Interview with Professor Peter Mathieson, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, University of Edinburgh and Chris Cox, Vice-Principal Philanthropy and Advancement
Keeping an eye on the future. How a focus on technology and donor motivations is bringing successful philanthropy to the University of Edinburgh.
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1582 and the sixth oldest university in the English-speaking world, is home to many noted alumni and distinguished scholars. It was pivotal to the Scottish Enlightenment and has always been at the forefront of academia and critical thinking.
But 2020 has changed the world beyond recognition. However, the University is using teaching, research, innovation and strong relationships to power its 2030 strategy. Using their values to guide them, they’re determined to keep on their critical mission of making the world a better place.
Principal and Vice Chancellor, Professor Peter Mathieson and Chris Cox, Vice Principal, Advancement understand the value of relationships. Together, they constantly seek to strengthen and leverage their networks for maximum impact. No surprise then they keep people at the heart of operations.
Peter: Given the current environment with COVID-19 what are some of the tough decisions you have had to make quickly as a VC to minimise the long-term impact on your organisation and ensure its viability and sustainability?
There are still so many unknowns. Will students want to be on campus? Can international students travel and if so, will they come? The situation is continually changing and we’re having to respond to uncertainty every day. We had to make some tough decisions early on. Shifting to online learning and assessment for the remainder of the 19-20 academic year, reducing non-staff costs, discussions about the future of staff roles while always making sure our people’s health and safety was paramount.
One of our major decisions was suspending our £90m capital programme. Estates was an area where we have some flex, so given the impact of the pandemic on income and cashflow, we had to adjust.
What is the one thing that has pleasantly surprised you over the past few months about the adaptability of the University and/or your teams?
Chris: The energy and commitment that people have shown - especially around student recruitment - has been incredible. Despite personal circumstances, everyone has pulled together, which isn’t always easy in a large and quite devolved institution.
Peter: It’s been a joy to see the adaptability of our people. In fact, we’ve called our process ‘adaptation’ because it’s not a recovery back to the old world, it’s about adaptation to the new world. For example, the highlight of my year is always graduation. What really struck me from our online graduations was the joy people still got from a graduation ceremony, even when it’s in their front room! It was extremely heart-warming and gratifying.
Chris, there have been many words used to describe these times from uncertain to unprecedented and there is a lot of data, mostly US, that evidences following major economic downturns giving and philanthropy although it may stall slightly or flatline, the giving trend has not reversed and has continued to grow. COVID-19 is both an economic and a health crisis and as we emerge from this phase of the pandemic, and with still so much unknown, how are you planning with your team to create a vision for philanthropy at Edinburgh in the coming years?
Chris: We’re looking at continued growth in our fundraising income. Before COVID there was a steep increase in giving, and now we’re seeking to sustain that. We quickly decided our vision for the role of philanthropy at Edinburgh was clear and that we should stick to our plans -focusing with donors on global issues and how universities such as Edinburgh can be agents for change on those issues. Covid-19 is exacerbating most of those issues, so we’re taking this as an opportunity to show donors how Edinburgh is helping not only address the urgent medical and economic impacts of Covid, but also helping society prepare for what could still be a better post-Covid world. In tough times, the one thing you don’t do is stop talking with donors. Don’t worry about the timing or the level of their next gift but keep the conversation going. If they want to support you, they’ll do so as soon and as generously as they can.
Peter: Chris is being typically modest. We have just reported the best year for philanthropic income in the history of the University of Edinburgh. Although largely pre-COVID, we believe that with the conversations we have ongoing at the moment we will continue to grow and prosper. Fundraising is a long game and by keeping the dialogue open with our donors as priorities shift and change, we’re confident they will come on the journey with us.
Peter, you may be observing the situation in Hong Kong with great concern. Several UK institutions have invested a great deal of resource and effort developing strong relationships in Hong Kong, not least with their alumni communities there, and some very generous gifts have been made to UK universities over the years. In addition, universities welcome large numbers of students from Hong Kong, China and other countries and have strong and often long-lasting academic partnerships there. Are you concerned about the future of these relationships?
Peter: These relationships are absolutely critical. My time at Hong Kong University shaped my thinking around philanthropy and I bring a lot of what I learned in Hong Kong to Edinburgh. Chris and I have worked very hard on our alumni population in Hong Kong where we have some very significant graduates and engaged alumni. We have a Foundation in Hong Kong so it’s a very important location for us.
We also have major relationships with mainland China, with 4000 Chinese students, which is 10% of our student population. Many of our staff and alumni have strong connections there, as well as partnerships with some very significant Chinese Universities.
In this much-changed global environment, how are you approaching your international development strategy? What do you think the main differences will be in the next two or so years and the impact for the University?
Peter: Geography shouldn’t be a barrier. I’m fully committed to the internationalisation of higher education, and it is critical to our future success here at Edinburgh. I think we have opportunities to enhance our international partnerships and alliances and use digital technologies to transform communications with alumni across the globe.
We need to be mindful of the reality of what’s happening. There will be a substantial global recession, ongoing concern about the safety of travel and international partnerships. And don’t forget the potential impact of Brexit on top of all that!
Chris: We also need to maximise the potential for philanthropy within our own borders. We want everybody to think globally despite the difficult context of the pandemic and current geopolitical relationships, whether they are in Asia, North America or Scotland.
Like we said, there are major opportunities to bring people together around global issues. Peter is passionate about promoting Edinburgh as a catalyst for significant developments in data and artificial intelligence and as a convening location for discussions around related ethical issues that span borders. We’re fantastically strong in these areas and need to capitalise on that.
Scotland is well positioned as politically active, but relatively neutral in geopolitical terms. We are leading the agenda with data and AI, as the second university in the world to teach it, and hope to bring East and West together to maintain that global dimension. The DNA of the Scot is synonymous with trust and integrity. It’s a real advantage.
Peter: If I can add I think Scotland undersells itself. Its educational traditions and values are seen elsewhere in the world as markers of respect.
We are hearing a great deal right now about the challenges facing all universities. Here in Scotland the debate about whether a re-introduction of fees for home students must become part of the solution, especially as fee income from international students is uncertain. The financial future looks challenging, with speculation about some universities not being able to survive or being forced into mergers. Do you see an increased role for development and alumni engagement and if so, what would that be?
Peter: The monthly operating cost for the University of Edinburgh is £90m. Although we have had a very good year philanthropically, we didn’t raise £90m. There will definitely be an increased and more diverse role for development and alumni relations going forward, even without COVID.
Chris: When the crisis first broke my message to the team was that the University was right not to focus on philanthropy to try to get ourselves out of the immediate financial situation. Student recruitment and specifically conversion of offers to registrations was the right priority, as that’s what will make the difference in the short term. In development we need to better communicate our understanding that we typically receive unrestricted investment from the University and the money we raise is typically restricted. We need to make sure the money we raise is either for key goals to take the University’s mission forward, or - especially now - is either unrestricted or displaces a current cost on the bottom line.
Chris, Edinburgh’s global alumni community has significant numbers and a powerful voice through networks and their prominence in their countries. As the University develops its approach to post-COVID realities, how do you see the Edinburgh global alumni community helping and being involved?
We have had an alumni ambassador programme going for a few years engaging selected recent graduates in recruitment related activity, contacting potential and current applicants and offer holders. We’ve now doubled the size of the programme in a month and focused on markets where we are looking to recruit or retain students. You can never put a causal link between that individual alumni conversation and whether somebody comes or not but we certainly think this can play an important role in the overall effort.
Peter, a significant amount of the research aimed at solving the world’s most significant problems – not least the effort to find a COVID vaccine – is carried out in universities. Is there a need, as a community, for universities to work together to raise their profile, community impact and benefit, especially as they collectively face such a difficult future?
Peter: The pandemic has certainly shone a light on Universities as vital hubs of expertise, Edinburgh included. Down south we have seen the fragility of this expertise with some experts saying “but they got it wrong, and I would have done this if anyone had asked me.” Debate and challenge is fundamental to the way we operate but too much public disagreement can be dangerous. Universities must demonstrate their work and importance. We need to do a better job of “singing for our supper” and showing impact.
One of the things we have witnessed in the current environment is that many donors are responding positively to engagement with the VC and senior development professionals. What has been your experience at Edinburgh?
Peter: Firstly, I’m a great fan of CASE and I do genuinely agree with the point that relationships prosper when they’re face-to-face but things have changed. I agree it’s much easier to maintain and continue existing relationships than start new ones but it may well be that in the new world that’s got to change. Face-to-face meetings are so effective because they allow you to demonstrate human characteristics of interest, empathy and compassion while spending some serious time understanding what the person is interested in and motivated by. That way we can match with what we are good at. But this is all perfectly possible in a digital world.
Chris: However difficult you may think it is to build rapport when you’ve not met someone face-to-face, we can’t let that assumption get in the way. We’ve managed to develop new relationships where we have moved a meaningful email conversation online. You can have strong virtual conversations where you do get a strong feel for the individual and what motivates them. The same open-ended questions, and listening, still work!
But overall, I think our focus needs to be on the relationships we have and to give really serious attention to them. There are still a lot of people that we have been talking with who have not yet discovered the joy of giving to us! All giving relationships start as new relationships at some point. We just need to keep focussed on their motivations, and understand what excites and worries them.
We have an online donor event tonight where there will be several new faces, where we’re dipping our toes in the digital water. I want development staff to continue to make time for calls and online meetings with donors, avoiding death by planning, and making the most of the time with no travel. Above all, keep listening like crazy.
Looking to the year ahead, what would be your one piece of advice to advancement teams and professionals across the UK who may be struggling to demonstrate their institutional value?
Peter: These are very turbulent times, but never allow external circumstances to make you change your values, your beliefs or your approaches. There is a job to be done convincing some university leaders of the importance of development professionals, and this is where organisations like CASE can educate the educators. They need to help us get the message home that development and advancement are not just “nice to haves”, but essential elements to the workings of a successful University.
Chris: If you haven’t already pivoted, you need to hurry. Hopefully you can demonstrate the relevance of your work to your institution’s strategic goals, irrespective of how much money is coming in. I would also suggest doing fewer things better, and if anything, focus your time on a slightly smaller number of key donor relationships and spend as many hours with these people as you possibly can.
Higher education across the globe has been impacted significantly due to COVID-19 what do you believe to be the one major change we will see across the HE landscape in the next 3 years?
Chris: In the fund-raising world, it will be very interesting comparing notes with colleagues around the extent to which people did go for a big fund for COVID. Overall, we were deliberately slower than some, as we didn’t want to divert our alumni donors from the key priority of supporting widening participation students.
We had insight very early on that this pandemic was going to hit the poorest communities hardest. The one thing we couldn’t do was divert anybody away from giving to means-based scholarships and we’ve really pushed our scholarships as a reason to keep giving, though now with a connected focus on student hardship giving the rapidly growing need in that area.
Peter: The most obvious one is seeing online education as mainstream rather than something we do to reach rural populations. It’s no longer a bolt-on to usual University activities.
What are the positives out of this period of time, for example, the reduction of CO2 emissions? We are already working on a greener travel policy and a carbon neutrality pledge that would require us to reduce and offset our carbon footprint. A virus has shut down the world. Most of humanity has now realised that viruses are dangerous.
Maybe now there will be some kind of reset of people’s appreciation of the fragility of human existence. Surely that can have positive benefits on the major global challenges like climate, war and inequality that affect us all.