After two fabulous days of discussion and debate at the Wonkhe/University of London Festival of Higher Education, we have been reflecting on the tangle of priorities, perspectives, needs, constraints, expectations and aspirations expressed by students and colleagues in and outwith our universities.
A common thread through all these discussions was that making a lasting impact for students, our society, our economy is wickedly complex – a topic discussed and debated for many years. Despite energetic discussions and debate there were no obvious solutions that weren’t compromises to the many challenges to developing sustainable policy solutions that align with the lived experiences of a diverse student population and help us fix the sector’s financial woes.
If you care about your work in and for HE, it makes perfect sense to want to do it with more energy, more efficiency or to achieve a greater impact. But sometimes we get stuck. Sometimes we can’t see how we could make a change because we can only see the barriers to doing things differently and we are stuck in a cycle of servicing the failure demand that we have created by taking a short-term view and not understanding the unintended consequences of changes we have previously made. Sometimes, it can seem as if the sector is stuck in a rut being held back by fear of failure and reputational damage.
To move forward we need to know, or at least to ask, why are we doing this work? What’s the real purpose? What is it that students want to pay their fees for? What’s the value students gain beyond the economic? Sometimes, this isn’t clear, or we can’t see how various priorities align, or we don’t always understand the social and cultural issues. And sometimes we get stuck in a mindset of not tackling the wicked problems of higher education because we are unable to step back and see how systems thinking can help us do more with everything we already have.
Start with why
These reflections mirrored the work we have developed with our colleague Rachel Forsyth, across several institutions over the last few years. This work started with a passion to improve students’ experiences and colleague wellbeing within HE, discussed and debated over many cups of coffee along the lines of “why do HE institutions seem to be stuck and what was it about institutional culture that was holding them back from making systemic improvements for students?” We were curious, committed to collaborating with anyone who shared our passions and keen to understand and explore this “Why?’”
We believed strongly that the starting point of interrogating the “why” had to be a focus on inclusivity; to hear a wide range of perspectives, not listen through the filters of our preconceived ideas. We provided spaces that gave students, colleagues and external stakeholders time to talk, listen and understand; gaining the wisdom of a range of perspectives and objectivity about their experiences.
Central to this work is really hearing people with an open mind, valuing their stories and acknowledging the interconnectedness of complex personal and cultural factors. This showed us how we could find a shared purpose in those intentional changes that moved us ever closer to that nirvana of the “whole provider approach” with the right environment of policies, processes, places and systems that support a truly inclusive student experience.
Cautious, but confident
Through this intentional approach, working with all stakeholders, we identified how a wicked problem model could be used to frame quality enhancement projects, promote an inclusive, quality culture across an institution, and predict and manage the potential (un)intended consequences of change, using five key steps:
- Identifying all stakeholders in the ecosystem
- Acknowledging their voices and perspectives; acknowledging their histories
- Identifying social and cultural factors to understand the complex weave of cause and effect
- Developing incremental solutions to intentionally adapt
- Evaluating and learning so we move closer to our aspirations.
Over 18 years we have developed an approach, based on cumulative grounded theory, that takes smaller steps, each invested in by our students and colleagues, from which we can learn what works for us and our complex, dynamic, ever-changing situation. In this approach we acknowledge that there are no standalone issues, and that we need to connect the dots and take a longer view to (e)quality, knowing that we won’t be able to deliver everything, everywhere all at once. When there are no easy answers or consensus on the funding of UK higher education this approach also focuses on ensuring that funding of large scale institutional change is effective.
We know there isn’t an obvious fix for the sector’s problems, and we know that what we might do to make it better tomorrow could become obsolete in two years with the pace of change. If we are to make a difference, we need to recognise that complexity and adopt a new approach that allows us to step cautiously, but confidently forward. Using a wicked problem theory framework to transparently co-create solutions with all stakeholders, enables institutions to step back and consider how to drive success, lead innovation and empower both staff and students.
Ultimately, through identifying both the intended and unintended consequences of change, it can also build trust and partnerships, two things that were identified as vital for long term institutional success. Please do get in touch with Claire or Neil if you want to explore how we can work better together to tame our wicked problems.
