16 October 2018 
Karel Thomas, Executive Director
“Making strong criticisms of our own sector without proposing matching solutions is a risky business: if we give policymakers a warped or exaggerated impression of the challenges universities face, we may find institutions end up with less autonomy.” This is the last sentence in Nick Hillman’s latest blog on the HEPI website and there are many who would agree with him. In a similar vein, institutions might be careful what they wish for as they rue the absence of OfS for guidance on how to report value and value for money. There is a wealth of research, comment and opinion on what “value” and “value for money” mean, examples of good practice in corporate reporting and customer communications are all around us, and universities are full of clever, insightful and erudite people with excellent communication skills. This year, universities [in England] have an opportunity to report what, and how, they want to and they should seize it enthusiastically. You never know, the OfS just might like it.
