independent, staff-led initiative to strengthen transparency, accountability and participation in how our university is run. Inspired by the ANU Governance Project, ...

The ANU Governance Project Working Group are proud to present the Draft Project Report for community feedback and consultation. The Draft Project Report is available on our website or through THIS LINK. Using a process that has involved deep listening and a participatory and deliberative process across the ANU community, we have compiled a unique and valuable body of evidence that documents what’s wrong with governance at the ANU and charts a way forward to help rebuild trust and to deliver best practice governance. Over 600 ANU staff, students, and stakeholders have participated in this project, and in contributing constructively to the future of ANU. This includes 590 members of the community who participated in our survey, 75 who participated in one-hour small group discussions, and over 40 from across the university who participated in our project workshop. The ANU community told us there a critical need for change: Over 96% of survey respondents and all discussion group participants believe current ANU governance is not fit for purpose and should be reformed. Over 92% of survey respondents and all discussion group participants expressed dissatisfaction with current ANU governance. Over 93% of survey respondents said they were dissatisfied with current practices of transparency at the ANU. Over 93% of survey respondents said they were dissatisfied with accountability frameworks at the ANU. The ANU Community has proposed the following near-term steps forward for a reformed ANU: Council must direct Finance to produce and publish a current budget breakdown. Council must revise and publish selection criteria for Executive positions. Council meetings must immediately be made fully accessible to the community. Academic Board must regularly review and assess the financial decisions of senior executives and Council. Commence senior leadership listening tours with the ANU community. Additional recommendations forwarded by the community are summarised in the full report, including a proposal to co-design legislative reform of the ANU Act with the community. The Working Group invites the ANU community and stakeholders to offer feedback via this form on the draft report by midnight on Tuesday 7 October. This deadline has been extended in order to allow us more time to hear and incorporate community feedback ahead of the release of our final report on Monday 20 October.

The middle is a hard place to be. The middle of a thesis or a book can be excruciating. Things are underway, but not finished. The end is in sight, but not yet reached. In the middle, it’s easy to …