New Campus Glasgow: Strategic Benefits Analysis
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• extending effective local collaboration and partnerships between colleges with the
specific remit of sharing and taking forward good practice either generally or within
specific subject areas; and
• supporting moves to develop stronger networks of subject specialists and support
area staff in colleges.
Conclusions
5.17 For many external stakeholders consulted as part of our research, the potential to
realise efficiency savings is one of the key benefits of the new campus. The scale of potential
efficiency savings can be significant - Glasgow City Council have reduced administration
costs by 20% following the adoption of a shared services model, and collaboration between
the Borders College and Herriot Watt University on a new campus at Galashiels is expected
to generate combined savings of £0.25m per year.
5.18 It follows that the potential for efficiency savings from NCG could, in the long-term, be
significant. Very crude analysis suggests that the value of these savings could be £3m per
annum, if each college becomes as efficient at delivery as the most efficient of Glasgow's citycentre
colleges currently (Stow) - representing 6% of total current delivery costs. If these
savings were invested into broadening the scale of learner support, the benefits for learners
could be significant. Nonetheless, it can take some time for such efficiency benefits to be
realised - and the co-location is likely to generate increased management costs in the shortterm,
until the scope for shared services can be fully realised.
5.19 There is a significant momentum in national policy towards a more sustainable
society, reflected in National Outcome 10 'we live in well-designed, sustainable places where
we are able to access the amenities and services we need'. The new campus will contribute
to this agenda by adopting the highest forms of sustainable design and construction - and in
doing so enhance learners' understanding of sustainability, as recognised in the What next?
report. And by being located in the heart of the city and its public transport network, the new
campus will be accessible to all communities by sustainable means.
5.20 The new campus has significant potential to raise the profile of the three colleges to
overseas students. The potential for the three colleges to collaborate on international
marketing activity, in conjunction with Scotland's Colleges International, and in the provision
of support services to learners, can further improve recruitment and retention of international
students. The key challenge will be to maintain the way stakeholders identify with each
institution's particular specialisms; and that these specialisms are not seen to have become
diluted through co-location and curriculum rationalisation.
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Appendix 13: Economic Impact Report