Cida Foundation UK

CIDA makes strategic plans for a sustainable future

CIDA CITY CAMPUS TODAY
CIDA City Campus has achieved much in its seven years of existence. The university celebrated its fourth BBA graduation on 15 June 2007 (presided over by CIDA’s Chancellor, First Lady Zanele Mbeki) where over 230 students received their BBA degree. CIDA also opened the CIDA School of Investments sponsored by JPMorgan, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and Reuters on 12 July, which will provide future financial markets employees. This year also saw the creation of MACC, the Mastery Academy of Construction at CIDA, funded by Murray and Roberts and the Barloworld Group of companies.

CIDA is an extraordinary institution that has transformed the lives of its students, their families and their communities. Almost every day CIDA hears from a graduate wishing to express his or her sincere gratitude for the difference CIDA has made on a personal and professional level. The university is indeed making an impact for which every supporter should be proud and for which CIDA City Campus is extremely grateful.

A FULL EXTERNAL INDEPENDENT REVIEW
After seven years devoted to building CIDA, the CIDA Executive Committee felt it was a good time to take stock and plan for the future. To this end, pivotal donor Investec funded a full external review of the organisation, which was welcomed by the CIDA executive board.

The extensive findings of the comprehensive review will take time to work through and integrate into the organisation. In brief, the review considered the CIDA model, the value of the brand and identified key areas of work so as to build a strong platform for the next phase of development.

The review was conducted across six areas of CIDA: the brand, education, information technology, human resources, finance and fundraising and corporate governance. Key insights centred around three areas:
-The need to clarify the role of Transcendental Meditation within the CIDA educational model; -Decisions around the future shape and size of CIDA; -Key operational areas that need work, including making the educational agenda central, working on the positioning of CIDA and strengthening internal systems and processes.

The role of the Transcendental Meditation technique (TM) was clarified so that all students, donors and partners could be assured that this technique is offered on an optional basis at CIDA as part of its larger personal development programme. The university’s central focus was confirmed to be on the educational offer and not any TM-related activities.

FUTURE PLANS

Dean
To take CIDA City Campus to the next level of its development, with a significant focus on academic and operational excellence, the university has begun an intensive process to recruit a full time Dean. The Dean will run the operations of CIDA, and all operational staff will report into the Dean, including the academic side, as well as support services, finance and legal functions. The appointment process for the Dean is to be chaired by Prof Ndebele, a non-executive member of the CIDA Board and Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Town.

Prof Michael Hay, Chair of CIDA Foundation UK and formerly deputy Dean and Secretary of the internationally renowned London Business School, has taken up the post of Interim Dean as of 5 September while a permanent Dean is being recruited. His input will be invaluable as he brings the full range of his academic and administrative excellence to CIDA.

Dr Taddy Blecher’s role
Having been instrumental in founding CIDA City Campus and getting the university to where it is today, Taddy Blecher will now focus on the future sustainability of the CIDA model by developing and implementing a strategy for fundraising, new activities, external marketing and relationships.

Chairman and Executive Members
Richard Peycke, co-founder and chairman of CIDA City Campus, and John De Jager, a long-term board and executive member, have left to now focus full-time on TM-related activities. Investec’s David Lawrence, a current member of the CIDA Board, will be Acting Chairman until the Dean position is filled.

CONCLUSION
CIDA Foundation UK and CIDA City Campus are excited that the university has made these changes, which will take the institution to the next level of operational excellence. We have great confidence in the ongoing success of CIDA and thank you for your ongoing support.