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Leadership development (LD) activity and its effectiveness has not been explored rigorously across changing university settings globally. As Higher Education settings change radically throughout the world, Higher Education professionals are operating in more uncertain environments, and leaders are taking increasingly complex and diverse approaches to their leadership roles. LD activities therefore become important in supporting this highly complex context, yet little is known in the literature about LD and its impact in Higher Education. We examine peer‐reviewed work on LD in Higher Education settings globally to understand what may be learned about its content, processes, outcomes and impact. Our results suggest the current literature is small‐scale, fragmented and often theoretically weak, with many different and coexisting models, approaches and methods, and little consensus on what may be suitable and effective in the Higher Education context. We reflect on this state of play and develop a novel theoretical approach for designing LD activity in Higher Education institutions.

Have generic management texts and associated knowledges now extensively diffused into public services organizations? If so, why? Our empirical study of English healthcare organizations detects an extensive presence of such texts. We argue that their ready diffusion relates to two macro-level forces: (i) the influence of the underlying political economy of public services reform and (ii) a strongly developed business school/management consulting knowledge nexus. This macro perspective theoretically complements existing explanations from the meso or middle level of analysis which examine diffusion processes within the public services field, and also more micro literature which focuses on agency from individual knowledge leaders. INTRODUCTIONHave generic management texts and associated knowledges now extensively diffused into public services organizations? If so, why? We argue that texts from management consultants and mainly American business school academics have diffused extensively into the important setting of English healthcare organizations. We add to the well-established literature on public management reforms by considering public managers' knowledge base and how and why it shifts. We here put together two traditionally separate academic literature streams: those on public management and management knowledge.The English healthcare sector displays sustained policy activity promoting EvidenceBased Medicine (EBM), so we had initially wondered whether this context might be receptive to the diffusion of Evidence-Based Management (EBMgt) texts. We know little about how health services managers engage with health management research (if they do), providing a major gap we wanted to explore.After reviewing relevant literatures and describing our methods, we introduce our empirical study of management texts found in English healthcare organizations (Dopson et al. 2013). We detected few EBMgt texts, but the extensive diffusion of texts from management consultants or mainly American business school academics.We theorize these empirical findings by considering two macro-level effects: first, how the political economy of public services reform influences preferences for management knowledge; and second, influence from a strong 'business school/management consultancy knowledge nexus'. Our macro-level analysis adds to conventional meso-level explanations of the diffusion of management knowledge in the healthcare/public services field and also more micro-level explanations focusing on agency from 'knowledge leaders'.

BackgroundAcademic Health Science Networks (AHSNs) were recently created in the NHS to accelerate the spread of innovations that could promote population-level health gain and also pursue novel goals of wealth creation. They are 15 regionally based networks. They reflect a continuing stream of national health policy on stimulating NHS knowledge mobilisation, which has now created a novel institutional architecture.ObjectivesThe overall research aims were (1) to explore AHSNs’ strategies and practices of knowledge mobilisation in their formative phase, when they were building up health- and wealth-related networks; and (2) to investigate how knowledge leadership took place in these settings and the characteristics of people perceived as knowledge leaders (KLs). Specific research objectives operationalised these broad aims.DesignIt was a mixed-methods study with a large qualitative component but also social network analysis (SNA). It contained a sequence of work packages: (1) an initial literature review to inform interviews; (2) an analysis of the national policy stream in this field; (3) a SNA of the AHSNs’ health and wealth networks; (4) five case studies of different AHSNs with 10 innovation tracers; and (5) interviews with individuals nominated as KLs.SettingWe studied a sample of five of the 15 English AHSNs, along with the development of the national policy stream.ParticipantsWe interviewed and surveyed AHSNs and other relevant staff, including national policy-level respondents.Data sources(1) A review of national- and AHSN-level documents, grey literature and relevant academic material; (2) semi-structured interviews with AHSN very senior managers, along with other staff, policy respondents and nominated ‘KLs’; and (3) a SNA (with two time points) using snowball survey methods.Review methodsThe literature review took a structured and narrative-based approach in what was a diffuse and multidisciplinary academic field.Results(1) We found that different networks were emerging around AHSNs’ health and wealth goals and, perhaps not surprisingly, the wealth networks were at an exploratory stage; (2) we found that these networks took different forms in different AHSNs; (3) we developed a general typology of the approaches AHSNs took towards spreading new ideas and innovations; and (4) we uncovered some characteristics of ‘KLs’.LimitationsThe study proceeded with the AHSNs still in a formative phase (early 2014 to early 2016). The SNA had two data points that were close together. We could not undertake a longer-term impact assessment. Future work should take a more longitudinal approach.ConclusionsThe study’s results have implications for (1) AHSN knowledge mobilisation strategies and networks, (2) the shape of AHSN regional knowledge networks and (3) the construction of knowledge leadership in these settings.Future researchOur top priority recommendations were (1) a longer-term AHSN impact assessment and (2) greater exploration of the AHSNs’ novel wealth creating role.FundingThe National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research programme.

Background: There is limited understanding about whether and how improvement interventions are effective in supporting failing healthcare organisations and improving the quality of care in high-performing organisations. The aim of this review was to examine the underlying concepts guiding the design of interventions aimed at low and high performing healthcare organisations, processes of implementation, unintended consequences, and their impact on costs and quality of care. The review includes articles in the healthcare sector and other sectors such as education and local government. Methods: We carried out a phased rapid systematic review of the literature. Phase one was used to develop a theoretical framework of organisational failure and turnaround, and the types of interventions implemented to improve quality. The framework was used to inform phase 2, which was targeted and focused on organisational failure and turnaround in healthcare, education and local government settings. We used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement to guide the reporting of the methods and findings and the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) as a quality assessment tool. The review protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD: 42019131024). Results: Failure is frequently defined as the inability of organisations to meet pre-established performance standards and turnaround as a linear process. Improvement interventions are designed accordingly and are focused on the organisation, with limited system-level thinking. Successful interventions included restructuring senior leadership teams, inspections, and organisational restructuring by external organisations. Limited attention was paid to the potential negative consequences of the interventions and their costs. Conclusion: Dominant definitions of success/failure and turnaround have led to the reduced scope of improvement interventions, the linear perception of turnaround, and lack of consideration of organisations within the wider system in which they operate. Future areas of research include an analysis of the costs of delivering these interventions in relation to their impact on quality of care.