Leadership Update
Date:
December 2009
Subject:
This is the latest in a series of regular briefings containing Universitywide updates.
Briefer:
Briefing guidance:
This briefing contains a summary of high-level, key messages to support
you with your face-to-face communications with your direct reports.
Ideally, it should be communicated face-to-face to your direct reports by
the end of the month – not circulated by email - and should provide an
opportunity for your colleagues to give you feedback on the content.
It need not be presented verbatim. Please summarise where appropriate
and deliver in a way you are most comfortable with to ensure that
messages are authentic.
Please add your own content, which is relevant to your support division,
faculty or area of expertise.
The briefing should enable your direct reports to brief their own people on
some of the issues facing the University.
Please encourage your direct line reports to add more localised
information which should still be delivered face-to-face at each stage of
the cascade.
Allow at least an hour for the sharing of information and feedback.
Highlights this
month:
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1. Transforming our University: vision, mission and values and
Strategic Plan approved by the University Council
2. New Financial Regulations: changes to existing practice
3. Research Councils UK visit – rating 2 achieved
4. USIR – support for researchers
5. Work underway to achieve non payroll savings
6. Findings of John Lauwerys review due out in Spring 2010
7. Salford on the global stage – date of next VC roadshow
8. University response to consultation on the Research
Excellence Framework
9. Closure over Christmas and message from the VC
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Why we need
these briefings
The University acknowledges the need to keep its people informed.
Employees perform better when they are involved and when they have
an open and honest dialogue with their leaders.
Involvement creates good will and employees are prepared to go the
“extra mile”. Results of our recent experience survey show that only 39
per cent of our employees are engaged.
In addition, the SLT has highlighted three strategic priorities:
 Leadership at all levels
 Management of change
 Non-pay related recognition.
This briefing will help support you in addressing the issues above and will
supplement the new employee magazine, US, the Vice-Chancellor’s blog
as well as US Online on the Staff Channel.
Business updates
1. Transforming our University: vision, mission and values and
Strategic Plan approved by University Council
Our University’s Strategic Plan 2009/10 to 2017/18 has now been
approved by the University Council. It sets out the means by which we
will meet our challenges and realise our aspirations up to 2017 when we
celebrate 50 years as a Chartered University.
The University aspires to be in the top quartile of UK Universities by 2017
measured by our ranking in the standard league tables. This will require
us to transform our performance in the core business of the University,
by achieving standing in the first quartile in UK Universities in both
teaching quality (we are currently fourth quartile) and our research and
innovation (we are currently second quartile).
Following the Council meeting we also have a new vision, mission and
and supporting values.
Our vision has now been defined and is what we as an organisation
aspire to be. “The University of Salford will be, by 2017, an
outstanding University renowned for the quality of its engagement,
humanity, global reach and leadership in research, innovation and
education.”
Our mission is: “Salford is an enterprising University which
transforms individuals and communities through excellent
teaching, research, innovation and engagement.”
In common with all progressive organisations, we have developed the
following set of shared values both as a guide and framework for
personal and corporate behaviour in the governance and management of
our University and in every aspect of our activities.
We espouse and promote the following values:
 The highest academic, professional and ethical standards
 Service to our stakeholders, clients and partners and, in
particular, putting our students first
 Supporting our people and recognising and rewarding
excellence and leadership
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Working together for the advancement of the University
Innovation, creativity, enterprise, courage
Diversity, humanity, fairness and respect
Pride in our heritage and the distinctive difference we make
to the world
Investing passion in all that we do.
We acknowledge that the most important part of this whole
transformation is to ensure that we get buy-in from the whole University
community and to ensure that everyone understands the role they play in
contributing to our success.
Over the coming months more information about our six goals within the
Strategic Plan and how they relate to our individual faculties, schools and
departments, will be communicated to the University community.
2. New Financial Regulations: changes to existing practice
The University Council has now approved the new Financial Regulations
and a scheme of delegated financial authority. These documents
represent a significant change to existing practice.
The purpose of these Financial Regulations is to provide control over all
the University’s resources and to provide management with assurances
that the resources are being properly applied for the achievement of the
University’s Strategic Plan and business objectives including:
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Financial viability
Achieving value for money
Fulfilling its responsibility for the provision of effective financial
controls over the use of public funds
Ensuring that the University complies with all relevant legislation
Safeguarding the assets of the University.
The Financial Regulations cover a range of areas from audit
requirements, risk management, fraud and corruption and Whistleblowing to receiving gifts or hospitality, financial planning, overseas
activity, taxation, student fees and loans and the use of the University’s
seal.
Compliance with the Financial Regulations is compulsory for all staff and
those staff who fail to comply may be subject to disciplinary action.
Contractors to the University are also expected to comply where relevant
and failure may result in termination of contracts or other penalities
These Regulations are now online on the Finance Intranet and
colleagues are urged to read them and to become familiar with them.
http://intranet.salford.ac.uk/finance/documents/30-11-2009_10-1145_Financial_Regulations_2009.doc
3. Research Councils UK visit – rating 2
Following a visit to the University in the summer, the Research Councils
UK has issued a Funding Assurance Programme (FAP) report
incorporating a “satisfactory assurance” outcome (rating 2) with no
serious concerns.
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Research Councils identity the top 60 funded institutions each year
based on research grants payments. They are subjected to a full FAP
once every three to four years which includes a two-three day visit to the
institutions. The Research Councils aim to undertake 20 FAP visits each
year and look at recording of expenditure, review of payments, scrutiny of
methodology and improved communications between Research Councils
and research organisations.
Each year the Councils invest around £1.3 billion in research in UK
universities. The previous visit to Salford was in February 2001 which
was also awarded a satisfactory rating.
There are four assurance ratings and the University achieved rating 2 –
“a basically sound system of internal control which offers the Research
Councils assurance, although there are a few weaknesses that have
been identified”.
4. USIR – support for researchers
The University of Salford Institutional Repository (USIR) is an online
database showcasing research that is carried out by researchers at the
University. It is an open access repository and all material is freely
available on the internet – it can be read, downloaded and copied for
non-commercial private study or research purposes.
In September the University decided to make the deposit of all research
output mandatory and this will come into effect on 1 January, 2010.
Promoting research and increasing the number of citations is a key
benefit for the forthcoming Research Excellence Framework (REF).
There has been concern that copyright and intellectual property rights
issues are complex under the present self-deposit scheme and to
address this the University is setting up a repository team – resourced
from existing funds - to advise researchers on rights and responsibilities
and to support them by dealing with publishers on matters of access and
copyright.
We recently became the 100th institution in the world to issue a mandate
to become and open access university. Open access is an international
movement which aims to maximise the visibility, citation and use of
research output. Academic authors are prevented from achieving wide
dissemination of their papers by publishers who restrict circulation to
subscribers only.
For our University, open access supports our objectives of widening
access to our publicly funded research and also raising the profile of our
researchers and the University.
5. Work underway to achieve non payroll savings
Work is well underway across the University in investigating ways of
achieving savings thorough greater efficiency and reducing waste. The
aim is to achieve non payroll savings of at least 10 per cent of our
addressable cost base which is likely to amount to annualised savings of
£5 million.
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The Efficiency and Savings Group are carrying out a review of detailed
budget categories with a view to reporting back on the findings in
January 2010. Keith Watkinson, Executive Director, Human Resources,
is looking at delivering savings from areas such as early retirement
awards and Occupational Health. Frank Benton, Executive Director of
Estates and Property Services, is exploring the potential for reductions in
vehicle and transport costs, space usage, security and maintenance of
premises and Keith Barnes, PVC Strategic Partnerships and
Development, is looking into the effectiveness of our spend on marketing
and communications activities. Professor Steve Donnelly is looking at
expenditure on conferences, travel, hospitality and consumables.
Members of the group are consulting with their colleagues to ensure that
the identification of efficiencies and savings is well informed and
appropriately targeted and will report back to the SLT in January 2010,
6. Findings of John Lauwerys review due out in Spring 2010
The results of an in-depth review of the administrative and professional
services and governance in academic units - which was commissioned
last December - are scheduled to go to the SLT next spring, following
consultations with the University community. John Lauwerys, formerly the
Registrar of the University of Southampton, is carrying out the review
which will contribute further to the Realising Our Vision agenda and to
assuring the University’s future.
7. Salford on the global stage – date of next VC roadshow
The second VC roadshow will be held on February 25 in the Chapman 2
building and will focus on internationalisation. Professor Martin Hall will
be joined by Professor Ghassan Aouad, PVC Research and Innovation
and Keith Barnes, PVC Strategic Partnership and Development.
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They will set out our framework for internationalisation; giving an
overview of key partnerships aligned to the University’s Strategic Plan.
Employees will again have an opportunity to register questions in
advance and the event will be filmed and put on the Staff Channel.
8. University response to consultation on the Research Excellence
Framework
The University has now submitted its response to HEFCE (Higher
Education Funding Council for England) on the Research Excellence
Framework (REF) – the new system for assessing the quality of research
in UK higher education institutions. Guidance on the REF will be issued
in 2010 following the consultation and the first REF exercise is due to be
completed three years later.
The University strongly supports the introduction of a separate sub-profile
measuring the impact of research, based principally on case studies,
which fits well with the University’s belief in carrying out world-class,
engaged research.
The University supports the overall proposals, in particular areas of
continuity with and incremental improvements from the Research
Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2008. It also supports the emphasis on
greater clarity and consistency of information to be requested by the
panels.
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In addition, we have fed back to HEFCE that we would welcome a
reduction of required outputs for each individual submitted to three, and
argue that a reduction to two publications would further reduce the
burden on panels and HEIs without affecting the quality of the
assessment.
Last year, the University achieved a promising set of results in the RAE
(2008) demonstrating significant progress since 2001, when the last RAE
was carried out. There were successes in established areas of research
in the University such as the built environment, informatics and
materials. There were also notable successes in new areas such as
those relating to healthcare research and the cultural and creative
industries.
9. Closure over Christmas and message from the VC
The University will close for Christmas at 1pm on Thursday 24 December
and will re-open again on Monday, 4 January, 2010. It is usual practice
for us to close down for the three days between Christmas and New Year
and the official closure of the University over this period means that staff
will receive three days Christmas leave outside their annual leave
allowance.
For more information relating to car park closures, access, deliveries etc
go to:
http://intranet.estates.salford.ac.uk/admindocs/Christmas_Closure.pdf
In his message to staff Professor Martin Hall says that this is a time of
the year when many of our colleagues spend time with their families,
celebrate Christmas in different ways and reflect on the year ahead. I
would like to take the opportunity to wish you all well through the holidays
and to mark with appreciation the work of those who will keep the
University’s essential services ticking over.
“I am confident that 2010 will bring new opportunities and success to our
University and that the commitment that so many of you have shown
over the past months will extend to future challenges.”
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Faculty/Divisional
communications
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Record of notes
and feedback
from briefing
session:
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