This section focuses on:

• Identifying who can influence and facilitate change.
• Setting innovations within the context of institutional goals, drivers and needs.
• Adopting a Continuous Improvement approach – akin to action research.
• Setting up internal networks to link change agents/champions.
• Adopting partnership working.

Key points for creating appropriate organisational structures:

• Institutions should engage in dialogue over “educational futures” – examining a range of future scenarios for the education sector – helping them to create appropriate organisational structures to meet such futures.
• Institutions should consider setting individual project innovations within a context of overall (and cyclical) continuous improvement – where there is a focus on addressing key institutional/local goals, drivers and needs (the “big picture”), embedding and “joining up” innovations and reviewing/reflecting on the impact of the innovations – akin to action research.
• Innovation project teams do not always have the motivation or wherewithal to take responsibility for embedding innovations, therefore project teams need to transfer “ownership” of their innovations.
• Change agents (or champions) in a devolved model can take on ownership and responsibility for facilitating uptake of innovations.
• Heads of faculties/schools/departments are key stakeholders in regards to embedding innovations as they can set direction and allocate time and resource – innovation project teams therefore need to convince and motivate them to adopt their innovations.
• Networks need to be set up in an institution to support communication between change agents/champions in order to facilitate sharing of ideas, knowledge and expertise between faculties/schools/departments.
• Service departments, such as e-learning, blended learning, MIS departments should consider adopting a true “partnership” approach with academics/teaching staff in order to facilitate the uptake of innovations. This partnership approach should also apply to inter-working between service departments, where “turf wars” can block co-operative working. Critical to developing such partnerships are (a) developing a common language, (b) overcoming traditional “master/slave” relationships and (c) creating win-win goals/activities.

Key Resources:

Change Management infoKit

Strategy infoKit

Process Review infoKit