This new report from JISC offers advice and guidance, with examples from ten UK HE institutions, on developing and implementing digital strategies.
The themes that emerged from JISC’s research into what is needed to be ‘successful in digital’ were:
- Robust and secure technology infrastructure regularly upgraded and improved.
City University of London is prioritising “fixing the basics”: systems, infrastructure and data. Universities need to recognise that resilience and reliability of infrastructure is an essential enabler.
- Effective processes for managing investment and change.
Chris Condron, chief digital officer at University of the Arts London stresses the need to reconsider the role and remit of the ‘IT Department’, with digital no longer seen as merely a cost, but a builder and deliverer of value. Technology is no longer simply a distinct professional department, it crosses all areas of institutional activity, including teaching, research, and the student experience. Some universities have addressed this by aligning IT with library and information services, with members of the teaching and learning support team also part of the set-up.
- Strong stakeholder engagement and customer focus.
Digital systems and tools support a range of work and learning practices. The data from this can be collected and analysed to give a clear picture of what is happening across the institution to inform decisions and strategy.
- Digitally aware executive leadership.
Many universities are appointing a board member with digital expertise to drive digital transformation, to help build digital partnerships and model good digital practice and digital culture.
- Development of all stakeholders’ digital skills and capabilities.
An organisation-wide digital capability framework and plan can help staff and students become digitally fluent – an essential factor in being able to work and learn effectively in a digital environment. JISC’s Digital Capability Discovery Tool has been used by several institutions as a framework for developing digital capability.
- Evidence-based centres of expertise in digital research and education.
Some of the universities in the JISC report have dedicated academic digital research institutes. This offers a depth of expertise that helps to amplify the effect of digital change across the institution, including research and teaching and provides rigorous knowledge of what works.
The repost ends with some prompts about developing and implementing a digital strategy – where to focus attention, how to gather data and which data to gather, what to put in place for successful digital change.
We should be moving to the point where thinking in terms of ‘digital’ is no longer necessary – it should become an intrinsic part of what we do – ‘digital learning’ is simply ‘learning. Digital technology becomes mainstream.
Read the full report: https://beta.jisc.ac.uk/reports/digital-strategies-in-uk-higher-education-making-digital-mainstream