Service design for universities
Sometimes solutions are under our noses - you just need the right approach to unlock them. In this post, consultant Jean Mutton explains service design, which she says is for anyone who often thinks "there must be a better way".
It’s all about the people
With workforce issues among the key themes of the Diamond efficiency agenda, John Lakin looks at some of the challenges that keep vice-chancellors awake at night.
Measuring up the higher education workforce
Analysis of higher education staff data provides insights into how university workforces are evolving to ensure student achievement and satisfaction, as well as research and teaching excellence, says Amy Norton of Hefce.
Sandra Heidinger: Measuring up at Strathclyde
With a clutch of awards for its business process improvement work, the University of Strathclyde’s achievements are getting UK-wide recognition. The university’s HR director Sandra Heidinger talks to Rosie Niven about how empowering staff is the key to organisational success.
Academic Career Frameworks: Key to Change?
Bournemouth University’s new career frameworks for academics are the subject of a longitudinal study funded by the Innovation and Transformation Fund. Here is a report from 2015 setting out the findings gathered to date.
Simplify, collaborate, deliver at Warwick
Solving problems doesn't always have to be a job for the bosses. Darren Wallis explains what has been achieved at the University of Warwick by empowering staff to identify and implement solutions directly.
People, process and performance – a model for change in HE?
A project to bring the questions of people and performance together with lean methodologies has been developed by the Aber-Bangor Strategic Alliance with funding from the Innovation and Transformation Fund (ITF). The Alliance’s Chris Drew provides the first in a series of posts by the nine ITF-funded projects.
Discussion: restructuring a research office
Restructuring can help to achieve many efficiency benefits for universities - but it is never an easy option. In this discussion, Richard Bond of the University of the West of England and Julie Northam of Bournemouth University share their experiences of restructuring a research office.
The cross-cutting themes of the ITF projects
Managers should witness first-hand how processes earmarked for improvement work before agreeing to those changes, Heather Lawrence of the University of Strathclyde's business improvement team writes. Her blogpost, focusing on lessons from the Innovation and Transformation Fund, also advises capturing feedback and communicating findings throughout the projects.
Operational efficiency or ‘how I became a Bollywood stuntwoman’
Operational efficiency or Bollywood stunts? In this post on the AHUA blog you will get more of the former than the latter from University of York's David Duncan who shares his advice on maintaining an efficient and effective administration.
