Competitive or caring? The potential for shared services in higher education
The shared services model has been a success story in both the private and public sectors. However, as Dr Andrew Rothwell and Ian Herbert of Loughborough University explore in this article, it raises a number of ideological and practical issues that have yet to be fully thought through in higher education.
University and council publish cost sharing group options
A HEFCE-funded study into establishing a cost sharing group (CSG) to deliver VAT-exempt IT services to Portsmouth schools has been published. The study by the University of Portsmouth and Portsmouth City Council investigates ways of sharing resources and the demand for a not-for-profit CSG.
Will we recognise the university of the future?
Following yesterday's article looking at the future role of shared services in higher education, Andrew Rothwell and Ian Herbert of Loughborough Universities’ Centre for Global Sourcing and Services highlight how digital relationships and offshoring will transform universities - and possibly secure their survival.
Kingston City Group – forming a cost sharing group
The Kingston City Group (KCG) Consortium became a Cost Sharing Group (CSG) on 1 August 2013 under the UK Finance Act 2012 and is the first fully operational CSG in this sector. KCG provides services to the member institutions fully exempt of VAT, thus providing real cost savings. Maria Vetrone is the Managing Director of KCG and she shares some of the lessons being learned along the way.
New HERBi shared services tool seeks beta-testers
The HEFCE-funded ‘HERBi’ project, which will help institutions to understand the potential costs and savings of shared services arrangements, is almost ready for launch. And project manager Simon Perks is looking for volunteers to test the interactive tool before it goes live
New Hefce-funded project models costs and benefits of sharing services
The shared services delivery partner of Falmouth University and the University of Exeter is starting work on an exciting new project to measure, analyse and model the costs and benefits of collaboration between UK higher education institutions. Project manager Simon Perks tells us more.
Jisc: more than just a network provider
Jisc’s Janet network has provided connectivity for the higher education sector for more than 30 years. But as Dan Perry explains, Jisc offers far more than simply a network and is just one of the services provided to save time and money for the sector.
HE Shared Legal – the new shared legal service for UK higher education
HE Shared Legal, the new national shared legal service for the UK higher education sector, is a pilot project borne out of a HEFCE and JISC Advance backed feasibility study conducted in 2010. Since the service was launched on 1 May 2012, it has gained eleven HE subscriber institutions, published more than 170 items of generic guidance, and attended to over 85 individual legal enquiries.
Portsmouth University investigates sharing IT facilities with city schools
Portsmouth University, together with Portsmouth City Council, has won funding from the Higher Education Funding Council (Hefce) to investigate ways of sharing resources.
Three posts on efficiency from leading speakers at last week’s conference
The 4th annual efficiency conference was held on Wednesday 25 March, with more than 20 speakers from across the higher education sector. Here are three blogposts written for Efficiency Exchange by three of the star speakers from the Universities UK event.
