2 Knowledge Base - Making Strategic ICT work for your Institution

The UK HE sector is a mature public sector that operates from a background of great history and tradition that is embraced within its governance and management.

The use of ICT is widely accepted as essential and a significant factor in the strategic development of today's HE institutions. Its deployment across an institution's teaching and learning, research and professional services is complex and attracts major capital investment and operational budgets. With ICT embedded across an institution the need to align and integrate ICT strategy with institutional strategies becomes of immense importance.

Figure 2 represents a generic map of Institutional strategies and their relationship with ICT strategy. In practice, these strategies normally exist in their own right although some institutions favour including ICT as inherent within individual strategies.

The integrated and aligned relationship between ICT and other institutional strategies
Figure 2 - The alignment of ICT and other institutional strategies

Our research interviews and field tests confirmed institutions' commitment to ICT as a key asset and its governance and management but highlighted the need for improved governance to meet the complex organisation and management structures of HEIs.