Synthesis Partnership

University of New Hampshire

Facilities   Identity

As it completed a new campus master plan and approached an opportunity for a new round of project funding, the University identified three residential projects to be developed to accommodate 980 beds. The University previously had done minimal programming and budgeting before requesting project funding. This often led to difficulties when subsequent project definition identified additional costs, which then had to be accommodated by compensatory cuts.

To correct this problem, the University retained Synthesis Partnership to conduct a comprehensive process of preparation. Our assignment included site assessment, programming, budgeting, and oversight and coordination of the work of technical consultants to develop a thorough grounding for the projects and a clear and reliable budget. A secondary goal for this assignment was to develop procedures, approaches, forms and reports to serve the University as a template for future planning and programming. The University used the our work to plan additional residential space on its own, and asked Synthesis Partnership back for subsequent projects.

Brown Medical School

Strategy   Identity

The Office of Advancement of Brown Medical School asked Synthesis Partnership to assist in the development of the School’s identity and branding strategy, which was deemed fundamental to an effective launch of a new name (and accompanying positioning) of the school. We built our study on the premise that the ultimate goal of naming, positioning and identity is to establish mind-share among prospective and current students; residents, faculty, and alumni; and the public (consumers, voters and donors) — all essential contributors to the success of the school’s mission, and all of whom have many competing draws on their attention. We conducted in-person and telephone interviews among various constituencies, and e-mailed a set of open-ended questions to others.

Our research and observations resulted in recommendations in four primary areas:

• Clarifying the product (simplify message, increase focus on primary assets, commit to benchmarking and strategic planning for longer term solutions).
• Marketing the school (determine target audiences and overhaul the Website to focus on user-centered objectives, not data-centered capabilities)
• Increasing visibility in the community (invest in a more robust communications strategy, identify and consolidate physical presence)
• Graphic representation of identity (create and use a consistent institutional mark both linking to the university and differentiating from it)

Further, we suggested that while attention was being paid to the Website, the School should consider its potential internally to transform workflow through the handling of diverse information and transactions.

Franklin Pierce Law Center

Strategy   Identity   Facilities

Pierce Law Center is an independent law school, highly ranked in its specialty of intellectual property law, and the only law school in New Hampshire. Pierce Law faced the need to examine a range of critical issues, including its independent status, location, relationship to the profession in New Hampshire, and competitiveness both in its field of specialization and in its recruitment of students and faculty. Pierce Law asked Synthesis Partnership to develop and guide a strategic planning process, and to coordinate with issues raised during a concurrent process of a faculty-based self-study for reaccreditation.