The Foundation for California Community Colleges (FCCC), in concert with the CCC Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO), has entered into a state-wide program to streamline the process for funding, managing and completing facility projects at all 72 of its districts. One of the key initiatives recently implemented is the “Facilities Utilization, Space Inventory Options Net” or “FUSION” Project.

FUSION is a web-based, integrated network of relational databases. Users access the FUSION website using Internet Explorer. The FUSION system’s hardware and software are owned by the FCCC and are operated and maintained by San Joaquin Delta Community College District (SJDCCD).

Prior to FUSION, the management and reporting on campus facilities involved numerous stand-alone processes implemented by various spreadsheets, databases and paper forms. This approach was not only inefficient but it also frustrated attempts by the districts and the CCCCO to develop consistent, standardized data sets needed to support effective planning.

In response to this, FUSION brought together tools to support many of these processes using a single, integrated database. These include tools to support the following:

• Facility Assessment
• Facility Space Inventory
• Planning (including forecasting, Capital Outlay at both the district and state-wide level, and Local Assistance planning)
• Project Management
• Project Task Contract Management
• Emanual (i.e., online documentation of CCCCO business practices, industry “best practices”, and help/support function for FUSION-system navigation & operation)

FUSION is designed to promote enhanced and timely communications between the Districts and the Division of College Finance & Facilities Planning, CCC Systems Office. The FUSION system by its nature automates data collection, analysis and management in a secure, web-based environment. Data from many separate projects can be rolled up to various levels (e.g., building, campus, district, system-wide), thereby facilitating the gathering and summarizing of information for periodic state and local reporting.

FUSION has been well received by users from across the state. This includes both ‘high-tech’ and ‘low-tech’ users. Some of the specific benefits to District personnel and/or CCCCO personnel include:

• Enter data once and then control changes to that data
• Develop procurement strategies – bulk purchase plans
• Easily generate mandated reports from data that exists within the system
• Define project criteria and address more objectively any equity issues between district, campus or individual buildings
• Easily package deficiencies or “issues” into projects to support facility renovation and renewal to protect mission critical teaching, research and support functions
• Prepare & submit Initial Project Plans, Final Project Plans, 5 yr CO Plans online
• Conduct scenario planning, thereby making planning more effective and robust
• Update, certify, and track space inventory status, project status, forecasts online
• Streamline project management, tracking and reporting functions – submitting bond funding & loan requests, grants & project change requests, and development & phase documentation to CCCCO
• Track, view, interpret and understand the overall performance of many projects with various funding streams spanning multiple fiscal years, and manage risk more proactively
• Manage user access by local administrators on a district-by-district, campus-by-campus basis

To date, there are over 800 FUSION users. This includes System Office staff, district administrators and staff, campus users, and contractor staff. It has been used system-wide for the development of space inventory submittals and for various planning documents. Using existing space inventory submittals, various planning submittals, and facility assessment data; the districts have recorded data on more than 60M gross square feet of facility space.