Financial Improvement Plan
2013/14 – 2014/15
A summary for staff
Our strategy
The financial improvement project and development of institutional priorities
are taking place against the background of a refresh of the St George’s
strategic plan.
Three strong themes have emerged during the strategic refresh.
The first is the breadth of our translational work for patient benefit.
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Translational education and training – from classroom to point of care
Translational research – from bench to bedside
We turn theory into practice
Our strategy
The second theme is the international dimension of our work:
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Education of international students
Preparation of international students [INTO foundation]
Franchising [or joint venture] overseas
Research into global health issues: [antimicrobial resistance, clinical
and tropical infection, HIV, malaria, vaccinology, sexually transmitted
disease, tuberculosis, rabies]
Our business is the health of nations.
Our strategy
The third theme is our partnership and collaborative way of working:
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St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust
Kingston University
South West London System
University of Nicosia
INTO University Partnerships
Research collaborations …
We are a small organisation with a long reach
What is the FIP?
The Financial Improvement Plan (FIP) is a programme of activity
that will enable us to make both short term improvements to our
financial standing and longer term sustainable change that will
enable us to have a valuable and viable future fulfilling our mission:
To advance, promote and share knowledge through
excellence in teaching, clinical practice and research
into the prevention and treatment of illness
Why do we need to do this?
St George's, University of London has been operating at breakeven for a number
of years.
In an increasingly challenging and competitive environment this is not
sustainable.
The reduction in government grants has not been replaced by large number so
new students and like many similar organisations we need to look at where we
can modernise how we deliver, as well as where we can grow.
We need to deliver a major financial improvement so that we have the resilience
to meet future challenges and exploit potential opportunities.
This is about ensuring we deliver a surplus in this financial year and in 2014/15
and maintaining our £2m capital programme so we can invest where necessary.
Haven’t we already made savings this year?
Much has been achieved. The Strategic Futures programme has released
savings of around £1.5m – and a further £700K has been identified and part
delivered to support us ending the year with a surplus.
These are huge achievements everyone should be proud of the dedication and
commitment – as well as the ingenuity and innovation – that we have shown in
meeting these challenges.
We have restructured the organisation into institutes that have strengthened our
ability to deliver swift improvements in both education and research, and new
courses are being planned and scoped, which give us a good basis for growing
our income in future years.
However, we still have a considerable challenge ahead. As well as delivering the
savings identified this year we need to generate a further £3m improvement in
2014/5.
Why do we say ‘financial improvement’?
It may sound like management jargon but there is a very good reason why the
term financial improvement is being used. This is as much about income
generation as it is about efficiencies or savings– instead of savings or cuts.
At its most simplest we can improve our financial standing in two ways :
o Most crucially by generating more income and
o By identifying savings and efficiencies that reduce our costs
At St George’s, University of London we have a lot of important and valuable
assets – these include:
o Our intellectual capital – ie the expertise and innovation of our staff
o Our commercial interests
o Our site and the way we maximise its use
o Our partnerships – in particular our relationships with Kingston University and
St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust.
Who is ‘doing’ the FIP?
The Financial Improvement Programme is led by the senior management
team but is already involving colleagues from all levels and areas in St
George's.
It will impact on all of us and everyone needs to contribute in a number of
ways:
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Supporting projects that impact on your area with your expertise and
good ideas.
Putting forward ideas to your line manager to make processes in your
area more efficient, or new ways to generate income
And of course - by being aware of the resources we are using:
o Reduce the amount of copying and printing
o Turn off lights and equipment at the end of the day
What is actually happening through the FIP?
Some projects are already underway as they have been identified as simple
and effective ways to improve our financial standing and will ensure we
deliver a small surplus in this financial year.
Other ideas and initiatives are under discussion. They are being scoped by
the teams they impact on.
Decisions as to whether these go forward rests with the senior team – but
once a decision has been made projects will need the support and input of
a wide range of staff.
What is the end date for the FIP?
The FIP will need to achieve to deliver £850K in this financial year – and
plans need to be in place to ensure a further £3m improvement can be
delivered for next financial year.
However, the process and discipline of this approach is something that can
benefit us for much longer.
We will need to develop new ways of working that allow us to be more
flexible and responsive to a rapidly changing external environment.
Budgets for 2014/15 will be set in July but work implementing the
programme will continue throughout the year.
Won’t this require some investment?
The improvements we have identified take into consideration the need to make
sure there are funds available for targeted investment and contingencies.
For the coming year this needs to be kept to a minimum given the scale of the
immediate challenge.
The people at St George’s are the greatest asset the organisation has and we
need to develop new ways of tapping into the energy and ingenuity, and moving
new ideas forward quickly and effectively.
We are looking at organisational development and how we can help encourage
and embed changes in a way that supports staff and teams to make the most out
of new opportunities – be that gaining new skills; being part of a change for the
better; or taking on leadership of work that has organisational impact.
COMPLETED IMPROVEMENTS 2013/2014
Work has been underway since early April and already a significant
improvement has been generated
o Improved joint faculty returns
o Greater return for the SGUL contribution to Kingston University’s
MPharm
o Improved returns from UNic due to greater student numbers from
UNic franchise
These have collectively released £380K of financial
improvement.
CURRENT IMPROVEMENTS
Project
Improvement target
Sale of property
£350K
Estates cost recovery from SGHT
TBC
Non discretionary expenditure freeze
£280K
Delays in staff recruitment
TBC
REF investment supported through
ISSF
£90K
Our strategic priorities in Research are:
Sustainability, by
• developing the strategy for grant funding
• increasing the proportion of overhead recovery
• prioritising the research with the greatest value
Focus through determining:
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how much research can be afforded and address the deficit
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where ambition and growth should be supported
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where disinvestment is required in order to support ambition and
growth
Partnerships: determine who we need to work with to achieve this
RESEARCH INITIATIVES
Planned improvements
Better grant construction – increased recovery of overhead costs
ISSF funding set against existing costs
Investment in research “stars”
Review of unfunded research
Non-pay savings from institute purchasing
Core facilities cost review
Equipment Users’ Committee
Our strategic priorities in Education are:
Growth, through
 portfolio review and expansion – new and existing programmes
 internationalisation in more than one form
Efficiency through
 curriculum review
 resource review
Creativity and innovation
 in developing training for new healthcare roles – eg generalist rather
than specialist
 in training for new modes of healthcare delivery – eg telehealth
Partnership: determining who we need to work with to achieve this
EDUCATION INITIATIVES
Planned improvements
Growth in current student numbers
Internationalisation
Portfolio development
Teaching capacity review
The strategy for Support Services is to increase
efficiency by:
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exploring innovative ways to deliver services through
partnerships
determining the right balance between centralisation and
devolution
increased targeting of service objectives in support of our
overall strategy
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES INITIATIVES
Planned improvements
Review of MBBS across IMBE and Registry
Review of student selection processes
Admin review of research support
Invest in fibre optic cable
Review potential for shared services with Kingston University
ESTATES INITIATIVES
Planned improvements
Cost & utilisation of space
Shared services
Income generation
Utility costs
Questions? Comments? Suggestions?
Your contribution in energy, innovation and dedication is welcomed.
If you would like to raise a question or put forward a suggestion
please talk to your line manager or email the fip team directly at
fip@sgul.ac.uk