Eventmap help LSE contain campus costs
When a university recognises the need for change and starts planning for the future, accurately calculating resource requirements can seem like an almost impossible task.
Capital costs for universities, particularly within major cities, can be enormous. However, when a university recognises the need for change and starts planning for the future, accurately calculating resource requirements can seem like an almost impossible task – but one where miscalculations can routinely mean potential overspends of tens of millions of pounds.
This was exactly the scenario that the London School of Economics found themselves in when evaluating how their resource requirements would change with an anticipated extra 1,000 students over the next three years. They needed to know exactly how much teaching space was just enough and how to avoid overspending on space in one of the world’s most expensive cities to build or rent in.
Eventmap were engaged for a three month consultancy project, primarily using our Resource software, to accurately determine how best to use LSE’s existing pool of space and exactly how much their overall estate would need to change to provide the correct type and configuration of space for increasing student numbers – while ensuring that the quality of the learning experience remained at its exceptionally high standard.
The project included interfacing our software with the university’s legacy systems to seamlessly extract the necessary timetabling and student data and we were able to develop models for increased room utilisation that allowed LSE to accurately plan for their expansion and keep projected capital costs to a minimum.
The university were very happy with the results, with Keith Clarkson, LSE’s Head of Property and Space Management commenting:
‘Based on our projections for growth, we worked with the Eventmap team in identifying a theoretical upper limit on additional teaching space requirements. The result concentrated our thoughts and provided a basis on which to overlay the practical realities of the space allocation process. The combination of computer generated scenarios and ‘local knowledge’ enabled us to provide a correct solution which proved very useful in advising the school as it enters a period of expansion’
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