Navigating the Intersection of Quality Assurance and Innovation to Make an Impact: Learning from a QAA-funded enhancement project
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Navigating the Intersection of Quality Assurance and Innovation to Make an Impact: Learning from a QAA-funded enhancement project
- 1. Navigating the Intersection of Quality Assurance and Innovation to make an Impact: Learning from a QAA funded enhancement project Professor Gary C Wood, Academic Director, NMITE gary.wood@nmite.ac.uk | @gcwood.bsky.social Emma Lewis, Head of Quality Assurance emma.lewis@nmite.ac.uk
- 2. Our QAA Enhancement Project • NMITE – small innovative new provider established in HE “coldspot” • We wondered if we were “doing” quality differently… • From Jan 2023–May 2024, NMITE led a QAA- funded enhancement project: “When Quality Assurance Meets Innovation in Higher Education” • We partnered with: Arden University, Arts University Bournemouth, Dyson Institute of Engineering Technology, TEDI London, UCL.
- 3. Key Questions • Is there a conflict – or at least a tension – between QA and innovation? • Under what conditions does QA best support innovation? • Do new providers ‘do’ quality differently?
- 4. Project Methodology • Literature review • Survey exploring experiences of innovation and QA amongst UK higher education professionals (176 respondents) • Sector Webinars discussing key areas (198 participants) • Six focus groups (25 participants) • Six case studies of innovation and QA.
- 5. Innovation and Quality – Your Perspective • The project involved some rich conversations around quality and innovation – both blockers and opportunities. • But what does the intersection of innovation and quality assurance feel like for you right now?
- 6. Group Discussion • In groups – introduce yourselves and your role/context • Think about innovating in your current context and how this might interact with quality assurance – what does this feel like? • You have an array of pictures to prompt discussion • Please choose two pictures: • One that captures how innovation and QA interaction feels to you now • One that captures how you would like it to feel.
- 7. Feedback How do you want it to feel?
- 8. Findings & Recommendations People 1. Promote Understanding • Finding: There’s lack of clarity of roles between QA staff and innovators • Recommendation: use inductions, buddying of staff, work shadowing 2. Build Trust • Finding: innovators report feeling exposed and at risk in the face of critical review by QA processes • Recommendation: nurture relationships that foster psychological safety to explore uncertainty and develop thinking 3. Break down the myths • Finding: Misinformation about different stakeholders’ constraints • Recommendation: “We can’t do this because ‘X’ won’t allow it” – check evidence.
- 9. Findings & Recommendations Structure 1. Review structures • Finding: teams can be silos and create barriers to collaboration • Recommendation: critically review impact of structures on working relationships, and adopt design sprints or cross-functional teams 2. Plan for success • Finding: QA staff are perceived as barriers when only invited to the gatekeeping aspects of projects, and innovators just want sign off • Recommendation: build a coalition of the enthusiastic so that key quality questions are explored during the design process 3. Go beyond benchmarks • Finding: Benchmarks and standards can constrain innovation if interpreted too rigidly • Recommendation: Seek alternatives to established benchmarks and establish what quality looks like in your context.
- 10. Findings & Recommendations Process 1. Dynamic QA processes • Finding: QA processes are viewed as constraints not enablers • Recommendation: Blank canvas approach to reviewing QA processes, focused on outcomes processes need to achieve 2. Enhance quality, don’t just assure it • Finding: QA too often focuses on assurance at the expense of enhancement • Recommendation: ensure QA is adequately resourced with clear expectations for positive impact. Uncover and share good practice widely. 3. Design space to fail • Finding: Innovating involves personal and professional risk and potential failure. Can lead to maintenance of status quo. • Recommendation: Early review and intervention strategies; approaches that allow rapid response to failure; avoid performance metrics that disincentivise risk taking; celebrate innovations.
- 11. Using the Recommendations • On your table: • Discuss which of these recommendations feels most relevant or useful for you? Which could be your biggest enabler? • Individually, write yourself a postcard to take away to reflect on back in your institution.
- 13. Navigating the Intersection of Quality Assurance and Innovation to make an Impact: Learning from a QAA funded enhancement project Professor Gary C Wood, Academic Director, NMITE gary.wood@nmite.ac.uk | @gcwood.bsky.social Emma Lewis, Head of Quality Assurance emma.lewis@nmite.ac.uk