Receive presentation on the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, Integrated Management Project (IMP) program description and project proposal opportunity; approve the IMP project proposal scope; and approve program partnership with UC Davis Graduate School of Management and associated program cost expenditures. (No general fund impact) (Pinedo/Perez) (Est. Time: 10 min)

The Yolo County Strategic Plan is a guiding document used by the Board of Supervisors to set organizational policies and priorities for a period of three to five years. It is the intent that the 2024-2028 Strategic Plan be a living document which can be adapted to respond to changes in the community and be updated on a regular basis by County leadership. Every fiscal year, the Strategic Plan is revisited by County leadership for an annual progress report. By connecting to the annual budget review schedule, the organization may make additions or interventions per budget allocations. This will aid in ensuring the continued relevance and flexibility of the document to changing circumstances over the course of the next four fiscal years. To successfully coordinate the established review schedule and have the ability to make appropriate interventions as intended, staff indicate the need for informative metrics and regular data tracking to establish progress on key objectives. One possible opportunity for collaboration to meet this need is for Yolo County to engage with the UC Davis, Integrated Management Project (IMP).

The UC Davis Graduate School of Management hosts an Integrated Management Project (IMP) by which Master of Business Administration (MBA) student project teams formulate recommendations and analyses to assist a project Sponsor with important insights to address a specific opportunity/issue raised by the project Sponsor. The student project team, comprised of 4-6 MBA students, leverage prior work experiences and ongoing classwork to deliver 500+ total hours of analyses and findings to the project. The teams also engage with key Sponsor staff regularly throughout the project to provide updates and receive feedback on their progress. The teams work throughout a ten-week, academic quarter to deliver project outcomes and deliverables. Staff have identified this opportunity to partner with the UC Davis Graduate School of Management and participate in the IMP as a project Sponsor to receive recommendations on Strategic Plan metrics and progress tracking.

A draft Scoping Template (Att. B.) has been developed that outlines potential key questions, project activities, and project outcomes/deliverables to inform a potential IMP student project collaboration with Yolo County.

Key Questions:

Student team activities:

Project Outcomes/Deliverables:

The project timeline ties to UC Davis’s quarterly academic calendar. Staff recommends a Winter Quarter 2025 project timeline which takes place during a 10-week span from early-January to mid-March. This would allow the County to receive project deliverables ahead of the proposed budget for fiscal year 2025-2026, which aligns with the annual Strategic Plan update to the Board of Supervisors. Once the project is approved and selected, a schedule of meetings with relevant staff will be coordinated.

The UC Davis Graduate School of Management has provided a Project Description handout (Att. C.) that includes all pertinent information. Included in the Project Description are a list of project Sponsor obligations that help to ensure the success of the project: Information Access, Personnel Access, Ongoing Feedback, and Sponsorship.

1. Information Access:

A Student Team Liaison is identified as the available Project Sponsor point of contact to interact with the student project team. This Student Team Liaison must provide the team with timely access to all data and initial information required to execute the project scope.

2. Personnel Access:

Project Sponsor staff must be accessible for interviews or supplemental information during the project.

3. Ongoing Feedback:

Project Sponsor staff must review the team’s progress and provide guidance on priorities and project proceeds.

4. Sponsorship:

Project Sponsor makes a suggested donation to UC Davis. The nominal “suggested donation” for this project would be $2,500. Staff believe this figure represents excellent value for the County and its taxpayers given the effort the MBA student team will expend on the project.

UC Davis Graduate School of Management
County Administrator’s Office