Space Governance

Charter for the UCSF Space Committee

Effective January 2020

Overview

Guided by Campus Administrative Policy 600-24, the UCSF Space Committee (committee) provides overall governance of space policies and procedures at UCSF and ensures that space related decision-making is aligned with University priorities. Currently, the purview of the committee does not include oversight of allocation of UCSF Health clinical and patient-facing space.

The committee is advised by the Space Work Group. To keep UCSF leadership informed, the committee will provide quarterly updates to the Chancellor’s Cabinet.

Role

The committee oversees the allocation of space to units reporting directly to the Chancellor, including leased space. Once space is allocated to the direct reports, they will determine space assignments for individual programs, research teams, or faculty members.

• The committee will be responsible for the following actions:
• Campus Space Policy (600-24) modifications, updates, and approval
• Strategic direction and space initiatives development
• Space reallocation criteria development and request approval
• Leased space request/opportunity decisions and procedures
• Committee decision communication
• Action item delegation
• Oversight of space utilization metrics based on most recent Research and Administration Space

Policy Recommendations

Through effective information sharing among the group, individual members will be responsible for communicating with their own constituencies about space-related activities across UCSF.

Operating Principles

The committee will work according to these principles:

• Discussions are focused, concise, open-minded, and inclusive - all views will be considered in making a decision.
• Should the members be unable to reach a consensus during the decision-making process, the EVCP co-chair will have the final decision making authority.
• Decisions will be based on fairness, consistency, transparency, economic sustainability, and strategic prioritization.
• See UCSF Space Committee Principles, adopted November 2024

Membership

• Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost (co-chair)
• Senior Vice Chancellor, Finance and Administration (co-chair)
• Dean, School of Dentistry
• Dean, School of Medicine
• Dean, School of Nursing
• Dean, School of Pharmacy
• Vice Chancellor of Research
• Senior Associate Vice Chancellor and Vice President, Real Estate
• Academic Senate Committee on Space Chair
• Faculty Space Review Committee Chair
• Vice Dean, Space, School of Medicine
• Assistant Vice Chancellor, Campus Planning

Membership of the committee may be changed by the designated co-chairs as needed.

Logistics and protocol

• The committee is scheduled to meet monthly.
• Major decisions and actions for consideration will be circulated to members within five working days of each meeting.
• Committee discussions, decisions, and actions will be communicated by the individual member to their counterpart on the Space Work Group and other relevant stakeholders and control points.

2025-26 UCSF Space Committee Membership

Co-Chair: Catherine Lucey, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost
Co-Chair: Erin Gore, Senior Vice Chancellor, Finance and Administration

Charter for the UCSF Space Work Group

Effective January 2020

Overview

The UCSF Space Work Group consists of staff from across UCSF whose principal role is addressing challenges associated with tactical space allocation. Using metrics and criteria approved by the Space Committee, the work group reviews the utilization of space and makes recommendations to the Space Committee.

Role

The role of the work group is to investigate and create solutions for space allocation requests via the UCSF space management system, Archibus. 

The work group will present recommendations to the Space Committee on the following topics:

• Allocation of released space
• Space reallocation from one school, program, or department to another
• Strategic direction and space initiatives
• Resolutions to conflicting space requests
• Requests and opportunities for leased space
• A unified set of space policies and guiding principles

Approved solutions are communicated back to the work group for implementation.

In addition, through effective internal work group communication and collaboration, individual members will communicate decisions and actions to their respective constituencies and other key stakeholders. This includes the flow of information to and from requesters within their unit.

Operating Principles

The work group will be guided by these principles:

• Discussions are to be thoughtful, creative, and inclusive – all ideas will be considered in the decision and recommendation-making processes.
• Members are expected to come to meetings prepared.  This entails bringing problems, possible solutions, and information to the group related to assigned action items from the previous meeting.  This is critical to maintaining momentum towards developing resolutions or confirming a final recommendation for the Space Committee.

Logistics and Protocol

• The work group will meet for 50-minutes on a bi-weekly or weekly basis.
• The Space & Capital Planning members shall be responsible for updating and distributing the agenda and related materials a minimum of two working days in advance of a meeting. 
• Presentations shall be concise with an emphasis on photos, maps, videos, and other media that can convey the space issue to its highest level, enabling work group members to effectively participate in discussions despite lack of prior familiarity with the space in question.
• Quarterly reports will be provided to the Space Committee.
• An annual report will also be submitted the Space Committee for its distribution to or discussion with other UCSF stakeholders. The report will incorporate a three-year data trend analysis.

Membership

The work group shall comprise representatives from each Space Committee member’s functional area and strategic focus who have direct knowledge and responsibility for space planning.

The following list represents a diverse cross section of staff with past or current direct knowledge and responsibility for space planning.  At the discretion of the Chair, new members will be added to the work group as needed.

2024 UCSF Space Work Group Membership

Updated 9/30/2024

Overview

The Faculty Space Review Committee (FSRC) was created in 2021 to improve UCSF’s space management practices. It collects and analyzes occupancy and financial data and reports on qualitative and quantitative metrics to assess wet lab utilization, with the goals of maximizing utilization of space while promoting faculty productivity, building cooperative, energetic neighborhoods, ensuring diversity, equity and inclusion, and enabling faculty recruitment and retention. The FSRC reports and makes recommendations to the UCSF Space Committee.

Faculty Space Review Committee (FSRC) 

Updated October 2025

If you have a space need, contact your department Space Coordinator to formally request interior space. (UCSF MyAccess is required to access the link.) Depending on the type of request and availability of space, your request will be routed through the following process.

What to Expect Next

1. A space search will be conducted within the department and resolved by the department if space is available. 
2. If space is unavailable within the department, the department Space Coordinator will submit a space request to the Control Point Space Strategist. (UCSF MyAccess is required to access the link.)
3. The Control Point Space Strategist will conduct a search within space assigned to the Control Point. If space is unavailable within the Control Point, the request will be submitted to Campus Planning.
4. Campus Planning will conduct a campus-wide search with input from the Space Work Group to identify options. 
5. If options are identified, the Space Work Group will make a recommendation to the Space Committee.
6. The UCSF Space Committee will review and approve or deny recommendations from the Space Work Group. The UCSF Space Committee approves or denies the Space Work Group's recommendation. If deemed appropriate, the request is rerouted to the appropriate group. 

Additional Resources

• Review the Space Request Process for a detailed overview (UCSF MyAccess is required).
• Department Space Coordinators can find Archibus resources (access is restricted).
   

• UCSF Space Governance Policy and Principles 
• Archibus is UCSF's Space Management System. It is used for the coding and classification of space and its attributes such as space assignment and occupancy. UCSF Real Estate's Business Intelligence Space Analytics Team is responsible for the UCSF Campus data management of more than 7 million square feet of UCSF space. The team maintains the space database record at UCSF, working with campus departments and partnering across UCSF Real Estate to ensure graphical consistency with the space inventory and the overall accuracy of campus space records. The team also coordinates with and reports to the University of California Office of the President. To contact the Space Analytics team, please email [email protected].
• Information on Campus space is maintained by Campus Planning, and information on Medical Center space is maintained by Medical Center Facilities.
• Learn about the UCSF Academic Senate Committee on Space

Additional Resources

• EVCP Expresso - April 2018 - "Space Jam: UCSF’s ongoing effort to use space efficiently"
• Academic Senate Considers Space Policies and Principles