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About us

Our purpose

SUMS is a membership, not-for-profit organisation and registered charity, owned by our member universities. We are a different kind of organisation – one that works side-by-side with our members, clients and partners, to help them be better, more effective organisations.

We have become the partner of choice because of our unique understanding of higher education and its opportunities and challenges. Our community of consultants, practitioners and experts are drawn from across higher education and beyond, giving us a depth and range of knowledge and experience not found elsewhere.

In addition to HE-specific insight from our comparative research and benchmarking, we bring innovation and world-leading effective practice from other sectors and internationally to expand your horizons and drive innovation.

If you are looking for a partner to help you meet your organisation’s challenges and identify opportunities to thrive, please get in touch.

To find out more about how we can help you, take a look at our case studies, pick up the phone, or drop us an email. Whether you are a member or not, our doors are always open.

Our model

We have a core team of expert consultants who work with you to support you in assessing, developing and delivering the innovative solutions you need to address the pressures and challenges you face.

Added to that we have a wide network of associate consultants with specialisms across our services, so we can draw in their expertise when needed. They bring in-depth experience of both higher education and the commercial world.

This combination of a core team and associates means you are always supported by the best people to meet your ambitions.

Member benefits

Our unique membership model offers great value-for-money. SUMS Members access our management consultancy services, our expert staff, our extensive knowledge base, and engage in our community of practice groups, events, seminars and workshops that provide learning and networking opportunities.

Want to learn more about

member benefits?

Membership

How we support you

Whether you need an in-depth analysis and recommendations for significant transformation, or a more high-level review from a critical friend, we have the expertise to support you at every stage. In designing our support, we bring together higher education-specific insight from our comparative research and benchmarking, and world-leading effective practice from other sectors and internationally.
Our partner relationships help us extend the

benefits we can provide to our members

Discover our partners

Our annual reports

Click here to read our annual report

Creating the University of the Future
Learning through Lockdown
Ensuring universities are fit for the future