From boardroom to classroom: how our digital elevation tool helped drive The College of West Anglia towards its strategy goals

The College of West Anglia knew it was important to align its digital strategy with its wider organisational priorities, so Clare Pelling, head of learner experience, began exploring the digital elevation tool (DET) and considering how it could help. The arrival of Kerry Heathcote as vice principal also brought an advocate for the tool. Having used it in a previous role, she was confident it offered what the college needed at this stage of its digital journey.

Clare got started by assembling a small working group – herself as head of learner experience, along with the head of quality, the head of IT, and the vice principal. The group worked through the DET, explored the different areas it highlights, and assessed where they felt the college currently sat.

Securing the all-important senior leadership buy-in

Clare was keen to secure senior leadership buy-in from the outset of the digital strategy process to ensure all teams across the college were aware of, involved in, and familiar with both the work being done and the use of the DET. The tangible benefits the tool provided were key to building confidence and support across the college’s executive teams.

Clare said:

“It gave us a chance to stop and assess where we were, and over time, we aligned our digital strategy with these insights. Rather than seeing it as just another exercise in metrics, we could use the data objectively and avoid getting caught up in the issues behind some of the challenges. By recognising what we’d achieved and planning next steps, we were able to show clear progress to senior leadership and governors to gain their buy-in.”

Clare also shared that the DET has been embedded into the college’s annual performance review process, something that has made a real difference in gathering feedback without requiring large numbers of staff to access the assessment tool directly.

“Having it embedded as part of this process has been revolutionary. It’s created a feedback loop to make sure that everything we're doing is based on information we can evidence, and we know exactly what we're trying to evidence, thanks to the tool. From the governance side, it’s put digital on the governors’ agenda in a really visible way, and because of that, our strategic conversations are having a much bigger impact.”

The value of a whole-college approach

The tool has helped Clare and her team embed a whole-college approach, covering AI strategy, digital inclusion, and student induction and enrolment. This has been key to ensuring the college achieve its goal of putting digital at the heart of the organisation.

Being able to benchmark against the wider further education community is another advantage of the DET.

Clare said:

“The tool opened us up to what was going on in our organisation, and the next level of that is looking at how we compare to others. It’s not about who's the best, it's about understanding the landscape and making sure that we're meeting our students’ needs. Different colleges will have different priorities, and their students will have different requirements, so it isn’t a comparison. But knowing what's in practice across the sector as a whole is essential.”

For any other organisations that may be considering whether the DET could support their own transformation journeys, Clare offered the following advice:

• Jump in and give it a try
• Consider starting with just a few people answering questions related to their areas
• Focus on the end goal of improving experiences for staff and students

“An important thing to note, too, is that it doesn't create much extra work; it’s more of a reflective process and reflection is central to education. It really helps give you the focus to see where you're getting things right and where you could improve. And ultimately, that's what we're all trying to do.”

Find out more

• Contact your relationship manager