1. jiscinfonet.ac.uk http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/whole-infokit/?infokit=219
Change management
Change is endemic in the education sector. The pressures for change come from all sides: globalisation, changes
to the funding and regulatory regime, doing more with less, improving the quality of student learning and the
learning experience, and the pace of change is ever increasing. Living with change and managing change is an
essential skill for all.
Change is also difficult. There are many different types of change and different approaches to managing change. It
is a topic subject to more than its fair share of management fads, quick fixes and guaranteed win approaches.
Finding an approach that suits you and your situation goes to the heart of being an effective and professional
manager in the education sector. We hope that this resource will help you in this challenge.
The following diagram describes the general route through the materials in the Kit:
Route through the Change Management infoKit
This infoKit was originally developed in 2006 out of a HEFCE Good Management Practice Project led by the
University of Luton (now the University of Bedfordshire) entitled ‘Effecting Change in Higher Education’. The
project team consulted widely on aspects of change in the sector and put together theories, approaches and tools
that resonated with them and with those they talked to about their experiences of the practical difficulties of
managing change.
The ‘Effecting Change’ team summarise their findings by the following observations:
There are no easy solutions
Adapt processes to suit the change intended
2. Change requires teamwork and leadership (and the two are related)
Work with the culture (even when you want to change it)
Communicate, communicate, communicate
In the 2014 update we have amended the core model and associated resources with more evidence-based
research from projects involving large-scale change, focusing on: organisational efficiency, the student
experience, business and community engagement and environmental performance.
Aspects of change
Change usually involves three aspects: people,
processes and culture as shown in the figure.
Often the emphasis has been on the processes
– get the processes right and everything else
will follow. In this resource we have attempted
to redress the balance to acknowledge the
importance of each aspect.
There are no easy solutions or quick fixes in the
infoKit but we have attempted to give you some
pathways through the vast array of approaches
and tools available by suggesting activities you
may undertake at different stages of your
change lifecycle.
This infoKit assumes you will be approaching
your change activity as a project and we make
frequent reference to the P3M suite of
resources on project, programme and portfolio management for guidance on a structured approach. We also
reference the infoKits on Risk Management and Process Improvement.
Templates
View or download our templates from Google Drive™
Business Case Assessment Form
Presumably you are reading this because you have identified a need for change in your organisation. If you have
come to Jisc infoNet then it is also possible that the change has to do with the use of information and learning
technology within your organisation although the guidance given in this infoKit can be applied to any type of
change project. Alternatively you may have identified a need to improve some aspect of your business processes
in which case the infoKit on Process Improvement can help you identify what needs to be done.
Before you begin a major change project, with a particular end goal in sight, you need to know where you are
starting from. You might want to think about ways of assessing your baseline position. A baseline is a start point
against which you can show that your project has delivered a tangible improvement. This may imply a measurable
improvement in time, cost, quality etc but qualitative evidence that the experience of certain stakeholders has
improved can be equally valid. By developing a baseline you ensure that you understand the current state of play
before you try to change it.
The benefits of capturing a baseline include:
Getting project scope right – baselining gives you an opportunity to refine the scope of your project.
Sometimes you will realise you cannot solve a particular problem without tackling one or more related
issues
3. Identifying project stakeholders – baselining can help avoid you finding a “skeleton in the closet” further
down the line in the form of a stakeholder you should have consulted but didn’t
Managing and communicating project scope – baselining helps you manage stakeholder expectations of
your project. You may need to make it clear that certain issues are out of scope if you are not to disappoint
certain stakeholders
Challenging myths – sometimes baselining activity can reveal myths and fallacies that need to be
challenged before you can move forward. Often they relate to unspoken assumptions about what aspects of
processes and system can and can’t be changed: remember “We’ve always done it that way” is neither a
reason nor a justification
Showing evidence of improvement – you cannot show how far you have travelled unless you know where
you started
You may already know your baseline and have already developed a Business Case for the change – if not you
may wish to view specific guidance on developing a Business Case for a Change Project . Our Project
Management infoKit provides a template for preparing a Business Case. You will need to be clear about how the
proposed change fits in with your institutional Mission and Strategy.
Whether you are still assessing your baseline or have begun moving forward with a change programme, it is
equally important to know what you are already doing well. The section on Appreciative Inquiry offers a means of
doing just that.
Tools
Many of the tools used for Process Review can also be helpful at the stage of identifying exactly what you need to
change and why. Listed below are a number of tools that may help clarify your thinking and allow you to define
your project more accurately:
5 Whys – helps analyse a problem
Assumption Surfacing and Testing – challenges the ‘inevitable and preordained’ and might help you
generate new ideas
Backward Planning – can help generate a mind-set that the change can be done
Change Variables – allows you to assess the impact of implementing the change to a greater or lesser
extent
Clarimission – can help you clarify and communicate your goals
Clariscope – develops clarity about outcomes and generates ideas about how they can be achieved
Prioritisation Matrix – helps you to take better decisions in a transparent way
7S Model – allows you to see how changes in one area may affect others
SMART Targets – will help you to monitor whether the desired results are being achieved
The Appreciative Inquiry approach is beginning to demonstrate to academic staff that there is much
that is positive in what they do and in their experiences. It has also provided a context in which they
are not being ‘told what is wrong and how to fix it’, but a supportive environment in which to try out
ideas.
Queen’s University Belfast’s Assessment and Feedback project final report
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a technique for approaching change in a positive way. It can be used to gain an
understanding of the baseline situation you are starting from and as a basis for action planning to move forward
building on what you are already doing well. The approach is about focusing on the positive as opposed to
identifying “what is wrong and what you need to do to fix it”.
4. The approach was developed by Cooperrider and Whitney (2005) who devised a 4D cycle of Discovery, Dream,
Design and Destiny with your “affirmative topic of choice” at the centre.
The approach is very flexible and non-prescriptive and the timescale and level of formality at each stage of the
cycle will vary depending on the topic and organisational context.
The diagram below shows how Queen’s University Belfast used Appreciative Inquiry to enhance assessment and
feedback practice across the organisation taking educational principles for assessment and feedback as its
affirmative topic of choice.
To illustrate how the approach worked in practice Queen’s University Belfast has published the appreciative
inquiry script that it used in discussions around assessment and feedback practice.
Let’s focus on these positives…Think of a time when you experienced assessment and/or feedback
and it was a positive experience. It may not have started that way, but the outcome was positive for
you. Discovering what worked well in the past reminds us that we can bring about positive
assessment and feedback experiences for ourselves and our students. Building on these
capacities envision how you can position yourself to embrace assessment and feedback in a more
positive way in the future. Identifying what works, imagine what YOU can do in your modules or the
teaching team can undertake to improve assessment and feedback for all.Queen’s University
Belfast’s AI script
Brunel University has developed a novel adaptation of Appreciative Inquiry that it used in reviewing the
management of its course information. Brunel saw the value of AI but realised that when reviewing processes,
people often find it easiest to start by identifying the negative aspects so it combined AI with the work of Edward
de Bono and his Six Thinking Hats. In Brunel’s AI workshops stakeholders released their negative thoughts at the
door by physically writing them down on post-it notes and sticking them to the black hat. This allowed them to see
that the negative views were represented whilst preparing them to move forward and embrace AI. Brunel
University has developed a toolkit for others wishing to try out the technique.
Appreciative Inquiry is one approach to reviewing existing practice that fits well with the culture of the education
sector. Depending on the type of change you are considering there are however many other types of self
evaluation or benchmarking tools that may be of use.
In 2005-2008 Jisc and the HE Academy supported a major programme of benchmarking around technology
enhanced learning followed by a programme of transformation known as “Pathfinder” that paved the way for the
Academy’s current change programmes and services and the lessons learned from these activities are still of
interest.
In the Jisc Course Data programme 87 learning providers completed a self-assessment framework
looking at their state of readiness to implement a standardised approach to managing course
information. The summarised results are interesting but of greater value to each of the
institutions was the dialogue this engendered between parts of the organisation that did not
generally see themselves as part of the same overall process.
The University of Central Lancashire used the Jisc Strategic ICT toolkit to undertake an assessment of its level of
maturity in relation to strategic use of ICT and was surprised to find its score lower than expected. This produced
some interesting dialogue whereby those who were directly involved in the management and delivery of Strategic
ICT felt the results of the strategic ICT toolkit were incorrect and those who were not felt the results were correct.
This led to a change project reviewing governance and communications around strategic ICT as well as
alignment, ownership and responsibility of projects to ensure they were business led. Find out more in the project
case study.
5. Overviews developed to support the work of Jisc programmes can also be of use in determining how the situation
in your organisation compares with others in the wider sector see for example:
baseline review for the curriculum design programme (2009)
overview of the assessment and feedback landscape (2012)
The Measurement Tools wiki offers a host of tools to support organisations in measuring the things they do – either
in a standalone way or against a predefined set of criteria. If there is not a specific tool that helps you assess your
current state and make plans for moving forward then you might find some of the participatory approaches
suggested in our section on engaging stakeholders of use in devising your own approach.
It is always worth looking for data about the processes under consideration in order to be able to challenge
attitudes that are based on assumption or myth. The managing course information infoKit includes examples of
how the University of Bolton, City University, and Manchester Metropolitan University have all used data about
their curriculum and assessment practices to bring about transformation.
Below are some suggested aspects and questions that you might like to think about and some suggested types of
evidence that you could use for assessing your baseline and evaluating change.
Aspect of
current practice Key questions Types of evidence
Strategy & Policy
What strategies & policies have a bearing on this
topic?
What does the vocabulary used indicate about how
this is approached/perceived?
Where does responsibility/authority sit within the
organisation?
Core institutional
documents
Committee structures
Membership of
relevant committees
Process
How do we do it now?
How does reality match the formal process?
What workarounds are needed and how often?
How long does it take?
Who is involved?
What is the level of take-up where
systems/innovations are optional?
Where are the bottlenecks?
When is information difficult to obtain/not timely?
Process maps
Usage stats
Interviews
SLAs
Infrastructure
What institutional infrastructure supports the activity:
IT
physical estate
support services
Is the infrastructure under/over-used?
Can the infrastructure meet demand at all times?
How well are elements of the infrastructure
integrated?
System inventories
Timetables
Usage stats
Architecture diagrams
User feedback
6. Stakeholders
What is the level of stakeholder satisfaction?
Are the right stakeholders involved?
Does responsibility/authority sit in the right areas?
Is there effective communication between all
stakeholders?
NSS
Survey data
Interviews
Focus groups
Rich pictures
Aspect of
current practice Key questions Types of evidence
Understanding the nature of the change you wish to effect and the context in which you are working are important
in determining an appropriate strategy. Entering uncharted change territory without some sort of route map puts
you at an immediate disadvantage from the start. One of the first stages in charting the territory is to understand a
little more about the type of change you wish to make (broadly where you want to get to and how you plan to
travel).
There are a number of ways in which change can be categorised, most are related to the extent of the change and
whether it is seen as organic (often characterised as bottom-up) or driven (top-down).
Ackerman (1997) has distinguished between three types of change:
Developmental – May be either planned or emergent; it is first order, or incremental. It is change that
enhances or corrects existing aspects of an organisation, often focusing on the improvement of a skill or
process
Transitional – Seeks to achieve a known desired state that is different from the existing one. It is episodic,
planned and second order, or radical. Much of the organisational change literature is based on this type
Transformational – Is radical or second order in nature. It requires a shift in assumptions made by the
organisation and its members. Transformation can result in an organisation that differs significantly in terms
of structure, processes, culture and strategy. It may, therefore, result in the creation of an organisation that
operates in developmental mode – one that continuously learns, adapts and improves.
Planned versus emergent change
Sometimes change is deliberate, a product of conscious reasoning and actions – planned change. In contrast,
change sometimes unfolds in an apparently spontaneous and unplanned way. This type of change is known as
emergent change. Change can be emergent rather than planned in two ways:
Managers make a number of decisions apparently unrelated to the change that emerges. The change is
therefore not planned. However, these decisions may be based on unspoken, and sometimes unconscious,
assumptions about the organisation, its environment and the future (Mintzberg, 1989) and are, therefore,
not as unrelated as they first seem. Such implicit assumptions dictate the direction of the seemingly
disparate and unrelated decisions, thereby shaping the change process by ‘drift’ rather than by design.
External factors (such as the economy, competitors’ behaviour, and political climate) or internal features
(such as the relative power of different interest groups, distribution of knowledge, and uncertainty) influence
the change in directions outside the control of managers. Even the most carefully planned and executed
change programme will have some emergent impacts.
This highlights two important aspects of managing change.
The need to identify, explore and if necessary challenge the assumptions that underlie managerial
decisions.
7. Understanding that organisational change is a process that can be facilitated by perceptive and insightful
planning and analysis and well crafted, sensitive implementation phases, while acknowledging that it can
never be fully isolated from the effects of serendipity, uncertainty and chance (Dawson, 1996).
An important (arguably the central) message of recent management of change literature is that organisation-level
change is not fixed or linear in nature but contains an important emergent element as identified in the section
on complexity theory.
Episodic versus continuous change
Another distinction is between episodic and continuous change. Episodic change, according to Weick and Quinn
(1999), is ‘infrequent, discontinuous and intentional’. Sometimes termed ‘radical’ or ‘second order’ change,
episodic change often involves replacement of one strategy or programme with another.
Continuous change, in contrast, is ‘ongoing, evolving and cumulative’. Also referred to as ‘first order’ or
‘incremental’ change, continuous change is characterised by people constantly adapting and editing ideas they
acquire from different sources. At a collective level these continuous adjustments made simultaneously across
units can create substantial change.
Proposed change
The distinction between episodic and
continuous change helps clarify thinking about
an organisation’s future development and
evolution in relation to its long-term goals. Few
organisations are in a position to decide
unilaterally that they will adopt an exclusively
continuous change approach. They can,
however, capitalise upon many of the principles
of continuous change by engendering the
flexibility to accommodate and experiment with
everyday contingencies, breakdowns,
exceptions, opportunities and unintended
consequences that punctuate organisational life (Orlikowski, 1996).
Using these characteristics proposed changes can be placed along two scales: radical – incremental and core –
peripheral (Pennington 2003) Plotting the character of a proposed change along these scales can provide a
sense of how difficult the introduction of any particular initiative might be and how much disturbance to the status
quo it might generate. Radical changes to an institution’s or department’s core business will normally generate
high levels of disturbance; incremental changes to peripheral activities are often considered to be unexceptional
and can be accommodated as a matter of course, especially if the group involved has a successful past record of
continuous improvement.
There are many different models and theories of change as change defies simple attempts to categorise and
organise. The last few decades have seen a number of popular theories.
It is helpful to have a model or a framework within which to operate as this can help ensure that most aspects of
the proposed change are considered. Which model best suits your circumstances depends in part on institutional
culture and personal preferences and you will find that any of the models contain similar elements presented in
slightly different ways.
Historical perspectives
This section identifies some of the key theories that have influenced change management thinking over the past
100 years.
8. Scientific management (1910s)
Promoted change as part of achieving efficiency due to better performing the task. Employers having specific
responsibilities for achieving better performance and the method encouraged the scientific selection, training, and
development of workers. Taylor, who laid the foundations of the Scientific Management sought to achieve change
by using the ‘carrot and stick’ approach – by connecting performance to rewards.
Classical school (1910s)
Listed the duties of a manager as planning, organising, commanding employees, coordinating activities, and
controlling performance. Change would be achieved through specialization of work, unity of command, and
coordination of activities.
The individual perspective school (1920s)
Change can be achieved by changing the behaviour of individuals.
Human relations school (1920s)
Change (influencing performance) by changing informal roles and norms and understanding the attitudes and
feelings of workers.
The group dynamics school (1940s)
Change can be achieved by changing the groups and teams, rather than the individuals.
Bureaucracy (1940s)
Change through adherence to procedures, policies. Rationality, uniformity, and consistency in management lead to
equitable treatment for all employees.
Leadership (1950s)
Stressed the importance of groups having both social task leaders; differentiated between Theory X and Y
management.
Decision theory (1960s)
Suggested that individuals “satisfice” when they make decisions. Participation in decision-making an enabler of
change.
Socio-technical school (1960s)
Change introduced through technology and work groups.
Systems theory (1970s)
Represented organizations as open systems with inputs, transformations, outputs, and feedback. Two
approaches: hard systems and soft systems.
Contingency theory (1980s)
Change can be successful and drive the organisation forward, if there is a fit between organization processes and
characteristics of the situation.
Chaos and complexity theory (1990s)
9. Organisations viewed as complex adaptive systems. Effects of change difficult to predict. Emphasis on creating
the conditions for beneficial change to occur.
Olson and Eoyang (2001) have compared traditional change to the Complex Adaptive System (CAS) model of
change based on complexity theory.
Traditional Complex Adaptive System
Few variables determine outcomes Innumerable variables determine outcome
The whole is equal to the sum of the parts
(reductionist)
The whole is different from the sum of the parts (holistic)
Direction is determined by design and the power of
a few leaders
Direction is determined by emergence and the
participation of many people
Individual or system behaviour is knowable,
predictable and controllable
Individual or system behaviour is unknowable,
unpredictable and uncontrollable
Causality is linear: every effect can be traced to a
specific cause
Causality is mutual: Every cause is also an effect, and
every effect is also a cause
Relationships are directional Relationships are empowering
All systems are essentially the same Each system is unique
Efficiency and reliability are measures of value Responsiveness to the environment is the measure of
value
Decisions are based on facts and data Decisions are based on tensions and patterns
Leaders are experts and authorities Leaders are facilitators and supporters
Having read this far you will no doubt recognise some of the key characteristics of your college or university
environment. Hopefully you will be reassured to know that this is not unique. Others have to operate in similar
situations and change, though difficult, is achievable. Olson and Eoyang have also set out some of the questions
you need to be asking if you are to lead successful change in a Complex Adaptive System.
Leadership Role Question
Set few specifications by identifying what needs to be addressed and
leaving others to decide how to proceed
What minimum specifications will lead
to productive outcomes?
Distribute control – empower others How can I help? What do you need?
Generate a sense of urgency What do we need to do to meet the
deadline?
Monitor and regulate the pace of change What’s missing? What can’t we ignore?
Set the organisational direction Why are we here? What makes us
unique?
Explore contradictions, encourage different viewpoints How else might we think about this?
Accept a certain level of internal conflict and differences What are you holding back?
Raise tough questions What do you really think? Why do we
have to do it like that?
Encourage diversity Who else needs to be involved?
10. Scan the external environment What are the innovations out there and
how will they affect us?
Encourage feedback How am I doing? How are we doing?
Link communities of practice What professional networks do you
use?
Loosen or tighten networks Is information flow optimal?
Encourage learning What are your questions? Where might
we look for answers?
Leadership Role Question
In reality change, especially large scale change, defies logical rules and simple management actions. Complexity
theory and a view of organisations as ‘complex adaptive systems’, attempts to consider some of those realities
and arguably provides a better model for change in an education setting (see for example Lewin and Regine
(1999), Olson and Eoyang (2001)).
Most textbooks focus heavily on techniques and procedures for long-term planning, on the needs
for visions and missions, on the importance and the means of securing strongly shared cultures, on
the equation of success with consensus, consistency, uniformity and order. [However, in complex
environments] the real management task is that of coping with and even using unpredictability,
clashing counter-cultures, disensus, contention, conflict, and inconsistency. In short the tasks that
justifies the existence of all managers has to do with instability, irregularity, difference and disorder.
Stacey (1996)
Stacey identifies the following propositions as the basis for complexity theory:
All organisations are webs of non-linear feedback loops connected to other people and organisations by
webs of non-linear feedback loops.
Such non-linear feedback systems are capable of operating in states of stable and unstable equilibrium, or
in the borders between these states, that is far from equilibrium, in bounded instability at the edge of chaos.
All organisations are paradoxes. They are pulled towards stability by the forces of integration, maintenance
controls, human desires for security and certainty and adaptation to the environment on the one hand. They
are also pulled towards the opposite extreme of unstable equilibrium by the forces of division and
decentralisation, human desires for excitement and innovation and isolation from the environment.
If the organisation gives in to the pull of stability it fails because it becomes ossified and cannot change
easily. If it gives in to the pull to instability it disintegrates. Success lies in sustaining an organisation at the
border between stability and instability. This is a state of chaos, a difficult to maintain dissipative structure.
The dynamics of the successful organisation are therefore those of irregular cycles and discontinuous
trends, falling within qualitative patterns, fuzzy but recognizable categories taking the form of archetypes
and templates.
Because of its own internal dynamic, a successful organisation faces completely unknowable specific
futures.
Agents within the system cannot be in control of its long-term future, nor can they install specific
frameworks to make it successful nor can they apply step-by-step analytical reasoning or planning or
ideological controls to long term development. Agents within the system can only do these things in relation
to the short term.
11. Long term development is a spontaneous self-organising process from which new strategic directions may
emerge. Spontaneous self-organisation is political interaction and learning in groups. Managers have to
pursue reasoning by analogy.
In this way managers create and discover the environments and the long-term futures of the organisations.
The general approach can be visualized using the Stacey agreement vs certainty matrix:
Stacey Agreement vs
Certainty Matrix
Organisational Development
promotes the notion that a
successful change is a planned
change and that monitoring of
internal and external influences
needs to be conducted on a
continuous basis. The diagram
below shows some of the factors
involved and the model proposes
that there is an iterative process
of diagnosis, involvement, further
diagnosis, change, evaluation
and reinforcement.
Already the situation is looking
complex. We may be trying to
effect a change at any level from individual to whole organisation. The Pugh OD Matrix considers some of the
structural and contextual factors involved as a basis for moving forward.
The Organisational Development approach recognises much of the complexity of our organisations and the need
for an iterative change process but is nonetheless based on a presumption that a cycle based on careful analysis
and planning will deliver a predictable and logical outcome.
12. A Causal Model of Organisational Performance and Change – W Warner Burke & George H Litwin,
Journal of Management, Vol 18, No. 3, 523-545 (1992)
Having understood the type of change you wish to make the second part of charting the ‘territory’ is to understand
the lie of the land (the culture and political environment in which you are travelling) which will help you avoid the
steep climbs and major obstacles where possible and work with the lines of least resistance.
There are two aspects of the issue of culture and change. Firstly, the importance of working with the existing
culture when seeking to effect any change; and secondly, how to go about changing the culture itself. Both require
shrewd and effective leadership.
When asked ‘what is culture?’ staff in the sector subscribed almost unanimously to the common definition of
culture as being ‘the way we do things around here’. Culture involves both the explicit way of working – the formal
systems and processes in place and how they operate, and the tacit level of operation – the informal and semi-
formal networks and other activities that people employ to get things done and by-pass, subvert or seek to
influence the more formal processes.
Culture provides the context for our working lives and defines the standards by which we expect to be judged and
the processes and procedures by which we expect to be involved in the activities which affect us. When dealing
with change it’s important to recognise that different institutions have different cultures and that within institutions
different areas and different academic subjects also have their own way of doing things – their own cultures.
Larger departments will contain their own sub-cultures. Thus it is impossible to talk about a generic culture in post
compulsory education.
Culture can be transmitted by:
13. The philosophy of the institution – themes like equity and diversity, widening participation, striving for
excellence in teaching; research reputation etc.
The mission statement
The criteria for evaluating and rewarding performance, job progression etc.
The approach to change which is adopted
The way in which leaders act
Culture is also transmitted in the informal history of the organisation that is shared in stories and legends about
key people and events that have affected the organisation.
Lessons learned
Some of those who have effected change in the education sector have noted a few lessons related to the culture.
Organisational cultures – change management
The infoKit on ‘Creating a Managed Learning Environment’ pays a lot of attention to Understanding your
Organisation and defines the following types of organisational culture:
Collegiate
There is a dual structure of administrative and academic management which results in parallel committee
structures which can act as a black hole for decision making
Unclear reporting lines and poor coordination, strong local cultures, agendas and identifiers
Academic status is perceived as higher than support or administrative functions
There are strong subject-specific allegiances with academics often feeling a stronger alliance to their
subject area and external networks than the institutional mission
Decision making occurs through committees, which can be slow and lack cohesion
Activities tend to be driven from the ground, primarily linked to local interests
Classic structure of old universities particularly those with more of a research focus
Bureaucratic
Characterised by strong central management and top-down decision making
The hierarchy of control and decision making is clearly established in the administrative and management
structures of the institutions
Management roles are clearly defined as career progressions, heads of department, deans etc are
appointed through an interview process to tenured positions
Central management have strong control over the direction of the strategic priorities for the institution
Commonly found in FE colleges and new universities
Innovative
Institutions with flexible structures geared to respond and adapt quickly to external factors and influences
Strong culture of change and innovation with frequent changes in directions of activities and focus of
interest
Often characterised by a matrix structure of responsibilities by both subject area and functional activity
(where the latter will often be structured around the identified strategic priorities)
Typically activities focused around particular projects and associated project teams
14. Characteristic of some new universities and colleges but also present within the old universities within the
sub-structure of the institution through enterprise centres and research centres which are externally funded
Enterprise
More closely aligned to traditional businesses and industry approaches
Acutely aware of financial mechanism and processes and alert to external opportunities
Traditional management roles and structures with clear demarcation of responsibilities and hierarchical
decision making processes
Clear business objectives and plans based on detailed market analysis and needs
More common in America, particularly in some of the newer institutions which are focused on distance
education
This definition by Professor Grainne Conole can be mapped onto the work of McNay (1995) to identify some
features of each type of organisation that are useful to consider when trying to implement change:
Factor Collegiate Bureaucratic Innovative Enterprise
Dominant value Freedom Equity Loyalty Competence
Role of central
authorities
Permissive Regulatory Directive Supportive
Handy’s
organisational
culture
Person Role Power Task
Dominant unit
Department/individual Faculty/committees Institution/senior
management team
Sub-unit/project
teams
Decision arenas
Informal groups
networks
Committees and
administrative
briefings
Working parties and
Senior Management
team
Project teams
Management style
Consensual Formal/’rational’ Political/tactical Devolved
leadership
Timeframe Long Cyclic Short/mid term Instant
Environmental fit Evolution Stability Crisis Turbulence
Nature of change
Organic innovation Reactive adaptation Proactive
transformation
Tactical flexibility
External referents
Invisible college Regulatory bodies Policy makers as
opinion leaders
Clients/sponsors
Internal referents
The discipline The rules The plans Market
strength/students
Basis for
evaluation
Peer assessment Audit of procedures Performance indicators Repeat business
Student status Apprentice academic Statistic Unit of resource Customer
Administrator
roles: servant
of…
The community The committee The chief executive The client,
internal and
external
15. Badly handled change can actually prove costly and devastating and actually move the institution
backwards
From Learning from a ‘triple whammy’ of change case study.
Five different broad approaches to effecting change were identified by Thurley and Wirdenius (1973) and
summarised by Lockitt (2004).
1. Directive strategies
This strategy highlights the manager’s right to manage change and the use of authority to impose change
with little or no involvement of other people. The advantage of the directive approach is that change can be
undertaken quickly. However, the disadvantage of this approach is that it does not take into consideration
the views, or feelings, of those involved in, or affected by, the imposed change. This approach may lead to
valuable information and ideas being missed and there is usually strong resentment from staff when
changes are imposed rather than discussed and agreed
2. Expert strategies
This approach sees the management of change as a problem solving process that needs to be resolved by
an ‘expert’. This approach is mainly applied to more technical problems, such as the introduction of a new
learner management system, and will normally be led by a specialist project team or senior manager. There
is likely to be little involvement with those affected by the change. The advantages to using this strategy is
that experts play a major role in the solution and the solution can be implemented quickly as a small
number of ‘experts’ are involved. Again, there are some issues in relation to this strategy as those affected
may have different views than those of the expert and may not appreciate the solution being imposed or the
outcomes of the changes made
3. Negotiating strategies
This approach highlights the willingness on the part of senior managers to negotiate and bargain in order to
effect change. Senior managers must also accept that adjustments and concessions may need to be made
in order to implement change. This approach acknowledges that those affected by change have the right to
have a say in what changes are made, how they are implemented and the expected outcomes. The
disadvantage to this approach is that it takes more time to effect change, the outcomes cannot be predicted
and the changes made may not fulfil the total expectations of the managers affecting the change. The
advantage is that individuals will feel involved in the change and be more supportive of the changes made
4. Educative strategies
This approach involves changing people’s values and beliefs, ‘winning hearts and minds’, in order for them
to fully support the changes being made and move toward the development of a shared set of
organisational values that individuals are willing, and able to support. A mixture of activities will be used;
persuasion; education; training and selection, led by consultants, specialists and in-house experts. Again,
the disadvantage of this approach is that it takes longer to implement. The advantage is that individuals
within the organisation will have positive commitment to the changes being made
17. than those of the expert’. It would be overly cynical to state that we operate in an environment where ‘everybody is
an expert’ because there may be very valid reasons why different stakeholders hold very different views.
Don’t try and make “one size fit all”. Teaching staff are professionals and, once engaged, will come
up with a wide diversity of ideas and approaches.
Professor, Post ’92 University
Templates
View or download our templates from Google Drive™
Business case
Risk log
Having established what type of change you are intending to make and within what type of organisational culture
you are operating you are now in a position to consider your overall strategy.
On the other hand you may already be doubting the feasibility/desirability of your plans. At this point it may be wise
to review the Business Case for the change. Developing a business case is not necessarily a one-off activity. As
with any project, if your change initiative is a large scale and lengthy project, you may need to review the business
case at key points. Similarly you should be developing a Risk Log and Risk Management Plan that is regularly
reviewed and updated.
This may also be a good point at which to reflect on previous change initiatives within your organisation to identify
the approaches taken and consider the implications for your current project. One tool you can use to do this is
the Change Audit.
It used to be a rule of thumb in the post-compulsory education sector that, in order to change anything, you had
first to set up a project, give it an acronym (the sillier the better) and then go out and get stakeholders behind the
project by creating and maintaining a strong brand.
Many change projects are now finding that, although the rigour of managing the process as a formal project is
important, the question of brand identity is a double-edged sword and in some cases a strong brand can work
against wider and deeper embedding of change by singling the activity out as something different rather than part
of continuous evolution.
Projects are instead focusing on showing themselves to be responsive to their institutional context and priorities
and are aligning themselves to other initiatives where they are content to be seen in a supporting role. Some
projects indeed describe themselves as taking a guerilla approach to transformational change. By this they mean
they are providing specific solutions to institutional problems in order to win gradual support for the broader
strategic approaches they advocate rather than trying to ‘sell the big idea’ up front. This is indeed a sensible
approach in any large-scale change initiative especially those which relate in some way to the use of new
technologies. The clear message that the project is addressing real business needs and priorities is one that gains
credibility when the strategic plan is in the driving seat and the project fulfils a supporting role. Such an approach
is also helpful in organisations that risk suffering initiative fatigue with too many changes taking place at the same
time.
An excellent example of showing where a project sits in terms of strategic objectives and other initiatives is the
Cardiff University PALET project Motherboard.
18. PALET Motherboard
The project location and staffing are also of relevance in this context. Wherever possible project staff should be
perceived as neutral and work through existing channels without setting up any new power base.
A possible downside to this type of approach is that the project could be seen to lack clear direction and be at the
whim of many different stakeholders and hence at risk of scope creep. On the other hand the value of the flexibility
to be responsive and deliver some quick wins should not be underestimated. The University of Greenwich has
provided a helpful set of questions for projects in a similar situation wondering whether to accommodate
stakeholder requests to achieve a quick win:
Has the project identified clear overall goals, deliverables and activities?
Do you have a strong sponsor/champion with sufficient influence to deliver the quick win?
Is the balance between investment of time and impact of change weighted towards low investment and high
impact?
Are the main beneficiaries of the change central to the wider change your project seeks to deliver?
To what extent is the change proposed a recognised/shared business imperative?
Are you confident that the primary agents of change will deliver what they promise in the required
timescale?
Is the project in a position to delegate work to others and/or lever additional resources?
In some cases your project may be simply laying the (absolutely essential) foundations for further change. This
could take the form of technical underpinning that is relatively invisible to the end user but which cannot succeed
unless cultural and other changes take place. In such cases it can be particularly difficult to get the required
support.
The University of Bristol recognised this as an issue in trying to promote a move to service oriented approaches in
19. its core data integration project, “Getting senior level buy-in for significant investment in something that is not
clearly visible to the end-user – ie middleware – and which may involve high upfront costs and a longer time
before benefits are realised is a challenge that requires a lot of strong evidence and good communication with a
non-technical audience.” In this instance the University project team was able to make a good case and benefited
from a clear roadmap and effective governance model. For more detail see the project case study.
Checklists and templates
Kings College London has produced a checklist to act as a guide to undertaking an evaluation of your own
competence in several key areas and are developing an Action Plan for personal development.
Checklist for planners and leaders of change
Action plan template
Any large-scale change initiative will involve summoning support for the changes from across the organisation.
Staff may take on a number of different roles in relation to the change process. This section identifies these roles
and their application in an educational setting (depending on the nature and scale of the change not all roles may
be appropriate to any particular change).
It should be noted that the language of change management can itself be a barrier to effecting change within a
college or university setting where change titles such as ‘change agent’ are not widely used and if applied are
likely to meet with scepticism and some resistance. For example, calling Heads of Department ‘change agents’
may not meet with approval! The roles required to effect change will however exist in any successful change
process. Sometimes it can be beneficial to use the terminology to clearly signal the need to change.
Whatever the language used, there needs to be a clear understanding of the key roles; lack of clarity about roles
and expectations is one of the biggest barriers to success. The roles are very similar to the roles of Sponsor,
Manager and Champion involved in any project.
The change team, in other words the group of staff charged with implementing the change, must have the
confidence of both management and staff affected by the change. They will:
be drawn from all areas affected by the change
demonstrate commitment to the change (essential)
need to be given the time and recognition to undertake the role
support the change manager in undertaking his/her role and responsibilities
It is critical that you get the right mix of people in the team and that you create the conditions for them to succeed.
An overlap of roles is not uncommon – while acting as part of a change team, colleagues will most likely act as
change participants as well making changes to their own practices. This can cause personal conflict, and create a
risk to the change initiative. For example, a change agent, who would need to act as a role model, may initially
have conflicting views about the change situation, and thus may find it difficult to fulfil the change agent role.
Change roles are often given to individuals with minimal consideration of the consequences. General factors to be
considered when apportioning roles include:
Getting the balance of the team right (representation of all areas affected, authority, experience, skills etc)
Providing sufficient time to undertake the expected roles
Meeting any training needs for the new roles
In the education setting a change manager has to deal with a large number of individuals with potentially differing
viewpoints and also with an equally large number of groups and committees. Responsibility Charting can help you
clarify the decision making process in your organisation (see further resources).
20. “Change agents are expected to utilise strong facilitation and coaching skills, but conflict
management skills learned from ACAS have also been extremely useful.” University of Central
Lancashire
Case study
Perspectives on Leading in an Academic Environment
Before we begin to define individual roles it is worth saying a few things about leadership. Few would disagree that
good leadership is critical to successful change but equally few will be able to define exactly what that constitutes
in our environment.
There is a clear distinction between management and leadership. Management is a set of processes that keep a
complex system running smoothly. Leadership defines the future and aligns people with that future. We often find
that too much emphasis is placed on managing change and not enough on leading change.
Kotter (1995) has identified eight important steps in leading change. Although these derive from a business
perspective and may require some translation, they have some validity for change in education, especially
transformational change.
1. Establish a sense of urgency: examine market and competitive realities. Identify and discuss crises,
potential crises or major opportunities
2. Form a powerful guiding coalition: assemble a group with enough power to lead the change effort and
encourage the group to work together as a team
3. Create a vision: this helps direct the change effort. Develop strategies to support that vision
4. Communicate the vision: use every vehicle possible to communicate the new vision and strategies. The
coalition has to lead by example
5. Empower others to act: get rid of the obstacles to change. Change structures that undermine the vision,
encourage risk-taking and non-traditional ideas, activities and actions
6. Plan for and create short-term wins: plan for visible performance improvements, create those
improvements and recognise and reward employees involved
7. Consolidate improvements: use increased credibility to change systems, structures and policies that don’t
fit the vision, hire, promote and develop employees who can implement the vision. Reinvigorate the process
with new projects, themes and change agents
8. Institutionalise the new approach: articulate the connections between new behaviours and corporate
success. Develop the means to ensure leadership development and succession
In public sector organisations in the 21st century, and certainly in colleges and universities, leadership is not
something which is solely the prerogative of senior management. Aspects of the leadership of change may extend
to any part and any level of the organisation and our discussion of change roles should be read with this in mind.
Within ‘old’ universities in particular many Heads are appointed on a temporary basis. From a change perspective
this has both advantages (for example, a fresh perspective) and disadvantages (lack of continuity, and a sense
that everything is temporary and that staff can ride out any impetus).
Quotes from the case studies
It is important to try to encourage ownership of the change process by all senior managers as soon
as possible and not permit them to leave driving the initiative to one department only.
From Implementing a VLE at the Belfast Institute of F&HE: Changing the Culture Case Study
21. Disseminating good practice throughout the institution gets people excited about the proposed
changes.
From Effects of Business Development and Knowledge Transfer on institutional culture Case Study
Going around barriers taught us a lesson or two about building alliances, capturing enthusiasm,
empowering the right people and the effectiveness of rewarding change.
From Changing Teaching and Learning Styles Case Study
Success affects the culture of the institution too – the belief that we can replicate success boosts
morale, and confidence.
From Effects of Business Development and Knowledge Transfer on institutional culture Case Study
Making space for people to try new things is crucial when you are trying to effect change.From
Effects of Business Development and Knowledge Transfer on institutional culture Case Study
The group of staff charged with implementing the change – they must have the confidence of both the
management and the staff affected by the change. They:
Will be drawn from all areas affected by the change
Demonstrate commitment to the change (essential)
Will need to be given the time and recognition to undertake the role
Support the change manager in undertaking his/her role and responsibilities.
It is critical that you get the right mix of people in the team and that you create the conditions for them to succeed.
An overlap of roles is not uncommon – while acting as part of a change team, colleagues will most likely act as
change participants as well making changes to their own practices. This can cause personal conflict, and create a
risk to the change initiative. For example, a change agent, who would need to act as a role model, may initially
have conflicting views about the change situation, and thus may find it difficult to fulfil the change agent role.
Change roles are often given to individuals with minimal consideration of the consequences. General factors to be
considered when apportioning roles include:
Getting the balance of the team right (representation of all areas affected, authority, experience, skills etc)
Providing sufficient time to undertake the expected roles
Meeting any training needs for the new roles
Change manager
Someone with the expertise to lead the change, and can act as a role model for the new reality. May be an
experienced project or change manager within the organisation or, possibly, brought in from outside with specific
responsibility for managing the change.
The change manager has responsibility for the day-to-day implementation of the change:
Designs the change process, strategy and approach, and agrees these with the change team.
Takes responsibility and manages the change progress on a day-to-day basis.
22. Designs the communication strategy and contingency plans for the change.
Monitors progress.
Facilitates key events to build commitment for the change.
Liaises up and down the organisational structure.
Change sponsor
Someone who has the authority, seniority, power, enthusiasm, and time to lead/carry through/oversee the
changes. The change sponsor may not get involved with the day-to-day management of the change but should
support and monitor progress. Usually he or she is a senior member of the management team given responsibility
for effecting the change.
The change sponsor must ensure that the necessary resources are available throughout the change process and
accepts ultimate responsibility for the successful change implementation:
Agrees the change strategy and approach.
Is an active champion and role model for the ‘new reality’.
Monitors and communicates change progress to interested parties.
The type of person that became a change agent was willing to experiment, ready to change, and
had a good understanding of educational developments.
From Changing Teaching and Learning styles Case Study
The change agents are those people that really make the difference implementing the change at a local level. This
will depend on the nature of the change but the role often falls to middle managers because they have the
influence and authority to make the change take place.
Care needs to be taken, as middle management shouldn’t be treated as ‘the meat in the sandwich’ – effective
change agents need to be dedicated to the change process and should be provided with the support and given
time to adjust and accept the changes before they are to summon commitment from their departments.
Work needs to be undertaken to get commitment from this key group of staff when implementing change – they
are the key to implementing change processes effectively.
Change agents are responsible for facilitating the change through:
Gaining commitment for the changes.
Facilitating evaluation activities.
Monitoring and reporting progress of change.
Consulting and identifying bottlenecks/sources of resistance.
Disseminating lessons learned.
The following seven winning characteristics of the successful change agent is derived from a study of the
implementation of change in higher education.
Has a sense of purpose
Is fully aware of the need to change.
Has a vision of what can be achieved.
23. Is realistic about the scale and timescale for change.
Is flexible about the means to achieve the change.
Understands the change process.
Has the capability to Act
Has leadership and interpersonal skills, with political awareness.
Has a means to promote change (i.e. a role, a project, resources or influence).
Has knowledge of the institution, its history and its influential characters.
Develops the influential team.
Sells Success
Ensures that early successes are achieved.
Focussed on spreading successful practice.
Has a communications strategy for selling success.
Builds appropriate networks to facilitate communication.
Understands others’ priorities in order to offer them clear benefits.
Offers support and encouragement, not another problem.
Is strategically connected
Is well connected with sources of power and influence.
Builds a critical mass of senior people or a senior champion.
Ensures senior links will last and do not depend on one individual.
Understands the senior management agenda and sells benefits.
Makes the link between strategy and operations.
Encourages senior people to learn by experience.
Is critically reflective
Builds a non-threatening environment.
Encourages learning from failure as well as success.
Makes critical reflection a part of all plans and agendas.
Promotes reflection at every level i.e. personal, team department, and institutional.
Records important learning points so they don’t depend on memory.
Builds supporting structures
Ensures mechanisms are in place to continue the innovation and to spread it.
Embeds the innovation by making it an important part of a wider strategy.
Supports the innovation with appropriate resources for teaching and learning.
Ensures that future innovation will also be supported and embedded.
Develops processes to respond to the needs of institutional ‘stakeholders’.
Is opportunistic
24. Predicts and uses external and internal levers for change, including political forces.
Makes use of all available resources, including students, employers and alumni.
Notices and secures external funding which will support (not dictate) the change.
Encourages innovation, for example with protected money for innovative projects.
Change champion
These are the early adopters, colleagues who want the change implementation to succeed, and believe that the
change will be beneficial to the Institution. The change champions will be members of staff affected by the change.
They do not have to have management responsibilities.
The change champion will make an excellent change agent, but may not always want the excess work associated
with the change. The change manager must decide how to make use and reward the enthusiasm and support of
the change champions.
The change champions are the natural marketeers for the organisational change and act as catalysts for others.
They will speak positively about the change, show that it can be done and support colleagues at an informal level.
They give recognition when new behaviours are demonstrated.
Templates
View or download our templates from Google Drive™
Stakeholder analysis
Stakeholder interest and influence
A key element of sustaining and embedding the outputs and outcomes of any project is to effectively engage
stakeholders throughout your project’s lifecycle. There are three key aspects to stakeholder engagement.
1. Identify – who has a stake in your project and who will be affected by it (change participants)
2. Assess – your stakeholders’ attitudes towards the project, the power they have over it and their
requirements of you
a. Attitude: supportive or concerned/resistant
b. Power: interest and influence
c. Requirements: specific needs and/or support
3. Engage – designing strategies to keep your stakeholders on board
In education you ignore this at your peril. Effective stakeholder engagement is critical to the success of any
change project. Actually engaging stakeholders is different to merely having a communications plan. A useful
concept in thinking about this is the notion of a ‘ladder of engagement’ (Arnstein, 1969) – the rungs of the ladder
move from non-participation and tokenistic participation through to partnership and, ultimately, full citizen power. In
an educational setting it is perhaps more appropriate to think of levels of engagement in terms of stakeholders’ (as
opposed to citizens’) potential influence over the project – the higher up the ladder the more potential a
stakeholder has to influence that project.
Ladder of engagement – Arnstein (1969)
#1 Identifying stakeholders
The first step in identifying your project’s stakeholders is to simply draw up a list. Approaches vary in terms of
focusing on specific individuals or stakeholder groups; start with whichever feels more comfortable to you. It may
be helpful however to think through:
25. Which of your organisational strategies the proposed
change affects and who has managerial responsibility
and oversight/authority
The organisational processes/systems being affected
and who has control over them
Who is involved in the process being affected and
whose habitual behaviour will have to change
Who relies on, or makes use of the outputs of, the
process/system but is not engaged in inputting to it
Those indirectly affected by the system, if at all
Once you have a comprehensive list it can be extremely
useful to get your project sponsor/senior manager to sign it
off. This helps to ensure that you do not get a stakeholder
emerging unexpectedly in the middle of your project, which
may derail it. Whatever you do, don’t forget students! (See
‘students as change agents’ below.)
#2 Stakeholder assessment
A better understanding of who your stakeholders are really
helps when it comes to defining your engagement strategies.
It also helps you to prioritise stakeholder groups/individuals
which can save you a lot of time once your project or change
initiative really gets going.
Perhaps the easiest place to start, especially if you’re familiar with the context in which you’re working, is an
assessment of the influence and interest people have over/in your project. This can be achieved using a simple
matrix, shown below.
Stakeholder interest and influence diagram – view in Google Docs
26. If a stakeholder is very interested in your project and has a lot of influence over it then they should be considered
a key player and it will be better to engage them face to face. If a stakeholder has no interest in or influence over
your project then a written notification might suffice.
If you haven’t already, then at this point it’s probably worth going out and talking to your stakeholders; the GOAT
(go out and talk) approach was used by Liverpool John Moores University in the Jisc Transformations project
‘Doing Digital’. Not only will this help you to update your interest/influence matrix, you’ll start to get a feel for their
attitude towards the project, and any requirements they might have.
Assessing stakeholders’ attitudes
Manchester Metropolitan University developed a Stakeholder Analysis Template back in 2009 (p. 5) which
provides a really useful way of recording and representing the attitudes of key stakeholders. Not only does it
summarise their attitude, eg blocker or advocate, it highlights their current feelings towards the project and
describes what the ideal situation would be along a continuum: against it happening; let it happen; help it happen;
and make it happen.
Example stakeholder analysis template – Manchester Metropolitan University
Engaging with stakeholders
Assessing identified stakeholders helps you to:
Develop an understanding of the barriers to change
Identify the levers to change i.e. benefits
Understand how best to communicate key messages
All of this information will help you to determine how best to engage with different stakeholders from across your
project. The table below summarises a number of approaches used across Jisc programmes and projects, the
effort required and level of influence afforded to a stakeholder through that approach. It’s by no means
comprehensive but it does provide a useful way of thinking about the types of approach you adopt.
Approach Effort
Influence
afforded
Blogging – perhaps best described as a web-based diary, generally used to provide a
more open account of your activities.
Medium Low
Codesign – involves stakeholders from the outset of a project, from the initial generation
of ideas through to their development and delivery.
High High
Email bulletin – an easy way to send updates to a large group of people, typically one-
way.
Low Low
27. Email list – open/private space where online discussions can take place. Low Medium
Focus groups – an organised event that allows you to gain a better understanding of
individuals feelings/opinions about something.
High Medium
Networks (establish champions) – a group of connected people through which
messages can be passed. Champions are typically influential within that network and can
be used to amplify key messages or ideas.
Medium Low
Participatory approaches – an organised event which brings a group of people together
to seek their opinions, extract their knowledge and to solve problems in a collaborative
and creative environment.
High High
Posters – a passive way of sharing information about a specific topic. Typically presented
on notice boards within a public space.
Medium Low
Presentation – a short talk, often supported by visual aids, to explain a new idea/area of
work or convey key messages.
Medium Low
Service design – an approach where the end-users are the main focus and the users’
experience is viewed holistically
High High
Social media – varies, but typically involves a range of interactions between individuals
within an online community.
Low Low
Surgery – a dedicated time slot where individuals can find out more about a particular
area of work on a one-to-one basis.
Medium Low
World Cafe – a simple but powerful technique for tapping into collective intelligence,
based around conversation in a convivial setting where ‘every voice counts’.
High Medium
Approach Effort
Influence
afforded
We’ve noticed that the more influence you afford stakeholders over the project, the more likely it is to succeed.
Especially where a project lacks senior management support – it results in a ‘groundswell’ so to speak. You need
to strike a balance however, as the effort required for that level of engagement is very high. Intersperse the more
participatory approaches with regular updates, providing your project with a communicative rhythm.
Students as change agents
Received wisdom has it that it is notoriously difficult to involve students in projects because of their commitments
and relatively short-term engagement with the institution. Recent experience from Jisc projects however suggests
otherwise. There is now a considerable body of evidence to show that effective engagement with learners in terms
of a genuine partnership can bring enormous benefits to projects.
Examples include:
Birmingham City University’s Student Academic Partnership scheme
University of Exeter’s work on Students as Change Agents
Bath Spa/Winchester Universities’ work with Student Fellows to improve assessment and feedback practice
on the FASTECH project
… the novice-expert dynamic has been overturned. Two years into the project, we have observed
and reflected on the fact that it is not us who are privileging the Student Fellows by awarding them
with these important roles, but rather we who are privileged because of the insights we have gained
from being allowed into their worlds. Student Fellows have given us an honest insight into what
goes on behind the scenes when technology is brought into the mix and how re-shaping feedback
28. influences their confidence, self-belief, well-being, subject knowledge and collaborative skills.Bath
Spa University and University of Winchester
Our top five tips
1. Be resilient, don’t give up! Change doesn’t occur overnight and this holds true of your stakeholders’
attitudes
2. Build upon previous success stories. Concentrate on the low-hanging fruit – successfully delivering small
change helps to build confidence in your ability to deliver transformational change
3. Have your elevator pitch with you and ready at all times, you never know who you might meet on your way
to the 5th floor
4. Appeal to different learning styles eg visual, audio and kinaesthetic. If you fail to engage an individual or
group, try again, use a different mode of delivery
5. Use your personal networks to reach key individuals that you might not easily have access to
It is highly likely that you will have all of the skills and expertise needed to establish what needs changing, propose
a way forward and effect the change within your own organisation. Having said that, it is equally likely that during
a major change project you could benefit from some kind of external support. We are not talking here about
particular technical or specialist expertise that you may need for specific aspects of a project that involves process
improvement and/or the implementation of new technologies but more about general support during the change
process. There are many reasons for this, for example:
externals have a degree of objectivity that can often help those within the organisation to achieve clarity
more quickly
talking the issues through with externals often gives project teams greater confidence in their own insights
many people, not least senior managers, feel reassured that there is some kind of external validation of the
way forward
often you can learn from the mistakes that others have already made
We are thus not advocating that you bring somebody in to tell you how to do it right (see also the section on
appreciative inquiry) but rather that you look at the most effective way of facilitating the process of change within
your organisation. Very often this is best achieved by finding a way to leverage the expertise of others within the
sector who share a cultural frame of reference and are thus well able to place your project into an appropriate
context. Such approaches often work better than bringing in experts from other industry segments who may find
themselves trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.
In the following sections we look at some approaches that have worked well in change projects in the education
sector. They include:
the use of a critical friend to work with the project team
a whole team (or perhaps even wider) approach to sharing practice across organisations via the CAMEL
model and
a more individualised staff development approach through participation in an action learning set
a low-cost approach through the use of existing Jisc resources
The approaches are not mutually exclusive and can be combined in various ways to good effect. The right choice
for you will depend partly on your organisational culture and partly on available resources to fund external support
(bearing in mind that this can often be a very cost-effective way to avoid expensive mistakes).
The critical friend is a powerful idea, perhaps because it contains an inherent tension. Friends bring
29. a high degree of unconditional positive regard. Critics are, at first sight at least, conditional,
negative and intolerant of failure. Perhaps the critical friend comes closest to what might be
regarded as ‘true friendship’ – a successful marrying of unconditional support and unconditional
critique.
John MacBeath, Professor of Education Leadership, Cambridge University
The concept of a critical friend has gained a lot of ground in the sector in recent years without there being a clearly
acknowledged origin or definitive reference source. There are references to the critical friend being both a person
and a process and to the use of the term ‘critical’ meaning key or important (as in challenging a tendency for
individuals or organisations to avoid difficult issues) as well as referring to critiquing as a review technique. The
practice is widely used across the UK public sector but, given its obvious alignment with scholarly review
processes, it is perhaps unsurprising that it has found favour with many change projects in the education sector.
There are many parallels with the use of mentoring and of coaching as a non-directive approach to support
learning by helping learners explore issues and gain a more objective view that can help them find the best
solutions for themselves. Coaching puts conversation at the heart of a supportive and developmental process and
the coach does not offer advice or make suggestions but facilitates the exploration of issues and possible options
in a way that supports autonomous learning.
The practice of appointing a critical friend to work with individual, and groups of, projects has been applied in
many Jisc innovation programmes with considerable success. The role of the critical friend in these projects has
often gone beyond the facilitation role of a coach to being an independent expert, an advocate for the work of the
project, a means of leveraging external networks and a source of suggestions and examples. It goes without
saying however that the relationship is unique in each instance and the important thing is for each project and the
critical friend to define roles and responsibilities in a way that works for them.
Jisc has produced an infoKit based on the experiences of critical friends who have worked with its projects. It looks
at issues such as choosing the right critical friend, establishing the ground rules for effective working and dealing
with difficult issues.
It’s about practice warts and all – and the warts are more interesting than the practice sometimes
Quote from CAMEL participant
CAMEL was originally short for Collaborative Approaches to the Management of E-Learning. CAMEL was a
HEFCE-funded project led by Jisc infoNet in partnership with the Association for Learning Technology (ALT) and
the Higher Education Academy. The original project in 2006 led to widespread adoption of the model by the
participating organisations and the universities and colleges involved.
The model is one of a Community of Practice learning together through a series of structured study visits to each
of the partner organisations. It has its origins in a self-help group formed many years ago by a number of small
farmers in Uruguay.
Key features of that group that were incorporated into the CAMEL model are that the study visits:
were planned collaboratively
were documented before and after
were focused on things that matter
were expertly facilitated
were formally evaluated
had a strong emphasis on tacit knowledge and making this explicit
30. …you could be forgiven for thinking that it sounds a little tree-hugging/bean-baggy. That’s certainly
what I thought when I read-up on the process which deliberately veers away from problem solving
and instead concentrates on giving individuals space to reflect on their work. But it’s worked really
well…”
Dave White, University of Oxford
Action Learning as an approach is credited to Reg Revans who developed the technique based on his
experiences as a physicist at Cambridge University where eight (future) Nobel prize winners met regularly to
discuss their experiments. They didn’t meet to convince each other how clever they were but “to see if we can
understand our own difficulties.“ Revans used the technique when working for the National Coal Board in the
1940s and it has been popular in the UK public sector since that time.
The essence of the method is people being prepared to understand the limitations of their own knowledge, to
develop new ideas through insights received from questioning by others and to test those ideas in action and
reflect upon the results.
Revans summed up the approach in a formula:
L = P + Q
Where L = learning; P = programming (knowledge already established) and Q = questioning to create insight into
what people see, hear or feel.
It is recognised ignorance not programmed knowledge which is the key to action learning.
Reg Revans, Revans, R. (1983), ‘Action Learning: Its Origins and Nature,’ in Pedler, M. (ed.) Action
Learning in Practice. Gower, Aldershot, pp 5-13.
Marquardt (2009) adapted the formula to read:
L = P + Q + R
Where R = reflection.
The technique is one that focuses very much on the individual and hence it is used in management development
programmes more frequently than within project teams. The approach has however been used by Jisc to support
project managers (see section on Applying action learning).
Action learning usually takes place in groups known as action learning sets (ALS). The aim of the set is not to
resolve issues together but rather to help each individual member accelerate their own rate of learning with the
support and challenge of the other group members. The optimum size for an action learning set is generally
thought to be around 4-7 members. If there are too many then not all can participate fully and if there are too few
there may not be sufficient diversity of experience and opinion within the group.
Being part of an ALS offers a range of opportunities, including:
time and space for your own reflections
insights from others/with others
different perspectives and ideas with/from others
knowledge and experiences of others
being questioned by others
support from others
challenge by others
31. sharing confusions with others
sharing successes with others – and learning from them
hearing yourself be helpful – and gaining in confidence
‘hearing yourself think – and respond’
building your questioning and listening skills
moving forward to address a problem or manage task – having committed yourself to action
The ALS will have structured meetings. These can be either face to face or virtual. Experience suggests the
approach requires a degree of trust which may be best fostered by meeting face to face initially although entirely
online sets have been successful.
After three ALS sessions I’m pleased to report that the format does translate into the ‘virtual’ very
nicely. It’s a classic case of people needing to get-to-know one another and build a modicum of
trust before the conversation flows in an ‘honest’ manner.
… if you are taking part in an online Action Learning Set and you are trying to build trust online
hold-out for at least three sessions, it’s well worth the wait.
Dave White, University of Oxford
The ALS agrees how its meetings will be organised but each member usually has a turn to focus on their project or
issues at every meeting. The speaker will usually take about a third of the allocated time to present to the rest of
the group who will listen actively and then formulate questions to help that member clarify the issues in hand and
identify actions to take.
The action is of course as important as the discussion at the meeting and each member is accountable for taking
action. In subsequent meetings they will then reflect on the outcomes of that action.
When starting up an ALS members will establish a series of ground rules that are likely to include confidentiality
and behaviour during meetings.
An ALS will often appoint a facilitator to help each participant gain the maximum from the learning opportunities
presented. Some advocates of the model believe that sets can self-organise without the need for this role but
experience from change projects in the education sector indicates that those new to the approach welcome this
type of support. The interventions of the ALS facilitator are not those of a tutor, expert or Chair. Their focus is
closer to those of a mentor or coach whose aim is to empower participants. To this end, the tasks of the facilitator
include:
introducing, explaining and modelling the core process and skills of action learning
ensuring that the process of action learning is maintained with all group members respecting the agreed
process and limits/ground rules
ensuring that time is fairly distributed across the set members
nurturing effective learning that focuses on listening, questioning and developing deeper understanding
encouraging the group beyond superficial analysis
developing group trust and confidentiality and creates safety for individual members to explore sensitive
issues
ensuring that all members are actively involved without allowing one or two members to dominate the set
promoting reflection on the individual and group learning process encouraging participants to challenge and
experiment with the process with awareness
32. helping participants observe all levels of their experience – what they felt, thought, sensed – that emerge
within the process
enabling the group to draw out general points of learning and evaluate learning outcomes
Experiences of Jisc ALS (Action Learning Sets) participants
… as we took it in turns to listen to each other talk about project issues, ask helpful questions and
make practical suggestions. I noticed how often people said ’thanks, that’s a really great idea!’
People seemed to find the human contact reassuring.
Project Manager, King’s College London
I have to admit I was sceptical about how useful these would be when we were first asked to
participate in them but they’re actually incredibly helpful – for both reassurance and shared
learning.
Project Manager, Coventry University
… ‘problem-solving’ would be an erroneous approach, especially as everyone involved comes from
institutions of differing character so the specifics vary. The value in the ALS is not in directly finding
solutions but in having a space in which it becomes clear that everyone is negotiating similar
overarching challenges and that it’s not all about being clever with technology.
Dave White, University of Oxford
Not all views of the experience are however quite so positive and this quote comes from the critical friend to a
group of projects for whom the technique did not work and therefore had to be modified:
The participants found it a frustrating experience, they wanted others to share their experiences
and advice and felt quite capable of hearing opinions from others without feeling judged or their
experiences diminished. My impression was that the concerns about a safe neutral space as
mentioned in the ALS document were overly cosseting their feelings and they felt somewhat
patronised by that.
Action learning questions
The Leadership Foundation for Higher Education has developed an Action Learning Toolkit that gives a useful
guide to the types of questioning that may be useful in action learning sets. We’d highly recommend taking a look
at their guidance: LFHE Action Learning Toolkit.
Overall, we discovered a rich quantity of information, guidance and advice from previous Jisc
projects and Jisc publications. This provided a foundation from which to formulate an approach to
the core issues of the project as well as describing what issues might arise in carrying out a project
of this nature.
University of Worcester’s Building Capacity project final report
Universities and colleges, as learning organisations, remain guilty of ‘reinventing the wheel’ quite often when it
comes to change projects. Effective use of Jisc resources and the learning available from past projects can often
take some of the legwork out of investigating suitable options. They are unlikely to provide you with an out-of-the-
box solution but they can give you ideas and an indication of likely feasibility as well as highlighting some of the
issues that might crop up in your particular context. They can also provide you with a rich source of contacts who
might fill specific gaps in your expertise or be able to take on roles such as that of a critical friend to your project.
33. The University of Bradford took a somewhat unusual approach to meeting its strategic objectives relating to a
“web enabled campus supported by mobile technology” by undertaking a literature review of recent Jisc projects
in the field, shortlisting those that appeared to have resulted in a significant improvement related to one or more of
Bradford University’s strategic objectives and then asking senior managers and other stakeholders to vote on
which solution appeared to offer the most potential to meet Bradford’s needs. They then undertook a feasibility
study on the preferred solution prior to implementation.
By taking the original concept of such a project and implementing it in a way suitable for the
Bradford environment it was deemed more likely to result in the achievement of the desired goals
due to it being a proven solution.
University of Bradford’s Building Capacity project final report
An additional benefit from involvement in Jisc innovation programmes or engagement with Jisc resources is
access to the associated communities of practice. The University of Plymouth found considerable benefit in this
when it conducted a survey relating to students and their use of technology. Through engagement with the Jisc
community they were able to arrange for the survey to be conducted across five different universities at the same
time with each institution using a common set of questions supplemented by institution specific questions resulting
in all of the participating institutions having access to a much broader range of relevant data.
The University of Cumbria had a similar experience when Jisc projects it identified as potentially able to offer
interesting lessons for the University in developing its use of social media to support student learning and retention
were able to provide critical friends for Cumbria’s own project:
Finally, we must attribute much of our learning as an organisation to excellent contributions from
the four project consultants who have very effectively adopted the role of critical friend. Each has
brought a unique and enriching perspective which has reinforced the value of both their
experiences in guiding us, and of the Jisc projects that they have been involved with in their own
institutions that triggered our collaboration.
Jisc Watch
The University of Bradford noted that “One of the things that have become apparent during the
course of the project is the value of engagement with Jisc at an individual level.“ and, as a result,
the University has implemented ‘Jisc Watch’ encouraging its staff to follow Jisc staff on Twitter,
adding Jisc to its RSS feed and tracking new Jisc documents. It also recommended to its IT
Services Project Board that future objectives and projects are matched against previous Jisc work,
as part of the initial Project Initiation Document to help increase project success by implementing
solutions that have already been tested by other FE and HE institutions.
Benefits of learning from Jisc projects
The benefits from the project have been numerous and include cost savings from harvesting
existing ideas/processes that would have incurred considerable design and realisation time.
Edge Hill University, Building Capacity project final report
… this was not about a simple ‘cut’ and ‘paste’ from the Jisc projects but to use the outputs and
outcomes as a catalyst for developing our own ideas fitting for our varied disciplinary contexts.”
University of Leeds, Building Capacity project final report
34. The process predominately stimulated ideas, as opposed to offering ready made solutions and
artefacts.
Edge Hill University’s Building Capacity project final report
The initial stages of the project involved identifying and reviewing relevant Jisc resources on e-
Portfolio systems and CPD. Through this review, important and useful guidance about how to
pursue the project was discovered which addressed issues of both change management and
technical support.
University of Worcester, Building Capacity project final report
Existing Jisc material has meant that there was no need to re-invent the wheel, simply make it work
for UCLan!” University of Central Lancashire, Transformations project case study
The whole department were given the same awareness sessions but only one became engaged…
You have to motivate a lot of people in order to engage one.ILT Co-ordinator, FE College
Change is an incremental process, neither individuals nor organisations adopt a change overnight. Some change
process theories describe the stages of a successful change process as consisting of three phases:
Unfreezing: Creating the motivation to change by disconfirmation of the present state, creation of survival
anxiety, creating of psychological safety to overcome learning anxiety
Moving: Learning new concepts, new meanings, and new standards by imitation of and identification with
role models, scanning for solutions and trial-and-error learning
Refreezing: Internalising new concepts, meanings, and standards by incorporating into self-concept and
identity and into ongoing relationships and groups
We would argue that change in real life is rather more organic than this. Rather than ‘refreezing’ at the end of a
project a successful implementation will pave the way for a more change robust culture in which continuous
improvement becomes normal. The model may nonetheless have some validity in the case of technological
change where decisions taken as part of one project constrain choices in the future.
Innovation research is a field of research which suggests that the propensity of individuals to change and
implement new ideas, products or processes differs. Rogers’ (2003) theory on the diffusion of innovations refers to
change processes in relation to the individual and his or her decision process regarding the adoption or rejection
of an innovation/change. He differentiates five stages in the decision process:
1. knowledge occurs when an individual is exposed to an innovation’s existence and gains an understanding
of how it functions.
2. persuasion occurs when an individual forms a favourable or an unfavourable attitude towards the
innovation.
3. decision takes place when an individual engages in activities that lead to a choice to adopt or reject the
innovation.
4. implementation occurs when an individual puts a new idea into use.
5. confirmation takes place when an individual seeks reinforcement of an innovation-decision already made,
but he or she may reverse this previous decision if exposed to conflicting messages about the innovation.
Conner and Patterson (1982) propose a total of 8 stages (see figure below) for an organisation or a person to go
through when becoming committed to a change goal. The authors claim that each stage indicates a critical
juncture, in which commitment can be threatened. This is shown in the illustration below. If a stage is completed
successfully, advancement to the next stage is possible. If not, the downward arrows indicate the result.
35. Eight stages – Conner and Patterson (1982)
Innovation research (Rogers, 2003) categorises people in terms of their propensity to change, ranging from:
Innovators (venturesome)
They are very eager to try new ideas. This interest leads them out of local circle of peer networks and into
more cross-functional relationships. Communication patterns and friendships among a clique of innovators
are common, even though their distance (functional, geographical, etc.) between the innovators may be
considerable. In order to be an innovator, there are several prerequisites. These are control of substantial
financial resources, the ability to understand and the ability to apply complex technical knowledge. The
innovator must also be able to cope with a higher than average degree of uncertainty.
Early adopters (respectable)
They are a more integrated part of the local social system than are innovators. They have the greatest
degree of opinion leadership in most social systems. Potential adopters look to early adopters for advice
and information about the innovation. The early adopter is considered as individual to check with before
using a new idea. They are respected by their peers and are the embodiment of successful and discrete
use of new ideas.
Early majority (deliberate)
They adopt new ideas just before the average member of a social system. The early majority interacts
frequently with peers, but seldom holds leadership positions. The early majority’s unique position between
the very early and the relatively late to adopt makes them an important link in the diffusion process. They
provide interconnectedness in the system’s networks. They may deliberate for some time before completely
adopting a new idea. Their innovation-decision period is relatively longer then that of the innovators and the
early adopter.
Late majority (sceptical)
They adopt new ideas just after the average member of a social system. They don’t adopt until most others
in their social system have done so. They can be persuaded of the utility of new ideas, but the pressure of
36. peers is necessary to motivate adoption.
Laggards (traditional)
They are the last group to adopt an innovation. They possess almost no opinion leadership. Decisions are
often made in terms of what has been done in previous generations and these individuals interact primarily
with others who also have relatively traditional values.
These types bear a lot of similarity to those identified by the University of Huddersfield in a large scale study of the
adoption of e-marking.
Innovation research has also identified properties of innovations (in this case organisational changes) that are
likely to meet with success. These are:
relative advantage, the degree to which it is perceived to be better than the situation currently existing
compatibility, the perceived ‘fit’ of the innovation with existing structures, procedures and values
complexity, the degree of difficulty involved in learning about and implementing the innovation
trialability, the extent to which an innovation can be tried by potential adopters without major investment of
time or resources
observability, the degree to which outcomes resulting from the adoption of an innovation are visible
In our environment we do of course have a significant pressure group who may drive change:
There is a strong motivational element that can be tapped that comes from the students
themselves. There is a lot of anecdotal evidence that students who see other groups using the
technology when they are taught without it produce a groundswell of concern and envy. Staff
members are bluntly asked “Why are we not getting to use the computers when other groups do?”
Educational Technologist, FE College
The students were the biggest driver for change – once exposed to innovative practices, they
expected that they would get similar ‘treatment’ from every lecturer. This spurred colleagues into
action more than anything else. People who were thought of as barriers for the change in the
beginning were eager to be trained and embrace ‘the new’, as the change wasn’t anymore
perceived as the whim of a VC or a DVC, but was what students really needed and wanted. It all
made sense. We saw the opinion changing influence that students as stakeholders of the teaching
profession have.
From Changing Teaching and Learning styles Case Study
The Tipping Point
Rogers (2003) states that the adoption of an innovation/change will exhibit a normal distribution on a time graph
but a concept of which is being increasingly used is that of the ‘Tipping Point’ (Gladwell 2000). The Tipping Point is
similar to the idea of the ‘critical mass’ which originated in physics and is defined as the amount of radioactive
material necessary to produce a nuclear reaction. The ‘critical mass’ in innovation research indicates the point at
which enough individuals in a system have adopted an innovation so that the innovation’s further rate of adoption
becomes self-sustaining (Anghern 2005). This is especially relevant for interactive communications technology
where a critical mass of individuals must adopt the technology before the average individual can benefit from the
system.
A number of younger staff were actually quite keen to change, so we directly dealt with these
individuals by appointing a number of people, whom we called change agents, in every
department, across the university.From Changing Teaching and Learning styles Case Study
