The Capital Plan is the long-range building and renewal plan for the University of Washington. By identifying the most important capital projects, acquisitions and leases to pursue over the next five to ten years, UW Facilities supports the Board of Regents as they make the critical decisions about how to invest the state’s resources.
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Capital funding process
Biennially, each state agency is required to submit a capital budget request within the context of a long-range plan to the WA State Office of Financial Management. The UW Enterprise process for developing its six-year capital plan, state capital budget and long-range plan recommendations is based on planning models common throughout higher education. The UW Enterprise capital planning involves:
- identification of building conditions, program needs, space adequacy, and utilization
- evaluation of alternatives and prioritization of space and program needs
- financial stress test ranked prioritized projects and evaluation against the University objectives
- development of the six-year capital plan for the UW Enterprise
Capital planning staff work with each individual unit/college/campus to evaluate and prioritize institutional requests based on Regent-approved evaluation criteria. The evaluation, coupled with anticipated funding, is developed into a single, institution-wide capital budget plan for the ensuing five fiscal years. This document is updated and then approved by the Regents on an annual basis. The University also submits biennial capital budget requests to the state during even-numbered years based on these capital budget recommendations.
Developing a UW enterprise-wide capital plan allows the Board of Regents, the WA State Office of Financial Management, and the Legislature to better understand and manage educational facility needs. However, the capital plan is a point-in-time reference, and remains flexible to accommodate future adjustments such as increasing or decreasing funding levels or program changes.