The anatomy of change: An insider’s perspective

Abstract

This reflective paper is an account and analyses of the change process forced upon a university’s education department in the light of unexpected financial downfall. Rather than rehearse the well documented research on innovation and change it focuses on the process from the head of department’s prospective. The issues raised highlight that there remain aspects of the change not yet fully documented and understood. These are discussed and used to illustrate how departments might prepare themselves for the changes they will inevitably face.

Acknowledgements

My thanks to Richard Davies and three anonymous referees for their very helpful comments on the first draft of this paper.

Notes

1. The policy at my university is that every head of department oversees their department’s income and expenditure, and has responsibility for balancing the books. The funding in my department came from two main sources—teaching and research. Much of the research funding was awarded by the Government and based on success in the Research Assessment Exercise (see below).

2. All university departments in the UK are eligible for consideration in the Research Assessment Exercise. On the basis of the quality of their research, departments are awarded a rating. In 2001, this ranged from one to five star. The rating awarded has significant funding implications for the departments concerned.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anne D. Cockburn

Anne D. Cockburn is a Reader in the school of education and lifelong learning at the university of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK (e‐mail: [email protected]). She was head of department from 2001–2004. She is an experienced teacher, educator, researcher and manager.