In an increasingly volatile and uncertain world, funding bodies, political agencies and institutions are well into the process of thinking about new scenario building and other foresight tools to help plan for their future. The Leadership Foundation’s new report, Higher Education Futures: Key themes and implications for leadership and management has analysed scenario and higher education literature from the recent past, including studies from the OECD and UUK. The analysis highlights six major themes which the scenario literature point towards for higher education and which may present challenges and opportunities for higher education leaders, managers and governors.
This report has arrived at a critical time for UK HEIs as debates about funding, global markets, regulation and advancements in technology and information look set to create a more uncertain and complex environment for institutions. The analysis in this report aims to clarify some of these emerging themes and help institutions navigate the leadership, governance and management challenges arising.
The major themes
The evolving role and function of the university within society: adapting through changes to institutional structures; HEIs role in asserting a vision for the sector; rationales for external collaboration; risks and opportunities from private involvement in higher education.
The structure and organisation of higher education: increased diversity of students - leading to specialisation across institutions; increased demand for commercial or national policy focused research putting pressure on the teaching-research nexus.
The impact of technology: a more strategic approach is required as pedagogy becomes more open and flexible, communication more immediate and interactive and research more collaborative and open.
The impact of a changing student population: changing rationales behind international student mobility; balance between educating for a profit and benefits of intercultural learning; responding to a more diverse student body.
The future higher education workforce: diversification of roles to meet the growing complexity of the sector; changes to the academic profession; a more international market for staff; the new skills needed to meet new challenges.
Changing values: new perspectives are suggested by futures literature; looking beyond the knowledge economy; areas of emerging interest such as sustainability, changes in our understanding of knowledge; critical and integral perspectives.
Each chapter finishes with a summary of the key challenges, changes and questions for senior leaders, managers and governors.
Managing the future
The epilogue asks Can we really ‘Manage the Future’? - Professor Sir David Watson suggests that 'managing the future' on the part of any university senior management team involves:
• Understanding the present and the past condition of your institution.
• Getting the resources right, so that there is a zone of freedom of action in which to operate.
• Understanding the terms of trade of the business, especially its peculiar competitively cooperative nature.
• Helping to identify a positive direction of travel for the institution and engaging progressively with that direction of travel.
• Optimistically trusting the instincts of the academic community (of students as well as staff) operating at its best.
Notes
Higher Education Futures is a companion volume to A Guide to Scenario Planning in Higher Education, published by the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education in January 2010. All the research published by the Leadership Foundation are available using this link: LF Research
The authors
This publication was written by Jay Kubler, Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and Nicola Sayers, formerly of the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education and includes an epilogue by Professor Sir David Watson. The project was undertaken jointly with the ACU.
Research at the Leadership Foundation
The Leadership Foundation’s Research Programme is comprised of research projects on topics relevant to leadership and leadership development in higher education. The type of research projects range from in-depth applied research projects to literature reviews and think pieces which supplement the applied research and provide challenging and cutting-edge thinking on leadership practice and theory for higher education.
The Research Programme aims to support leadership and leadership development in higher education, address clearly identifiable needs in the sector, and be of practical use to its members and practitioners in the higher education sector.
The research topics are:
• Future trends and issues: The future context and shape of leadership, governance and management (LGM) in higher education
• Careers and roles: Career patterns and selection processes for becoming a leader in higher education
• LGM in practice: evolving roles and specific portfolios (e.g. leadership for quality teaching; leading research, leading strategic partnerships)
• Leadership of key areas: e.g. diversity, internationalisation
• Evaluation and impact: of leadership development
Contact: Tricia Wombell, Director of Marketing and Communications. Leadership Foundation, 020 7849 6904
Last updated: 25 October 2010