What are your thoughts on the ‘efficiency agenda’? Lots of hype? Dull stuff about procurement, outsourcing and shared services? Or is there a case for making more effective most of what we do in HE? Hefce’s latest predictions for the sector’s financial health suggest that HEIs will be looking even more closely at increasing efficiency and effectiveness. Organisational development and change programmes are likely to increase as a result, not decrease. Whether ‘efficiency’ is your thing or not, you may find it useful to explore and engage with the emerging work of a new project, funded by the Innovation and Transformation Fund (Hefce/Leadership Foundation), called Efficiency Exchange.

The service has been brought online quickly to start up the conversation with sector professionals on what information would be most useful, but will develop as work in progress over the next year. The intention is to go beyond a website to develop or link with communities of practice in related areas. Even if the topics aren’t of immediate interest, you may know colleagues for whom they are. Please help spread the word!

An online survey is open until 29 March, which will gather views on the opportunities, challenges and themes within the efficiency agenda that are most important to sector professionals.

The findings from the survey will inform a programme of engagement. This will include workshops with practitioners to develop action plans and commission new content.

The Efficiency Exchange project is delivered by Universities UK and Jisc, and supported by HEFCE and the Leadership Foundation.

For more details, contact Ian Powling, e-mail  ian.powling@universitiesuk.ac.uk.

Or follow the Efficiency Exchange on Twitter – @EfficiencyEx