Building a shared baseline for digital maturity across higher education

About the project

The digital maturity assessment is a sector-wide initiative designed to help higher education institutions understand how effectively digital supports strategic priorities, both now and in the future.

Developed by Jisc and aligned with the Universities UK (UUK) Transformation and Efficiency Taskforce report (pdf), the assessment responds directly to the recommendation for the sector to establish a baseline for digital and data maturity.

The assessment draws on our digital transformation framework and digital maturity model, both co-created with the higher education sector. It provides a consistent, evidence-based approach to understanding digital maturity and identifying opportunities for improvement.

Why this matters

Higher education institutions are operating in an increasingly challenging environment. Many are balancing financial pressures, ageing infrastructure and rising expectations around digital teaching, learning and assessment, research and services, while also responding to rapid developments such as generative AI.

Although many institutions are investing in digital transformation, it can be difficult to identify priorities, measure progress and learn from peers without a shared baseline. This project addresses that challenge by providing a practical way to assess digital maturity and benchmark performance against anonymised sector data.

What have we done so far?

Phase one: assessment and participation

The assessment was open during May and June 2026.

83 institutions completed the assessment, bringing together perspectives from senior leaders across education, research and professional services. Each organisation received a downloadable summary of its results, helping to support reflection, discussion and future planning.

Phase two: analysis and insight

Analysis of the anonymised responses has now been completed, providing insight into sector-wide strengths, risks, barriers and opportunities for improvement.

The findings help build a shared understanding of digital maturity across higher education and will inform future Jisc support, guidance and benchmarking activity.