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Advocacy
Advocacy

Representing members, both inside and outside of the sector, and presenting a strong unified voice where possible, is a key part of HESPA’s work. HESPA lobbies agencies, sector bodies, government and other policymakers for improvements to be made to benefit its members, and the sector overall. It is involved in sector-wide discussion and debate and strives to keep its members well informed.
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- About Advocacy
- HEDIG
- HESPA Policy Forum
HEDIG

Higher Education Data Insight Group
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HESPA Policy Forum

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Development
Development

Being a central source of learning and development for members is one of HESPA’s main activities. HESPA offers a busy annual training programme, covering a diverse range of topics in line with its members broad array of remits and responsibilities. HESPA training is open to all roles and levels and, where appropriate, colleagues from other functions are encouraged to attend, recognising the need for a coordinated and collaborative approach between different departments at member institutions.
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- About Development
- Upcoming Events
- Annual Conferences
- Mentoring
- HESPA Development Committee
- Showcasing Good Practice Week
- HESPA Awards
- E-Learning
HESPA Annual Conference 2025

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HESPA Mentoring

Develop expertise related to strategy and planning
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Networks
Networks

HESPA offers a unique platform for members to connect and share challenges and opportunities. A number of special interest groups exist to advance strategy and planning work in the sector and HESPA also offers private discussion boards for members to communicate discreetly with one another in a safe space. HESPA events and other activities also heavily promote networking and community-building.
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- About Networks
- Discussion Boards
- Member Directory - People
- Member Directory - Institutions
- Special Interest Groups
- Jobs
Member Directory - People

Find other members to connect with
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Special Interest Groups

Sharing best practice, keeping people up to date with developments
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Discussion
Knowledge Hub
Knowledge Hub

We have many resources to share with our members and you will find a lot of them here. Some have been developed by us, some have been shared by our members and some have been contributed by external trainers. If you cannot find what you are looking for, or wish to have a general conversation about what else might be available, please get in touch and we will point you in the right direction.
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- All Resources
- Events Archive
- Planning Remit Survey
- Publications
- Learning Analytics
- Risk
- Statutory Returns
- Strategy Development and Implementation
- Student Number Planning
- Sustainability in Strategy and Planning
- Workload Management
Browse all resources

Filter them by keyword to find what you want
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Events Resources

Resources, presentations and videos from previous events
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Events
Events

HESPA offers a busy annual training programme, covering a diverse range of topics in line with its members broad array of remits and responsibilities. Our annual conference takes place every February.
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- All Events
- Month View
- Events Archive
- Conferences
- HESPA Autumn 'All-In' Conference
- Showcasing Good Practice Week 2025
- HESPA Annual Conference 2025
HESPA Annual Conference 2025

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HESPA Training: Monitoring strategy and maximising performance

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About
About

The Higher Education Strategic Planners Association (HESPA) is the representative body for those working in strategy and planning roles in UK higher education. We support our members via advocacy, development and networking opportunities. Membership to HESPA is institutional. Once subscribed, there is no limit to the number of staff who can join. Individual staff members just need to register online to access our services.
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- About Us
- Contact Us
- HESPA Executive
- Our Staff
- Committees
- Membership
- Get Involved
- Supporters
- PHES
- HESPA New Website Guide
- What is strategic planning in HE?
HESPA Executive Committee

Meet the HESPA Exec
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Committees

We have a number of committees of volunteers from our membership
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News and Blogs
News and Blogs

You can catch up on member newsletters, relevant articles and blogs here. We’re always on the lookout for contributors so please do get in touch if you have something to offer, be it a fully formed piece, or simply an idea for further development.
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- All News
- Newsletters
- Blog
- Jobs
Newsletters

Don't miss out on the latest news
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Blog

Generally written by HESPA members with occasional guest bloggers
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Feedback

HESPA Autumn 'All-In' Conference

November 2025

Virtual

HESPA holds an annual virtual conference in late November with an inclusive ticket model enabling all-institution access to the many sessions taking place across a few days. These are known as our HESPA Autumn 'All-In' Conferences.

The next virtual conference will be held in November 2025 via our online conference platform RingCentral.

Further details regarding the conference programme and how to book your place will be released in Spring 2025.

We are always looking for new ideas for plenary speakers and workshop sessions, so if you have any suggestions (whether it is something you might want to run yourself, a recommendation for a specific speaker or just a general theme that you think would be interesting to explore) please let us know by emailing Jennifer Summerton.

You can find details of our previous Autumn All-In Conferences (including recordings for those with institutional tickets) via the button below.

Previous Autumn All-In Conferences

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