Capital Planning
The Office of Campus Planning and Sustainability is responsible for the administration of the capital and space planning process.
The university is moving toward a strong focus on building renewal and space optimization to address existing deficiencies and adapt infrastructure to support evolving ways of working and service delivery.
The Capital Planning Guidelines establish the process for submitting Unit capital project needs, ensuring they are reviewed and considered alongside other institutional needs and funding requirements.
Our university's capital priorities are driven by four core Guiding Principles, ensuring that every project contributes to the institution's long-term success and sustainability:
The Capital Planning Guidelines apply to all academics, administrative, and auxiliary units seeking approval for Major and Capital Projects.
Major Capital (Five-Year Capital Plan)
The university's 5-Year Capital Plan is a roadmap that guides the institution's strategic development and growth for major capital projects $5M or greater in value.
The 5-Year Capital Plan is updated and approved annually by the Board of Governors and submitted to the Ministry of Post Secondary Education and Future Skills for consideration for future government funding allocations. Once submitted, the university will receive direction from the Ministry regarding next steps.
The 5-Year Capital Planning process takes place from January to July each year to identify Major Capital priorities:
The capital planning process is informed through engagement with Unit Leaders from all Facilities and relevant departments including the University Libraries, University Systems, Residence Services, Campus Services and Facilities Management. OCPS will lead the engagement process to understand capital needs. Improvements may be related to:
- Growth: Addition of new facilities or optimization of existing facilities to serve student demand and enrollment growth.
- Excellence: Improvements to existing facilities for student, program or research needs.
- Targeted Investment: Strategic investments to support university priorities and/or the development of strategic partnerships.
Aligning Capital Projects with Government Priorities
Alignment with Provincial priorities increases the likelihood of receiving funding for Major Capital Projects. Ensuring we work with our Government Relations department to understand government priorities is a strategic step in the capital planning process. A list of recent government priorities is identified below and support the ongoing investments that the University of Victoria is making on our campus.
Engineering - Clean Tech, Resiliency and Water
- Canada is determined to lead in the development and innovation spaces in this field, as well as legislate net-zero emissions by 2050.
- Government will be making further investments in active transportation and public transit;
- Government will be investing in retrofits on existing buildings, though it is unclear how the allocation will be for public buildings; and
- Climate action is the cornerstone of Government's million jobs commitment;
- Government has committed to making the largest investment in skills in Canadian history, this will be geared to supporting new skills in growing sectors, to help workers receive education and accreditation, and to connect them with employees and jobs;
- The Government of B.C is investing in student housing as part of Homes for B, a 10-year housing plan with 8,000 new on-campus student beds to be built by 2028.
- there is urgent need for health care professionals and community health and wellness supports.
- The BC Government is expanding opportunities for health education to address urgent needs in BC communities across the province. They are supporting health by funding new seats in medicine, nursing, and allied health professionals such as social work, health information science, public health administration and leadership, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology.
- In response to increasing demands for digital infrastructure, BC Campus, and BCNET are investing in capital assets to reduce costs related to digital technologies across B.C's post-secondary
Capital Planning Advisory Team (CPAT)
CPAT supports UVic’s long-term infrastructure planning by evaluating and prioritizing major capital project requests. The team provides expert advice to Executive Council, ensuring proposed projects align with institutional goals, address deferred maintenance, and deliver cost-effective, strategic outcomes. CPAT also guides space optimization efforts and reviews significant space allocation changes tied to academic or research program needs.
If you have further questions on the Five-Year Capital Plan process, email planning@uvic.ca