One of society’s biggest challenges is not the production of new knowledge, but how to spread and mobilise ‘best evidence’ in order to influence organisational cultures and motivate behavioural change of leaders and practitioners. As higher education experiences rapid and unpredictable turbulence, it is imperative its leaders have access to best evidence to support agile, responsive and high quality decision making.
The What Works: The Concept Leadership Insight paper sets out the Leadership Foundation’s journey so far in scoping the potential of, and appetite for, a ‘what works’ initiative for higher education leadership, management and governance. The paper draws on existing models (i.e. What Works Centres) and evidence to outline the concept and the various mechanisms by which the exchange of knowledge and evidence helps enhance practice, decision making and policy development, in driving improvement and change.