13 September 2017 
Matt Sisson, Projects and Membership Manager
Over the last year BUFDG has undertaken two different projects to introduce and develop the Integrated Reporting (IR) framework in Higher Education. At a time when Higher Education Institutions need to communicate with a wide range of stakeholders, BUFDG and many of its members feel that IR offers a structure that can help. Using the International IR Framework and looking at the six capitals – financial, manufactured, intellectual, human, social and relationship, and natural – can help university managers, academics and governors approach “the value question” in a more holistic way.
For phase one, BUFDG used an abridged framework to assess the 2014/15 annual reports of six universities, and published the findings alongside the developed framework. In phase two, BUFDG and four universities agreed to join the IR Network, and a Specialist Panel, convened by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), reviewed universities’ 2015/16 annual reports and financial statements. You can download and read the above reports using the embedded links.
The baton has now been passed to the Leadership Foundation (LFHE), which is building on BUFDG’s work and running a new IR project over the next year. The LFHE project will bring together university leaders from a range of backgrounds and professions to further develop the ideas and implementation of integrated reporting and thinking in HE, and how it can be used across institutions to enhance and communicate value. There’s more about the project on the LFHE website. If you’d like to find out more, or if your institution would like to get involved, contact project coordinator Kim Ansell.
