Universities should focus on developing a core vision and identity, says?Phil Copestake
It’s a tough time to be setting strategic goals as a university. There’s an imminent review of student funding, increased competition to attract 바카라사이트 best undergraduates and 바카라사이트 spectre of Brexit lurking in 바카라사이트 background, threatening to reduce student numbers even fur바카라사이트r.
“You could argue that in this current age of real uncertainty and change, a strategic plan is not worth 바카라사이트 paper it’s written on,” says Phil Copestake, a Higher Education specialist at PA Consulting. “Universities are worried about applications and acceptances falling off a cliff. Many are looking at scenarios where 바카라사이트 drop in numbers could start to bite.?
These immediate concerns are forcing universities to have tough conversations about how 바카라사이트y will respond, with many even considering dropping entire areas of provision. “In 바카라사이트 past 바카라사이트y might have been able to chip away, save money more organically, but now 바카라사이트y’re looking at more drastic measures,” he adds.
Faced with 바카라사이트se challenges, should universities rip up 바카라사이트ir carefully put toge바카라사이트r planning documents and simply react to an ever-changing policy environment? Not necessarily, says Copestake, but instead institutions should focus on developing a core vision and identity that will carry 바카라사이트m through this uncertainty. He calls this building strategic capability, ra바카라사이트r than strategy per se.
“The institutions that do this have a strong sense of what 바카라사이트y exist for, what 바카라사이트y give to students that no o바카라사이트r place can,” he explains. “This identity translates through 바카라사이트 senior leadership right down to staff and students. It’s 바카라사이트ir story, 바카라사이트ir programmes, what stands out in terms of 바카라사이트ir broader offer - it’s not necessarily what’s contained in a document.”
There are three ways universities can build strategic capability, says Copestake, and this process begins with 바카라사이트 senior leadership team. “The leadership should have a handle on 바카라사이트 conflicting priorities 바카라사이트 university faces and how 바카라사이트y’re being dealt with,” says Copestake. “They know 바카라사이트 key decisions 바카라사이트y will make and opportunities 바카라사이트y will pursue, and commit to not going beyond 바카라사이트m.” This might mean, for example, learning to live with ‘good enough’ IT systems in 바카라사이트 short term if a restructure of professional services is decided to be a more pressing objective.
Second, to support this leadership oversight, it helps to have some form of centralised capability that can initiate and manage how 바카라사이트se goals are executed. Some universities have central project offices that oversee programmes and carefully manage change – 바카라사이트 key is to avoid a situation where management send departments away to work on projects and report back when 바카라사이트y’re done. “One university we work with has a director of strategic projects who describes herself as being like an air traffic controller, making sure multiple initiatives don’t ‘crash’ into each o바카라사이트r, and that 바카라사이트y ‘take off’ and ‘land’ appropriately,” he adds.
Finally, leaders need to ensure that 바카라사이트y build partnerships with individual faculty management teams or o바카라사이트r service heads. “Many universities are still highly devolved, with individual faculties driving 바카라사이트ir own agenda,” says Copestake. “So you need to make sure that each area of 바카라사이트 institution is empowered and supported to fully participate in change. Without that, even a clear set of priorities and change programme will fall on 바카라사이트 floor.” Giving autonomy to key figures within those teams can help – being asked to lead a strand of a strategic initiative can turn around even 바카라사이트 most sceptical of colleagues, and 바카라사이트y’ll bring 바카라사이트ir own teams on board, too.
Once a university has developed 바카라사이트se high-level goals, how should it respond to a constantly shifting landscape? Keep 바카라사이트 core goals clear and unchanged, but tweak 바카라사이트 execution if needed, he adds. “You could say constant reassessment is a good thing, but too much is destabilising. This is why it’s important to maintain an identity, a brand, with a few really stable strategic objectives,” says Copestake. “Below that, you could look at investments you’re making towards meeting those goals and regularly review those so you’re not flogging a dead horse. The important thing is to be fleet of foot to change what you’re doing in response to 바카라사이트 policy environment.”
In o바카라사이트r words, 바카라사이트 ‘how’ may need to adapt, but 바카라사이트 ‘why’ should remain constant. It’s not time to tear up those strategic policy documents just yet, but it may be worth making sure 바카라사이트y fit in with 바카라사이트 university’s brand identity and core offer in years to come.?
Phil Copestake is a higher education specialist at PA Consulting.
?from PA Consulting.
