How are our members using the Framework for Leading in Higher Education – and what would help them use it more effectively?
These questions sit at the heart of a short co-creation project led by Advance HE, working with a small group of member organisations. The aim is simple: to understand how the Framework is being used in practice and to develop support for using the Framework that is genuinely useful in today’s context.
The Framework for Leading in Higher Education was co-created with the sector through extensive consultation, grounded in a review of the literature around leading in higher education and further informed by an extensive survey of leading and being led in higher education. In line with post-publication feedback, this latest project seeks to move the Framework to the next phase of its development, bringing it to life and moving into practice.
The project starts with listening. Through conversations with colleagues across the sector, we are building a picture of how the Framework is being used, where it is adding value, and where engagement is more challenging alongside competing priorities.
What is emerging is a sense that many institutions are still at an early stage of working with the Framework. It is often being used to shape thinking or inform emerging approaches – and there is clear appetite to take it further.
A consistent message for the next step is adding in the next layer of detail that will help with its practical use and implementation. Colleagues value its intent and are looking for clearer ways to translate it into everyday conversations, programmes, and decision-making. There is strong demand for simple prompts and tools that help move from concept to action.
Where it is being used more actively, the framework is already helping to create a shared language for leadership and support meaningful reflection. It is also proving particularly useful in helping colleagues recognise and articulate leadership in their own work (for example, when making an application to Senior and Principal Fellow against the PSF2023) – especially where leadership is not always seen as part of a formal role.
There is also growing interest in how the framework can connect different strands of institutional activity, from leadership development to recruitment, reward and recognition to talent management and promotion, as well as succession planning and organisational strategy. At the same time, there is a clear need for approaches that are light-touch and easy to use, reflecting the realities of a busy and resource-constrained sector.
In response, the project is focusing on a small number of shared priorities, using these insights to co-design practical tools with institutions. The aim is not to add complexity, but to support meaningful engagement with the framework in ways that fit real contexts.
Advance HE will share a small set of practical resources to support reflection, alignment, and more impactful leadership conversations across member organisations. This work is still evolving but one thing is clear: across the sector, there is strong appetite for approaches to leadership that are practical, purposeful, and grounded in real institutional experience.