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University efficiency. It's not the sexiest of subjects. The word alone initiates the rolling of eyeballs in some quarters and full on protest in others. But with universities having to justify every pound of the public purse spent, efficient university procurement and practice is moving up the list as a core priority for institutions keen to improve both their teaching and research.
It's not simply about cutting costs, says Ian Diamond, vice-chancellor at the University of Aberdeen and one of the leading voices of the efficiency agenda – rather, it's working out seeing if there are better ways of doing things. While his own 2011 Diamond review found strong evidence that universities are working efficiently, delivering high quality higher education and giving students good value for money, the report warned that this is not 'job done' for the sector.
"I could go on for the next five days providing examples of best practice in university efficiency," says Diamond. The problem, he says, is getting the wider message out of what universities are – and could be – doing. In Scotland alone, shared services are impacting every aspect of the university pipeline, says Diamond. But he admits that when moving from his role as deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Southampton in 2010 to head up a Scottish university, even he wasn't aware of many of the projects going on.
"It's communication within and outside the sector that's so important," he says. "It's about understanding and sharing best practice and thinking why we don't consider what [this or] that university did more efficiently? A senior colleague at Southampton once said something that has stuck with me ever since, 'You've got to think why are we doing things the way we do? Is there a better way?'"
There is still concern both within and outside the sector about whether universities are really delivering value for money and spending funding in the best and most fair way. The action taken by the Office for Fair Trading is a case in hand. And then there's the on-going debate around vice-chancellor's pay. The latest data reveals, when pension payments are excluded, the basic salary and benefits of university leaders in the UK averages out at £219,681, a rise of 2.7% on last year.
It's a sensitive issue, and one that vice-chancellors have shied away from talking about publicly – with Diamond not breaking the mould. Instead, he repeats a quote from Nicola Dandridge, the chief executive of Universities UK, who says: "the salaries of university leaders in the UK are in line with those in competitor countries and comparable to similarly-sized public and private organisations".
So what are they main challenges for universities trying navigate their way on the path to efficiency? As institutions reassess (and pump more money into) marketing themselves to students and academics, both overseas and abroad, is competition in the market dissuading some institutions from working together and sharing more?
There is no evidence to suggest this, says Diamond. "There are many examples of extremely competitive industries where efficiencies are made where possible," he says. "For example, helicopters in the North Sea – a highly competitive marketplace, but companies work together to share helicopters, and universities can do the same thing.
Diamond acknowledges that universities do face issues when collaboration impacts on funding grants. He also emphasises that "to collaborate for collaboration's sake" is not the right path: "Collaboration is a good thing, but it's not the only thing. All universities have different missions and should only collaborate where this is going to improve the quality of student experience and research undertaken."
From sharing equipment and facilities to encouraging staff to teach and research across universities, there are many opportunities and ideas that come from working across universities and sharing best practice, says Diamond, citing a few model examples: Robert Gordon University's partnership with SeaEnergy is helping to find ways of cutting the costs of offshore wind farming; Nottingham Trent University's data initative means that it can provide accurate information on finance, human resources, estate and student records to who ever needs it, when they need it; and the N8 research partnership, which represents eight research intensive universities in the north of England, is looking at how best to share equipment between universities to make the most of science funding and ensure that researchers have access to the best facilities.
And while leadership is important, efficiency is not solely the responsibility of the university vice-chancellor, Diamond adds. "Collaborative procurement has to be the way forward and one that everyone will seek," he says. "It is not up to the head to identify which colleagues to partner with another colleague, but to make their collaboration smooth and easy."
It's also about forging relationships outside institutions. "There is a great need for increasing collaboration between universities and businesses," says Diamond. "This is good for student employability, good for businesses – as students are then ready to understand and work in industry – and it is good for ideas and research."
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