Discover and share good practice for smarter working universities

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.

Sharing IT services and the law – Jisc Legal

Includes contractual implications, sharing personal data, ownership and Freedom of Information.

Balancing the needs of managers and planners in a performance planning framework

When the University of Lincoln considered their current performance management processes through the eyes of their academic managers, it provided valuable insights. Liz Lacey explains how blending two different approaches helped to inform a review of the way performance planning is carried out by academic leads.

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.

Academic Futures: a new career route for postgraduate students?

The University of Lincoln is developing a programme to tackle the lack of professional development schemes tailored to the needs of postgraduate students interested in an academic career. Rebecca Sanderson explains the project funded by the Innovation and Transformation Fund that explores how to provide postgraduate students with more effective career development opportunities.

Projects fit for purpose: delivering more with less in the public sector

A recent report has investigated what makes successful project management in the public sector. John Lakin, one of the researchers for the report, comments on the lessons for higher education.

Putting together a change team at Loughborough University

Loughborough University’s THELMA-award winning change team aims to ‘walk in the shoes of the customer’ and identify where business processes can be improved. Project leader Dr Anne Mumford explains how the team’s approach has delivered more efficient services in a way that empowers staff.
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Leading the efficiency agenda

When change is on the agenda, leadership is important. Alison Johns explains how the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education is helping the sector’s leaders to rise to the many challenges thrown up by the efficiency agenda.

More than half of university spending on staff, HESA data shows

Staff costs make up more than half of the £31.2bn total expenditure of higher education providers, the 2014/15 finance figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency reveal. The figures, which are presented in an interactive dashboard, also show a total income for the sector of £33.2bn
Helen Fairfoul

HE’s got talent: managing the sector’s workforce

The challenge of sustaining an effective and flexible workforce will be covered by Professor Sir Ian Diamond in his review of efficiency in higher education. Ahead of the launch of Sir Ian’s report, Helen Fairfoul of the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) looks at how universities are approaching talent management.