Category: Leadership & Management

  • How does the higher education sector sustain digital transformation in tough times?

    How does the higher education sector sustain digital transformation in tough times?

    Higher education institutions are in a real bind right now. Financial pressures are bearing down on expenditure, and even those institutions not at immediate risk are having to tighten their belts.

    Yet institutions also need to continue to evolve and improve – to better educate and support students, enable staff to do their teaching and research, strengthen external ties, and remain attractive to international students. The status quo is not appealing – not just because of competitive and strategic pressures but also because for a lot of institutions the existing systems aren’t really delivering a great experience for students and staff. So, when every penny counts, where should institutions invest to get the best outcomes? Technology is rarely the sole answer but it’s usually part of the answer, so deciding which technologies to deploy and how becomes a critical organisational capability.

    Silos breed cynicism

    Digital transformation is one of those areas that’s historically had a bit of a tricky reputation. I suspect your sense of the reason for this depends a bit on your standpoint but my take (as a moderately competent user of technology but by no means expert) is that technology procurement and deployment is an area that tends to expose some of higher education’s historic vulnerabilities around coordinated leadership and decision-making, effective application of knowledge and expertise, and anticipation of, and adaptability to change.

    So in the past there’s been a sense, not of this exact scenario, but some variation on it: the most senior leaders don’t really have the knowledge or expertise about technology and are constantly getting sold on the latest shiny thing; the director of IT makes decisions without fully coordinating with the needs and workflows of the wider organisation; departments buy in tech for their own needs but don’t coordinate with others. There might even be academic or digital pedagogy expertise in the organisation whose knowledge remains untapped in trying to get the system to make sense. And then the whole thing gets tweaked and updated to try to adapt to the changing needs, introducing layer upon layer of complexity and bureaucracy and general clunkiness, and everyone heaves a massive sigh every time a new system gets rolled out.

    This picture is of course a cynical one but it’s striking in our conversations about digital transformation with the sector how frequently these kinds of scenarios are described. The gap between the promise of technology and the reality of making it work is one that can breed quite a lot of cynicism – which is the absolute worst basis from which to embark on any journey of change. People feel as if they are expected to conform to the approved technology, rather than technology helping them do their jobs more effectively.

    Towards digital maturity

    Back in 2023 Jisc bit the bullet with the publication of its digital transformation toolkit, which explicitly sought to replace what in some cases had been a rather fragmented siloed approach with a “whole institution” framework. When Jisc chief executive Heidi Fraser-Krauss speaks at sector events she frequently argues that technology is the easy bit – it’s the culture change that is hard. Over the past two years Jisc director for digital transformation (HE) Sarah Knight and her team have been working with 24 institutions to test the application of the digital transformation framework and maturity model, with a report capturing the learning of what makes digital transformation work in practice published last month.

    I book in a call with Sarah because I’m curious about how institutions are pursuing their digital transformation plans against the backdrop of financial pressure and reductions in expenditure. When every penny counts, institutions need to wring every bit of value from their investments, and technology costs can be a significant part of an institution’s capital and non-staff recurrent expenditure.

    “Digital transformation to us is to show the breadth of where digital touches a university,” says Sarah. “Traditionally digital tended to sit more with ‘digital people’ like CIOs and IT teams, but our framework has shown how a whole-institution approach is needed. For those just starting out, our framework helped to focus attention on the breadth of things to consider such as digital culture, engaging staff and students, digital fluency, capability, inclusivity, sustainability – and all the principles underpinning digital transformation.”

    Advocating a “whole institution approach” may seem counter-intuitive – making what was already a complicated set of decisions even more so by involving more people. But without creating a pipeline of information flow up, down and across the institution, it’s impossible to see what people need from technology, or understand how the various processes in place in different parts of the university are interacting with the technologies available to see where they could be improved.

    “The digital maturity assessment brought people into the conversation at different levels and roles. Doing that can often show up where there is a mismatch in experience and knowledge between organisational leaders and staff and students who are experiencing the digital landscape,” says Sarah.

    Drawing on knowledgeable voices whose experience is closer to the lived reality of teaching and research is key. “Leaders are saying they don’t need to know everything about digital but they do need to support the staff who are working in that space to have resources, and have a seat at table and a voice.”

    Crucially, working across the institution in this way generates an evidence base that can then be used to drive decision-making about the priorities for investment of resources, both money and time. In the past few years, some institutions have been revising their digital strategies and plans, recognising that with constrained finances, they may need to defer some planned investments, or sequence their projects differently, mindful of the pressures on staff.

    For Sarah, leaders who listen, and who assume they don’t already know what’s going on, are those who are the most likely to develop the evidence base that can best inform their decisions:

    “When you have leaders who recognise the value of taking a more evidence-informed approach, that enables investment to be more strategically targeted, so you’re less likely to see cuts falling in areas where digital is a priority. Institutions that have senior leadership support, data informed decision making, and evidence of impact, are in the best place to steer in a direction that is forward moving and find the core areas that are going to enable us to reach longer term strategic goals.”

    In our conversation I detect a sense of a culture shift behind some of the discussions about how to do digital transformation. Put it like this: nobody is saying that higher education leaders of previous decades didn’t practice empathy, careful listening, and value an evidence base. It’s just that when times are tough, these qualities come to the fore as being among the critical tools for institutional success.

    Spirit of collaboration

    There’s a wider culture shift going on in the sector as well, as financial pressures and the sense that a competitive approach is not serving higher education well turns minds towards where the sector could be more collaborative in its approach. Digital is an area that can sometimes be thought of as a competitive space – but arguably that’s mistaking the tech for the impact you hope it will have. Institutions working on digital transformation are better served by learning from others’ experience, and finding opportunities to pool resources and risk, than by going it alone.

    “Digital can be seen as a competitive space, but collaboration outweighs and has far more benefits than competition,” says Sarah. “We can all learn together as a sector, as long as we can keep sharing that spirit of internal and external collaboration we can continue that momentum and be stronger together.”

    This is especially relevant for those institutions whose leaders may secretly feel they are “behind the curve” on digital transformation and experience a sense of anxiety that their institution needs to scramble to “catch up”. The metaphor of the race is less than helpful in this context, creating anxiety rather than a sense of strategic purpose. Sarah believes that no institution can legitimately consider itself “ahead of the curve” – and that all should have the opportunity to learn from each other:

    “We are all on a journey, so some might be ahead in some aspects but definitely not all,” says Sarah. “No-one is behind the curve but everyone is approaching this in a slightly different way, so don’t feel ‘we have to do this ourselves’; use networks and seek help – that is our role as Jisc to support the sector.”

    Jisc is hosting Digifest in Birmingham on 11-12 March – sign up here for online access to sessions.

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  • Supporting higher education’s emerging leaders

    Supporting higher education’s emerging leaders

    In the ever evolving world of higher education, effective leaders are required at all levels of our organisations.

    Emerging leaders lead in the middle of an organisation, with responsibility for delivering aspects of an institution’s mission, vision and strategy. Their roles are wide-ranging, they work with colleagues at all levels, striving to deliver an enhanced student experience, assuring academic quality and contributing (sometimes delivering) key aspects of their provider’s strategic plan.

    Emerging leaders find themselves sitting on committees, representing others, and championing particular topics, having listened to the views of their teams. For some these are new experiences, requiring support and encouragement from peers and senior leaders to embrace the opportunities and challenges.

    These colleagues are often leaders of a team or group, responsible for delivering not only their personal objectives, but that of the collective group. Emerging in their leadership journey they are often new to people management, navigating the concept of developing others. Their skillset requirement is vast, their teams need them to listen to many voices and views, and synthesise this into priority areas for campaign.

    Learning as leaders

    Attention must be paid to those embracing leadership roles, ensuring they are supported to develop. There will inevitably be contextualised opportunities and challenges, requiring understanding of the provider, location, and/or disciplinary focus. Leaders must swiftly understand the context in which they operate, previous developments in topical matters, and the drivers of various stakeholders. We must make space for leaders to learn, providing opportunity to develop.

    Emerging leaders learn through observation of senior or more established leaders, modelling behaviours and approaches, through peer networking, and crucially through experience. At different times, in different circumstances, the most beneficial learning opportunities will vary. Emerging leaders will be adaptable, recognising their own developmental need, seeking support and input based on their growing networks, and reflect on their own experiences as part of the learning journey.

    Space and encouragement are needed to explore and experience leadership qualities, styles and approaches. Important qualities for all leaders in HE are highlighted here by Shân Wareing: curiosity, confidence, team work, clarity in complexity, and fearlessness.

    Not as easy as it sounds

    While they are learning to lead, their university requires understanding, interpretation and application of activity to ensure delivery of strategic priorities – which, as we know, aren’t always aligned to the voices and views they are being asked to represent.

    Representing the views of others can be challenging, especially when a range of views need collating and presenting back to university management or the team from which they came. Colleague feedback provides leaders with the thoughts and opinions of those around them, through listening to what is being shared – and what isn’t.

    Emerging leaders have to synthesise great volumes of information, pulling out the very core of an issue, articulating this back to others, making strategy understandable. Collating and considering the voices of others is important, but critically, as we know from experiences with students, we must keep those who have contributed informed about what may happen next as a result of their engagement. This can empower communities to recognise input, and demonstrates an appreciation of the value of shared views.

    The views of colleagues do not always align to strategy or intended direction. In this space leaders develop heightened negotiation and articulation skills, an ability to represent strategic drivers as the mechanism for change, whilst recognising an interconnected web of views and opinions. Often responsible for the support and welfare of colleagues, they are mindful of the impact of decisions and actions on others.

    Developed with experience is the ability to identify where and when swift intervention is required, or when a longer-term more measured approach is needed. Uncertainties, questions and challenges surround daily life. There are times when action is required without full knowledge of a situation, confidence and the support of your surrounding team are critical when the occasion arises.

    Significant transformation

    It’s widely recognised that higher education has experienced significant transformation in recent years. Emerging leaders in our sector must recognise what has gone before and seek to make the most of the opportunities and challenges to come. Transformation can be invigorating, but it also brings uncertainty, and if poorly managed can cause greater uncertainty, leading to more challenges, and so the cycle continues.

    To avoid this, Catherine Moran summarises the skills required in three key principles for academic leadership. Leaders must be aware of what they are aiming for, and recognise it when achieved. Emerging leaders will develop the ability to be “present” in relationships with others, drawing on authentic skills of listening and inclusivity. And once a decision is reached, emerging leaders need to be accountable.

    Emerging leaders play a vital role in HE, and must be supported to develop appropriate skills, attributes and behaviours. They are delivering strategic impact, leading teams, and enhancing the student and staff experience – let’s take a moment to ensure all those in leadership roles have the opportunity to develop and grow.

    The author has written this piece as an emerging leader who has participated in Minerva’s Emerging Leadership Programme, and wishes to acknowledge the support and guidance received from Mary Stuart, Kerry Shepherd, Ben Tucker, and fellow programme participants, in shaping their emerging leadership journey.

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  • Filling their boots? The rationale for growing loss-making home student numbers

    Filling their boots? The rationale for growing loss-making home student numbers

    The release of provider-level end of cycle data for the 2024 cycle confirms what has been long known informally; this year a group of “higher-tariff” providers went for growth, in some cases by reducing their entry tariff significantly. You can see DK’s crunching of the provider data here.

    Typically, behaviour like this leads to grumbling elsewhere in the sector. That’s partly because there’s a direct impact on other institutions’ bottom line when the big players flex in this way, meaning that those who lose out may need to suspend planned investment and/or embark on portfolio rationalisation, rounds of voluntary redundancy, and other cost-reduction measures to stay afloat.

    But it’s also because there’s a perception that the selective institutions are pulling in students that mid or lower tariff institutions consider themselves to be best equipped to support and nurture. This (arguably) creates additional risk for the students who find themselves studying at an institution that culturally may assume a greater degree of academic self-efficacy than they actually have.

    The debate rumbles on as to whether it’s reasonable to “permit” popular institutions to grow at the expense of others. But much less attention is generally given to the question of why any successful provider with significant overheads would seek to grow home student recruitment at all. In 2022 the Russell Group warned that the average deficit incurred by English universities per home student per year was £1,750 per student per year, and that a “conservative estimate” would see that deficit increasing to £4000 by the current academic year.

    Assuming you’re not an economist or a strategy consultant (if you are, do write in), you might legitimately be scratching your head about the strategic intent behind increasing sales of a product you don’t make any money on – indeed, that you have to subsidise from other sources. Higher education institutions don’t have to make money of course – the goal is generally to realise a small surplus across the breadth of activities, recognising that some degree of cross-subsidy, primarily from international student income, is part of the business model. But even with that caveat, growth of a loss-making activity in times of financial pressure remains, on the face of it, a peculiar approach.

    What’s going on?

    There are three strategic rationales for this that I can think of. It might be that hitherto high tariff institutions are growing for public interest reasons – to meet their access and participation targets, or because they are offering new courses of value to their regions or that will attract a wider range of international students or even support a particular research ambition.

    It might be that they are growing in the subject areas that are cheaper to teach in hopes of making inroads into that average deficit and reducing the level of cross-subsidy from other sources. Over on DK’s end of cycle data visualisations you can take a look at the general subject areas where particular institutions have seen growth. DK would no doubt be the first to tell you that HECoS subject grouping isn’t quite as nuanced as you’d need to be able to make that case plausibly, though there’s probably a bit of it going on. This was a concern the Augar review flagged back in 2019 – that the fixed unit of resource, all other things being equal, tends to incentivise growth in subject areas that have higher margins and for which there is stable or growing demand, rather than trying to generate additional demand for more expensive and less popular subjects.

    It is possible there might be changes to teaching and/or student support provision that have generated sufficient efficiencies to get to a break-even or modest surplus situation on home students that would make overall growth a sensible business strategy. This is the current focus of a lot of sector thinking on efficiency – if the unit of resource isn’t increasing fast enough, but student (and regulatory) expectations aren’t reducing, then the sector has to figure out ways to make its provision sustainable, through technology adoption, more sharing and collaboration among institutions, reducing costs in areas where the institution believes there is minimal impact on student experience, and so on.

    While there is a lot of interesting thinking going on around efficiency, it’s doubtful that this number of institutions has made such significant progress as to get to the point of wiping out the home student deficit in its totality, though there may be some efficiencies to be gained through economies of scale.

    There are also several less overtly strategic options. One is that the institutions in question don’t have that strong a central grip on their admissions. It’s easy to imagine in a devolved academic system individual departments and faculties pursuing growth to increase their own overall income without a great deal of attention being given to the aggregate effect on the institution as a whole.

    The final possibility – and in all honesty I think this is probably at least a somewhat accurate assessment – is that the calculation is that growth, even cross-subsidised growth, will demonstrate market strength, which will satisfy boards of governors, reassure lenders, and keep the university in good fettle with the bond markets. Which raises the question about what happens next year and the year after that. Growth, even for the most popular institutions can’t be an indefinite strategy. And what happens to the rest?

    For the big players, growth can generally be deployed as a tactical response to immediate financial pressure, while structural or operational change can be deferred to future times, when there’s more bandwidth and appetite for change, or clarity about the policy environment. Other institutions don’t in most cases have that luxury and some are likely to be less stable as a result.

    The policy response

    So how should government respond? It’s very hard to make the case that students should be forced – or at least obliged – to attend an institution that isn’t their first choice simply to ensure that that institution remains generally healthy and sustainable. We should also on principle give those selective institutions the benefit of the doubt on their strategic preparedness for a different intake this year. Growth in the hundreds in an institution of thousands, if fairly evenly spread, needn’t be an issue if there is a plan in place to support those students and notice if any are struggling.

    It’s still worth saying, though, that if you’re looking through the lens of student interest, the market principle that student choice is the most important thing only holds true if the basis on which prospective students are making choices has a meaningful relationship with their prospect of flourishing at their chosen institution. So it remains a bit of a worry that if there are issues we’ll only know about it when the outcome data surfaces in the coming years – too late to do anything about it.

    Some in the sector wish there was a way of putting restraints on the market without resorting to institutional student number controls. There are options short of total control that might focus on restraining or encouraging recruitment in particular subject areas, or asking institutions to evidence the case for growth, and/or subjecting them to more stringent oversight when growth exceeds a certain margin. It would also be theoretically possible, though very complicated, to set quality thresholds around inputs ie set conditions around the available resources in the learning environment all students should be able to expect.

    But it’s also worth government giving consideration to the idea that in market terms all of this only is an issue because the perception is that the size of the market is pretty fixed and institutions are by and large vying for a larger slice of the pie rather than trying to grow the pie. UCAS data tends to support that view as applications via UCAS have seen growth at a lower rate than the sector hoped given the demographic growth in 18-19 year olds in the wider population.

    Published UCAS data does not, however, capture applications made direct to institutions or, indeed, PG-level applications, and there may be growth or potential for growth in other parts of the market. Market purists would argue that if a provider is not seeing success in its traditional market then the smart move is to tap into a different market. While this might be accurate in strategic terms, this analysis tends to gloss over the risks and complexities involved in making such a pivot, especially when the provider in question is already feeling financially squeezed.

    Even if your market share is eroding, trying to win it back can be perceived as a path of less resistance and more immediate potential reward than entirely retooling the whole offer – even if thinking this way is also a highly risky strategy if things continue as they are and the rewards fail to materialise, as some institutions have discovered to their cost.

    If government wants a policy win on two key fronts: widening access to selective institutions and broadening the pool of people who benefit from HE in general, it could do worse than to create a programme of support explicitly targeted at those institutions who are less powerful in the “traditional” market but that still have a great deal to offer their localities, and work with them to develop the offer to prospective students where there is latent growth potential – pooling risk and transition costs, with a payoff ultimately realised in skills and economic growth.

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  • Institutions may be holding themselves back by not sharing enough data

    Institutions may be holding themselves back by not sharing enough data

    Wonkhe readers need little persuasion that information flows are vital to the higher education sector. But without properly considering those flows and how to minimise the risk of something going wrong, institutions can find themselves at risk of substantial fines, claims and reputational damage. These risks need organisational focus from the top down as well as regular review.

    Information flows in higher education occur not only in teaching and research but in every other area of activity such as accommodation arrangements, student support, alumni relations, fundraising, staff and student complaints and disciplinary matters. Sometimes these flows are within organisations, sometimes they involve sharing data externally.

    Universities hold both highly sensitive research information and personal data. Examples of the latter include information about individuals’ physical and mental health, family circumstances, care background, religion, financial information and a huge range of other personal information.

    The public narrative on risks around data tend to focus on examples of inadvertently sharing protected information – such as in the recent case of the Information Commissioner’s decision to fine the Police Service of Northern Ireland £750,000 in relation to the inadvertent disclosure of personal information over 9,000 officers and staff in response to a freedom of information request. The same breach has also resulted in individuals bringing legal claims against the PSNI, with media reports suggesting a potential bill for those at up to £240m.

    There is also the issue of higher education institutions being a target for cyber attack by criminal and state actors. Loss of data through such attacks again has the potential to result in fines and other regulatory action as well as claims by those affected.

    Oversharing and undersharing

    But inadvertent sharing of information and cyberattacks are not the only areas of risk. In some circumstances a failure to ensure that information is properly collected and shared lawfully may also be a risk. And ensuring effective and appropriate flows of information to the governing body is key to it being able to fulfil its oversight function.

    One aspect of the tragic circumstances mentioned in the High Court appeal ruling in the case concerning Natasha Abrahart is the finding that there had been a failure to pass on information about a suicide attempt to key members of staff, which might have enabled action to be taken to remove pressure on Natasha.

    Another area of focus concerns sharing of information related to complaints of sexual harassment and misconduct and subsequent investigations. OfS Condition E6 and its accompanying guidance which comes fully into effect on 1 August 2025 includes measures on matters such as reporting potential complaints and the sensitive handling and fair use of information. The condition and guidance require the provider to set out comprehensively and in an easy to understand manner how it ensures that those “directly affected” by decisions are directly informed about those decisions and the reasons for them.

    There are also potential information flows concerning measures intended to protect students from any actual or potential abuse of power or conflict of interest in respect of what the condition refers to as “intimate personal relationships” between “relevant staff members” and students.

    All of these data flows are highly sensitive and institutions will need to ensure that appropriate thought is given to policies, procedures and systems security as well as identifying the legal basis for collecting, holding and sharing information, taking appropriate account of individual rights.

    A blanket approach will not serve

    Whilst there are some important broad principles in data protection law that should be applied when determining the legal basis for processing personal data, in sensitive cases like allegations of sexual harassment the question of exactly what information can be shared with another person involved in the process often needs to be considered against the particular circumstances.

    Broadly speaking in most cases where sexual harassment or mental health support is concerned, the legislation will require at minimum both a lawful basis and a condition for processing “special category” and/or data that includes potential allegations of a criminal act. Criminal offences and allegations data and special category data (which includes data relating to an individual’s health, sex life and sexual orientation) are subject to heightened controls under the legislation.

    Without getting into the fine detail it can often be necessary to consider individuals’ rights and interests in light of the specific circumstances. This is brought into sharp focus when considering matters such as:

    • Sharing information with an emergency contact in scenarios that might fall short of a clear “life or death” situation.
    • Considering what information to provide to a student who has made a complaint about sexual harassment by another student or staff member in relation to the outcome of their complaint and of any sanction imposed.

    It’s also important not to forget other legal frameworks that may be relevant to data flows. This includes express or implied duties of confidentiality that can arise where sensitive information is concerned. Careful thought needs to be given to make clear in relevant policies and documents when it is envisaged that information might need to be shared, and provided the law permits it.

    A range of other legal frameworks can also be relevant, such as consumer law, equality law and freedom of information obligations. And of course, aside from the legal issues, there will be potential reputational and institutional risks if something does go wrong. It’s important that senior management and governing bodies have sufficient oversight and involvement to encourage a culture of organisational awareness and compliance across the range of information governance issues that can arise.

    Managing the flow of information

    Institutions ought to have processes to keep their data governance under review, including measures that map out the flows and uses of data in accordance with relevant legal frameworks. The responsibility for oversight of data governance lies not only with any Data Protection Officer, but also with senior management and governors who can play a key part in ensuring a good data governance culture within institutions.

    Compliance mechanisms also need regular review and refresh including matters such as how privacy information is provided to individuals in a clear and timely way. Data governance needs to be embedded throughout the lifecycle of each item of data. And where new activities, policies or technologies are being considered, data governance needs to be a central part of project plans at the earliest stages to ensure that appropriate due diligence and other compliance requirements are in place, such as data processing agreements or data protection impact assessments are undertaken.

    Effective management of the flow ensures that the right data gets in front of the right people, at the right time – and means everyone can be confident the right balance has been struck between maintaining privacy and sharing vital information.

    This article is published in association with Mills & Reeve.

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  • Anatomy of a higher education merger – City St George’s, University of London

    Anatomy of a higher education merger – City St George’s, University of London

    Depending on how you look at it, mergers are either very common or very unusual in UK higher education.

    Dig deep enough into the annals of any institutional history and you will most likely find at some point that the institution as we know it today emerged from the combination or absorption of various nineteenth or twentieth-century mechanics institutes, colleges of teaching or technical colleges.

    But recent history of the sector has seen only a handful of mergers, most notably the merger of what was then Victoria University of Manchester and the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) in 2004, and the merger of the University of Glamorgan and University of Wales, Newport, to become the University of South Wales in 2013. More recently we’ve seen the merger of the Institute of Education into University College London, the merger of Writtle College with Anglia Ruskin University, recounted in detail on Wonkhe here, and the merger in 2024 of City, University of London and the medical school St George’s, University of London to create City St George’s, University of London.

    The mergers paradox

    Seen from the birds-eye view of Whitehall the relative recent paucity of higher education mergers can be puzzling to some. In the private sector mergers and acquisitions are a well-trodden path to gaining market share, reducing overheads, and generally creating the kind of organisational powerhouse before which others cower and cringe. Arguably, larger institutions can support a wider breadth of education and research activity, can have a greater impact on their external landscape, and are more protected from external change and financial twists of fortune.

    But for higher education institutions there is much more to take into consideration than the goal of organisational heft and security – there is a public service mission, and the institution’s values and culture, which may be best served by remaining the same size or pursuing only modest growth. And there is the administrative complexity and effort of undertaking major organisational change, when in some cases, institutional leaders argue, the benefits of scale can be realised through strategic collaboration rather than full merger.

    While it may look from the outside like the UK has a puzzlingly large number of universities and other providers of HE compared to our geographical footprint and population, we’re not a global outlier in that regard. Prospective students enjoy a broad choice of large multi-faculty institutions with a wide range of extra-curricular services and opportunities, and smaller, cosier, and more specialist offerings – indeed, higher education policy in recent decades has trended towards increasing the numbers of higher education providers.

    Yet at times of financial challenge, such as those the sector is currently experiencing, talk inevitably turns to mergers and whether the sector as a whole would be more resilient if merger or acquisition was a more readily available tool in the financial sustainability arsenal. And here lies what might be termed the merger paradox – financially healthy institutions tend not to see a need for mergers or be motivated to pursue one even where a strategic business case might be made; whereas financially distressed ones are less likely to be an appealing prospect for a merger partner.

    In the case of both Writtle and St George’s, their governing bodies were astute enough to realise that their institutions would not thrive in the long term, and to start considering merger well before reaching a point of crisis.

    Being financially challenged is not the primary driver to merge with another institution,” says Richard Mills, Director, Head of Finance Consulting and lead for public sector M&A for KPMG in the UK. “Returns on investment take a long time to realise, and sometimes things get worse before they get better. The driver has to be strategic fit – for higher education a merger needs to be about strengthening the academic portfolio, and you need to be really clear on the vision and strategy for the merged organisation.”

    Having the strategy in place, and a plan for the legal and financial aspects of managing a merger is only the beginning. “You need to consider the implications of integrating systems, processes, and culture,” says Margaret Daher, Director and major higher education change specialist at KPMG. “The worst case scenario is a Frankenstein model of bolt-ons rather than one organisation emerging. The work of a merger is much greater than the initial negotiations and the creation of a new legal entity – but that initial work can be so consuming that you end up risking letting the dual running of two distinct entities under one institution become an unintentional status quo.”

    City St George’s story

    Elisabeth Hill, Deputy President and Provost at City St George’s, joined what was then City, University of London in September 2022, and was given responsibility for delivery – and realising benefits from – the planned merger with St George’s, University of London which was under discussion at that point.

    The merger was very much about strategy, not finances,” says Elisabeth. “City has always been a University focused on business and professional practice. When Anthony [Finkelstein] took up his post as President he saw the potential to expand the range of professions that we serve to include broader aspects of health as well as medicine. Being a larger institution gives us greater capacity, greater resilience, and a greater opportunity across a breadth of disciplines to leverage interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary work internally and have a greater impact externally. All six of our academic schools already had some kind of interesting relationship with health and medicine so you could see how strengthening the breadth of health and medicine could align with City.”

    At the very early stages of discussion, the governing bodies of both institutions had agreed some “red lines” – primarily to give security to the Council of St George’s that the institution’s long history would not simply be assimilated into City and disappear. The incorporation of St George’s into the new institution’s name was seen as essential, as was the idea that the merger was a combination of two universities rather than the incorporation of one by another, although it was agreed that in practice City’s structure and policies would become the reference point for subsequent work to establish the new institution.

    Once it was clear that there was a strategic rationale and appetite to pursue merger for both Councils, a lot of “due diligence” work was required to make sure that the new institution would have the finances, and the expertise, to function and would be compliant in legal and regulatory terms. While neither institution felt itself to be in immediate financial peril, neither had the luxury of a financial cushion to support major investment, and it had to be clear that the combined finances of the two institutions would be sufficient both to fund the merger itself and to realise its planned benefits. Taking on space in the midst of a hospital site meant that City’s Council and executive team had to do a lot of work to establish risks and compliance expectations around estates maintenance and health and safety to ensure that they would not be putting City at risk as a result of the envisaged merger.

    At this stage both institutions had to carefully manage their very distinctive relationship, i.e. having agreed to merge in principle, but not yet having merged. A tightly negotiated “transfer agreement” set out the conditions under which the merger would operate including the conditions whereby either party could legitimately back out and what information each was obliged to share, in some cases with reference to competition law. Also at this stage, work began with the Department for Education, Office for Students, Privy Council, and General Medical Council among others to work through the academic and legal governance issues of transferring powers and duties from one higher education institution to another. Further work was undertaken to understand the implications for students and prospective students and their likely response to the merger and any related impact.

    A key thing was that there was little in terms of pre-defined process for dealing with a university merger of this type,” reflects Elisabeth. “At times it felt like we were making it up – albeit in a very thoughtful and evidence-informed way – as we went along. It was especially helpful to have people with insights from other sectors on our Council that we could draw on where useful or relevant in our sector and context. External bodies were very supportive, and we drew on significant external support, which is an absolute necessity in this kind of work. I don’t know how you could effect something like this without broader insight, guidance and expertise.”

    Integration – two becoming one

    The new City St George’s, University of London formally came into being on 1 August 2024, but the work of integration is ongoing. “We decided to leave most of the integration work until after the formal point of merger,” says Elisabeth. “By that time, we had been talking about merging for two years and there was a sense that some people were tired of the discussion and needed to see that it was really happening. And on a pragmatic level it is much easier to work through the integration challenges when everyone is under one metaphorical roof, there’s one vice chancellor, one senior team – so we judged that this approach would provide certainty and signal an ability to move forward, replacing uncertainty with certainty. Once we had access to all the detail of the information about St George’s programmes it also became clear that we weren’t going to have to deal with a lot of overlap, which was helpful because it meant we could deliver on a cultural expectation that we would respect the St George’s heritage, which by implication is fundamentally about the academic programmes and research.”

    Key priorities for integration were about bringing together St George’s and City’s School of Health & Psychological Sciences into one academic unit, whose executive dean was appointed through an external recruitment process. There was also a mapping process to establish the university professional functions and roles, and assign some functions to the new school, and some to the university. An early priority was confirming directors of professional services for the merged institution, who were then tasked with managing the integration of their teams. This work is now underway.

    While that integration work continues, Elisabeth points out that City St George’s like most universities, has a whole range of other strategic change agendas on the go, including portfolio review, curriculum management, creation of a student services hub, and replacement of some university professional services systems. There is also a root and branch review of professional services under way, looking at the location and effectiveness of roles and functions. That means it’s harder to attribute impact specifically to the merger process, but it’s also harder for people to blame the merger as the sole cause of unpalatable disruption.

    There is active discussion at City St George’s Council about what above-baseline success measures for the merger should be. Some members of St George’s Council have joined an enlarged City St George’s Council and work is underway to establish the culture of the new institution and supporting processes, and the information needed by Council members to ensure their understanding of the combined institution and support informed decision making around strategic developments and operational priorities.

    Institutionally, leadership continues to think on a day-to-day basis about the kind of integrated community it wants to have at the level of both school and university and what sorts of interventions will help people forge that community. Leaders are taking care to have visibility across all university campuses, putting effort into building relationships, undertaking more formal “road shows” to share strategy, hosting talks, and holding informal sessions with different staff groups. The two students’ unions have also merged – a separate merger in its own right – and continue to maintain an active presence on both sites, strengthening student representation and opportunities from the outset.

    So what would Elisabeth say to another senior leader preparing for a merger? “It’s extremely intense, and for most people it starts outside your normal realm of expertise. You have to be prepared to run business as usual alongside all the additional work on merging, and you have to support staff and students to stay focused on the things they should be focusing on and not getting distracted either by opportunities for future alignment or deferring things to post-merger.”

    Perhaps the most important lesson for any leader considering merger is having to be prepared to navigate the challenge of sticking to institutional and professional values while actually achieving what can be an intensely challenging process on a human level:

    We always wanted to be respectful of context and history, to collaborate, be true to our values, and true to the commitments we made and the ethos of how the merger would be discussed and planned,” says Elisabeth. “But you can’t always be as collaborative as you might want to be – otherwise the risk is you fail to get to the point of merger agreement. At least one of the parties has to be pushing for progress and ensuring that decisions are made at any one time.”

    Seven merger fundamentals

    Having worked on the City St George’s merger, Margaret Daher and Richard Mills would strongly advise boards and executive teams to recognise that a merger is a serious strategic endeavour – it needs to be owned and delivered by resolute staff and managers. Their experience and studies of successful mergers highlights seven fundamentals which need to be got right, although they add that often these are still ignored.

    1. Create and communicate a strong, clear vision. From the start, all staff should be informed of the compelling strategic rationale behind the merger, the transition process and the expected changes, and encouraged to engage in two-way feedback to increase the sense of involvement.
    2. Select new leaders early and let them lead. By identifying and publicising the new leadership team, the merged entity can effectively cut links with past loyalties, provide clarity on leadership and lines of reporting, building cultural alignment and engagement.
    3. Place an emphasis on integration planning. Having a robust and long-term post-merger integration plan is essential to overcoming fragmented ways of working, legacy structures and cultural issues, thereby reducing the risk of indefinitely dual running.
    4. Do the due diligence. Giving proper consideration to short- versus long-term benefits, and carrying out robust due diligence to understand risks fully and test the plans will help the organisations set their sights on opportunities at an early stage, and incorporate anticipated issues into post-merger integration plans so they are monitored and addressed.
    5. Win over stakeholders and develop cultural alignment. Staff are the people that make services happen, so it is vital to overcome any resistance to change. A comprehensive change management approach needs to be adopted, “change champions” should be chosen at an early stage, and given the responsibility and authority to influence and motivate their colleagues. Understanding cultural differences and how to achieve alignment is critical.
    6. Develop both the structure and people. Make sure that the new merged organisation has the resources and the skills to manage the transition process by investing in suitable capability, as well as instituting structural and procedural changes such as mixed work schedules and cross-site working that can encourage collaboration and generate a new culture.
    7. Have patience to achieve long term objectives. Mergers are highly challenging and integration is unlikely to happen quickly. To succeed every level of the organisation requires dedicated resources, experienced people, and strong pre- and post-merger planning, all of which take time to develop and deploy.

    While there are obvious practical and cultural hurdles to overcome, what recent examples demonstrate is that with the right vision, case for change and supporting business rationale, a merger can be the strategic solution for long term sustainability.

    This article is published in association with KPMG as part of our Radical Efficiency series. You can view other articles in the series here.

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  • Universities need leaders at every level

    Universities need leaders at every level

    It may be the season for giving. However, it looks unlikely that universities will find a gift-wrapped solution to their financial worries under the tree anytime soon.

    There are busy times ahead for the higher education sector, what with boosting the economy, solving the evils of social injustice, and restoring civic accord to our troubled nation – as the government appears to expect. Realistically, however, most higher education institutions will be operating with reduced numbers of employees and leaner resources, for the foreseeable future. So, it is not entirely clear how this all adds up.

    In a “more for less” environment, the institutions that will survive, perhaps even thrive, will be those that are able to get the very best out of each individual. What universities urgently need, therefore, is outstanding, engaged leadership.

    Beyond the executive suite

    But just to be clear, when I say “leadership”, I am not talking about stronger, tougher, more detailed decision-making at the top. With the best will in the world, the ten people who sit in the executive suite on a Tuesday morning with a pot of coffee can only do so much.

    However, what can have a transformative impact on organisations is a willingness to mobilise, align and empower a distributed network of leaders at every level of an organisation to motivate, support and develop their staff, so that everyone can achieve more.

    This isn’t a new idea. From Peter Drucker in the 1960s, through to more recent work by Martin Seligmann, Michael West, Brené Brown, and many others, the published wisdom on organisational psychology tends to show that command-and-control styles of directive authority are less effective than positive and collaborative methods of leading that harness knowledge and creativity across an organisation. This is especially so when responding to cultural issues and “wicked problems”. We might have a few of those.

    This is not to say that everyone should get a vote on everything all the time. Nevertheless, the working principle that, within agreed limits, decisions should be taken as close as possible to the actual activity is a good one – and might well save time, money and trouble.

    Leadership skills

    Nobody says this is simple. Devolving decision-making calls for high levels of trust, skill and communication across leadership teams and for attention to personal development. The Institute of Leadership, a membership organisation with 75 years of experience in this game, identifies 49 principles of leadership, ranging from adaptability, and dealing with conflict, to ethics, managing upwards and resilience. (Anyone who has ever chaired a department meeting will probably have required most of these abilities before reaching item four on the agenda.)

    Cappfinity, a global talent lifecycle management company, deeply embedded in global industry with 20 years of research, lists no fewer than 80 key workspace skills, highlighting eight “altitude leadership” strengths: agile thinking, relationship navigation, accountability, self-insight, inclusive leadership, courage, strategic vision and change facilitation. Surely, more of these things in daily university life could only help, whatever the next big policy change might be.

    As a sector, and with some external prompting, universities and other higher education providers have recently become much better at articulating, assessing and developing employability skills for students.

    However, there’s still some way to go on helping staff to identify, understand and optimise their technical, cognitive and behavioural strengths (to borrow a taxonomy from Cappfinity). Of course, some colleagues already display these skills; others clearly need to learn them. All too often, people in our organisations do have remarkable qualities and abilities, but don’t have the opportunities or the motivation to use them. These unrealised strengths constitute a potentially rich resource for universities, especially when other kinds of resource are in short supply.

    Abi Parker of Cappfinity points out that tapping into these abilities can make a profound difference:

    With skills development, at every level, everything starts with self-insight. What’s special about leadership development is that any positive movement is amplified, meaning that as a lever for improving organisational effectiveness, leadership development is a great place to start. This is especially true in difficult times.

    The marzipan layer

    If only there was a pan-institutional network of experienced colleagues able to communicate effectively, to take responsibility at local level, to promote strategic objectives, to motivate and support employees, and to innovate appropriately without excessive investment or risk.

    Ah, yes. Right. So, the good news is that universities already have these highly developed internal structures in both academic and professional services teams, in the form of deans, directors, heads, section leads and their deputies. The bad news is that our large, bureaucratic institutions can sometimes ignore and elide what is going on at this level, or these leaders can end up overwhelmed and discouraged, unsure how to manage the apparently competing demands of their own staff and the senior team.

    As Mark Smith, vice chancellor at the University of Southampton, observes:

    The crucial layer of leadership in an institution is the senior leadership of academic departments and professional service directorates. If this layer is not trusted, empowered and sufficiently skilled there is relatively little those further up can do to bring about change.

    This “marzipan layer”, as governance adviser Seamus Gillen of Value Alpha has memorably described it, may become more important than ever as universities navigate the more-for-less maze that lies ahead.

    Not everyone loves marzipan, I know, but something has to hold together the crusty royal icing and the crumbly yet delicious fruit cake – just as someone has to localise change initiatives and restructures, to support individuals through difficult contract negotiations, to locate and realise efficiencies, to manage workloads, to resolve conflicts, and to ensure that somehow, against all odds, students continue to get the best possible education.

    Thinking more expansively, if universities really are going to play a greater role in society, boost economic growth, drive new knowledge and be more active in cities and regions – I believe and hope they can – then it will be at the level of local leadership that new partnerships will be maintained, inequalities will be gradually eroded, and innovative models for education delivery will evolve.

    As Gillen observes, for some people, the marzipan is the best bit:

    Just because it’s squeezed in the middle doesn’t mean it’s all bad. If Deans and ‘Heads of’ could be empowered, and feel empowered, they could, would and can transform an institution’s future.

    So, as you cut yourself a festive slice, consider that nurturing leadership competencies and behaviours at all levels of our knowledge industry might be the smart place to put your time and energy in the year ahead. Developing teams and individuals won’t provide a quick solution, but it will create the conditions from which future solutions for the sector can emerge. After all, we’re in the education business. Enabling and empowering people is what we do.

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