by: Mine Racho
The DVE webinar, facilitated by Emma Lawrence, explored a practical question for higher education providers: when does an issue genuinely require formal change, and when is the better response greater clarity, better design or incremental improvement? Panellists Mary Louise Huberts and Lissa Pierce shared insights drawn from leadership, organisational improvement and sector experience.
A key theme was the distinction between formal, large-scale change and smaller operational changes that can resolve issues before they grow. The discussion highlighted that institutions can sometimes move too quickly to visible solutions such as restructures, new models or system changes without first clearly defining the problem they are trying to solve.
The webinar emphasised the importance of operational clarity, consultation and process visibility. Rather than assuming a systemic issue, leaders were encouraged to engage the people closest to the work, understand where ambiguity sits, and identify whether better workflows, clearer responsibilities or improved use of data may be enough to address the problem.
The panel also discussed the risks of allowing unresolved issues to accumulate. When smaller problems are not addressed early, they can become bundled into broader transformation efforts, contributing to change fatigue, reduced trust and implementation challenges. Effective change, the speakers noted, depends not only on strategy and structure, but also on capability, communication and creating the space for teams to adapt successfully.
Overall, the webinar reinforced that not every challenge needs formal transformation. In many cases, the most effective first step is to create clarity, strengthen local problem-solving and address issues before they become larger organisational change programs.
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