Research Outcomes Self-Assessment Toolkit

The former Leadership Foundation for Higher Education (now Advance HE) commissioned a number of diverse research projects on topics relevant to leadership and leadership development in higher education.

The following resources are available to Advance HE member institutions.

The Self-Assessment Toolkit, the Form and How to use it

Professor Ghassan Aouad's research paper Leading Culturally Diverse Communities in Higher Education includes a self-assessment tool for higher education institutions to plot and review how the cultural assets of diversity are being used.

This Self-Assessment Toolkit has been devised to be as practical as possible, it:

• is not too time-consuming to use
• offers practical suggestions so that HEIs can move to a higher level
• can be used effectively by a variety of HEIs
• is about furthering thinking and practice, not just assessment
• enables reflection on the areas, perceived to be essential for equality and practitioners in their work to assess institutional performance: Communication; Performance management; Leadership training; Cross-cultural awareness.

The Self Assessment Form

Instructions for use

1. For each Foundational Indicator, read the statements at Level 1. Where there is just one statement, and if it reflects your HEI’s attitudes, behaviours and procedures in relation to race and ethnicity, move on to the next level. Where there is more than one statement, move on to the next level if at least half are applicable. It is not expected that every statement at every level will be relevant to all institutions.
2. For each Foundational indicator, your HEI can be considered to be at the level of the highest group of statements that reflect your practice. It is likely that HEIs will be at different levels for different indicators, so the tool provides a multi-dimensional profile rather than a uni-dimensional score.
3. If a number of people with different roles in the institution complete the analysis, the combined results will provide a more informative and reliable profile than a single response. For example, it may be that the lived experience of junior BME staff will lead them to respond in different ways from senior managers.
4. If you are below Level 4 on an Indicator, the statements at high levels of the tool will provide ideas for ways in which your HEI’s practice with regard to equality of opportunity and cultural diversity can be developed and strengthened.
5. Terminology is standardised in the tool; however please feel free to adapt it to reflect your HEI’s own usage.
6. The self-assessment tool was developed through an investigation of ethnic and racial equality and the benefits of cultural diversity of HEIs. This means that the tool is primarily about equality and diversity in relation to ethnicity and race. Some of the statements apply chiefly or exclusively to these characteristics. However, some could be applied more broadly to other protected characteristics, such as gender, so it would be possible for an institution to adapt the tool to broaden its scope.

PDF version    

PDF version that can be completed within the form