SUSI 5 Year Strategy

SUSI 5 Year Strategy

SUSI 5 Year Strategy 2023-2028

Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) is Ireland’s national awarding authority for further and higher education grants. A business unit of City of Dublin ETB, SUSI administers student funding in line with legislation set out by the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science in the Student Support Act 2011 and annual Student Grant Schemes and Student Support Regulations.

SUSI was established in 2012 to create for the first time a single, centralised awarding authority for student funding in Ireland. SUSI’s mission is to empower students to transform their lives through tertiary education and between 2012 and 2023, SUSI processed over 1.16 million applications, awarded over 880,000 grants to students and paid almost €3.5 billion in funding.

Committed to delivering continuous service improvements to our students, SUSI has enhanced the service by developing an online application portal, creating a centralised system for the swift and consistent assessment of grant applications and implementing a scalable workflow model that reflects the seasonal nature of the process.

As SUSI moves from a period of set-up and continuous improvement to one of sustainability and future proofing, we present this five-year strategic plan to underpin our commitment to delivering a student centred, transparent public service. Falling under the pillars of the City of Dublin ETB’s wider strategic plan, SUSI has mapped those pillars and adopted the goals specific to the remit of SUSI as a grant awarding authority.

SUSI’s strategy is built upon the foundation of a data driven organisation and anchored around three pillars.

Student and Customer Focused

SUSI aims to always respond to student and customer needs.

Leading Digital Public Service

To further enhance the service, SUSI aims to leverage digital technology to proactively lead the continuing advances required across its processes at a time of change and development.

Model Public Service Organisation

SUSI aims to fully engage its staff to ensure an agile and model public service workplace.

Each pillar is underpinned by a set of strategic goals. The goals set out below are the bridge between SUSI’s high-level pillars and the set of practical initiatives that will form SUSI’s annual business plans. Progress on the goals and initiatives outlined in the strategy will be reviewed and monitored at scheduled intervals throughout the lifetime of the strategy.

 

Goal

Initiative

A student and customer centred
organisation

Embed a customer service mindset within
the organisation.

Consider the customer in everything we do.

Take the organisation from customer service to customer experience.

Understand our customer

Identify barriers to customer engagement.

Map customer journeys.

Build customer profiles and personas.

Track customer sentiment.

Engage customers to understand their
needs.

Track customer satisfaction.

Create an excellent customer
experience and journey

Utilise digital channels and solutions.

Consider internal elements.

Deliver open, transparent, proactive,
two-way communications.

Make the application process as easy as
possible.

Deliver a seamless, omnichannel experience for SUSI customers.

Focus on less travelled journeys that may
require additional support.

Create ‘One SUSI’ where the customer experiences a consistent relationship with the organisation.

Goal

Initiative

Digital by Default

Digital processes for all aspects of SUSI’s service provision. Services will not be digital only rather customers should have the option to engage with SUSI via a digital channel.

Services delivered in an equitable, inclusive and sustainable manner.

The use of digital to improve the experience for those not consuming SUSI services digitally.

Align with the Government's Digital by Default delivery of public services.

Digital Transformation

Invest in integrated and scalable digital infrastructure.

Maintain agility to statutory changes.

Implement interoperable, scalable technology based solutions using digital/ICT building blocks.

Deliver economies of scale and maximise return on investment as we achieve our digital ambitions.

Adopt a set of architecture principles as a set of building blocks that compose of technology and application, data, security and governance and business.

Design and build systems that are aligned with best practice in security and cyber defence.

Harness Data
Effectively

Data Driven: recognise data held by SUSI as a key strategic asset. 

Safeguard and grow our data sharing partner community.

Protect data from unauthorised access and use.

Goal

Initiative

Optimal Organisation Design

Mobility, progression, role clarity.

Model and develop our ‘to be’ state readiness and capacity/capability.

Model Workplace

Flexible working model.

Workplace innovation.

Showcase SUSI successes.

Focus on diversity, inclusion and accessibility.

Standardise performance planning and management.

Professional development.

Vibrant and Well-Defined Culture

Fostering positive workplace relations.

Interdepartmental communications, cross functional aspect, knowledge sharing, collaboration.

Values identification.

Embed HR policies.