‘Insourcing’ is the new ‘outsourcing’
Creating a wholly-owned subsidiary company to house the commercial activities of a university is fundamentally about cultural change rather than cost saving. If the focus is placed firmly on stripping out payroll costs through reducing rates of pay and associated staff benefits, then the project is doomed to failure, says Peter Church Director of Campus Services at the University of Essex.
Strategic Sourcing in Higher Education – Survey
Senior managers involved in strategic sourcing decisions within UK higher education institutions are invited to participate in a HEFCE and Leadership Foundation funded research project....
Develop your procurement skills with HEPA training: 2014-15 dates announced
HEPA (Higher Education Procurement Academy) training dates have now been confirmed, with 10 courses across 5 locations during 2014-15.
We must dispel the idea that universities are wasteful
Following on from his speech to the 4th Annual Efficiency Conference, Nick Petford, Vice Chancellor of the University of Northampton, blogs for Universities UK urging the sector to work hard during this election period to dispel the idea that universities are wasteful and inefficient.
Procurement training opportunities: for all staff who buy goods and services
Do you buy goods and services at your university? If so, you might be interested in this range of opportunities to develop your skills and knowledge offered by HEPA, LUPC and SPCE.
The Procurement Journey: a ‘how to’ guide from HEPA
The Procurement Journey gives procurement professionals and wider institutional buyers access to a comprehensive 'how to' guide to procurement, including a wealth of useful materials, standardised documentation, up-to-date legislation information, and references to appropriate external advice websites. It has been professionally reviewed, and is now available online for use across the sector.
HEPA helps universities improve their procurement expertise
Caroline Blackman-Edney, Chair of the BUFDG Procurement Professionals Group, tells University Business magazine that, “As procurement raises its profile within an institution, more departments within it will rely on procurement expertise. Building the capacity to offer these services should be key to a university’s wider risk management strategy. HEPA provides tools which enable personnel to achieve this.”
Saving universities millions a year in online subs
Subscription fees for software and other online resources can amount to a substantial sum for universities. Eduserv’s Jenny Carroll explains how its licences for these products help higher education budgets to go further.
Introduction to HE procurement: the first of five new e-learning courses from HEPA
The Higher Education Procurement Academy (HEPA) will launch 5 new procurement e-learning courses on 30 July. They offer a cost effective way to develop the skills of a central procurement team and staff who are not part of the central team, but who have procurement in their role. Each course is delivered in an interactive way, with a combination of slides, audio, video, interactive quizzes and links to valuable resources.
The promises programme – becoming a ‘no hidden extras’ university
Coventry University has sought to become a “no hidden extras” university by providing core textbooks to undergraduates. Michael Duffy explains how the university’s procurement team rose to the challenge of giving students more for their investment.
