Efficiency Exchange
Latest data highlights transformation in higher education procurement
New research shows improvements in procurement across England's higher education sector over the last five years have resulted in a rise in savings and efficiencies of more than 50%. The findings come in the latest survey of Efficiency Measurement Model (EMM) data carried out by North Western Universities Purchasing Consortium (NWUPC) on behalf of Procurement England Ltd (PEL), a company that brings together the four English purchasing consortia.
Raising the return – how do we do it?
In the final blogpost in our series on asset sharing, Sarah Jackson and Luke Georghiou say that despite the progress in this area, more work must be done to deliver full benefits.
UUK urges greater transparency over university efficiency
Universities could do more to inform and to dispel misconceptions about how efficiently they use their funding, Universities UK has suggested. The comments follow a survey of MPs, which revealed that 53% of MPs surveyed were neutral when asked whether UK universities do a good job of using their funding efficiently.
Data platform launched to encourage more efficient medical research
An affordable cloud-based infrastructure has been launched by Jisc and the University of Leicester to manage a growing volume of data that is threatening to overwhelm researchers. The Biomedical Research Infrastructure Software Service (BRISSKit) platform seeks to make data sharing and collaboration easier, saving time and reducing infrastructure costs.
Finding the right contract caterer for your university
Many UK universities are deciding that catering is an outside job and are teaming up with external providers. This article in University Business looks at the experiences of universities and contract caterers in forming partnerships and working together.
Raising the return: the benefits and opportunities from equipment sharing
Sharing equipment will be a key theme in Professor Sir Ian Diamond’s forthcoming report on efficiency in higher education. Sarah Jackson and Luke Georgiou introduce findings from the study of this activity which show that it is helping to advance scientific research while delivering value to the public purse.
Jisc chief: digital innovation makes universities more efficient
Digital technology can have a huge impact on the performance of UK universities and help them stay ahead of international competition, Jisc chief executive Martyn Harrow writes.
Nine projects to create ‘transformational change’ funded by LFHE
Nine universities across the UK have won funding from the Leadership Foundation for projects designed to bring about transformational change in higher education.
Making better use of spare lab capacity
An online tool that has been described as Airbnb for laboratories is enabling researchers for private sector firms in the USA to buy time in university laboratories with spare capacity, the Economist reports.
HE Shared Legal invites potential subscribers to seminar
A shared legal service for the higher education sector is holding an information seminar in London on 10 March for potential subscriber institutions to learn more about its work. HE Shared Legal currently delivers services to 18 subscriber institutions, including advising on employment, contract, procurement, governance, corporate and charity law.
