HESPA Development

This session gives participants a structured and systematic understanding of the strategy-development and strategic planning process. In it, a clear case will be made for the separation of strategy from strategic planning and then a process will be shown for their development. Many practical tools and techniques for strategy development will be presented, with interactive sessions and templates for participants to take away to apply in their own institution.

By the end of this session, you will have:

• a structured process for producing a strategy,
• awareness of tools and techniques to apply to the different stages of strategy development 
• an understanding of what it means to validate a strategy before launch

Next events: 

• 13 and 14 May 2025

CPD Certificate accredited

The Annual Planning Process is fundamental to the implementation of strategy, and yet frequently it seems that what it delivers is not commensurate with the effort and time it absorbs. This session will explore what makes annual planning challenging and how to create a process that works for your university.  

The session begins from the perspective that the annual planning round must be a structured strategic conversation if it is to be effective, and the sessions will be structured as a set of conversations allowing participants to reflect on the issues and think through what will work in their own environment.

By the end of this session participants will   

• understand the purpose of the annual planning  process and be able to assess their own and enhance their process
• be able to understand their roles in order to build a successful planning process 
• be able to build an integrated planning process that supports strategic decisions for their institutions.  

Next event: 26 and 27 June 2025

CPD Certificate accredited

This ‘Introduction to HE data’ seminar is designed to provide colleagues new to data roles with a comprehensive overview and induction to the world of Higher Education data. The virtual version, which is held in two sessions over consecutive days, will give attendees an understanding of best practice when analysing HE data, and offer ideas for how their learning can be used in practice. Whilst a broad range of data sources will be covered, there will be a particular focus on HESA data and how it can be used to inform decision making across your organisation.

The session will be delivered by Daniel Kidd, Deputy Academic Registrar at the University of Wolverhampton and formerly Head of Training and Consultancy at HESA, via a combination of presentations, and there will be an opportunity for participants to ask questions after each section. There may also be a short piece of homework to complete in between sessions.

Next events:

• 4 and 5 June 2025

CPD Certificate accredited

In this workshop we will discuss a variety of frameworks and tools that will help HEIs implement strategy, monitor results against targets and objectives, and improve performance. Specifically, we will cover the following topics:

- How to design and implement KPIs to understand and compare performance

- How to introduce process targets to promote collaboration across functions

- Benchmarking and comparing performance

- How to foster a culture of performance

To do so, we will also review aspects such as data quality and visualisation, and stakeholder analysis and engagement.

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Develop more robust KPIs and targets to promote collaboration and performance improvement.
• Understand how data can be transformed into information to improve processes and services.
• Identify the kind of changes in leadership, management and governance that will foster a culture of performance.

Next events: 

8 + 9 April 2025

Ever been caught off-guard by your VC and asked what ‘we’ should think about a policy proposal? Ever been tasked with writing a consultation response whilst coordinating a HESA return and not known what to say? Or maybe you have had a 700 page document send to your in-tray in the middle of a planning round been told ‘read this by 5pm and summarise’. Does any of this sound familiar?   If so then this practical workshop might be for you. In this workshop, attendees will learn how to digest information, how to come up with opinions and how to communicate them effectively . 

Data is a crucial part of decision-making within any planning department – but we only truly get value from the numbers when we can present them effectively to other stakeholders. This course will give attendees the confidence and critical skills to translate their knowledge of the data into compelling visual presentations across a range of formats.

The course will lead attendees through a repeatable framework – evaluating the needs of the audience, identifying the key message, selecting the right chart, and using colour and design techniques to enhance the storytelling. The course will also cover the practical use of filters and drilldowns for interactive dashboards.

After the course delegates will be able to:

• Create compelling visualisations from their own data.
• Analyse the needs and data-literacy of different audiences.
• Apply simple design techniques to enhance their visualisations.
• Understand how graphical perception guides choices of charts and other visuals.
• Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of data visualisations, and improve them.
• Understand how to use layers of information in interactive visualisations.

Next events: 

• 17 and 18 June 2025

CPD Certificate accredited

The Imposter Syndrome describes a condition where we feel that we don’t deserve the position, responsibility or profile that we have. People who suffer with Imposter Syndrome often forget to think about all the things that they do achieve and all the skills and qualities that they do have. We will tackle all these issues at this workshop.  

Next event: TBC

This session aims to support participants to understand what Business Partnering is; helping them to understand and develop some of the behaviours and skills that might be useful in developing their own partnership working.

By the end of the sessions participants will:

• Understand what Business Partnering is and what it might means for how they work in Strategic Planning
• Have identified actions to ‘stop, start and continue’ to take as a Strategic Partner
• Know the difference between Partnering behaviours and those of an expert and a supporter
• Have identified when they will take on the different sets of behaviours and the pros and cons of each
• Be able to increase their perceived ‘status’ within the organisation by taking on appropriate partnering behaviours
• Be able to ‘contract’ with a partner in the business
• Have assessed themselves against a set of Business Partnering competencies
• Understand how best to work with Business Partners in other functions
• Have identified the first actions to take as a partner

Next events: 

• 21 and 22 May 2025

This half-day interactive workshop is designed to help participants discover their unique communication style and learn to recognise the styles of others. By gaining insights into how they and their stakeholders prefer to communicate they can gain greater influence and foster a more trusting and productive work environment.

By the end of this session participants will:

• Understand their own communication preferences and those of their internal and external stakeholders
• Recognise their own preferred communication styles
• Adapt their own communication styles to that of their stakeholders
• Prepare the most effective communications when they don’t know the style of their stakeholder or when communicating with a group with mixed preferences
• Learn to handle communications from those stakeholders who are perceived as either ‘difficult’ or those who have a different preferred communication style to themselves

Next event: TBC

Unlock the ability to influence others to take action with our comprehensive storytelling workshop. This workshop will equip participants with the tools and techniques needed to craft compelling narratives that resonates with their audience and drive action.

This 2 x ½ day workshop begins with an exploration of the fundamentals of storytelling in a higher education setting. It will include the essential elements that make a great story, including structure and emotional engagement. Through interactive exercises, participants will discover how to identify and articulate their core message, ensuring stories align with objectives and influence the required actions.

By the end of this workshop, participants will:

• Understand why stories are so helpful to influence others to take action
• Know how to structure their stories using the story arc
• Have learned key tips from hypnosis to strengthen their influencing power
• Be able to link data to the story arc to increase buy-in even further
• Create a storyboard for their story
• Learn tips and techniques to maximise the impact of their story
• Have presented their own story and received feedback on how to make it even more powerful
  

Next event: TBC

The Structural Deficit in Higher Education means institutions must be ready and able to handle yet more change. Senior leaders rely on Strategic Planners to innovate through improvements in student number planning, enhancing and adapting Business Planning Rounds in-year to allow for scenario planning, coping with Data Model changes, and even automating workflows.

Would you like some practical advice to help implement change? Whether it’s a new reporting system, planning round or even a small-scale cultural change like improving your data query service on a limited budget, this course will provide you with the tools and templates to help understand and implement change more successfully.

By the end of the sessions, participants will:

• Have a solid understanding of how people react to change and what factors are important in dealing successfully with change.   
• Understand different behaviours observed during change       
• Have a practical tool to help identify actions to take to to engage with change more positively  
• Have identified actions to ‘stop, start and continue’ to help themselves or others impacted by change, engage with change more positively
• Understand that there are different approaches to supporting people through change and have detailed understanding of the ADKAR model of individual change
• Be able to use ADKAR to develop a practical plan for how to successfully implement a given change with a group of stakeholders at their institution.

Next events: TBC

For a large, participative organisation, such as a HEP, 
stakeholder engagement is vital to its ways of working. Strategy only succeeds if a wide range of individuals, from senior leadership to front line teams, understand the intentions of strategy and are committed to the changes it mandates. This course will give participants a practical and applicable understanding of stakeholder engagement in strategy along with the tools and processes to undertake engagement activities. It will include workshop sessions for participants to try out engagement processes and explore how their institution compares to their peers in terms of appetite for engagement.

By the end of the course participants will

• Understand the importance of stakeholder engagement in strategy.
• Be able to make the case for stakeholder engagement within their own institution.
• Be able to map different types of stakeholder engagement and understand how they fit across the strategy lifecycle.
• Have a practical understanding of how to engage with stakeholders during strategy development and after strategy launch.
• Understand the governance of stakeholder engagement in a University setting.

Next Events:

2 and 3 April 2025