In November 2025, GuildHE launched a development programmes survey to help us understand current priorities, pressures, and opportunities across member institutions. The findings are informing the 2025 to 2026 programme, with a particular focus on AI, early-career leadership, and governance. The responses provide an early indication of where members are focusing their attention and where further support may be needed in the year ahead.

We received twenty-one responses across our sixty-seven institutions, with strong engagement from professional services teams (52%), academic staff (24%), and institutional leaders (19%). Responding institutions ranged widely in size, with nearly half enrolling fewer than 3,000 students. This confirms the distinct resources of GuildHE providers - a key strategic factor for programme design. Whilst the limited response rate means further follow-up conversations will be important, this sample still offers valuable insight into the priorities and pressures shaping member needs for 2025 to 2026.

Omoye Otoide, Policy Programmes Officer

One of the key insights relating to our artificial intelligence (AI) programme is that 90% of institutions are still in the “emerging” stage of AI and digital innovation. Top needs identified include:

  • Understanding AI regulatory and ethical frameworks (76%).
  • Practical workshops on using data in higher education management (62%).
  • Institutional case study sharing (76%).
  • Better sector connections (42%).

Artificial intelligence and data capability

For our AI programmes, the survey results show an overwhelming consensus: AI and digital innovation are no longer optional. With 90.5% of institutions describing their AI work as only “emerging”, institutions are, like much of the sector, at an early stage of AI development. This is particularly significant given regulatory shifts, student expectations for digital fluency, and the operational pressures facing smaller institutions. This gap is particularly significant given regulatory shifts, student expectations for digital fluency, and the operational pressures facing smaller institutions.

The fact that 65% list AI and emerging technologies as a top strategic priority demonstrates that institutions want to move forward but lack the infrastructure, expertise, or confidence to progress. The barriers they report such as capacity (71.4%), time (57%), and expertise (33%) reveal that these institutions do not lack ambition, but require more support in bandwidth and specialist knowledge.

These responses indicate that institutions want practical, real-world guidance that translates complex AI policy and data governance into actionable steps. They seek assurances that any adoption of AI is safe, ethical, compliant, and achievable within their institutional contexts.

Governance development and board effectiveness 

For our governance programme, there remains a split between “well-developed” (43%) and “emerging” (48%). Institutions want:

  • Practical board development workshops on accountability and oversight (62%).
  • Case studies of strong governance practice (62%).
  • Peer-learning forums for governors/secretaries (52%).
  • Annual governance review toolkits (29%).

Governance emerged as a clear pressure point for the sector. With 47.6% stating their governance development is still “emerging” and 9.5% saying it is not explored at all, the findings highlight a widespread need for support in board effectiveness, accountability structures, and governor development.

Early-career and future leadership development

Members indicated that leadership development is predominantly emerging (67%) across institutions. Key skills that members would like GuildHE to support include:

  • Strategic thinking and innovation (86%).
  • Influencing and communication (52%).
  • Navigating HE governance and accountability structures (67%).
  • Managing teams and projects (33%).

The leadership findings reveal a clear capability gap across the smaller-scale, specialist and innovative sector, with institutions signalling that early-career and future leadership development is both underdeveloped and urgently needed. With 66.7% describing leadership provision as only “emerging”, and 28.6% saying it is “not yet explored”, the data points to a sector-wide deficit in leadership pipelines, particularly in smaller institutions with flatter structures.

With strategic thinking and innovation being the most requested skill (85.7%), there is a suggestion that future leaders need support navigating a rapidly changing higher education landscape, including financial pressures, new regulatory environments, and digital transformation. 

The high demand for navigating higher education governance and policy structures (66.7%) reflects another institutional reality. In smaller-scale, specialist, and innovative institutions, emerging leaders often take on cross-cutting roles earlier in their career than counterparts in larger universities. 

The emphasis on influencing and communication (52.4%) also reflects how leadership works in smaller institutions: the ability to build coalitions, influence upwards and across teams, and communicate clearly in resource-constrained environments is critical. 

Given that only 33.3% of respondents identified managing teams and projects, the lowest-ranked skill, leadership needs have evolved beyond transactional management. Institutions are less concerned with traditional supervisory skills and more concerned with strategic mindset, governance intelligence, and sector fluency.

Together, these findings suggest that the sector is calling for:

  • Leadership pathways that begin earlier in careers, not only at head-of-department level.
  • Programmes that integrate governance, strategy, and innovation, rather than generic leadership content.
  • Practical tools and case-based learning aligned with the realities of smaller-scale, specialist and innovative institutions.

Conclusion

GuildHE is well-positioned to support members in the areas of AI, early-career leadership, and governance. These results have helped us shape and design our development programmes for 2025 to 2026, and we look forward to receiving additional feedback as we launch the programmes this winter.

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For more information about the GuildHE development programmes, please email Omoye Otoide, Policy Programmes Officer, at [email protected]