Let's Talk Value Conference 2020

Overview

The Let's Talk Value event will look at continuing the dialogue about value and looking through the lens of integrated thinking and reporting – a strategic approach to communicating how an organisation uses resources to create value for its stakeholders beyond their financial inputs. This one-day symposium will discuss new developments, challenges and progress in how institutions communicate and report the value created through all their activities in education and research.   

Conference Focus

The conference will showcase insights from beyond HE and debate some critical issues to challenge HE leaders to be more holistic and to demonstrate, beyond financial, the value that universities create for students, society and the economy. It will consider how institutional strategies, such as sustainability, knowledge exchange and the effective use of resources can help senior leaders (both professional and academic), to demonstrate value and make better decisions for sustainable success.

Delegates will hear from some universities who have, and are looking at, ‘value’ using a multi-capitals approach such as integrated reporting (a principles-based framework), as a lens to help them navigate the changing expectations of different stakeholders and to better articulate and demonstrate the value they create for all stakeholders. The re-thinking of value by this pathfinder group of universities has shown some real insights on how to tackle the current challenges around perceptions of value and communicating how higher education creates value. 

Even though universities are primarily about people, ideas and relationships, management focus is often on financial performance and inputs rather than outputs and outcomes. Thinking in a more integrated way brings stakeholders of a university onto the same level playing field when it comes to understanding impacts and outcomes. This is much deeper and wider than value for money – it is about understanding the relationships between the resources available to a university, the stakeholders impacted by the activities of the institution and the consequent creation (or destruction) of value across all activities. 

The panel will include Professor Eunice Simmons, EAUC Board Member and Vice-Chancellor at University of Chester.

Eunice leads NTU’s Academic and Student Affairs directorate, encompassing the student journey from primary school through university to graduate employment. She aims for a leadership style which is collegiate and based on strong, authentic collaborations across the University and beyond. Eunice has worked in five diverse institutions: University of London’s Wye and Imperial Colleges, UCLan, University of Cumbria and Nottingham Trent, in roles that include Course Leader, Head of School, Dean and Pro Vice-Chancellor. This has given her a sound understanding of how strategy and operation interlink - and how to build capacity for horizon-scanning and implementation in all of her teams.
  
A crucial part of her current DVC role is to create the optimal conditions for innovation in all areas of practice. Recent team achievements include a significant apprenticeship portfolio with 170 companies and a curriculum refresh to embed inclusivity, sustainability and graduate outcomes in all courses.  Eunice ensured that NTU was the first university to sign the Social Mobility Pledge and, through this and co-leadership of the new TASO-HE evidence and impact exchange, she has encouraged Nottingham Trent  to strive for equality of opportunity and success for all of its students. In January 2020, Eunice will embark on a new role at the University of Chester as its second ever Vice-Chancellor and is looking forward to all the challenges this will bring!

For further details and to book, please click here.