Let’s talk about efficiency: update December 2013

Roundup of news and comment from the Efficiency Exchange and the Guardian Management and Administration Hub.

• The Autumn Statement met with a mixed response from the sector. Among the warm welcomes, there appeared to be some concerns about whether the plan will be sustainable in the long term.
• A conference on Strategic sourcing: new approaches to deliver success, hosted by UUK in association with AUDE, BUFDG and the Efficiency Exchange on 4 February 2014, will show how to prioritise areas for change, understand the marketplace and explore how to embed the student experience, sustainability and social value into sourcing practice. Early bird booking ends 20 December.
• Alison Holmes, Director of Procurement at Durham University, talks about procurement and why it should be seen as a strategic function.
• Benchmarking helps universities understand how they’re performing says Chris Hale, Deputy Director of Policy at UUK, who presents key findings from new report on the benefits and challenges of benchmarking in higher education.
• A MOOC from the Association for Learning Technology has been organised to help managers and teachers use technology in Higher Education.
• The G-Cloud online marketplace has been set up to encourage the adoption of cloud services across the whole of the public sector as well as the higher education sector.