Purpose and Theory:
In UK higher education institutions, facilities management performance tends to be measured in
space utilisation and space cost. A new approach uses the �return on investment� (ROI) concept
of income generation to highlight space performance at faculty/department/building level.
Design and approach:
Using space data from several English universities and data envelopment analysis (DEA), six
types of academic units (departments, institutes or similar) are compared in regard of their
respective research and teaching income. This technique allows mapping out the total �envelope�
with the best performers at the edge, showing what improvement/change would be needed for
the others in the group to match their performance.
Findings:
This is a viable method of benchmarking and gives participating institutions better and more
strategic and business-oriented feedback on the performance of their space envelope than mere
cost comparisons. It can potentially inform strategic decisions about university estates. However,
there are barriers to applying this approach: problems posed by issues of classification and
diverse organisational structures can be overcome, but lack of collaboration of facilities/estates
and finance directorates; lack of centralised, accurate and detailed data pose more serious
challenges
