Introduction
1 The Agency wishes to develop and improve its relations with its individual subscribing institutions. We have always had a formal, wide-ranging liaison role with the sector as a whole through, for example, our many consultations with stakeholders, the sector's representation on the Agency's Board of Directors and through the review function itself. But we have not until now made any attempt to have an informal but structured dialogue with those individual higher education institutions (HEIs) that would like to have one. The change of review methods and the fact that the standards infrastructure has been developed and is being implemented now provide an opportunity for us to consider ways in which we can get to know and understand individual institutions better.
2 The changing nature of higher education and the issues faced by HEIs,
not least the development of the standards infrastructure and the implementation
of its constituent elements, have established a broader context for our
relationship with HEIs themselves.
We need to appreciate the individual environments in which HEIs are working and
to get an overall view of the way our policies are affecting them. We hope that
the development of a new liaison policy, which is separate from audit and review,
will facilitate this kind of understanding - through the provision of a forum
for discussion and feedback. We also hope that this forum will provide the opportunity
for more than just the passing on of information that currently defines many
of the day-to-day interactions between Agency officers and HEIs.
3 This paper describes a proposal for providing a liaison officer for each HEI that would like to have one. The role envisaged for liaison officers is focused and refers to specific aspects of the relationship between the Agency and its subscribers. Its main purpose is to foster mutual understanding; it is not intended to be a consultancy or detailed advisory function.
The benefits of the liaison officer proposal
4 The creation of liaison officers should benefit both HEIs and the Agency itself. We see the benefits of the liaison officer role to HEIs as being:
- the fostering of an atmosphere of mutual trust and understanding between the Agency and the sector;
- the provision of a means through which HEIs can influence the agenda for the further development of the academic infrastructure;
- an increase/improvement in the understanding of Agency policies and a means through which HEIs can explain to the Agency how these policies impact upon them, both centrally and at the faculty/school/departmental levels;
- the provision of a means of active feedback for the HEI;
- the provision of an immediate contact at the Agency for new members of institutional staff;
- the initiation of possible regional links through discussion among liaison officers;
- the improvement of two-way communication and a reduction in possible misunderstandings.
5 We see the benefits of the liaison officer role for the Agency as being:
- the fostering of an atmosphere of mutual trust and understanding between the Agency and the sector;
- the provision of detailed, themed information that will feed into the Agency's development strategy;
- a better understanding of individual institutions' working environments;
- the improvement of two-way communication and a reduction in possible misunderstandings.
6 Liaison officers will provide a first point of contact at the Agency for each institution so that it can discuss any issues or queries with someone who has developed a relationship with, and understanding of, that particular institution. It will be for the institution to decide how it wishes to manage its arrangements with the liaison officer. Obviously, although we hope the role will go beyond occasional, problem-related contact between one institutional representative and a liaison officer, there will be some limitations on the officers' time according to the nature of their other Agency work. It will be important for the officer and the HEI to find a means of working within the limits of available resources.
7 The role will be carried out by Agency staff who have a knowledge of the HE sector as a whole and the issues it faces; a high level and broad knowledge of the work of the Agency; a willingness to be flexible in terms of the different kind of liaison relationships that that different institutions might want to develop; an ability to work closely with a number of institutions and to maintain confidentiality in all cases; an ability to draw together common themes and to recognise where these themes might impact on other information gathered or on ongoing work in the Agency; and good interpersonal skills.
8 The liaison officer will be expected, amongst other things, to explore and develop an understanding of how Agency policies and their implementation impact on the institution both at central and faculty/school/departmental levels. From the Agency's point of view, the role will be about listening and understanding.
How will the role work in practice?
9 A letter will be sent to institutions giving details of their allocated liaison officer. The institution will be asked to provide contact details only if it wishes to have a liaison officer. There will be no requirement to do so and an institution may well be happy with its current level of contact with us. The liaison officer will make initial contact with the institution in order that s/he may introduce him/herself. It will then be for the contact and the liaison officer to decide how the link will be taken forward.
Relationship between the liaison officer's role and that of the Agency audit manager
10 The liaison role will be different, and completely separate, from that of the management of any of the Agency's audit/review activities. The role is intended to assist the Agency in working with HEIs outside the review function. In order for the role to work, though, there will need to be a clear understanding of the differing nature of the information gathered through each function (liaison and audit/review) and the two will have to be kept separate. For this reason, no member of staff will manage the audit of an institution for which s/he is liaison officer and the HEI will be asked not to use the liaison officer in relation to its audit or other reviews.
11 Any information about an institution that the liaison officer may gain in the course of discussions will not be part of the information set used for individual audits or other reviews.
12 Different kinds of information will emerge from contacts between a liaison officer and an institution. If information is considered particularly sensitive by the institution it will need to make it clear that it is given on an 'in confidence' basis. Information will only be made public with the institution's agreement.
13 The Agency's Development and Enhancement Group will manage the liaison officer scheme, will evaluate the generic information it provides and will consider further work that might be undertaken with the sector.
Consultation with the sector
14 It is very important that HEIs fully understand the purpose, scope, and limitations of the liaison function. Prior to the production of this briefing note the Development and Enhancement Group held a meeting with invited members of the sector in order to discuss the various issues raised by the liaison officer role. The very helpful comments and suggestions made at that meeting have been incorporated into these proposals. The liaison officer function will continue to be developed in the light of our experience over the first years of its implementation and will be reviewed after three years. At that point we will be seeking HEIs' views on how useful they have found the role as it developed at their institution.
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