Discovery assessment helps Morley College shape its data strategy

The challenge

As Morley College reviewed its existing strategic plan and developed its next five-year strategy, senior leaders were already beginning to think differently about the role of data across the organisation as previously, data had tended to sit within wider digital transformation work. Over time, however, the college had started to recognise that data was more than just reporting and needed to be more visible in planning, more central to decision-making and more clearly understood as a strategic asset in its own right.

Like many providers, Morley had strong expertise within individual functions, yet data was not necessarily shared across operational functions and silos remained. Finance, curriculum, quality and people data were often well understood within their own areas, yet not always considered together as part of a wider institutional picture. Senior colleagues increasingly saw the value of understanding how these data sets connect, and what that means for performance and planning across the college.

Solution

Morley used our discovery assessment as an external reference point to support internal conversations that were already taking shape. With over 30 colleagues from across the college contributing, this helped bring the college’s current position into clearer focus, pointing to strengths in strategic intent, executive awareness and the value placed on data. It also highlighted areas for development, particularly around governance, including standards and definitions, value realisation and the visibility of ownership across different functions.

For Morley, this was a useful message as the college was not starting from scratch. Rather, it had reached a point where leadership ambition and organisational appetite were moving ahead of some of the structures needed to support them consistently. That mattered even more as the college looked to move its use of AI beyond small pilot initiatives including an AI policy assistant to improve access to procedures and guidance, and an AI quality assistant to support quality improvement. Morley could already see the opportunities AI brought, but recognised that successful adoption would depend on strong foundations: clear ownership, shared definitions, trusted data and effective governance.

Impact

Although Morley’s data journey was already underway, the discovery assessment helped to validate that direction, sharpen the conversation and support strategic planning at a pivotal moment.

In particular, it helped to reinforce the idea that data should be treated in the same way as other key institutional assets: something to be valued, managed and used to support organisational objectives.

That shift is now visible as the college looks to develop its next five-year strategy. Data is strongly referenced within the new strategic plan, particularly through its transformation intent, and the college is committed to a dedicated data strategy as one of the sub-strategies supporting the wider plan. This marks an important change from the previous position, where data featured mainly within digital strategy rather than as a more explicit organisational priority.

The assessment also helped Morley identify where to focus next. One of the clearest messages was the need to formalise data governance more fully: clarifying who owns key data, making responsibilities more explicit and improving awareness of what data is available and how it is maintained. Importantly, this is not about centralising all responsibility in one team. Morley recognised that good governance depends on elevating the role of domain specialists across the college.

“The discovery assessment has enabled us to raise the profile of the importance of data and data strategy within the college that perhaps we wouldn’t have done if we hadn’t gone through this exercise.”

– Jon Cole, chief planning and data officer, Morley College

One of the clearest impacts has been cultural. Morley’s leaders increasingly talk about data as an organisational concern rather than a set of separate functional issues. That is beginning to shape conversations at senior level, with more attention being given to how different forms of data interact and what they mean collectively for the college’s priorities.

A practical example is the college’s use of KPI scorecards. Senior leaders are looking at curriculum efficiency measures such as average class size and course cancellations alongside the direct implications these have for financial contribution. Previously, these might have been treated as separate discussions. Now, they are more readily understood as connected parts of the same institutional picture.

The assessment has also strengthened Morley’s understanding of why governance matters. As the college expands its use of AI, it is becoming increasingly clear that innovation depends on trusted data foundations. For Morley, governance is not simply a compliance exercise. It is what enables the college to use data with greater confidence, consistency and value at a time when AI capability is becoming part of everyday operations.

Looking ahead

Morley now has a clearer basis for turning strategic intent into sustained delivery. The next phase is likely to focus on formalising governance arrangements, embedding ownership across the organisation, improving standards and definitions, and measuring progress through annual strategy reporting, data quality indicators, staff engagement and data literacy.