Efficiency Exchange
LUPC conference 1 April 2014: guidance on new EU procurement regulations
The LUPC Conference on Tuesday 1 April 2014 at the Institute of Education will feature a workshop on ‘The new procurement regulations – implementation of the new Directive’. The event is free for members and features a range of workshops including:
- Framework agreements and methods of call off
- Discovering opportunities in your spend data
- Impact and influence for leaders and managers
- Successful estates and procurement collaborations
- Protecting labour rights in procurement: lessons from healthcare.
Northern 8 Universities (N8) equipment sharing toolkit launched
The N8 Equipment Sharing Toolkit (EST) was launched in February 2014 at the University of Manchester. Sarah Fulton from the University of Sheffield explains the open and collaborative process behind the project's success.
University finance: how should we judge value for money? Guardian live chat 7 February
How should universities deliver value for money and maintain their values? Read the comments on our live chat session held on the Guardian Higher Education Network on 7 February.
S-Lab (Safe, Successful, Sustainable Labs) Awards 2014 open for applications
The S-Lab Awards recognise good practice in laboratory design and operation, and have a number of categories including New and Refurbished Lab Building, Laboratory Effectiveness, Laboratory Informatics, and Teaching and Learning. The Awards will be presented at a dinner preceding the S-Lab 2014 Conference on ‘Supporting World Class Science’ at King’s College London on 2-3 September 2014.
Efficiency Exchange update 3 February 2014
A round-up of news and comment about smarter working in universities.
‘Insourcing’ is the new ‘outsourcing’
Creating a wholly-owned subsidiary company to house the commercial activities of a university is fundamentally about cultural change rather than cost saving. If the focus is placed firmly on stripping out payroll costs through reducing rates of pay and associated staff benefits, then the project is doomed to failure, says Peter Church Director of Campus Services at the University of Essex.
See the human factor as an opportunity: five ideas for leading transformation
As universities seek innovative approaches to delivering services, there's a vital role for leadership in successful engagement and change, says Mark Pegg of the Leadership Foundation who offers five ideas for leading transformation.
Efficiency Exchange update 28 January 2014
A round-up of news and comment on smarter working in universities. Now weekly!
Strategic sourcing in UK universities: becoming ‘intelligent customers’
Universities are beginning to discover the benefits of new business models in their dealings with suppliers, say researchers at the University of the West of England. They argue that institutions should become ‘intelligent customers’, which will involve investment in new skills, changes in culture and raising the profile of procurement and supply professionals.
Understanding IT Costs: free workshop 10 February 2014
This free workshop provides a unique opportunity to review the detailed costs of an IT department; to discuss with peers the relative costs of cloud and local solutions to HPC, storage and other areas; and to identify means of developing better financial data for IT decision-making. It is based on work that has been undertaken by the University of York, in collaboration with the Jisc Costing IT Services (CITS) project. The workshop is on 10 February 2014 at the Jisc London offices, Brettenham House, London.
