1. Joint Information Systems Committee Supporting Further and Higher Education Institutional Buy-In Richard Brotherton GIMIS Janthia Duncan TISR Rob Stafford SMILE

2. Joint Information Systems Committee Supporting Further and Higher Education Institutional Buy-In Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans. Peter F. Drucker

3. Joint Information Systems Committee Supporting Further and Higher Education What is Institutional Buy-In? This normally means that an initiative is embedded in an organisations processes resulting in a commitment of resources e.g. money, acceptance of a reduced service, willingness to give up time to attend consultations.

4. Joint Information Systems Committee Supporting Further and Higher Education Why an MLE development must have institutional Buy-In More than lip service Provide the development with the teeth – Writtle (3000 FTE) Managed by a fairly small senior core Developers empowered to drive the re-evaluation of processes – Sunderland (12000 FTE) Development carried out under the auspices of a Project Team It is led by a senior academic and a senior administrator, under the direct line management of a PVC – Ravensbourne (1000 FTE) highly focused IT team People have difficulty getting from the desire for improved resources to proper involvement and buy-in

5. Joint Information Systems Committee Supporting Further and Higher Education Institution buy-in should be evidenced at several levels – Senior Management Team – Faculty Management – Departmental Management Management at each level should be persuaded of the merits of the MLE – Writtle College GIMIS has a steering group that comprises members from all levels, ensuring that the process of decision-making is open and effective. – Sunderland Projects philosophy is to be as inclusive as possible, in order to leverage as much of the Universitys significant expertise as possible to ensure that sound and valid choices were made. – Ravensbourne TISR has a steering group that has changed during the life of the project, to include a wide range of parties, including administration staff, Directors of Studies (DoS), Students and Consortium members. Who should be Buying-In?

6. Joint Information Systems Committee Supporting Further and Higher Education How should Buy-In be evidenced? In the same way that management should see the prospect for tangible benefits, there should be some tangible evidence of their commitment to the development of an MLE. – Writtle College The GIMIS project is driven through a series of documents, agreed and signed by Stakeholders, which serves to formalise the scope of the project and provide confidence in the direction of the project. – Sunderland The SMILE project adopted the stance that the buy in analysis focus on who engaged with the initiative, and where they are positioned in the institution. Areas or personnel under represented were then targeted as appropriate. – Ravensbourne The TISR project buy-in has been evidenced through the commitment of individuals and departments to consultations and meetings; through the deployment of resource to support the project; through the subordination of other projects; and through adjustments to schedules.

7. Joint Information Systems Committee Supporting Further and Higher Education What teeth should Buy-In provide? To be effective, an MLE team needs to be able to affect an holistic development that encompasses all parts of the institution, providing the greatest overall benefit to the entire institution. – Writtle College The GIMIS team have been given a remit that allows reviews in all areas of the college. The reviews are carried out by the appropriate departmental staff in discussion with the development team, with a view to co-operative improvement. – Sunderland The SMILE team enabled personnel at key locations within the institution to quantify the real benefits and opportunities of involvement and engagement with the project, through a series of business process reviews. – Ravensbourne The TISR team recognises that it would be helpful if there were more pressure on course teams to engage fully with the kind of planning and organisation needed when using information systems. Nevertheless, the new DoS operational management group shows signs of gradually moving in this direction.

8. Joint Information Systems Committee Supporting Further and Higher Education What happens without Evidenced Buy-In? Without visible support Success will potentially prove illusive. There is no true commitment or incentive to drive the project It would be possible for a single uncooperative department to seriously limit the effectiveness of an MLE. However a tenacious, focused team that is prepared to make sympathetic interpretations of systemic muddle or cultural idiosyncrasy can still entertain hope of success!

9. Joint Information Systems Committee Supporting Further and Higher Education Building Managed Learning Environments in Higher Education Institutional Strategy