Welcome and Introductions
What’s the difference between a
Vice Chancellor and a
Shopping Trolley??
Possible Answers....
You can get more food and drink in a ViceChancellor!
A shopping trolley has a mind of its own!
Staff and students will try to get a shopping
trolley out of the canal!
You might even get £1 back from a shopping
trolley!
Session 1
Reprise of “trends homework”
A plenary discussion to identify:
(a) those trends which affect all HEIs; and
(b) those trends which are university-specific
together with
(c)different approaches to horizon-scanning
and assuring strategic agility
For HE: just some of the Challenges
 Public funding - dire
 Private income - reduced
 Endowments - down
 Finance availability? ?
 Asset sales difficult
 Lower staff turn over
 Union militancy/IR Climate
 Risk averse ossification
 Vicarious vulnerability: family incomes, HEFCE, NHS,
commercial income, overseas students context etc
A new environment for leaders
The New Environment
 Honesty and awareness of the size of the challenge
 Strong effective leadership
 Need to engage with the whole organisation and
external stakeholders
 Realistic and detailed plans to resolve the situation
 Rigorous implementation (programme management
arrangements and monitoring)
 Financial control and discipline
 Understanding the “business” and its dynamics
Messages from the Literature
Escaping Red Queen effect-2010
Degrees of Freedom: tectonic forces shaping
the future for universities-2011
Disruptive innovation & the higher education
eco-system post 2012
An Avalanche is Coming: higher education &
revolution ahead-2013
Session 4
Refreshing of “trends homework”
Working in groups of 2, 2 and 3
consider ways in which you might
risk-assess your trend analysis and
the response you have proposed
thus far....
Session 5
Vision-Goals-Strategy and Values
Designing the annual strategic process
Some key issues
 Process not product
 Prior considerations
 People and partners
 Positioning is all
but
Where is the next avalanche lurking??
NB Universities are riskier places than they were 10
years ago
A New Discourse
Potential perturbation (TK)
Diverging domains of purposeful learning:
discovery/solutions/practice (PA)
The imperative for strategic specialisation
The next wave of globalisation
The learning value chain
Blurring of public/private divide
A Changing Scene for HE
From
Stability
Towards
Uncertainty
Cost focus
Higher Education Institutions
Research-funding focus
Profit & margin focus
Diversity of HE Providers
Increased research selectivity &
concentration of funding
National Performance
Formulaic Regulation
Significant homogeneity &
squeezed middle
Global and/or Niche performance
Reputation-based regulation
Variety & development of
differentiated centre
Planning
HE sector
Innovation
HE eco-system
Selecting some key Building Blocks
Exploring
Identity &
Purpose
Designing a
Listening
Exercise
HEI Finance
management
Creating
Persuasive
Narrative
Securing
VFM
Expenditure
Maximising/
diversifying
Income
Re-thinking
TLR &
Outreach
Portfolio
Stakeholder
Engagement
&
Expectations
Hi-Quality
outcomes
Performance
Excellence
Starting to Determine Strategy
Engage with and understand stakeholder
groups
Understand current and potential strengths
Consider values
Consider government priorities then
Deploy resources
Set Performance Targets leading to
Diversity of Mission
Session 6
What distinguishes a good strategy
Contrast and compare your “home” strategies
Identify common features
Profile what is distinctive
Consider the response of key stakeholders
Evaluate weaknesses & vulnerabilities
Determine key risks
Session 8
Communications, Culture and Values
A ‘potpourri’ of challenges and
contradictions
 To stand out from the crowd
 To be part of the “right” crowd
 To be able to associate with different crowds
 To meet (exceed) the expectations of different
stakeholders
 To send appropriate stakeholder messages:
values/quality/WP/REF/L&T/Enterprise++
 To align image and content
 To be distinctive, trusted and respected
Identifying key positioning themes
The case of York St John
 Localism: serving all sections of the wider community
 Tradition: building on 19th century roots
 Church foundation: a values based, friendly HEI
 Modernity: aspiring to meet tomorrow’s
expectations
 Internationalisation: preparing students for the
global society
reputation...reputation...reputation....
Identifying key positioning themes
The case of London Metropolitan University
Mission
Transforming lives....Meeting needs....Building careers”
Our people
Our students/our staff/our partners
Values
Quality/Fair access/Diversity/Clarity/Responsibility/
Efficiency/Partnership/Transformation
Priorities
Quality higher education/fair access/sustainability
Key enablers
People/ Technology/Estates
Session 9
USP for External Stakeholders
Societal contribution (1)
Economic & commercial – creating wealth, for public
good and private gain
Public policy & services – stimulating public sector
innovation as contribution to growth & quality of
life
Society, culture and creativity – enriching and
expanding lives, imaginations and sensibilities while
challenging cultural values and social assumptions
Health and welfare – saving lives and enhancing the
quality of life.
Societal contribution (2)
 Production – increasing production, yields or quality;
reducing waste
 Practitioners and services – changes to professional
standards, guidelines or training; influence on
workforce planning
 Environment – influencing the policy debate on climate
change or other environmental policy issues
 International development – influencing international
policy development or international agencies or
institutions; quality of life improved in a developing
country
 Education – influencing the form or the content of the
education of any age group in any part of the world.
Session 10
A Narrative for the Community
 Celebrate and challenge
 Process not just product
 Students, staff, governors and alumni
 Multiple points of engagement
 Identify champions: inside and out
 Campaign, not one-off event
 Don’t be afraid of the “purple prose”
NB “Proud to be London Met” badges supported reawakening at LMU