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International Benchmarking – Comparing Like with Like– What about
the Future?
Ken Sloan, Director for Universities and Higher EducationHESA International Benchmarking Conference – 20 July 2011
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Session Outline
• What drives institutional planning and what could be benchmarked?
• Addressing international benchmarking and against what might institutions be compared?
• Impact of new HE landscape and institutional choices on service delivery and benchmarking?
• Is benchmarking worthwhile given how much is changing?
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Delivering essential services around the world
UK & Europe60%
Local Government& Commercial
Civil Government
Defence, Science and Nuclear
1
2
3
Africa, Middle East & Asia18%
Africa, Middle East & Asia
4
The Americas
22%
The Americas
5●Founded in
1929
●50 countries
●700 contracts
●70,000 staff
●£4.5 billion Turnover
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Central and Local
Government
Education
Defence Forces
Healthcare Organisations
Blue Chip Companies
Science and Nuclear
Criminal Justice
Transportation Organisations
Our markets
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Strategic Drivers for Benchmarki
ng
“We plan to be one of the Top 500 companies in the world”
__________
“We are working to be a Top 10 university in the UK”
__________
“Our strategy will see us positioned as a world Top 50
university”
__________
“We will be one of the world’s most efficient organisations”
__________
“For students and staff, this will be one of the best universities in
the world to join”
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Making Sense of It
All…..
• Who do universities have in mind when planning:
- past/ current/ future students?
- staff?
- partners? visitors? Banks? regulatory bodies?
• Students are not the only stakeholders
• Translating masses of data into meaningful change and improvement can be a challenge
• Translating into useful benchmarking systems might look impossible
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Consumers, Partners or Investors
Which Relationships
Matter?
The answer may shape and influence the nature
of benchmarking
• If consumers - priorities might be consumption/ outcome focused
• If partners – priorities might be input and output focused
• If investors - might require a balance of input, output and outcome focused measures
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What Could be
Benchmarked?
• Front facing services (teaching, research and related activities)
• Direct support services (those services that contribute directly and specifically to teaching, research, student experience)
• Organisational Services (all of the functions required simply as a result of being large, complex organisations)
• Transformational Services (those processes or competencies that lay the ground for future success)
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Lost in Translation?
Addressing International
Benchmarking
Key Issues:
• Clear strategic/tactical reason for doing so and questions to address
• Effort, commitment and investment
• Willingness not simply to adopt a ‘self-selecting’ safe group
• Common lexicon and taxonomy (including costs, prices, values)
• Understanding of context
• Willingness to collaborate and share sensitive data (or to trust a 3rd Party)
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To What are Institutions
Being Compared?
Academic Inputs, Outputs and Outcomes
- Peer institutions
- Prospective peers
Student Inputs, Outputs and Outcomes
- Peer institutions
- Prospective peers
- Alternative providers
Organisational or Service Inputs, Outputs and Outcomes
- Peer institutions
- Prospective peers
- Related organisations
- Other sectors?
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A Serco Example:
NPL
(The National Physical Laboratory)
Strategic Drivers
• Improve scientific performance
• Enhance national/ international competitiveness
• Optimise the cost base and income
• Optimise efficiency and effectiveness
• Deliver on government and company requirements
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A Serco Example:
NPL
(The National Physical Laboratory)
Implications for Benchmarking
• Comparison between NPL, UK, International institute scientific performance
• Compare with other institutions, other Serco business areas, and other sectors
• Compare with other Serco business areas, UK government funded organisations and international institutions
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Choices for Institutions
-Any implications for benchmarking?
•Develop Individually
•Transform and Sell
•Shared Services
•Strategic Service Broker
Things Are Changing So Context Will
Matter
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The Emerging
HE Landscape
• Impact of ‘Students in the Driving Seat’ in the choice and focus of institutional benchmarks (risk of partial views?)
• Diversity of providers will change the nature and type of organisations that sit behind some institutions and impact on their behaviour (and their performance?)
• A period of significant institutional change raises the question of what benchmarks will deliver future value and what institutions/ organisations to track (criteria for selecting?)
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Towards 2012 and
beyond………
• Choices and risk will be much more important given limited financial underpinning from government
• Spend on services will change - what will this do to trend-based benchmarks?
• Investments will be driven by strategic drivers – how will these drivers be reflected in benchmarking schemes?
• Staff costs continue to matter - but understanding other spend matters too
If benchmarking appeared difficult before...Should we
bother?
Yes- Performance and future sustainability still matter
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Navigating the Future
• Benchmarking makes a valuable contribution to operational and strategic development (if aligned)
• Organisations face choices over what to prioritise as all benchmarking activities cost money (track what matters)
• Organisations should not only benchmark but must be committed to acting upon them (link back to strategic drivers)
• Context matters in understanding benchmark performance
The sector and market you are in should not limit the type of
organisation that you benchmark against
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