Enablers for success: Vibrant partnerships and networks

Irrespective of an institution’s purpose, size and shape, we think there are six enablers of success that every institution will need in the new normal: Financial flexibility and sustainability, Student-centricity; Vibrant partnerships and networks; Future-fit workforce; Tailored learning experiences; and Community trust.

Mutually beneficial and enduring partnerships with industry, community groups and government are necessary to ensure an institution’s performance and outputs continue to have industry relevance and regulatory and government support. Key partnership types include:

Industry and community partnerships: Compelling value propositions for industry that align institutional objectives to industry problems and opportunities are needed to:
- support research translation and promote the value of early stage blue-sky research
- enhance the student experience through practical real world experiences; and
- develop additional funding pathways
Government partnerships: Healthy partnerships with federal, state and local governments are needed to assure regulatory support for policy development and strategic planning. For example, as we recover from the initial waves of the pandemic, a constructive partnership will be key to identifying a policy solution that balances the visa requirements of international students with national health and security concerns. Investing in these partnerships may require new initiatives or evidence to back up institutional claims of capability to address government concerns. Governments are also some of the largest funders and users of university research.
University alliances: A network of universities or higher education institutions with complementary capabilities can both enrich student offerings and reduce costs. Research and knowledge could be pooled across geographies to achieve greater impact; student experiences could be enriched through complementary course offerings and campus experiences. Costs could be reduced through the sharing of select research activities and service functions.

The challenge

A university with a good reputation in health care identified that, to build excellence long term, it should specialise in digital health. In order to establish a foothold in this fast-developing sector, it recognised that it would need to build partnerships with both local and global stakeholders.

But which partnerships? What would be the role of each party in such partnerships? How to best approach and explain its proposition to potential partners?

What we did

PwC worked with the university to identify those specialisms they wished to develop, and what key roles it could play to complement industry. This work involved interviewing representatives in software, communications, health delivery, government and non-government organisations (like the World Health Organization), before mapping the digital health ecosystem.

We then helped the university work through its potential options with each type of partner (e.g. joint ventures, co-marketing, partnered research, staff exchanges, curriculum co-creation) and assisted university leadership with articulating a compelling value proposition for each type of partner.

The impact we had

By strategically building and extending its partnerships in the digital health space, the university has enhanced its reputation in this space and unlocked additional pathways for research and learning.