Creating and communicating value through integrated reporting : findings emerging from action research in five European HEIs

Abstract

If ever there was a time to conclude that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) need to integrate sustainability into their strategic planning processes it is now. HEIs have been grappling with climate change for many years and it appears inevitable that COVID-19 will have an enduring impact on the way HEIs think about the value that they create for a range of different stakeholders. To be successful in this new, ever-changing world, HEIs will need to clearly identify the drivers of value in an academic setting and communicate how they create value for a variety of stakeholders both now and in the future. This paper draws on the role that Integrated Reporting (IR) can play in strategic planning and enhancing connections between management practice, value creation and reporting. According to the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), Integrated Reporting (IR) is the concise communication about how an organization's strategy, governance, performance, and prospects lead to the creation of value over the short, medium, and long term. It helps to bring the different stakeholders of a HEI into the same arena when it comes to understanding impacts and outcomes and clearly illustrates the value created by an HEI in terms of multiple capitals. This is much deeper and wider than value for money. It is about understanding the relationships between the resources available to a university, the stakeholders impacted by the activities of the institution, and the consequent creation (or destruction) of value across multiple capitals. Despite the clear benefits associated with IR, many organisations face considerable barriers associated with implementing the IIRC framework. In this study we use action research to explore and bridge the strategy-implementation gap in five HEIs in five different European countries as they seek to develop their first prototype IR as part of an Erasmus+ funded project (ISSUE). The analysis draws on data collected by each HEI including stakeholder analysis, various planning documents, questionnaires and qualitative data collected through a variety of face to face and e-meetings during the IR development period. The analysis draws on comparisons to identify similarities and differences between the approaches, analysis, and experiences of the participating HEIs. This research contributes to the improvement of the knowledge base associated with the understanding of the implementation of IR in an HEI context and provides evidence-based intelligence to inform practice and help to bridge the implementation gap.