A few thoughts on the #HEPowerlist

2 min read

After the traditional delights of spotting friends and fellow-travellers on the 2015 wonkhe powerlist, the limitations of the list became clear.

It's almost entirely list of people concerned with university funding in the UK - either in terms of lobbying for or against various positions, or just in managing how it is distributed. "Power" was a good choice of words - I was perhaps expecting a list of influencers but other than positions for and against fees there is a decided paucity of vision.

Maybe this reflects the kind of leaders that HE has - managers and accountants rather than ideologues. But the overlapping agenda of austerity and efficiency seem to predicate against people with big ideas.

For me, the biggest idea in HE is openness - particularly around open access to research, but as a more general trend encompassing teaching, innovation, information and research outputs of all forms. But to read the list, you wouldn't think so.

There's a palpable lack of ideas. I'm as committed to wonkish detail as anyone (probably more so) but I'm concerned that deep analysis needs to be informed by a vision that can be expressed in more general terms.

If the top 50 or so most "powerful" people in Higher Education are concerned primarily with money and the way it is distributed - we are in trouble.