Managing the concept of strategic change within a higher education institution: the role of strategic and scenario planning techniques

Abstract Many higher education institutions in the UK develop strategies based on traditional strategic planning techniques and environmental scanning methods. The case study of the University of Glamorgan presented here illustrates and supports the notion that the reliance on these traditional techniques may not be enough to enable higher education institutions to plan strategically and also balance the pressures of change within the current higher education environment. The case study focuses on the introduction and use of scenario planning as an additional strategic planning and environmental scanning tool. The outcomes demonstrate that the tool is useful as a means of enabling institutions to evaluate the external environment against their core mission and strengths to ensure that they respond only to those external changes that will either enhance business or represent a significant threat to it. Specifically the study also illustrates the effectiveness of scenario planning in involving all staff across the organization and encouraging their imaginations and ideas about future strategies and priorities for that organization. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.