Transformation and Efficiency Taskforce: Towards a new era of collaboration

The UK’s universities matter now more than ever. They are integral to the prosperity of their local communities, regions, the UK and to the global community. They drive economic growth, equip graduates with opportunities for a more prosperous life, help solve some of the most fundamental challenges of our age, and drive social mobility across the country. 

Yet, the UK higher education sector stands at a critical point. Rising costs and real-terms reductions in their income streams have left universities under severe financial pressure. Universities have responded to the pressure – they have found ways to continue to deliver life-changing education and world-changing research with less. But continued pressure may risk impacting universities’ capacity to deliver prosperity, and their ability to support the government’s ambitions for growth, technology and skills development. 

The report, created by the UUK transformation and efficiency taskforce, calls for a fundamental shift in thinking, with a much greater focus on how universities across the UK can work together, share services and assets, and collaborate in the national interest. It identifies seven opportunities open to the university sector, and the action needed from central government to enable universities to drive such change.  

Opportunities to support transformation and efficiency

1. Pursuing innovative collaborative structures
2. Sharing more services and infrastructure – a concept supporting by 91% of senior leaders surveyed by the Taskforce
3. Using economies of scale and sector buying power
4. Supporting digital transformation
5. Adopting a common approach to assessing efficiency and benchmarking costs
6. Evolving leadership and governance
7. Creating the right policy and regulatory environment that helps universities go further, faster 

Actions to support these opportunities include:

• Producing advice and guidance on themes including digital transformation; federations, group structures and mergers; and shared physical infrastructure
• Developing business cases for national level shared initiatives
• Developing an approach to support ongoing collaboration and sector improvement
• Asking established sector organisations to review approaches to collaboration and take action to support efficiency and transformation
• Government supporting universities to go further by removing barriers such as VAT restrictions, providing transformation funding to catalyse transformation, and collaborating with the sector to create a funding and regulatory framework that is more supportive of collaboration

See the full publication, including recommendations and case studies: Transformation and Efficiency: Towards a new era of collaboration (Pdf)