Policy development workshop

Creating the policy

Objectives- Identify, document and discuss the key steps that typically need to be taken to develop and implement a policy- Planned the steps that will be taken to (re)develop an appropriate policy, decide who will take these steps, and what the deliverables at each stage of this process will be

1. Understand your policy environment- Who has the authority to make policy? - How can this authority be invoked?

2. Understand your institution’s requirements for policy formulation and follow them- Are there specific consultation procedures that must be followed?- Do specific committees need to give approval?

3. Review existing policy- Conditions of service- Policies on privacy- Policies on private work

4. Understand the wider legal environment- You cannot create policy that is in conflict with your legal system or your labour relations protocols

5. Document the problem you’re trying to solve and why policy is necessary to solve it- It can be useful to discuss the alternatives and their limitations

6. Document what has already been done to manage the bandwidth problem- People are much more likely to be sympathetic if they believe that policy is only one element in managing the overall problem

7. Benchmark- If other institutions in the same class use policy as an instrument of bandwidth management then mention this

8. Document the usage pattern- Typically, 5% of users account for 50% of the traffic. This means that 95% of users should be on your side – all you need to do is to show them how they will benefit.

9. Identify who’s on your side- Some stakeholders will benefit more than others. Identify them and mobilise their support.

11. Identify who’s not on your side- Some stakeholders will resist you at all cost. Identify who they are and sideline them.

12. Don’t forget the students- Student leadership changes frequently. Manage the communication with this leadership carefully.

13. Identify the policy development team- Not just the IT department- Should include powerful figures who carry weight in the organisation- Labour relations/HR should be included

14. Roadshow- The team needs to consult as extensively as possible- The consultation process is also a process for mobilising consensus

15. Write the draft- Link the policy to institutional objectives- Enumerate the consultation that has happened- Document the consensus

16. Navigate the approval process- This typically means lots of committees. Be patient!

Dealing with red herrings: the mythology of academic freedom

The academy reserves to itself the right to answer the following questions, and denies all rights of external interference in answering these questions

- Who shall teach- Who shall be taught, and how- Who shall engage in research, and how- What shall be researched

17. Plan for early wins- The process so far has raised plenty of expectations. Some benefit should be delivered as soon as possible.

18. Make sure that the IT department is technically capable of doing whatever the policy will require

19. Enforcement is not the sole responsibility of IT- it must be supported by other processes and university structures

20. Enforce the policy- Failure to enforce can be legally catastrophic

Understanding payoff matrices

Risk is always assessed on two axes: probability of error and consequence of error

Probability of discovery

Consequenceof discovery

Low High

Trivial

Serious

21. Review the policy- Three months after implementation- A year after implementation- As necessary thereafter

22. Be proud of the result

Thank you

Any questions?