The Office of University Planning and Analysis (OUPA), also known as Strategic Planning and Initiatives (SPI), serves as a trusted partner in supporting inclusive, informed, and strategic decision-making at Vancouver Island University. We provide reliable data, evidence, and institutional reporting to inform planning, support institutional priorities, and advance VIU’s strategic goals.
Need Support? Submit a service request through our helpdesk to request data or information, Insight portal access, SurveyMonkey support, business analysis, project support, or data governance guidance.
How we support VIU
We develop and publish dashboards through the Insight Portal, VIU’s Tableau-based reporting platform. These dashboards provide access to institutional data and insights that help users explore trends and support informed decision-making.
We support surveys across VIU using SurveyMonkey and MS Forms. Our support can include survey design, setup, distribution, data collection, and analysis.
We provide business analysis support using IIBA-aligned practices to help departments understand their needs, identify opportunities for improvement, and support effective solutions. Our work may include stakeholder engagement, requirements analysis, process improvement, and evidence-based decision-making.
We provide project management and coordination support for institutional projects and initiatives using PMI-aligned project management practices. This can include planning, organizing activities, risk management, tracking progress, coordinating with stakeholders and supporting successful project delivery.
We support VIU programs by providing data, analysis and insights to help departments assess program needs, evaluate outcomes and support informed decisions and continuous improvement.
We provide guidance and support for VIU’s data governance framework, including data ownership, stewardship, definitions, quality, access, standards, and policies.
Learn more about data definitions to support data literacy: Data Dictionary
We support the collection, review, and submission of institutional data to government ministries and external organizations. We work with departments across VIU to help ensure that information is accurate, complete and submitted on time.