THE PPAC PLANNING PROCESS

Fifteen individuals serve on each of three subject area committees -- Agricultural Resources, Human Resources and Natural Resources -- that are charged with recommending Divisionwide program priorities within their respective subject areas. The 45 Division members are representative of the diversity of UC DANR disciplines and program areas, from all affiliated campuses and from county offices throughout the state. The specific charge of the PPACs is to:

• Identify and distinguish between:
  (a) "critical issues" – issues that are important for ANR to address, and
  (b) "target issues" – critical issues that need additional ANR resources in order to address them more effectively.
• Identify intended outcomes for critical issues.
• Prioritize target issues within Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource program areas.
• Consider ANR’s past success in addressing previously identified issues - i.e., review "program evaluation" data when determining critical issues and intended outcomes for the future. PPAC members consult with their colleagues and external stakeholders in developing their recommendations.

Steps in the New Program Planning Cycle:
(Cycle repeats every 3 years, except for the first iteration, which will require only 2 years, because of the limited amount of program evaluation data available for review.)

1. PPACs conduct a comprehensive needs assessment ("environmental scan"), with input from all stakeholder groups, to identify potential issues and outcomes for ANR programs. PPACs also analyze program evaluation data from workgroups and other sources to assess achievement of previously identified intended outcomes. Considering both environmental scan data and program evaluation findings, PPACs identify current "critical issues" for ANR – issues important for ANR to address - and intended outcomes for these issues.

2. PPACs identify gaps between current levels of resources committed to each of the critical issues and levels needed to achieve intended outcomes. For each of the three ANR program areas (Agriculture, Human and Natural Resources) PPACs recommend a prioritized list of "target issues" – critical issues where additional ANR resources are most needed.

3. Program Council receives recommended critical issues and target issues from the PPACs and refines/expands as needed. Program Council prioritizes target issues across the three program areas.

4. Vice President receives recommended critical issues list and target issues as prioritized by the Program Council and refines/expands as needed. Vice President disseminates:

    (a)  ANR Critical Issues and Intended Outcomes, to serve as comprehensive statement of current ANR program priorities and goals; and

    (b)  ANR Target Issues, to serve as the foundation for resource allocation decisions for the forthcoming three years.