It was my pleasure to have a phone interview with Elizabeth Minnis, the Deputy Commissioner at the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance (DCAMM) in Massachusetts. In the upcoming AIA AAJ National Conference on Nov. 5-7 in St. Louis, Elizabeth is going to present one of the sessions on the topic: One Mission – Justice with Dignity and Speed – A Strategic Plan in Implementation Mode. The following is the recap of the phone interview:
Q: What is your background? How does it fit into this strategic plan and implementation process?
A: I am an architect working for the state agency – the Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance – in Massachusetts. Having been with the agency for the past 16 years, I started as a project manager in my first year, during which the state Legislature adopted a $730 million bond bill to fund various construction projects. At that time, the woman who was involved in the strategy planning took a maternity leave, so I had to fill in the position. That was a great education, and I was fascinated by the court system, correctional, and law enforcement projects.
What we saw was that once the projects got started, with the numerous new facilities and renovation projects, the funding was depleted quickly. We realized that the court system could use a lot of reforms to help sustaining their operations and to cope with the budget cuts. In this AAJ session, I, myself, together with the Court Administrator, and other leaders of the consulting teams are going to describe the strategic planning process with its obstacles and challenges.
Q: Would the findings from the strategic planning you mentioned be unique to Massachusetts, or do you see benefits with the broader application to the court systems across the nation?
A: Some aspects of the strategic plan would be unique to Massachusetts, but a lot of the findings can be applicable to facilities across the nation. These can be beneficial even down to the smaller scale when we design a single courthouse. One of the common issues that we are facing today is how to meet the different needs within the court system with the limited budget. Solutions may include sharing courtrooms, cross-training staff in different departments, or combining different offices. Grass-root involvement within the strategic planning process is a critical element. Staff from different levels within the court system together with the architects and planners need to look into the future and to find opportunities to do things better.
Q: If there is one thing you would like the audience to take from the session, what will that be?
A: That will be the value of strategic thinking, to move beyond today, and to think for the future. The 21st century will have its unique challenges: technology, self-represented litigants, different ways to call jury and to engage the public or media. We are going to see a lot more changes in the next 50 years than what we have seen in the past 100 years.
I would like to thank Elizabeth for her time taking this phone interview, which offers us great insights on this topic. Elizabeth will be presenting in the AIA AAJ National Conference on Nov. 5-7 in St. Louis. Hope to see you there!