Tracey Bell-Reeves
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This document discusses governance trends in higher education, including increasing accountability, transparency, and focus on culture and succession planning at the board level. It outlines principles of good governance practice, including defining roles and responsibilities, balancing short and long-term priorities, and focusing on both external stakeholders and internal organizational health. Academic governance is one of the primary responsibilities of governing bodies, and there is a focus on assuring teaching quality and student outcomes. Effective boards evaluate their own performance and avoid common pitfalls like lack of teamwork or imbalance between oversight functions. The document also notes current issues around board diversity and professionalization.
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Tracey Bell-Reeves
- 1. The very ‘VUCA’ world of HE today and into tomorrow Setting the scene: our operating context
- 2. Volatile Uncertain Complex Ambiguous VUCA - a story being told about the world today A huge factor = the narratives Not just what is happening, BUT the story we tell about what is happening
- 3. HE in an increasingly VUCA world • Political pressures to solve societies’ ills • Multiple pressures to be ‘for’ employability (from knowledge to skills) • in mental health problems (staff and students) • Autonomy – from what, to what? • Audit culture – the power of metrics & rankings • ‘Publish or perish’ demands escalating • Climate change – how we act, contribute…
- 4. • More diverse, student bodies with diverging needs to be met • Massification • Shifting migration trends – new sources • Open access – democracy, quality? • Rapidly evolving technologies • Internationalisation • Collaboration
- 5. VUCA at country level e.g. the UK • Downturn in student criticality – teach to the test legacy • Job insecurity, erosion of rights and benefits • Intense scrutiny from the media • Major, frequent and unpredictable political and policy shifts (OfS, fees, debt …) • Austerity – financial constraints and short term, specific funding mechanisms • Degree apprenticeships – Industrial Strategy • Concrete differences between the Home Nations • BREXIT!
- 6. Universities today - which story is being told here? Which story do we create? • Employability? • Good citizens? • New knowledge? • Shaping the economy? • Solving world problems?
- 7. What is the your narrative? Trends: degree of VUCA; influence on us? • Political • Economic • Sociological • Technological • Legal • Environmental 1. What are the VUCA factors in your world? e.g. insecurity 2. What are the top 3 challenges these factors cause you – the impacts? e.g. meeting refugee students needs requires a lot of resource 3. Changing perspective, what are the top three opportunities the VUCA factors bring you – positive impacts?
- 8. wicked Problems, problems, don’t give me your problems Leadership and VUCA? crisis wicked tame leadership management Command & Control
- 9. How will we do leadership to meet these challenges and take these opportunities? • How do we survive (and flourish) in the wider world, as a sector, as Institutes? HEI sector external Create a list of verbs, actions or practices for doing leadership
- 10. Developing leadership capacity • Some examples from around the world • Different ways to do LD: – Country level – systemic change – Institutional level: structural, systemic – Team – Individual
- 11. Ukraine HE sector: outcomes • A national cohort of change agents well equipped to support institutional and system change in HE – 350 change agents from 40 universities • Evidence to support the Ministry to support its work in system/legislative change • Systems for dissemination, networking and sharing effective leadership practice • Greater trust between HEIs and central government • Universities are clear about their role and how to operate optimally in an autonomous system of HE • Distributed leadership in place within HE system & HEIs
- 12. How we did this: a Systemic Approach System level Institutional level • Leadership Change Academy • Institutional Change Teams • Academic partnerships • Future leaders programme Individual level
- 13. Academic partnership visitsLeadership Change Academy HEI HEI project team: academic & prof staff all levels HEI HEI HEI HEI UK Partner HEIs Future Leaders programme Individual change Institutional change Sector change
- 14. At Institutional Level • A UK HEI – small, relatively young, T&L • New VC, restructure, new strategy • Clarity in vision and values • Leadership Development with new structure: Academic Management Team (group focus) comprised of new DoS (individual focus) • Goal: cohesive, agentic group able to challenge SLT and operationalise strategy
- 15. What we did / what changed • 1-2-1 coaching support + • Facilitated AMT meetings (working with real time issues + input + reflexion + commitment to action) repeated over 6 months Outcomes • AMT Purpose; confidence; goals; cohesive unit with strong voice; multiple actions; know how, resilience, agency
- 16. Key learnings: • Must have highest level sponsor • Must have space/ authority to change plus resources • Recognise and reward change • Metrics that encourage / enable change • Build LD expertise, knowledge – National Centre; LDPf workforce; Research / Intel; resource ($, !, time); role models • Systemic change works – heroes don’t
- 17. How do we build leadership in our world? • Which of the tools and approaches we have seen are relevant to us? • Use the question template to help guide your thinking around some of the key factors for LD
- 18. Volatile Uncertain Complex Ambiguous Telling helpful stories about the world we work in Alert Agility Know your WHY & HOWn Know Yourself No assumptions Leading into VUCA – profiting from it Confident Simplicity Clarity Internal Stability
- 19. Focus on Governance Fit for purpose, now and in to the future
- 20. The Parameters of governance • how much freedom institutions have to run their own affairs; • the extent to which they rely on government funding or can draw on other sources; • the changing ways in which the higher education system itself is subject to quality assurance and control; • the strengthening of the governance of the institutions; • new roles for their leaders Source: OECD CHANGING PATTERNS OF GOVERNANCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION
- 21. Governing body – a negotiated role? Autonomy MarketRegulation Academic community, knowledge, skills, traditions For students, staff, external opportunities Needs expressed by formal institutions
- 22. Governance “…the means by which strategy is set and monitored, the executive held to account, risks are managed, stewardship and trustee responsibilities are discharged”
- 24. 7 Things to Know - Current Governance Trends • Personal Accountability • Transparency - Strategy, business models, long term viability • Culture – including Board’s role • Succession Planning including diversity • Board evaluation – including diversity • Remuneration • Engagement
- 25. Stewardship Stretch Strength Ceremonial Fiduciary Liberated Strategic Progressive Generative From Charam 2005 Chait 2005 Practice: Roles and responsibilities
- 26. Practice of governance Good practice Must have Should have Could have
- 27. Short term Long term External Internal From Garrett 1997 Accountability Strategy Supervising Management Policy The Board
- 28. Short term Long term External Internal Formal papers External advisory Sector benchmarking Blue Sky Thinking Away Days Provocation Corporate Raids Detailed Examination Tough Questions Information Challenging Plans Ideas from Outside Introductions Board Activity
- 29. Comprehend the landscape at a distance Track strategic execution Monitor financial performance Read key markers of organizational health Guide, Coach, Control, Question Discharging the elements External Internal Short term Long term
- 30. induction BOARD training away days Student Governor Forum visits Finance, IT & Estates Strategic Planning & Performance short life working groups NomCo RemCo Audit Investment special interest Staff Voice
- 32. Nolan principles for public life 1. Selflessness 2. Integrity 3. Objectivity 4. Accountability 5. Openness 6. Honesty 7. Leadership Personal Accountability
- 33. Responsibilities of Governing Bodies (GBs) Meeting standards of public life Setting the institutional strategy Monitoring institutional strategy Hiring and firing the head of institution Reputational or financial risk (including significant partnerships) Complying with legislation
- 34. 2014 CUC Code of Governance – core values A voluntary code, principles based, recognising the diversity of UK HE 1) Autonomy best guarantee of quality 2) Academic freedom, research, scholarship and teaching 3) Protection of the student interest 4) Publication of accurate and transparent information 5) Accountability to funders 6) Equality of opportunity and diversity 7) HE should be available to those who are able to benefit from it
- 35. Topical issues
- 36. HE Code of Governance - December 2014 Increasing diversity of HE across the UK and > focus on governing bodies New duty on governing bodies in relation to Prevent/Counter Terrorism New assurance statement on quality & standards. Academic governance, TEF Some GBs looking to remunerate the chair (partly to reflect time, partly to address diversity) Greater professionalisation on GBs, including induction, annual review and external reviews.
- 38. Critiquing Goverance Effectiveness What is really going on around this Board Table? What are the enablers of effective governance? What can derail good governance?
- 39. Some common derailers-what to avoid Lack of team work Capture External volatility Relationship breakdown No informal ‘ground rules’ established Full spectrum of skills not covered Lack of information Competing hats Too much scrutiny/not enough Imbalance between scrutiny, support, sign off & development
- 41. Academic governance 2014 HE Code of Governance - academic governance 1 of the 7 primary elements of governance: “The governing body receives assurance that academic governance is effective by working with the Senate/Academic Board or equivalent as specified in its governing instruments.” HE & Research Act 2017 - significant focus on teaching excellence Historically the boundary for academic governance has been placed differently in institutions
- 42. Academic governance where you are • How does your governing body maintain oversight of academic governance arrangements? • How does your governing body respect the principles of academic freedom and collegiality? • How does your governing body maintain oversight of academic risk? • How does your governing body encourage student involvement in academic governance? • How does your governing body assure itself that student complaints are effectively addressed and the welfare of students is secured?
- 43. What do we see already? Joint meeting of council and senate/academic council Council/governors (particularly independent members) being paired with PVCs/Faculties Annual report from senate to council Oversight of the academic strategy Examining the outcomes of academic governance reviews HE/academic expertise being identified as key skills need on governing body
- 44. What do we see already? Oversight of academic partnerships (annual reports, presentations, visits) Inclusion of appropriate academic matters on the risk register Encouragement of student engagement in academic governance Presentation on academic matters from the students’ union Informal pre/post meeting presentations from academic departments Audit and reporting on public information on academic matters Involvement of academic council in the development of institutional strategy
- 46. Future board behaviour • Seeking assurance and reassurance in highly volatile times – Tougher questions – Quicker decisions • Robustly testing reliability and sustainability of HEI strategies • Influencing new regulatory systems • Students at the heart of the board
- 47. The pay off? Provision of assurance that HE is well governed, well led, well managed: – Stakeholder confidence – A low risk sector benefitting from low borrowing rates – Reduced scrutiny – Reduced regulatory burden – earned autonomy – Innovation through autonomy
- 48. Governance “…the means by which strategy is set and monitored, the executive held to account, risks are managed, stewardship and trustee responsibilities are discharged”
- 49. Governance - your view • Where are you on the autonomy scale? HIGH MEDIUM LOW • How well does the leadership-governance relationship operate based on the 5 areas? • What needs to change?
Editor's Notes
- As I’m speaking, please keep the following questions in mind: What impact might they have? What might their the influence be (how important or relevant to us)?
- Maybe the world actually is more VUCA, maybe it isn’t, maybe the speed and complexity of change is more unsettling – whatever the actual position, the story we are telling ourselves is that it IS more VUCA - and we seem to be frightened by this story. Here’s a look at how we can still hear that story, how we can create our own stories as part of the sense making role of leadership – and also respond differently to it Volatility: means the nature, speed, volume and magnitude of change that is not in a predictable pattern (consider publishing, once a very steady business) Uncertainty: Can simply be put as the lack of predictability in issues and event (political whims and changes and how these affect student mobility, the value of research funds etc) Complexity: the entanglement of everything in everything ( creating the student experience for example) Ambiguity: the fuzziness, lack of clarity and high degree of intangibility (e.g. what we even mean by ‘student experience’)
- VUCA – volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous HE becoming increasingly politicised – some might say the political whipping boy – blamed for ills whilst operating conditions very restrictive and expectations higher and higher: be entrepreneurial; produce great employees and top research and innovate around new curricula and pedagogies and make us all digitally literate and create equity in digital learning! Employability – Vietnam context ICEF reports that for Vietnam to see significant economic growth it needs to increase employability rates by 50% https://borgenproject.org/higher-education-in-vietnam/ From 1999 to 2013, the total enrollment in tertiary education has increased, stimulated by government policy with the aim to provide adequate human resources for the labor market. (Competitive Strategies of Vietnamese Higher Educational Institutions by Do Minh Ngoc in I N T E R N AT I O N A L HI GHE R E D U C AT I O N Number 94: summer 2018) commenting on intro of HE Reform Agenda (HERA) and marketization changes. In many Western countries student and staff well-being is a huge problem (Bristol university – 18 suicides in 2016; one dept in northern UK uni had 70% of staff off work with stress related health issues) – this is a major challenge to HR, to work load spread , to staying open! What is causing it? How can we reduce this? Many universities (HE sectors) are striving for autonomy – separating from politics and government control. Yet are we replacing one form of control with another? We may in theory be able to decide our own curricula, but actually this is decided now by market forces – what sells. Similarly research direction and activity may not be directly dictated by govt but is largely driven by the intended IMPACT on economy, society, or global challenge. And now in Australia we have Ministers directly intervening in research funding choices … (2018) World and regional rankings are becoming increasingly fiercely contested and sought after; now a government / national interest; again having impacts on where (limited) national monies go and why. Which rankings? For what end? UK examples - NSS, Destinations, REF, TEF, HEBCI…. The degree to which university outputs and activities are measured and judged has increased exponentially. The rankings influence student choice, government and corporate funding, reputation internationally and for attracting faculty…. They have displaced broader, more liberal views – for good and bad European/ N American/ Australian academics now being told not publish unless its in a high IF journal and they MUST perish if they are to meet Dept and HEI targets and retain their jobs;
- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion agendas now gaining prominence in all aspects of HE life. A good thing. And also one that requires policy and strategy frameworks as well as cultural shifts to change embedded behaviours Massification – widening access is high on the agenda in many countries – juxtaposed with reduced resources, cash , not enough qualified teaching staff and tremendous pressures on quality cultures (Vietnam – from 133,000 1987 to 2.12m 2015 and still growing). 37 percent of the population is below the age of 25. Vietnamese universities reportedly only had capacity for one-third of applicants in past years International student mobility is increasing and shifting: China is becoming a destination rather than source; students going abroad but to countries in same region / closer to home; - for UK whose sector is around 22% international this is having big impact Vietnam gvt drivers ”The so-called 911 project, launched in 2013, for instance, is slated to fund study abroad of 10,000 Ph.D. candidates until 2020 with up to USD $15,000 annually per student. ” In 2016 most of these scholarships were for sts going to Russia, but over 60% of all outgoing sts prefer English speaking countries. For UG US, Australia, Japan and France are top choices. Inbound sts are largely from Laos and Cambodia’s Viet speaking populations. The publishing sector is expanding and shifting rapidly with rogue journals, marketization thru the ‘open access’ route creating confusing conditions and significant quality challenges, exposing what we thought were high quality processes. Opening up opportunities, gaining funding momentum in some places – note the row over Plan S Technologies pose great opportunities, but knowing what to invest in and how this will support educational (T&L), research (use of big data, AI etc) and also organisational strategic goals are huge questions Internationalisation is a stated goal for most HE sectors and Institutions around the world, working out what this means specifically at HEI level, what is achievable in the context of national regulations, socio-economic drivers and that also is practical and achievable is a complex, volatile game
- Whilst many more young people are choosing university education, their life aspirations have opened up and new access ways are possible – there has also been a general downturn in criticality as a result of the ‘teach to the test’ culture that’s been running in our schools fr the last 18+ years. For the first time UG students are coming in with very little ability to engage in discourse – and when encouraged to do so are resisting – tell us what we need to pass the exam and we’ll learn it Previously universities had been left alone by the mass media (cf NHS and schools); sudden shift e.g. VC salaries and universities are now fair game
- Employability Good citizens New knowledge Solving world problems? All of the above, all at the same time? It can feel overwhelming… we might feel stretched and pushed and pulled in too many conflicting directions and the biggest questions might seem unanswerable – or with very different answers depending on who is answering and when Key message – the policy, political, economic, climatic, technological and social world we operate in is highly unstable and changing unpredictably, attempting to predict the future is futile, we must be rolling with and ready for what is happening now and whatever happens next – challenges and opportunities. Much of this depends on the story we choose to tell But there in lies the key…. Purpose – more on that later
- Leading into VUCA in your world: what are the VUCA factors from your perspective? Please discuss the VUCA factors that affect you as individuals with the people at your table 1. Using the sheets please create a ‘painted picture’ of some of the key VUCA elements in your world (individual). 2. Specifically what are the top three challenges you face in your (HE) world? Add these to the posters Review – walk round the posters. Seek emerging common themes / useful differences 3. looking again at the scenario, what are the top three opportunities? Group task – adding a different narrative to the posters (colour) Review – posters. Seek emerging common themes / useful differences and highlight the impact of perspective. Where does that come from?
- Situations are often categorized into three different types – these derive from Rittell and Webber's (1973) typology of Tame and Wicked Problems Grint’s work posits that these situations demand different types of response: Grint, K (2005) Problems, problems, problems: The social construction of ‘leadership’ Human Relations Volume 58(11): 1467–1494 Wicked situations are messy, may never have a solution, may be overwhelming … they require a ‘vu deja’ response – not seen before (Grint) And some processes, practices, behaviours, attitudes that are fit to the situation - that are evolving (and failing) – some of which involve ‘being in mysteries’ – the point is they are not yet known – situational, temporally located … Many say that the world is increasingly wicked - another term is VUCA…. (connecting back into PLACE, our earlier conversations about the HE landscape) What we cry out for - what is asked of us – to respond, to survive … and maybe to flourish – the word we use to capture this ‘vu deja’ is ‘leadership Process, practice, art, nuanced, mature, democratic, authentic, transparent…..
- Part Four: how will we do leadership to meet these challenges and take these opportunities? What does leadership look like? Group task – create list of actions (doing), verbs and practices of leadership that will be effective and enable us to flourish in this VUCA world, by meeting challenges, taking opportunities and creating a narrative that works. Use circles diagram / plenty of post-its Outputs – a picture of the ‘best possible’ for doing leadership in an emerging future
- Developing leadership capacity Now that we know what sort of leadership we need, how do we develop this? Input: case studies from UK, Ukraine, India / Egypt….
- Between 2015 and 2018 Ministerial directive – very clear purpose and goals at the top; clearly articulated to HEIs and agencies (good buy in – ‘why’ and ‘where to’ v clear) Short time frame meant good momentum – fast enough pace
- Key: systemic approach (nationally, HEI)
- Minister signed off and made call for HEI applicants to LCA 40 HEIs took part (350 staff in total) Key was in sending teams that comprise a diagonal slice of staff within each HEI This team develops projects that meet general criteria: two cycles of LCA meets (all teams together)+ project activity + partnership support Staff take part in ‘Future Leaders’ LDP so individuals have the skills Change Academy Application Criteria Quality of the proposed team construction Needs to be cross section/levels of the HEI to include student Relevance of project theme Does it meet the HE reform agenda? Does it meet your university change agenda? Does it meet the social demand for change? Dissemination plans: Internal and external Time commitment and Rector sign-off
- Group Task: how do we build leadership in our world? Which of the tools / approaches we have seen are relevant to us and which not? Use a question template [future leaders – who (identifying), how many (scale), how long (period), types of intervention and support// existing leaders – who (identifying), what support etc – measuring ROI] Output – map of possible action areas to follow up
- Concluding remarks on Leadership for the Future Leadership that responds to and succeeds in VUCA environments of Wicked problems needs to In a world of volatility aim for internal stability: – build solid foundations inside your organisation through having a clear, co-created and constantly communicated Purpose – everyone knows why you exist, why you do what you do – your mission or guiding principle. The other essential foundation is knowing our values – making explicit the rules on how we are with each other, how we behave, how we act and engage Personally this may mean practice getting comfortable with discomfort; being consistent with colleagues; finding a calm place to work from; have self discipline; act as a stabiliser for others (just enough, but not too much)– other aware, but not subsumed by them 2. In a world of uncertainty a clarity in purpose and values (why and how) provides clarity in decision making, provides certainty about who we are and why we are here which allows us to look out into uncertainty from a place of clarity and confidence about our own ability to respond and find a path 3. In a world of complexity having and building expertise, craftsmanship or artisanship in our teams to find patterns, to extract meaning, to simplify and confidently, use our critical abilities to stand apart from the complexity and see opportunity. The metaphor is of the master carpenter who does not have to think about how her saw moves through knotted, twisted wood but makes micro adjusts unconsciously – letting the 1000’s of hours of practice and expertise in the hand guide the saw. A team of experts left to their own devices may not know the pathway they will take to move through the complexity, however they have the confidence in their expertise to take the first step and from this new position of insight take more steps, some forwards, some backwards, but iteratively working out the path as they move, guided by the purpose and values. 4. In a world of ambiguity draw on all the above to profit from the vagaries, be comfortable being in mysteries and holding your people in that space too, trusting and being entrusted – the negative capabilities of leadership (mindset, approach) be agile, be assertive, be present and make sure there are no assumptions about to explode beneath you Leadership in a VUCA world of wicked problems means: Evolving the new Creating a safe enough space to be enabling Motivating your teams Trusting them to use their talent to carve new pathways towards solutions Being comfortable with not knowing