Higher Education strategies research

The brief

• A leading HE service provider commissioned Shift to undertake research to identify trends, similarities and differences around the strategic direction of universities since a similar piece of research they conducted 2 years earlier.

• The objective was to gain a better understanding of the PVC/VC community and challenges currently facing the HE sector, while gaining understanding of what products and services they could develop for the sector.

The approach

• The research consisted of 8 interviews, lasting one hour each.

• Half were conducted face-to-face and half over the phone.

• A range of university types were sampled.

• Interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using grid-based thematic analysis.

The value

• Shift provided an in-depth overview of the current landscape within the HE sector, with detail on the current challenges facing universities and the strategic decisions they are making to address them.

• Harnessing this insight, Shift were able to provide well-informed recommendations to the client as to the products and services they should look to develop in both the short and long-term future.