Staff Excellence Fund Committee

1. Purpose

The purpose of the Staff Excellence Fund (SEF) Committee is to generate, review, and recommend for approval staff-generated proposals for SEF funding that are in alignment with the goals of the fund by engaging UWSA members and supporting their proposal efforts.

2. Mandate

The Committee will:

• determine the schedule and communication needs for soliciting proposals from staff members;
• actively solicit and recommend proposals until notified by the UWSA President that funds for the year have been allocated;
• review proposals from staff members and provide advice for improvement where needed;
• recommend proposals to PACSC that are in alignment with the goals of the fund;
• ensure that each proposal is evaluated on its own merit, not in comparison to other submissions;
• solicit input as needed from external resources to evaluate proposals;
• ensure that recommended proposals do not contravene University procurement policy, specifically Policy 17 – Quotations and Tenders; and
• ensure that the committee’s decisions and all proposals are appropriately documented.

3. Reporting relationships

The Staff Excellence Fund Committee reports through its chair to the UWSA president. The committee will provide a brief report by September each year on its activity over the previous fiscal year (ending April 30) for inclusion in the annual report to the membership.

4. Membership

The Staff Excellence Fund Committee consists of:

• One UWSA Operations Team member
• Six members at large
• The UWSA representative on the UW Healthy Workplace Committee
• The UWSA president (non-voting)

5. Chair

The UWSA Operations Team member will serve as chair.

6. Records

The committee will assign a recording secretary from its membership. This may be on a rotating basis.

Minutes will be circulated to committee members by the recording secretary. The UWSA Operations Team will be responsible for maintaining committee records.

7. Meetings

The committee will meet as needed to fulfill its mandate, approximately twice each term.

A quorum shall be four voting members.

8. Appointment

Members shall be appointed by the UWSA Appointments Committee. Appointments are normally for a two-year term, renewable for up to six years at the discretion of the committee chair. Appointments may be extended further in extenuating circumstances such as high turnover of members.

9. Participation rights and recognition

Members have a right to participate in UWSA business under the Memorandum of Agreement between the UWSA and the University:

The University shall not interfere with the participation of Members in Association meetings or other Association business, provided that such participation does not unreasonably interfere with the performance of a Member's duties and other responsibilities to the University. (MoA section 2.6.3)

Upon request, members may receive a letter from the UWSA president and committee chair detailing their contributions to the working group and its value to the Association and the University, for use in their performance appraisal. At least three weeks’ notice is required.

Working group members will have access to general training provided to UWSA volunteers, support from the Operations Team, and a community of UWSA volunteers.

Last updated: August 13, 2024