UK universities are happy to collaborate with other institutions on almost every aspect of their operations, according to a new report?that urges a ¡°shared services first¡± mindset to help survive the ongoing financial crisis.

?(UUK) published on 1 September outlines opportunities for ¡°smarter collaboration¡± across the higher education sector, highlighting that while many shared services already exist, most are ¡°only serving a subset¡± of universities.

With assistance, it says, they could achieve greater market share and provide benefits for more institutions at a?time of deep financial strain.?

Institutions are told to reassess their existing internal operations and adopt a ¡°shared services first¡± mindset. When a requirement arises, universities should evaluate existing solutions ¡°before creating an in-house service or conducting a tender exercise for a commercial solution¡±, which, Jisc says, will produce long-term efficiencies.?

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More widely, the report recommends creating a ¡°central catalogue¡± of all higher education shared services owned and operated by the sector to ¡°increase awareness of existing services, improve visibility and uptake¡±.

Although Jisc notes ¡°a shared service will not always be the right solution¡±, these are likely to be appealing for many given the financial challenges facing the sector.?

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There is greater willingness to share services ¡°now than ever before, including in areas that previously would have never been considered¡±, the report concludes, adding that institutions report they are ¡°willing in principle to consider shared services in almost any area¡±.

One chief operating officer, quoted in the report, says: ¡°I would consider sharing almost any service: pretty much anything except student recruitment. It would all depend on the business case.¡±

Estimates from EY suggest shared services can reduce costs by?6-10 per cent ¨C savings that Jisc describes as ¡°significant and welcome¡± but ¡°not sufficient to resolve the financial challenges HE faces¡±.

The report also warns against a ¡°top-down, mandatory approach¡± to shared services, which can result in high costs and inefficiencies.

Instead it suggests a bottom-up approach to collaboration, building on sector networks to recognise and disseminate these.

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Jisc also recommends that individual universities collaborate with neighbouring institutions to replicate models that have worked in other regions. Examples of existing services include insurer UMAL, which has 110 higher education customers, and Unitemp, a staffing service operated by the University of Warwick covering 20 institutions.

The report also urges the government to implement proposals from the British Universities Finance Directors Group to reform VAT exemptions, with some?organisations finding the current rules?¡°³Ü²Ô·É´Ç°ù°ì²¹²ú±ô±ð¡±.

Currently, under cost-sharing group regulations, services must be supplied at the cost of provision, meaning suppliers cannot make a profit on qualifying services, which can prevent further expansion.

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The report builds on the work of UUK¡¯s transformation and efficiency task force which has highlighted that universities want to collaborate more but are concerned about competition law and costs.

¡°Huge amounts of work have already taken place across the higher education sector to make savings and generate efficiencies, but it is a new era of partnership working which will be truly transformative,¡± said Nigel Carrington, chair of the task force.

Writing in the foreword to the new report, Carrington says: ¡°In my conversations across the sector, I know that there is great appetite for deeper collaboration, but we know that barriers exist.

¡°To be successful, shared services must be sector led, and so I urge universities to consider how best to apply the actions in their own contexts.¡±

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Heidi Fraser-Krauss, chief executive officer at Jisc, added, ¡°All of us across the sector need to work with existing shared services to develop and invest in robust, scalable and sustainable models for the future. Adopting this mindset is another way we can collectively unlock efficiencies and build resilience.¡±

helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com