ALPS Conference 2010Work-based Learning and Assessment for the Next Decade

Sustaining and embedding innovationschallenges and opportunities

Peter Chatterton

Sustaining and embedding innovations

Why

• do we need to focus more on sustainability and embedding?

What• are the key challenges & opportunities?

How• can this be achieved?

Innovation

Tran

sfor

mati

on

Transformationbut no innovation

Innovation& transformation

No transformation and no innovation

Innovation& some transformation

• Business-driven methods e.g. continuous

improvement, BPR & TQM methodologies

• Incremental change

• No strong external drivers for change

• Organisational inertia

• Strong drivers for change• Funding oriented more

towards local transformations

• Transformations not always embedded institutionally

Relationship between innovation and transformation in HE

• HE-specific innovative “change & embedding” processes &

techniques• Long-term “smart” partnerships

(collaboration not competition - schools, faculties, institutions,

employers, sectors, international)• “Business-like” approaches

1 2

34

Transformation is cyclic, not linear

Benchmarking

Planning

Enhancement & innovation

programmes

ReflectingTransformation(collaborative)

Why?

1. Too much re-inventing of the wheel in short-term funded projects

2. Changing funding environment

3. Funding agencies are increasingly focusing on collaboration, transformation, efficiencies, capacity-building and impact & benefits realisation for the sector

4. Employers will only fully engage with HE long-term if their complex and specific needs are met & sector partnerships are formed

5. Institutions need to become more responsive, agile and efficient in order to meet employer needs

Challenges

1. A funding culture mindset 2. Perceptions of education being a cost rather than an

investment3. Impact & costs/benefits not normally fully understood

or measured4. Academic reward mechanisms favour “local”

innovations - not embedding in schools, faculties, institutions

5. How to change mind-sets towards the benefits of co-operation – at all levels

6. How to change academic mind-sets towards WBL pedagogy and employer engagement

Key opportunities

Need to focus on transformation as well as innovation:

• Innovations in HE-specific change & embedding processes

• Shared approaches towards a better understanding of impact, costs & benefits & development of models

• Developing sustainable sector “smart” partnerships

Innovations in HE-specific change & embedding processes

Examples:

• CABLE Process – University of Hertfordshirea local model of change within Schools

• CABLE – Transfer Transferring the CABLE Process to the HE Sector

• Change Management Simulation (JISC/Insead simulation toolkit)

• Scenario Planning (JISC toolkit)

• Collaborative benchmarking in WBL/e-learning(benchmarking toolkits)

CABLE

CABLE – Change Academy for Blended Learning Enhancementa local model of change within Schools

• Develop effective teams across disciplines • A focus on the strategic interests and needs of the participating Schools• Academic-led• Student involvement• Achieve transformative and sustainable change in blended learning• Develop partnerships between Schools and the Blended Learning Unit• Develop future change agents• Develop toolkit for future sustainable change projects• Develop curriculum design toolkit

http://www.herts.ac.uk/about-us/learning-and-teaching/cable.cfm

CABLE Process

Expression of Interest

Team Leaders meeting

ITM-1(+CF)

ITM-2(+ CF)

ITM-3(+ CF)

ITM-4(+ CF)

ITM-5(+ CF)

ITM-6(+ CF)

2 day residential event

Implementation

Support (BLU)Peer support

Final AwayDay

•CABLE 1•CABLE 2•CABLE 3•CABLE 4 •Personal development

•Planning•Peer support

Decreasing funding

1. Exploring the issue and generating ideas

2. Reframing the issue and achieving focus

3. Action planning4. Testing that the plan is robust

•Presentations•Peer critique/reflection•Future change agents/plans

CABLE Techniques (1)

• Collage – creating a Vision• Reversals – create an opposite to what you want to achieve• Minimise/Maximise – exaggerate or minimise • Super-heroes – how would batman tackle an issue• Systems Thinking – focusing on an ultimate goal• Stakeholder Analysis – understanding stakeholder needs/expectations• Engagement/communications strategy & plan • Knowledge Fair – exchanging knowledge• Brain-writing followed by Snowballing – ideas and consensus building• Anonymous Voting – voting on ideas• Alternative Scenarios – how ideas can be implemented • 5 Ws and H – What, Why, When, Where, Who, How

CABLE Techniques (2)

Implementation:

• Checklists• Resources required, motivation & commitment, resistance,

procedures, structures & policies to be overcome (or exploited), risk, power struggles, clashes, climate

• Force Field Analysis• Mapping restraining forces and drivers for change

• Bullet proofing• What can go wrong, how likely, how to mitigate

NHS Deficit

Time issues

UH and School strategies. Requirement to revise down module

numbers.Nurse training traditionally split between classroom & clinical practice. Post qualifying educational programmes frequently University based.

Nurses now seeking clinically focused, flexible, academic opportunities.

Nurses challenged by the need to balance academic study with work & social demands.

Demand is heightened for sharing expert knowledge more widely & improving access to academic opportunities for NHS and non-NHS staff.

NHS agenda (largest employer of nurses) targets Continuing Professional Development (CPD) & lifelong learning i.e. promoting career development through academic achievement.

NHS Knowledge & Skills Framework

£

Department of Health policy & strategy

Proposal for Tissue Viability CABLE Project accepted!

Ideas discussed; wider issues explored; context for change established; provisional plan agreed

Fact-finding: what IT support is available?; what online learning resources can we access?; who are our key stakeholders?; what about marketing issues?; what additional training might the team

members need?

Aim: Build on existing Tissue Viability programme to offer flexible, accessible study with a strong clinical focus delivered using a blended learning approach.

Project TeamJacqui FletcherJulie VuoloIrene AndersonMichele CharlesJacky PriceStakeholderStudent

What we want: To develop accessible, flexible, clinically focused modules which build on the strengths of the existing Programme.

Why we want it: To better meet the educational needs of our existing market and to widen the access for a new student market including overseas and non-NHS Healthcare Professionals.

How we can do it: By using a blended learning approach to maximise learning opportunities for our students and by looking at more accessible modes of delivery such as online and work based learning.

Tissue Viability CABLE Project

School of Nursing and Midwifery

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New way… ..new

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CABLE Transfer

Sector level changeEquipping other HEIs to implement the CABLE process

• Oxford Brookes• University of Sunderland• University of Reading• St Mary’s University College• University of Worcester

www.cable-transfer.net

Change Management Simulation

• understand the need to work within existing culture(s)• be able to describe the stages of a transition• understand the need for different approaches at the various

stages• understand how individuals react in different ways to change• appreciate the roles of formal and informal networks for

communicating the need for a resilient approach to implementing change

A simulation to support teams in implementing organisational change in HEIs, helping them to:

JISC infoNet: http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/change-management/index_html

Simulation overview

Professor Stamm

Head of Institute of Economics

Loves new and wild ideas, annoys colleagues as promise is greater than delivery

Professor Linz

Chair of Microeconomics & PhD Director

Has personal network of trusting individuals; not outspoken and over-cautious

Professor Bell

Chair of Macroeconomics

Promising young academic, interacts well with colleagues and rarely steps on their toes

Professor Jones

Chair of Economic Policy

Overworked, understaffed & stressed. Strong sense of family, content to carry out daily tasks

Professor Toulon

Chair of Statistics & e-MBA Director

Techno-freak. Optimistic about online teaching despite lack of enthusiasm from colleagues. Prefers decisions made by whole team or the boss.

David Brinck

HR & Administration Director

A ‘people person’ who enjoys technological innovations; active in local charity organisations

Victor Platt

IT Manager

Responsible for IT infrastructure and development. Preoccupied with extending his portfolio of services

Xia Lan

Student Administration Manager

Recruited by the Dean. Independent-minded, her approach has caused difficulty for her boss

Sandra Frick

PR & Communications Manager

Believes in bureaucracy to maintain order. Has succeeded in pushing through many innovations

Ron Hilldale

Programmes Marketing Manager

People wonder how long he might keep this job – his efforts never seem adequate

Professor Nussbaum

Chair of Marketing

Fast career, high academic standards but risk averse

Professor Perez

Chair of Corporate Finance

Hard working with few friends, often away at international conferences

Professor Grind

Chair of Management Sciences & Executive Education Director

Likeable and sociable. Spots new trends in the management training marketplace

Professor Boileau

Chair of Strategy Management

Sticks with what is known, dislikes jumping from one fad to another, active in local volunteer service groups

Professor Kolb

Head of Institute of Business Admin

Very sociable, loves organising parties. Keeps views in line with peers – never contradicts the Dean

Professor deJong

Dean of School of Management

Approves innovations only if the idea is his; has built up a loyal team of collaborators

Professor Peters

Head of Institute of Social Science

Struggling with an undisciplined faculty group; his job is at risk if results do not improve

Professor Motta

Chair of Political Sciences

Veteran facing the last assignment of his career; having trouble with the pace

Professor Hill

Chair of Communication Science & MBA Director

Extremely smooth; knows how to create effective messages and keep a positive outlook

Professor Morton

Chair of Social Psychology

Advocate of participative management; always searching for new management and leadership trends

Donna Winter

Personal Assistant

Loves to schedule appointments and set agendas. Very protective of Dean. Wide exposure to major issues within the school

Professor Milton

Deputy Dean

Bossy, impulsive, doesn’t get along with people. Believes in continuous change, focusing on raising funds and reducing costs

Polly Kent

Faculty Support & Quality Manager

Systematic approach, believes better to be delayed and precise rather than imprecise. Hired 3 yrs ago when Dean created position

Paul Heinz

Students Representative

Seen as good at reconciling conflicting interests of the school and the students

Humfeld University

Graduate School of Management

Organisation Chart

Challenge:•Persuade Prof deJong and colleagues to adopt a new technology system

•Gather information•Use resources•Implement different initiatives•Monitor progress

AimAct as a change agent to get as many adopters as possible

Scenario Planning

• Strategic group planning tool that assumes the future can differ greatly from today

• Evolved from uses in corporations e.g. Shell • A method for anticipating the future by understanding the nature and impact

of various driving forces & creating a series of “different futures”• A group process which encourages knowledge exchange and widening the

participant’s perception of possible future events• Development of shared understanding of complex issues• Encourages “think the unthinkable” scenarios

Scoping Trend Analysis

Building scenarios

Generate options

Test options

Action plan

JISC infoNet - http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/tools/scenario-planning/index_html

Collaborative benchmarking for WBL/e-learning

• E-Learning collaborative benchmarking & toolkits established in HE (but not sustained)

• Development of WBL benchmarking toolkit?

• Need for HEIs to (collaboratively) drive this with some agency support

Shared approaches towards a better understanding of impact, costs and benefits

• Both employers and providers need to better understand impact, costs and benefits

• Programme teams need to better understand costs and benefits of WBL pedagogies and e-learning

• Many existing approaches to assessing costs and benefits have been too complex

• New models of measuring, impact costs and benefits need to be developed

• Becta have developed “business cases” for e-learning in FE/ACL

• Impact should ideally align with regional and national economic and education targets (sector approach)

Developing sustainable sector “smart” partnerships

• Learn from the leading sectors e.g. health, engineering

• HEIs can learn from effective practice in FE

• Partnerships should ideally align with national/regional objectives & regulatory requirements

• HEIs and employers should aim to bring sector/national bodies into the partnerships e.g. SSCs, professional standards bodies, sector agencies, employer consortia

• Ensure win-win based “smart” partnerships which align with each partner’s strategic objectives and business plans

• Help to develop “intellectual capital” of employers (Middlesex)

• Develop better collaboration between HEIs (e.g. SIGs)

Key opportunities - summary

Need to focus on transformation as well as innovation:

• Innovations in HE-specific change management processes

• Shared approaches towards a better understanding of impact, costs & benefits & development of models

• Developing sustainable sector “smart” partnerships

New overseas opportunities???

Export of UK expertise in technology-enhanced learning:

• Ed Balls has set-up a Taskforce (Lord Puttnam) to develop the overseas market (Jan 2010)

• Attendance of 63 overseas Ministers of Education at the recent 2010 Learning and Technology World Forum (LATWF) – to discuss the theme “re-imagining education”

... opportunities for partnerships, learning, R&D, collaborative projects/provision, consultancy etc???