The Awards

Outstanding Leadership and Management Team

Sponsored by

This award will go to the institution that demonstrates the greatest breadth and depth of leadership and management skills, including many of those recognised by other award categories. Outline all the areas in which you have excelled; ensure that you provide benchmark data to show exactly how your institution has delivered best practice management across the board. Describe the impact of your work. Provide examples of creative management across the institution, of anticipation of new higher education agendas or of leadership in external stakeholder relations. If your entry is based on a particular initiative or initiatives, explain how your team contributed to the outcomes. Describe how your work improves on standard practice in the sector.

Outstanding University Fundraising Team

This award will be given to the team that demonstrates innovation and success in fundraising. What initiatives have your team come up with to encourage fundraising? If your entry is based on a particular initiative or initiatives, explain how the team contributed to the outcomes. How successful were you? Qualify and quantify your statements. Judges will look for evidence of innovative strategies, of targets being surpassed, and of fundraising responsibility being integrated across the wider leadership and management team. Show how your team has created high added value and built up external relationships, and explain how your team’s work improves on standard practice in the sector while addressing the challenges and opportunities to be found in new higher education agendas.

Outstanding Human Resources Team

This award aims to recognise outstanding work in human resources departments. Judges will look for good all-round strategic performance, including but not limited to: organisational development tools; effective communication between HR and the wider academic community; cross-institutional ownership of HR by non-HR leaders (academic and professional); internal evaluation of your department’s effectiveness; initiatives to support your institution’s strategic plan; succession planning and talent management; HR’s contribution to improving institutional performance; and adoption of high-quality solutions and practice from other sectors outside higher education. If you have been involved in restructuring, downsizing or other initiatives linked to funding cuts, outline how these have been achieved. If your entry is based on a particular initiative or initiatives, explain how your team contributed to the outcomes. Detail how your team’s work improves on standard practice in the sector and demonstrates innovative responses to challenges and opportunities from the new higher education agendas.

Outstanding Estates Team

Sponsored by

This award aims to recognise outstanding work in estates departments. Outline your team’s major achievements in property and facilities management over the past three academic years. Examples could include redevelopments, innovative new buildings or the successful implementation of a new estates strategy. How are you developing and encouraging sustainable solutions in your buildings and around your campus? How have you worked to reduce estates costs, and what savings have you delivered? For example, have you looked at sharing the management of your facilities with other educational establishments or considered outsourcing more work? Show how you have engaged the wider institutional leadership in estates issues, and provide examples of the adoption of high-quality solutions and practice from sectors outside higher education. If your entry is based on a particular initiative or initiatives, explain how your team contributed to the outcomes. Outline how your team’s work improves on standard practice in the sector and demonstrates innovative responses to challenges and opportunities from new higher education agendas.

Outstanding Finance Team

Sponsored by

This award aims to recognise outstanding work in finance departments. Give an overview of your institution’s financial strategy and show how your team contributed to its development and implementation. Judges will look for evidence of effective cost control, budgeting, improvements in auditing processes and the smart use of relevant leading-edge practice from other sectors. Demonstrate how your team successfully communicates financial initiatives to and works with others in your institution to foster a sense of shared ownership across non-finance leaders and managers. If your entry is based on a particular initiative or initiatives, explain how your team contributed to the outcomes. Describe how your team’s work improves on standard practice in the sector and exemplifies innovative responses to challenges and opportunities from new higher education agendas.

Outstanding Marketing / Communications Team

This award aims to recognise outstanding work in marketing and communications departments. Show how your communications strategy and initiatives have delivered quantifiable changes in the public perception of your institution or have reshaped behaviour within it. Supply examples of shared collaborative ownership of marketing and communications initiatives across your institution’s leadership and management teams and highlight the effective use of leading-edge practices from other sectors. Outline your objectives for the past year, and explain how your team met or exceeded them. If your entry is based on a particular initiative or initiatives, explain how your team contributed to the outcomes. Judges will welcome evidence including testimonials, press cuttings, sample advertisements and web pages as part of the entry. Explain how your team’s work improves on standard practice in the sector and demonstrates innovative responses to the challenges and opportunities from new agendas facing higher education.

Outstanding Library Team

This award aims to recognise outstanding work in library and information-services departments. Explain how your team has personalised the delivery and support of library space, services and content provision. Describe how the team developed the library’s digital environment to benefit users. Detail how your team exploited physical and virtual space to provide a complementary, blended service. If your entry is based on a particular initiative or initiatives, explain how your team contributed to the outcomes. Judges will look for evidence of collaboration with other administrative and academic departments that enhanced your team’s delivery and for examples of the effective use of leading-edge practices from other sectors. Explain how your work improves on standard practice in the sector and demonstrates innovative responses to the challenges and opportunities from new agendas facing higher education.

ICT Initiative of the Year

Sponsored by

This award recognises the ICT initiative that had the greatest impact on an institution’s administrative processes in the academic year 2010-11. Describe the initiative and demonstrate how it was implemented successfully. Outline the wider innovations and technologies that you have exploited to ensure that your ICT systems deliver a robust and secure service; be sure to quantify its impact on your institution. Provide examples of shared collaborative ownership of your initiatives across the institution. Judges will look for initiatives that could have wider benefits if adopted throughout the sector and for the effective use of leading-edge practices from sectors outside higher education. Explain how the initiative improves on standard practice in the sector and demonstrates innovative responses to the challenges and opportunities from new agendas facing higher education.

Outstanding Student Services Team

Sponsored by

This award aims to recognise outstanding work in student services teams. If you have delivered a great service in this area, detail what you have done, how it has secured improvements and how it has benefited students. Judges will look for evidence of impact and innovation and shared collaborative ownership of initiatives across your institution’s leadership and management teams. Submissions could include details of a successful new collaboration with another department, professional service or students’ union, or with an external partner such as another higher education institution, the NHS or other agency; they could also include such things as a recent reorganisation of student services that has improved service or efficiency. Explain how your team used feedback and evaluations from staff, students and other sources to improve its performance and to evaluate the outcome of any changes. If your entry is based on a particular initiative or initiatives, explain how your team contributed to its success. Explain how your work improves on standard practice in the sector and demonstrates innovative responses to the challenges and opportunities from new agendas facing higher education.

Outstanding International Strategy

This award will be given to the institution with the most innovative internationalisation policy. Outline your institution’s strategy and aims. These may cover anything from initiatives to attract more overseas students and efforts to deliver teaching and research in places such as India, Africa, the Middle East or East Asia right up to full-scale international partnerships. Explain how your institution’s professional and support staff contributed to building its international capacity. Show evidence of your strategy’s effectiveness. This may include how you established your institution’s brand; engaged with overseas partners; ensured a high-quality experience for international students; employed technology and maintained effective communications with staff overseas; and made effective use of leading-edge practices from other sectors. Provide evidence of shared collaborative ownership of initiatives across your institution’s leadership and management teams. Explain how your strategy improves on standard practice in the sector and demonstrates innovative responses to the challenges and opportunities from new agendas facing higher education.

Knowledge Exchange / Transfer Initiative of the Year

This award recognises the most innovative and original initiative in knowledge exchange or transfer in the academic year 2010-11. Outline the initiative’s origins and explain what makes it innovative. Describe its objectives and detail how these have been met or exceeded. Judges will look for effective collaboration between academics, administrators and business partners and for the effective use of leading-edge practices from other sectors. Explain how your initiative has had a transformative effect on both your institution and your non-academic partner or partners, and demonstrate how it constitutes an innovative response to the challenges and opportunities from new agendas facing higher education.

Outstanding Student Admissions Team

This award recognises outstanding work in student admissions. Outline your admissions processes. If your entry is based on a particular initiative or initiatives, explain how your team contributed to the outcomes. Describe how your team has built links with local schools and colleges as part of your institution’s widening-participation remit. Demonstrate how you have reached out to other groups, such as international, disabled or mature students, and how you worked with them during the application process. Provide evidence of shared collaborative ownership of initiatives across the institution’s leadership and management teams and show effective use of leading-edge practices from other sectors. Explain how your work improves on standard practice in the sector and demonstrates innovative responses to the challenges and opportunities from new agendas facing higher education.

Outstanding Registry Team

This award recognises outstanding work within registry teams. Outline your team’s structure and objectives, and show how these feed into the successful running of your institution. Explain how your team supports strategic and operational planning, innovation in teaching and learning and the implementation of government initiatives. Judges will look for evidence of excellent communication with both internal and external customers and stakeholders and will expect to see shared collaborative ownership of initiatives across the institution’s leadership and management teams. If your entry is based on a particular initiative or initiatives, explain how your team contributed to the outcomes. Provide evidence of the effective use of leading-edge practices from other sectors. Explain how your work improves on standard practice in the sector and demonstrates innovative responses to the challenges and opportunities from new agendas facing higher education.

Outstanding Departmental Administration Team

This award recognises outstanding work in departmental administration. Judges will look for evidence of excellent communication and balanced delivery based on the needs of students, academics and your institution’s central administration. Describe the challenges faced in the academic year 2010-11 and how your team met them. If your entry is based on a particular initiative or initiatives, explain how your team contributed to the outcomes. Provide evidence of shared collaborative ownership of initiatives across the institution’s leadership and management teams and highlight the effective use of leading-edge practices from other sectors. Explain how your work improves on standard practice in the sector and demonstrates innovative responses to the challenges and opportunities from new agendas facing higher education.

Outstanding Procurement Team

This award recognises outstanding work in procurement. Explain how your procurement strategy supported institutional aims and objectives. Outline how your team developed and implemented procurement policies and released savings and efficiencies to reinvest in your institution. Judges will look for evidence of excellent communication with internal stakeholders as well as suppliers, purchasing consortia and other organisations with similar goods and services requirements. If your entry is based on a particular initiative or initiatives, explain how your team contributed to the outcomes. Provide evidence of shared collaborative ownership of your initiatives across the institutions’ leadership and management teams and highlight the effective use of leading-edge practices from other sectors. Explain how your work improves on standard practice in the sector and demonstrates innovative responses to the challenges and opportunities from new agendas facing higher education.