Operational Plan 2017-2018

© London Higher 2017

www.londonhigher.ac.uk

Company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales No. 05731255.

Registered Charity No.1114873.

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Introduction This Operational Plan provides London Higher members with information about the outputs and outcomes – both hard and soft – that are targeted for delivery in the 2017-18 Academic Year. With a budget envelope of £1.5 million we propose to deliver c. £60,500 of advocacy activities, c. £226,600 of collaborations, £19,800 of events and £24,500 of networking opportunities (excluding salaries, overheads and administration). New initiatives this year include:

(Re)-establishing good links with the new Government officers for HE and London MPs following the General Election and the HE Bill;

Developing a new project to explore the ‘London Effect’ on various statistical and qualitative benchmarks;

Managing a new National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP) for London;

A new programme of research

and discussion around clinical academics in support of London’s health education and training.

The full 2017-18 Plan, including targets and priorities, is presented in the table at the end of this document. The General Election on June 8th has returned a hung parliament. At the time of writing we don’t know the direction of the next Government – and there is speculation

that we will be returning to the ballot box sooner rather than later. One thing seems clear however - the uncertainty the June 2017 election was supposed to dispel is here to stay for at least some months. In the meantime, it seems likely that there will be one or two changes to personnel in the Government Departments with responsibility for higher education and London. There are also new London MPs, and we are expecting the imminent appointment of a number of key individuals to posts in the new HE bodies due come into effect in 2018. All this means that a priority for London Higher in the early part of the year ahead will be to establish, or re-establish, our links with these important stakeholders. Despite the political turmoil we have to assume Brexit negotiations will take centre stage. Our Task Group has been monitoring the impacts and opportunities for London HE throughout the ‘phony war’ and is now fully set-up to engage with the process. Indeed one of the things we will be looking at in some detail during the year will be how we can support members develop their international opportunities post-Brexit. Our plans for discussions around ‘HE in world cities’ and our new initiative ‘London Higher International,’ both respond to this imperative. But we can’t and won’t take our eyes off the local agenda. London Higher is not a sector agency. London Higher is a regional membership association. What unites all our members - whether they be large or small, specialist or multi-faculty - is London. And one thing (among rather a lot, actually) that

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we all agree on is that London is both different and special. This year we plan to develop or expand several exciting regional initiatives with this in mind. We will see the full development of our projects under the National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP), managed through our now well-establish AccessHE division. Our Planners Group has been resourced to develop a new body of work exploring the so-called ‘London Effect’ – does it exist and if it does, how should it be accounted for in the new era of performance-lead funding? And, with encouragement from the London Economic Action Partnership, we are looking at how collectively London HEIs can develop student entrepreneurship, something that can enrich communities locally, nationally and internationally. The London Higher mission is simple: to support our members meet the challenges and opportunities of providing HE in our great capital and global city. But it is a complex task and by no means limited to the flagship initiatives I have highlighted here. Part-time study, postgraduate education, health, the creative and cultural subjects, international students, teacher training, London Weighting and numerous other topics all fall within our purview and many have a unique London element to them. So as well as being a champion for London higher education in general, you will find London Higher also engaging a wide range of other HE issues along the way. More details about the individual initiatives can be found in Table 1 and on the new London Higher website; and, of course, we always welcome your suggestions for work we should tackle in the future and offers to get involved in what we do.

Jane Glanville

Chief Executive Officer

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1. Parameters and approach London Higher is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. This places particular requirements on the way we plan, manage and account for our business and our finances. Our income is not assured. Member contributions are paid over a period of several months, grant payments (increasingly hard to come by) are made in instalments and we cannot guarantee in advance securing sponsorship or new money. Predicting the total level of resources that will be available to us even in the year immediately ahead is hard. We therefore adopt a cautious approach towards planning and management. Our standing rule is never to initiate a project before all the associated funding is in place and the risks are judged to be manageable. The priorities shown in Table 1 are indicative. If the anticipated funding for any particular initiative or activity – including any due from members – does not materialise then we can, and will, realign the Operational Plan according to priority and with the approval of the Board. We may also make changes to reflect new and/or emerging circumstances whether positive or negative. The Executive continually scans the HE and London environment to identify new needs, risks and opportunities. London Higher is a nimble, fleet organisation that has proved over a number of years that it can respond and flex very quickly – it is imperative it is kept that way.

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2. Assurance and monitoring As required by our legal and charitable status, as well as our obligations to members, partners and grant funders, London Higher operates a rigorous approach towards activity, projects and communications management. Controls are formally tiered:

a) The first level of control for any individual activity/project lies with an identified project manager within London Higher and his or her Line Manager;

b) The London Higher CEO has overall monitoring and assessment responsibilities within the Executive;

c) Detailed progress and finance reports are received and considered by the London Higher Board four times a year;

d) For all major activities and projects where there is an external funding stream, an Advisory Group is established. These groups are given a monitoring role. They involve senior staff from an appropriate spread of member HE institutions (HEIs) and often have external representatives as well;

e) Independent financial and budget audit of London Higher is obligatory. London Higher itself is audited independently. Major grants are also subject to externally audited Annual Statements of Grant Expenditure; all require regular progress reports to the funder;

f) Every year London Higher produces an Annual Review and an Operational Plan. These are public documents and are presented for approval to members at the Annual General Meeting of the plenary group in June ahead of the new academic year. The Annual Review charts the overall advance of the organisation for the most recent year. It covers the major activities described in the Operational Plan and includes a financial summary;

g) Every year we submit our audited accounts in a Trustees Report to the Charities Commission and Companies House where they are available for public scrutiny.

Updates about our continuing major projects and activities and potential new ones can be found on the London Higher website. Members wishing to have additional information are welcome to contact the Executive or a member of the Board.

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3. Prioritisation of the Operational Plan To help manage the risks, and to ensure that our main objectives are met, we prioritise each output in the Operational Plan according to the following schema:

1 = funds are available / output to be delivered within the year; 2 = funding likely or expected / medium-term; 3 = no funds yet identified / longer-term.

The priorities shown in Table 1, and outlined below, are indicative. a) Priority 1 Initiatives

Across the organisation we expect to deliver circa £302,400 of Priority 1 activities during 2017-18 (excluding salaries, overheads and administration costs). These are initiatives and outputs we are confident in delivering during the year. For example, London Higher will:

Manage a suite of NCOP and NEON projects to widen access to HE;

Conduct new research exploring the ‘London effect’ and how it impacts on standard performance measures;

Organise meetings with key personnel in the new Government and Sector agencies to re-present the London HE narrative;

Monitor the Brexit negotiations via our Task Group and London Higher Europe to ensure the London HE perspective is properly considered;

Launch a series of studies into clinical academics in London;

Develop two programmes to look at how we can support and develop London HE’s international standing (London Higher International and HE in World Cities).

In regard to our special projects we expect to continue to develop a number of initiatives during the year including promoting London to domestic UK students through our ‘London Works’ collaboration with The Student Room, our series of ‘thinking the unthinkable’ fora (Compass Meetings) to help members anticipate the changing HE environment and, of course, our on-going monitoring of the case for London Weighting through our Task Group. In regard to Brexit our London Higher Europe initiative will be actively seeking to develop a new suite of research partnerships across the continent to ensure the group’s academic ties are as strong as possible throughout the coming negotiations. As well as these initiatives, London Higher will retain the capacity to respond to opportunities and challenges as they emerge through its extensive range of networks, events and meetings, as well as

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maintaining working relationships with over fifty HE stakeholder organizations and agencies, in particular the London Economic Action Panel. b) Priority 2 and 3 Initiatives

We categorise activity for which we do not at present have full funding as Priority 2 and those dependent on raising the entirety of their resource in-year as Priority 3. We have currently assigned c. £15,000 of expenditure as Priority 2 and a further c. £20,000 as Priority 3. It is important to note that this categorisation relates solely to the probability of funding success, not to the perceived value of the work specified. We are often able to raise Priority 2 work to priority 1 in-year. Priority 2

If we are successful in drawing in the requisite funding, some examples of the work we hope to carry out in this plan include:

Explore establishing a defined placement mapping database and associated reporting function (London Medicine & Healthcare);

Run student panels to help us further develop our understanding of what makes London a great place to study for domestic students (London Works);

Set up a network of Heads of Student Entrepreneurship to connect into work of the LEAP;

Plan and implement a major event to promote London HE internationally (London Higher International).

In addition to these activities we anticipate hosting a number pan-London events and round table meetings to address emerging HE issues and/or advocate for the HE sector in London.

Priority 3

Those initiatives for which we at present have no funding are classified as Priority 3. An example of the work we hope to carry out in the plan is:

Commission or initiate research to explore the impact/opportunities for London HEIs in Brexit (London Brexit Task Group).

c) Notes on the Operational Plan programme for 2017-18 The principal aspects of the proposed programme for 2017-18 are shown in Table 1. In addition to the points already made, when considering the programme as a whole it is important to bear in mind the following:

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It is unlikely all the identified activities can be pursued. Key factors will include resource constraints (finances, people), stakeholder interests, member decisions and emerging demands;

There are links between tasks. The Executive try to identify ways of complementary working and achieving economies of scale;

The costs represent the estimated financial input from London Higher. In the case of a few of the larger initiatives the total resource required may be in excess of the figure suggested. There are some activities in the plan that have not been assigned an indicative contribution (those marked ‘£0’); these are usually costs covered elsewhere in the plan, typically under the hosting costs;

A small number of initiatives are of primary interest to a particular group of member HEIs. The Executive may, with approval from the Board, seek a specific marginal contribution from those particular institutions;

It is probable that fresh opportunities, or challenges, will arise during the course of the year. Developing and implementing a specific response could result in new activities taking precedence over those that are listed.

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4. The London Higher Board and Executive team The delivery of the Operational Plan will be monitored by the London Higher Board who represent the interests of the membership. The Board will meet at least four times during the academic year. The London Higher Annual General Meeting (AGM), to which all heads of member institutions are invited, usually takes place in June. The London Higher Board makes final decisions concerning membership of Advisory Groups. Expressions of interest from individuals representing London Higher member institutions who would like to join new or reconstituted Advisory Groups will be sought by the Executive by letter, email and/or through the website.

In 2017-18 London Higher’s officers will be:

Board of Trustees (elected) 1

Professor Peter John 1 University of West London

Professor Paul Layzell Royal Holloway, University of London

Professor Veronica Lewis OBE 1 Conservatoire for Dance and Drama

Patrick Loughrey (Vice Chair) Goldsmiths, University of London

Professor David Maguire University of Greenwich

Professor Geoffrey Petts (Chair) University of Westminster

Professor Paul O’Prey 1 University of Roehampton

Board of Trustees (co-opted)

Professor Anthony Bowne Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance

Professor Deborah Gill UCL

Professor Sir Adrian Smith University of London

Dr Celia Caulcott UCL (representing the London Economic Action Partnership)

Observers

Davina Madden / Steve Hall HEFCE, Regional Consultant, London and East

1 elected / re-elected, to be confirmed at the AGM on 20 June 2017.

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London Higher Executive (as at June 2017)

The first level of control for any individual activity/project lies with an identified project manager and his or her Line Manager. The London Higher CEO has overall monitoring and assessment responsibilities within the Executive:

Jane Glanville London Higher, Chief Executive Officer

Jack Abbotts AccessHE, Intern

Nienke Alberts AccessHE, Research Officer

Graeme Atherton AccessHE, Head

Vanessa Baptista AccessHE, London Innovation Programmes Officer

Nicola Berkley London Medicine & Healthcare / London Higher, Project Officer

Jordan Hill Case for HE, Programme Officer

Guy Cowen-Hutton AccessHE, NCOP Officer

Grace Imwensi NEON, Intern

Simon Jarvis London Higher, Finance Assistant

Naz Khan AccessHE, Projects & Communications Manager

Jamie MacKay AccessHE, Deputy Head

Michael Naughton AccessHE, NEON Operations & Communications Officer

Amy Lightstone London Medicine & Healthcare, Head

Neville Riley/ Emmanuela Forte

London Higher, Head of Finance

Michael Reynier London Higher, Deputy Chief Executive Officer

Paresh Shah Case for HE, Research Manager

Sam Turner AccessHE, London Programmes Co-ordinator

Neha Vyas London Higher, Intern Assistant to the CEO

Jenny Wetherill London Higher, Head of Operations

Kay Zantis AccessHE, NCOP Schools Officer

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Table 1. Priority Activities for London Higher 2017-18

To help manage the risks, and to ensure that our main objectives are met, we prioritise each output in the Operational Plan according to the following schema: 1 = funds available / output to be delivered within the year; 2 = funding likely or expected / medium-term; 3 = no funds yet identified / longer-term; these items will only be undertaken subject to funds being available. The priorities shown in Table 1, and outlined below, are indicative.

N Business Plan Goal Key Actions 2017-18 Activities & Programmes Priority Cost Type Unit

a) Develop good relationship with the Mayor of London & more formal

l inks with London LEAP, support HE Rep to LEAP Board1 £2,000 CORE LH

b) Partner with ERRIN to promote London HE across EU 1 £1,000 CORE LHE

c) Run student panels with current students to explore the benefits of

studying in London2 £3,000 NEW LW

d) Continue partnership with GLA's London European Office 1 £1,000 CORE LHE

e) Continue to work with colleagues at the GLA to represent the position of

London HE to the Mayor and his advisors1 £250 CORE LH

f) Work with Health Education London & the South East to coordinate

promotion of health edcuation and training1 £500 CORE LMHC

g) Establish contact and develop relations with selected London MPs 1 £5,000 NEW LH

h) Discuss with AHSCs/N closer working on health edcuation and training

in alignment with Vital Signs intiative 2 £500 CORE LMHC

a) Maintain evidence-base on statistical health of the London HE

landscape1 £3,500 CORE LH

b) Publish a new document / research exploring the 'London effect' viz

TEF1 £12,000 NEW LH

c) Publish regular blogs, briefings and newsletters raising awareness of

issues within the London HE Group1 £0 CORE LH

d) Update London Medicine & Healthcare website 2 £2,000 CORE LMHC

e) Update LHE members' brochure 1 £500 CORE LHE

f) Update AccessHE website 1 £2,000 CORE AHE

g) Develop London Higher Europe website 2 £1,000 CORE LHE

h) Develop an eye-catching series of London HE infographics based on

statistical data2 £2,000 NEW LH

a) Convene round table discussions owith new leadership team at OfS &

other emerging issues as required1 £2,500 CORE LH

b) Compile the collective responses of members in response to

consultations as need be1 £0 CORE LH

c) Assess implications of switch from nursing bursaries to loans, reissue

recruitment surveys1 £500 NEW LMHC

d) Compile placement mapping data and assess capacity issues in

relation to medical school expansion in London1 £1,000 NEW LMHC

a) Run Task Group to defend London Weighting 1 £250 NEW LH

b) Commission / Initiate research to explore impact/opportunities for

London HE in Brexit, if remitted/resourced to do so 3 £20,000 NEW LH

A.

Operational Plan 2017-18

2. Concentrate efforts on making

the Case for HE in London through

evidence

3. Participate in consultations and

respond to policy concerns

1. Engage actively with important

regional stakeholders

Advocacy

4. Co-ordinate a campaign to

defend London Weighting

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N Business Plan Goal Key Actions 2017-18 Activities & Programmes Priority Cost Type Unit

a) Explore interest in a pan-european academic network 1 £2,300 NEW LHE

b) NEON Consultant 1 £35,000 NEW NEON

c) Run a Big Data Interdisciplinary WG 1 £3,000 NEW LHE

d) Explore establishing a defined placement mapping database and

annual reporting function2 £1,000 NEW LMHC

e) Explore interest in an 'HE in World Cities' initiative 1 £5,000 NEW LH

a) Completed in 2014-15 for Podium0 £0 x LH

b) Completed in 2016-17 (for LHE)0 £0 x LH

a) Host London Higher (Core, Case for HE) 1 £509,832 ADMIN LH

b) Host AccessHE & NCOP 1 £469,271 ADMIN AHE

c) Host London Medicine & Healthcare1 £72,731 ADMIN LMHC

d) Host London Higher Europe 1 £3,000 ADMIN LHE

e) Host NEON 1 £94,112 ADMIN NEON

a) Deliver NCOP projects 1 £97,000 NEW AHE

b) Generate content of the London Hub 1 £800 NEW LW

c) NEON Access Academy 1 £60,000 NEW NEON

d) Manage two consultants to deliver London Higher Europe activities in

London and Brussels1 £12,500 CORE LHE

e) Vital Signs initiative (see individual outputs) 1 £0 NEW LMHC

f) Develop the 'London Hub' on TSR website to recruite domestic students

(' London Works' Campaign)1 £10,000 CORE LW

5) Help members scope and

develop new collaborations (where

remitted)

8) Develop and manage projects on

behalf of our members

B.

7) Manage our existing

collaborative initiatives and

campaigns (e.g. AccessHE, London

Medicinec & Healthcare, London

Higher Europe & Case for HE)

6) Review the ongoing value and

sustainability of collaborations,

such as Podium and London Higher

Europe during this business cycle

Collaborations

a) Host panel discussion with members on key issues (e.g. HE Bill,

meeting with CEO, HEFCE) 2 £4,000 CORE LH

b) Training on EU funds for Early Career Academics 1 £2,500 CORE LHE

c) Seminar on clinical placement mapping (Vital Signs) 1 £1,250 NEW LMHC

d) Host London Higher AGM / Summer Reception 1 £0 CORE LH

e) Breifing on Brexit 1 £1,200 NEW LHE

f) Workshop for EU Project Co-ordinators 1 £1,200 NEW LHE

g) Run Vital Signs meeting on clinical academics 1 £3,750 NEW LMHC

h) Training for Research Administrators (4) 1 £2,700 CORE LHE

i) Seminar on commercializing your research1 £1,200 NEW LHE

j) Run Vital Signs meeting on medical schools expansion in London1 £1,000 NEW LMHC

k) ad hoc training events (as directed by members) 2 £1,000 NEW LH

9) Develop training and

dissemination events to meet the

needs of our members

EventsC.

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N Business Plan Goal Key Actions 2017-18 Activities & Programmes Priority Cost Type Unit Income/Ex

a) Research Excellence Group 1 £1,000 CORE LH EXP

b) Healthcare Education Group 1 £1,500 CORE LMHC EXP

c) HE Planners' Group 1 £5,000 CORE LH EXP

d) Access Action Forums 1 £5,000 CORE AHE EXP

e) Visa Club (Compliance Officers) 1 £0 CORE LH EXP

f) London Higher International (Directors of Intl) 1 £2,000 CORE LH EXP

g) London Migration Research Working Group 1 £100 CORE LHE EXP

h) London Medicine Committee 1 £2,000 CORE LMHC EXP

i) London Centre Group 1 £1,000 CORE LH EXP

j) Creative Working Group 1 £1,500 NEW LHE EXP

k) Big data Working Group 1 £700 CORE LHE EXP

l) Marketing Directors' Group 1 £1,000 CORE LH EXP

a) London Student Entrepreneurship Group (LEAP)1 £1,500 NEW LH EXP

b) London Urban Research Network 1 £1,000 NEW LH EXP

c) Food research Working Group1 £700 NEW LHE EXP

d) Continue establishing the London Healthcare Access Forum2 £0 CORE LMHC EXP

12) We will seek to further our

representation of, and

engagement with, the student

body

a) Additional support for inititatives arising out of London Higher

International2 £500 CORE LH EXP

13) We will review our current

networks to ensure that they are

delivering valued outputs for the

membership

a) Review outputs of current Advisory Groups

2 £0 CORE LH EXP

Networks 10) Use our networks to identify

new opportunities and challenges

for our members and to inform our

advocacy, collaborations, events

and projects.

D.

11) Expand our HE networks to

include new levels and roles of

both academic and administrative

staff, where appropriate

14) Review membership criteria an

contribution bands a) Conduct a review of partnership arrangements 0 £0 NEW LH EXP

15) Re-tender for core servces

(such as audiut, HR, and IT) a) Re-tender for Payroll Services & explore cloud-based accounting 1 £1,000 NEW LH EXP

16) Operate a balanced in-year

budgeta) Control costs and maximise unrestricted income 1 £5,000 CORE LH EXP

17) Conduct an evaluation of

London Higher in time to inform

the next Business Strategy

a) Current Business Strategy to be extended to 2019 (subject to review)

1 £0 CORE LH EXP

E. Value for Money

a) Membership Contributions 1 -412,780 Core LH INCOME

b) Partner Contributions 1 -56,000 Core LH INCOME

c) Hefce HERA funding 1 -37,500 Core LH INCOME

d) Grants 1 0 NEW LH INCOME

e) Sponsorship 1 -6,000 NEW LH INCOME

f) Other Income 3 0 NEW LH INCOME

g) % surcharge to raise funds for LW campaign 3 0 NEW LH INCOME

h) x-charges 1 -61,403 Core LH INCOME

a) LMHC Membership Fees 1 -97,000 Core LMHC INCOME

b) Other 0 0 x LMHC INCOME

c) Grant 0 0 x LMHC INCOME

d) Funds brought forward 1 -7,000 x LMHC c/o

a) Membership fees AHE 1 -128,000 x AHE INCOME

b) Other - AHE London programmes 1 -28,000 x AHE INCOME

c) Deferred income HEI allocated nco 1 -33,000 NEW AHE INCOME

d) HEFCE Grants (NCOP) 1 -380,000 NEW AHE INCOME

4. London Higher Europe a) Membership fees 1 -30,500 Core LHE INCOME

b) Grants 1 NEW LHE INCOME

c) Contingency (funds unallocated in plan) 1 1,000 CORE LHE INCOME

d) C/O from previous year 1 -6,600 x LHE c/o

5. NEON a) Membership 1 -38,000 Core NEON INCOME

b) NEON NCOP Training 1 -40,000 Core NEON INCOME

c) NEON Access Academy 1 -110,000 Core NEON INCOME

6. London Works a) C/O Restricted Funding (London Works) 1 -10,800 CORE LW c/o

Generate, attract &

draw down Income

1. London HigherF.

2. London Medicine & Healthcare

3. AccessHE

SURPLUS/DEFICIT (Neg = Surplus) £4,763