Development projects as a vehicle for managing change in higher education: learning from the journey

Abstract

In relation to all sectors of education governments are increasingly using ‘special funding’ initiatives as a means of stimulating activity on matters which they consider should be prioritised. An early example of this in the higher education sector was Enterprise in Higher Education which was followed by a series of Higher Education Projects Fund (HEPF) initiatives. This article focuses on the experience of one of these, a set of Guidance and Learner Autonomy (GALA) projects, where the externally funded project strategy is presented as a model for the management of change in higher education. The first major concern is to address the process of how change was implemented. Here, the authors examine how projects accounted for the context they operated in; how they established their intentions; how they attempted to bring people on board; and how they planned for continuance in the post-funding period. The second major concern is to reflect on the potential of such projects as a vehicle for change and as a source of learning about project management and the process of managing change in higher education. Here, the authors identify issues raised and lessons learned from the project experience. These are to do with context, planning, ownership, leadership and continuance. Finally, reflection on these leads the authors to the conclusion that innovation is not likely to prosper in the context of a mechanistic, structural-functionalist approach that emphasises the objective structure and the rationality of organisations. Rather, the adoption of a micro-political framework is called for, where the organisation is seen as an arena for action, the core of which is formed by a multiplicity of interests, agendas, goals and motives