Ask…Listen…Share. It’s a principle that underpins a lot of early childhood lessons and how we learn to build relationships when working with others. Many of us can likely remember our first and second grade teachers standing at the front of the class, slowly reciting these words in a deliberate way! It turns out that ‘ask, listen, and share’ also forms an important part of any project management: stakeholder engagement. Creating open lines of communication with those who have a vested interest in a project is essential for its success. Lucky for us, the Project Oversight Team heeded this lesson on collaboration, embraced its credo, and spent the winter of 2019 engaging with stakeholders about the future renovations at Weldon.
First on the docket was analyzing the survey that was sent to students, faculty, and staff in late 2018. More than 1,800 individuals completed the survey, offering their preferences and opinions for our spaces and services. We learned that key considerations for a new space should include comfortable seating, large tables to spread out on, and lots of accessible power outlets.
Next were focus groups. In collaboration with Perkins+Will, the oversight team conducted four focus groups, one to discuss each of the proposed new spaces in Weldon. The digital scholarship center and library staff space consultations were held in late February 2019 and the learning commons and graduate commons sessions were held in early March. Participants included undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff and key partners like Research Western, Student Experience, and the Centre for Teaching and Learning. These well-attended sessions provide key insights for the architectural team to draw upon.
In the coming weeks the space plans for Weldon will be revised and we’ll enter the exciting design phase!