Introduction

When you are tasked with writing a strategy for your organisation it can be quite daunting. What follows is intended as a practical approach to getting you started. At RSC London we provide advice on writing IT strategies, ILT/e-learning strategies, information systems strategies and teaching and learning strategies but I have tried to write this in such a way that it would be useful to a person writing any strategy paper.

There are different approaches to strategy writing and no ‘right’ way to do it. What follows is a series of tips, advice and suggestions, which we have found helpful over the years. I hope you find it useful.

The purpose of a strategy

A strategy is an expression of an organisation wide agreement about the way forward. The process of consulting over it, discussing it, drafting it and agreeing it helps to develop a shared vision of where you
are going. A strategy, once ratified,  becomes an official document of your institution and therefore places an obligation upon your colleagues to support its objectives. Once you know where you are going and have ‘buy in’ from across the organisation you have every chance of success. If you want to get things done then writing a strategy might be a good way to get started.

Continuous improvement

Ideally, strategy writing should be a collective effort across your college/organisation rather than a specific task assigned to one individual. Inevitably, pressure of time and external requirements often result in a strategy being written up quickly to satisfy a deadline. A better way is to follow a cyclical process of development where you start with reviewing your current position, move on to shaping a vision for the future, draft a strategy to achieve the vision, implement the strategy and finally return to review your position again. This process may take many years but typically will be completed over a three-year timescale.

Identify where you are in the cycle and concentrate on the part of the process you are currently engaged in. One of the most difficult areas is the visioning phase as this involves thinking outside your current organisational culture and contemplating what can become fundamental change. The visioning stage should be informed by best practice in other comparable organisations, recent research and new developments, networking and brainstorming and attendance at conferences and events.

Reviewing where you are can also be a challenge. We work with education providers on this activity by offering self-evaluation tools and activities which help organisations come to an agreed understanding of where they are. This activity also adds an external perspective on your current position. Once you know where you are it is easier to identify the path ahead.

Practical Tips

Meet with as many natural stakeholders as possible. These might be students, employers, staff, managers, parents, customers or volunteers, as well as people from partner agencies. A coherent
strategy will support the organisational business plan and mutually support the other organisational strategies e.g. Teaching and Learning, Staff Development, Premises-Estates and Human Resources Strategies etc. The strategies should reference each other, as they will need to form a cohesive approach to achieving the business plan. For example, a new IT system will need to be supported by staff development and the Teaching and Learning Strategy might require support from Premises and Facilities in order to deliver a new course within the curriculum offer, such as room modifications or new builds.

An Action Plan that identifies what will be done, by whom, by when and from which budget, should accompany the strategy. A good way to create an action plan  is to have SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound) targets or descriptions of what you are going to do. This is so that you and everyone else is clear about what you are aiming to achieve and will know when you have achieved each element. You might need to estimate completion dates and costs as it is not always possible to be sure how long something will take or cost, however, it is better to make an informed estimate than leave the field blank.

It is good if your strategy is reviewed by a body separate from those tasked with delivering it. The group reviewing the strategy can be identified and specified in the strategy. A timescale describing the review dates can also be included. Over time your strategy will be modified as circumstances change. This might be initiated by the reviewing body or the team delivering the strategy or by your students/customers/users. It is good practice for changes to the strategy to be agreed by the senior management team. (SMT).

A good strategy is one that is understood across the organisation – so a Communication Plan should be part of the strategy initiative.  All staff should know about the main elements of the strategy and why you are doing what you are doing. Ideally students (customers) should be able to inform the strategy. In order to do this they need to know about it and how they can influence it. A culture of openness and dialogue is a characteristic of successful organisations and a good strategy will emerge from listening and responding to many needs and points of view.

Lastly, I would suggest you view as many example strategies as possible, although I would not recommend using another organisation’s strategy.  It is often very useful to see different approaches to the task of strategy formulation. This can give you good ideas and help you to see your own strategy from a different perspective.

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There has been much criticism of the UK Coalition Government recently regarding its ICT strategy. The freeze of Building Schools for the Future and its ICT capital spending has left many wondering how schools are to continue to invest in technology. Though a former teacher, I am interested in decisions affecting schools as a citizen and a father of two young daughters. Most of my professional life has been in the further education and skills sector.

One of the recommendations of the recently published Capital Review led by Dixons’ Group Operations Director Sebastian James, separates ICT spending from BSF. The “Central Body”, identified in the review as the entity that should be fully responsible for BSF, instead of schools, “should take responsibility for providing the basic backbone infrastructure and should not seek to go further in the provision of ICT equipment as part of the building programme”, as ICT equipment is considered a local priority. The question being asked now is, if left to school leaders, will investments on ICT continue? Provided there is clear understanding of the benefits and limitations of ICT and effective procurement procedures, I don’t see any reason why not. But school leaders might do well to protect themselves from hard sellers.

A strong criticism of ICT vendors is their dominance and influence over pressed-for-time, less-informed public sector buyers. Aware of this issue, the JISC RSC London has played a pivotal role within FE and Skills in ensuring that lessons learned by one learning provider in our sector are shared with others in similar position when procuring ICT equipment and services. There is evidence that savings achieved through this simple process (see JISC RSC Impact Report) has been considerable in learning providers supported by the JISC RSCs, particularly some of our London ones.

Perhaps the point being missed by critics is that Government priority is to cut costs. I welcome the strategy to embrace open source as a way to deliver savings on ICT. In the further education sector, I have seen the growth of Moodle, a VLE that has virtually taken the further education and skills sector by storm and is now steadily penetrating higher education despite it failing Becta’s five-point assessment plan back in 2006. I remember how the ILT Champions reacted with dismay at such rejection – a clear example of how the vision of the organisation that was setting the strategy was much limited compared to users on the ground.

The government strategy does not come as a surprise after the ICT in Government Landscape Review identified how private sector contractors’ failing to deliver to time and budget added to the perception of the public sector’s inability to manage ICT contracts efficiently.

Other countries have entertained the idea of using open source in government in the past. Brazil’s move in 2003 to adopt Linux proved popular as a measure to cut the government spending on software. Russia has announced its intention to move all government processing to open source by 2015 (Moreno Muffatto’s Open Source: a Multidisciplinary Approach makes good reading). But like in any change, there is a need to understand the benefits and limitations of any product and equip the workforce to use it effectively. JISC OSS Watch initiative has been playing a key role in supporting open source initiatives.

I do hope that the intention is also to drive quality and solve the bigger problem of systems interoperability. When I was called in to help a further education college in the process of moving from an expensive proprietary virtual learning environment to a cheaper, open source one, it was clear to me that the move was mainly to save costs and not to enhance quality. It is not uncommon for technical solutions to lie dormant in a learning provider, regardless of how much it has cost.

There is a perception that the government’s selection of Huddle as a project management tool to be used across government can challenge SharePoint’s dominance. Most of the learning providers I work with have bought into SharePoint and have decent installations of it. Critics of Brazil’s support to open source say that that government did not go far enough after the initial media hype. I wonder if the coalition will do what it takes to elevate open source to the level it deserves.

Bob Powell

Delegates from colleges, training organisations and partner agencies from all across London came together to focus on how to face the future.

From discussion groups across the event the message was clear:

Learning  provider organisations must do more than just survive, but aim to thrive through adapting and collaborating.

Read the full event report: http://www.rsc-london.ac.uk/1436/

Becta have released the results of their Harnessing Technology survey. Both reports and the raw data are now available.

The purpose of the survey was to:

• Explore the extent of use and implementation of technology in the operations of FE Colleges and Work-based Learning providers
• Measure progress in harnessing technology effectively to meet the needs of learners

Full details are on the Becta website and look at topics such as:

• Technology infrastructure in colleges
• Hardware and software
• The impact of technology
• Leadership and management of technology
• Staff skills and training
• Technology in teaching and learning
• Suppliers and supporting organisations

The Regional Support Centres get a mention in the “Suppliers and supporting organisations” on p.25 in the FE survey.

“The three main national sector support organisations are also highly valued for supportive dialogue, with JISC RSCs [97%], Becta [89%] and LSIS [81%] all being drawn on for ideas by more than four out of five colleges.”

HEFCE’s Leadership, Governance and Management (LGM)  fund has supported the HE in FECs Expert Programme, an 18-month project.

In the first project stage, four seminars were held in 2009 for principals, senior managers and college governors. Resources that could support the strategic development of higher education provided in further education colleges were identified. In the second project stage, resources and materials were collected.

The project is now nearing completion and the project website provides access to resources and links to other source material relating to six themes:

• the nature of higher education;
• funding of HE delivered in FECs;
• management and planning;
• quality assurance arrangements;
• policy and strategy for HE in FECs;
• governance.

Materials provided by colleges and other organisations are being added to the website and can be downloaded and customised by colleges. The development materials can be accessed at: www.sheffield.ac.uk/heinfestratprog/materials.html

The project team is still looking at and adding materials and any colleagues who would be prepared to submit materials they have used successfully are asked to contact Penny Blackie (p.blackie@fdf.ac.uk) and Anne Thompson (anne.thompson20@btinternet.com).

Delegates at VLE event

Thirty delegates from Adult Learning Providers and Colleges across London attended the RSC London VLE Development Group meeting held at Brettenham House on the 12th February 2010.

Much of the discussion concentrated on how to maintain the momentum of improvements to teaching and learning through the use of technology in the context of the current funding climate.

Read the full report on the RSC London website

Economic and other pressures are ensuring that higher education is facing a challenging future. Change Academy is an opportunity for Higher Education institutions to approach these challenges in an imaginative and creative way.

Change Academy brings together cross-institutional teams and gives them the time and space to think creatively about and develop a major change initiative.

Key selection criteria include:

• the impact on the student learning experience
• clear evidence of the institution’s readiness for change
• relationship with the institution’s strategies and links to institutional priorities in the sector

The deadline for proposals for the 2010-11 Change Academy is 1 April 2010.

Further information is available from:
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/universitiesandcolleges/changeacademy

The UK is at risk of losing its world-leading reputation for education, unless it continues to invest in digital technologies to meet the ever-changing needs of modern learners, researchers and the academic community says JISC, in its three-year strategy.

The strategy outlines a vision of the future whereby a robust technological infrastructure is required to meet the shifting needs of the 21st century education community. JISC believes it is crucial that the UK’s education system continues to compete on the international stage by investing in innovation, research and increasing the availability of online resources.

JISC Chair Professor Sir Tim O’Shea commented: “The UK’s learner base is changing at great speed. Students are increasingly demanding that universities and colleges provide flexible and personalised learning which makes full use of the internet and IT applications. Such demands and expectations are set to increase as we move through this decade and into the next.

“If we fail to sustain the required research and investment to assist universities and colleges in their drive to improve their efficiency, effectiveness and to manage their costs, the UK risks losing its reputation for world-class education.”

Read the JISC  Strategy 2010-2012 here:
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/aboutus/strategy/strategy1012.aspx

For those new to writing and developing strategy, a new JISC resource is launched today to support people through the increasing scale of challenges facing universities and colleges.

<http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/strategy>

The ‘strategy infokit’ produced by JISC InfoNet covers all aspects of the strategy process: from articulating your institution’s vision and the characteristics of a good mission statement, to advice on effective use of key performance indicators and a checklist of what to monitor.

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A joint consultation between HEFCE, Universities UK and GuildHE on developing a carbon reduction target and strategy for higher education in England has been opened. The consultation asks for views on proposed sector-level targets for the reduction of carbon emissions and a proposed strategy for achieving these targets.

Lord Mandelson, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, said: ‘Universities can play a vital role in our economic recovery, especially in advancing a strategy for real and lasting change in order to reduce our carbon footprint. The results of this consultation will be awaited with enormous interest.’

Particular points to note include:
The strategy aims to focus efforts in areas that offer the greatest potential carbon reduction return, such as: energy use within the estate; transport; water consumption; waste; and procurement, through technical, structural and behavioural solutions. It also aims to identify issues that need further consideration and support.

The consultation sets out areas where HEFCE, Universities UK and GuildHE will work with institutions and other stakeholders to achieve carbon reductions. It will be for individual institutions to decide, within the national set of targets, how to reduce, measure, review and report progress on their own emissions.

The major impact for HEIs will be required to have carbon management plans and performance against these plans will be a factor in capital allocations from 2011, as requested by the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills in HEFCE’s 2009 grant letter.

Further details: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/news/hefce/2009/carbon.htm