ES12 Sponsors were firmly of the view that data collection and analysis should be unified. This would mean discontinuing the Funding Councils Estates Returns, and the special data collection by the Association of University Directors of Estates, and replacing them by this unified approach. The benefits of better quality data for individual HEIs need to be seized. This Chapter explains the purpose of the Project and the approach adopted, and includes a brief discussion of issues related to the collection and analysis of estate management information. The Chapter is intended to provide a context for considering the rest of the report.
Information is now central to all management.
Institutions need to organise their information to manage their operations, make key decisions, direct their strategy and monitor progress towards key objectives. We have to be able to manage information as an asset, both as a level for business development and as a process for managing organisations. In short, every business becomes an information business and every manager becomes an information manager. In addition, property is central to the operation of HEIs, as it affects the everyday activities and success of each institution. 1.1.3 Good quality estate statistics should therefore be of fundamental importance to all HEIs.