Peer Learning Workshop
"Funding in Higher Education: The Deans' perspective"
Berlin, 5-6 October 2010
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The workshop topics
The workshop focused on links between funding and institutional strategies as well as the realization of internal funding reforms in higher education institutions. The topics included:
The link between strategies and funding:
• Promotion of institutional/faculty strategies through funding mechanisms• Special strategy for institutional/faculty funding: financial diversification
The knowledge on “hard” instrumental issues:
• Potential and tools for goal- and output-oriented budgeting, degrees and forms of (de-)centralization of budgets
• Tools to ensure financial sustainability
The “soft” factors of funding reforms:
• Funding reforms as a task of change management
• The role of rectors/deans in the internal reform of funding systems
The final list of topics was decided together with the participants, according to their needs, interests and previous experience.
One additional feature of the MODERN peer learning workshop was that peers and experts jointly found answers to the problems identified and that various moderation techniques were used to stimulate peer learning in a structured and result-oriented way.
The participants
The MODERN peer learning workshop was designed especially for deans and vice-deans.
The experts
The workshop was moderated by Frank Ziegele, director of CHE Centre for Higher Education Development (Germany), Professor for Higher Education Management, who was involved in the conceptual design and realization of many reform projects on higher education funding during the last 13 years.Two experts brought in concentrated inputs on funding in higher education and the dean’s perspective throughout the workshop, based on their experiences:
- Peter West, former Secretary to the University of Strathclyde, as such having been responsible for all the professional services of the University, including Finance, HR, Estates and Planning. He was President of IMHE from 1998-2002. He has been involved in Higher Education management training in many parts of the world.
- Flemming G. Andersen, Dean Faculty of Humanities, University of Southern Denmark who is the Chair of DEAN (Deans’ European and Academics’ Network) under the auspices of ESMU (European Centre for Strategic Management of Universities). He is also member of AC’s Think Tank on Universities and Member of various Ministerial committees.
Both Peter West and Flemming Andersen are on the Steering Committee of the ESMU-HUMANE European Winter School for Senior University Administrators.
Since the workshop was designed as a peer learning event, the participants also shared their own knowledge and expertise.
Since the workshop was designed as a peer learning event, the participants also shared their own knowledge and expertise.
The structure
Tuesday 5/10/2010
16:30 Registration and coffee/tea reception
17:00 Opening by Prof. Dr. Frank Ziegele
- Round of introduction
- Collection of topics to be discussed (incl. the relevant instruments of resource allocation to be discussed), introduction of the agenda for the second day (Ziegele)
- Presentation and discussion of experts´ case studies and views on funding for faculties, taking into account the four topics (West/Andersen)
19:00 Dinner
Wednesday 6/10/2010
09:00 Opening, welcome
09:10 Peer learning I: Promotion of strategies by funding instruments (Case Study, discussion of examples and experiences)
10:30 Coffee break
10:45 Peer learning II: The instruments of resource allocation, their strengths and weaknesses (gallery walk, theoretical input, discussion)
12:30 Lunch
13:30 Peer learning III: Good practices in generating new funding sources (expert impulse, collection of experiences)
14:30 Peer learning IV: funding reforms as an issue of change management (two rounds of peer consulting)
16:30 End