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Q&A: Policy and Strategy with Alastair Sim

by Susie Hills, Alastair Sim | Apr 16, 2024 | Governance & Policy, Strategy & Transformation

Alastair Sim is Halpin’s newest Consulting Fellow and an experienced leader in the fields of policy, advocacy and strategy. He’s passionate about higher education’s success, and its contribution to the common good.

Alastair served for 14 years as the Executive Head of Universities Scotland, the representative organisation for Scottish higher education institutions. Before that, he managed the enduring corporate turnaround of the University of Glasgow and was a  Senior Civil Servant for 20 years. He is also an internationally published novelist and leads history tours in his native Edinburgh.

Halpin’s Joint CEO and co-Founder Susie Hills gets to know him…

Susie: It’s great to have you on the Halpin team Alastair. What motivated you to join us?

Alastair: I’ve moved into a new and diverse career phase, but I still believe strongly in universities as a force for good. I value working with a team who are driven by the same commitment to universities, and I’m looking forward to having the continued opportunity to help universities to thrive, and to serve society by thriving.

Susie: What was it like to move from the civil service to Higher Education?

Alastair: It was very reviving! I value the public service ethos of working in government. Universities share that, but add an entrepreneurial spark which I find stimulating. I’m also inspired by working with enterprises that are at the forefront of developing new ideas to build a better world. I have a lot in common with Halpin’s ethos, especially your commitment to using good evidence as the basis for decisions, and your culture of creative challenge to accepted ways of thinking.

Susie: What are some of the key lessons you have learnt over your time working in higher education?

Alastair: It’s been a masterclass in leadership. I’ve seen some great leaders who are sure of their values, who share that with their institutions, and who build great teams around them who collaborate to solve problems and seize opportunities.

I’ve also seen some past examples of ‘imperial’ leadership where a Vice-Chancellor has believed in their own quasi-messianic role in saving an institution and has attempted to lead by command and control. That hasn’t worked well in organisations that are communities rather than corporations!

Also, to use a Scots expression, “keep the heid”. There are constant opportunities for panic and distraction, and many of them require a quick and proportionate response. But if you know where you’re going at your values and mission levels you can still keep to your course while dealing with the daily noise.

Susie: What do you see as some of the main challenges facing Scottish universities right now and how do they differ from those in the rest of the UK?

Alastair: Money and autonomy. They’re perpetual challenges, and we’re facing the dilemma of reduced public funding but an increased government appetite for being directive about how those resources should be used. It’s hard work getting government to understand that they’ll get better outcomes for their investment if they give universities the widest possible scope for initiative.

In Scotland, we’re even more exposed than universities in the rest of the UK to the fall in international students because our funding model makes us disproportionately reliant on continued growth in international fees.

I think a key difference from England in particular is that every Scottish university is directly in the sightline of government. That means that the local becomes national and political very quickly, for instance with course closures or governance changes quickly escalating to be matters of Parliamentary debate.

Susie: Are things going to get better with a change in government?

Alastair: Which government? We have the added complexity in Scotland of dealing with two governments. Higher education straddles the devolved/reserved boundary, with the Scottish Government having responsibility for students and elements of research & innovation, and UK Government retaining responsibility for the bulk of research funding. Sometimes that works well, such as when the two administrations work closely with universities on city and regional deals. However, that’s not always the case, and there are inevitable tensions when the stated aim of the SNP/Green devolved administration is to break up the United Kingdom.

At UK level, a change of government may at least help to de-escalate the culture wars, but it’s hard to see a major change in the public finances, or an early major change in the funding methodology for higher education.

Looking ahead to the Scottish Parliament elections in 2026, we don’t know what the outcome will be but it’s at least possible that there will be a Labour-led Scottish Government. That could be interesting – if we have the same party in power at UK and devolved level, we may open up some new possibilities for joined-up policy and action.

Susie: What sort of consultancy projects might universities need right now?

Alastair: It’s easy for university leaders to be consumed by the immediate pressures of the day job, especially at a time of apparently never-ending crisis.

Working with a great consultancy team can give leaders extra headspace to take a wider view on key issues. How should a university re-strategise to succeed in tough times? How should it influence the policy environment to help it to succeed? Does it have the right governance in place to thrive?

I’ve spent a lot of time in the day job helping university leaders to address these questions and look forward to supporting them now in a consultancy capacity.

Contact us to find out more about how Halpin and our team of HE experts, including Alastair, can support you.