Often there are many ideas for change around. Deciding which one(s) have priority can be difficult - especially when there are many vested interests to consider.

Whether the idea for change comes from an individual, a team or department, the enthusiasm and buzz created at the idea generation stage can prevent these individuals seeing clearly someone else's priorities. People start asking 'Why can't everyone see that this is the way forward?' and this can create friction between the innovative team and everyone else.

So that the enthusiasm and buzz isn't lost and the individual, team or department are not discouraged, there will need to be a process, perceived to be fair and equitable, to set priorities for change ideas and programmes.

The Prioritisation Matrix is designed to:

• Examine different change processes and allocate priorities
• Be inclusive in recognising the work of different teams and individuals
• Improve the decision-making process

Our thanks for this tool go to the University of York where it is being used to help their decision-making processes.

To construct your own matrix, you will need to decide on the factors for priority setting. This is something which will be dependent on your own circumstances but factors you might want to consider include:

• Is there a link between the proposals and the strategic objectives of the Institution?
• What would be the impact of the changes on stakeholders in terms of, for example:

Process improvement
Cost savings
Time saving
Student satisfaction
Student retention

What are the financial implications for the institution?

Conduct a cost benefit analysis
What would be the implementation costs?

• What risks would the institution be taking if the idea is developed in a change programme?
• What is likely to be the level of resistance? Is there a danger of undertaking too much change at any one time?
• Do we have the human resources with adequate skills to develop, implement and maintain the changes?
• Is there a need for training and development to be put in place for staff to lead and/or facilitate the change process?
• What is the urgency of the change?
• What is the wider level of support for the change? What level of approval will be needed to develop the initiative? Will it be difficult to get this support?
• Is there a community of practice, steering committee that can assess objectively/back up the change proposals?
• Is the timing right?
• How long is it going to take to implement the change?

The Prioritisation Matrix involves:

1. Agreeing a process for developing and implementing the matrix
2. Deciding on what the priorities are
3. Deciding on the weighting/rating scale to be used
4. Making the prioritisation matrix readily available to individuals/departments
5. Allocating a date for the review

Just on its own, the prioritisation matrix will be a reserved tool for decision makers, and won't be fully beneficial to the institution. Making the matrix available to staff can:

• Improve the quality of decisions
• Demonstrate the institution's commitment to continuous improvement and achieving a culture of change
• Assist with communicating why change is important
• Gain greater trust through greater transparency

Deciding what weighting/rating scales would be appropriate can be difficult. A simple scale has greater transparency - a more complex scale leads to detailed debate about interpretation but can provide greater flexibility.

You could decide that you would like to use a Lickert scale (one to five), or any other scale; or if you are faced with, say, 4 change proposals, you could rank each from one to ten on each of the priority factors.

Use the following link to view the prioritisation matrix template.

Below is an example of what a prioritisation matrix could look like with the opportunity to customise it and make it fit for use at your own institution.

Example: Scoring each from 1 - 10