Our Current Work
Study of shared services in UK Further and Higher Education
We are undertaking, in the period up to the end of September 2008, a study for the JISC of shared services.
Sharing services between institutions is an item high on the agenda of the Funding Councils. Shared services is a model of providing services (not just back-office services) in a combined or collaborative function, sharing processes and technology. In the educational sector, this will usually entail institutions cooperating in the delivery of services and in sharing information and skills. The JISC has commissioned us to consider the issues surrounding the employment of shared arrangements for major administrative systems in UK FE and HE. In summary, our aim is
- To describe the current landscape of the potential development of shared services across UK FE and HE.
- To identify the administrative systems currently in use and to describe the marketplace.
- To provide advice and guidance to management in FE and HE institutions about involvement in shared provision of services.
- To inform the planning of future JISC work in supporting and assisting shared services.
- To provide briefing materials for the funding councils.
The JISC has a page describing our work at http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/programme_jos/ssprev.aspx
The administrative systems we are focusing on are
- Finance
- Student records
- Estates
- HR
- Payroll
- VLE
- Library
- CRM
Our first reports, which will describe both the situation as it is at present and the state of planning for shared services in administrative systems, are due to be delivered to the JISC by the end of April. Two further reports, one providing guidance and briefing materials and the other making recommendations for the JISC and the funding bodies for future work, are to be delivered over the following 5 months.