Sheffield Hallam University - PPM best practice

 

A commonly held view of universities is one of ivory towers separated from the ‘real world’ of business. With changes made by governments over the last two decades this view is no longer appropriate. Many universities accept that they exist within a competitive environment, where the future can be as uncertain for them as for any other organisation.

 

Opportunity

Consequently, the smart universities are recognising the need for change aligned with a clear strategic view of their value in today’s and tomorrow’s world. Phrases like ‘unique selling proposition’ and ‘value added’ are as relevant to universities as they are to commercial organisations.

Approach

Sheffield Hallam University is one university embracing the opportunity to determine its own success. The Vice-chancellor Diana Green had been championing a major change initiative to make Sheffield Hallam stand out from the rest.

John Hemingway, the then Chief Information Officer, was responsible for making the change happen and asked CITI to provide support in ensuring success. We provided coaching, mentoring and quality assurance support, as well as team development.

Sheffield Hallam University has adopted CITI’s approaches to programme and project management, and has purchased the electronic guides and programme management tool kit. In particular, the university was the first organisation to purchase CITI’s electronic change management guide (the e:CMguide) back in 2003.

This guide provides a different perspective to change initiatives than the project and programme management guides, and includes a three-phase change management life cycle – initiate change, deliver change, and review change. The mechanisms for enacting a change will be projects and programmes, so references are made to the other guides where appropriate. The users of the e:CMguide include anyone in the organisation that has a defined role to play in change initiatives, and three key roles were been recognised in the guide – catalyst, deliverer and enabler. (To find out more on the e:CMguide click here)

Outcome

Most importantly, Sheffield Hallam University began to adapt its approach in-line with the e:CMguide. With many key employees having attended CITI supported development programmes, received coaching or achieved method accreditations, Sheffield Hallam University now have all the building blocks in place to manage ongoing change successfully.