At Herd Consulting, we don’t just understand Higher Education (HE) – we have lived it. Our consultants bring together over 80 years of collective experience, featuring specialists who have spent decades navigating the unique complexities of the Higher Education landscape.

Our team have delivered transformative change at some of the world’s most prestigious and diverse institutions, including:

• • • The Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, Sheffield, Edinburgh, and Southampton; UCL, LSE, and Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), which form part of the prestigious Russell Group of institutions.
    • Post-92 institutions such as Sheffield Hallam, Northumbria, Leeds Trinity and international partners like the Universities of Otago and Auckland (NZ).

Strategic Expertise in HE Landscapes

We move beyond simple “digital transformation” by embedding expertise directly into the following critical pillars essential to making universities thrive in often challenging circumstances:

• • • Student Experience & Success: We’ve led major discoveries to uplift or replace admissions systems, designed seamless graduation processes, and enhanced student record integrations to ensure a frictionless journey from prospective applicant to alumnus.
    • Research & Innovation: Our team has built and enhanced research administration and grant management frameworks, helping institutions streamline the complex workflows that power cutting edge research and discovery. 
    • Academic Practice & Pedagogy: From VLE legacy replacement and installations to teaching assessment system redesigns, we partner with academic leads to ensure technology serves the institution’s teaching and learning mission, rather than dictating it.
    • Future Operating Model Design & Alignment: We help universities rethink their structure, whether it’s designing research or professional services models or developing the business cases required for holistic enterprise-wide change.
    • Technology Change: We tackle the foundational “engine room” of the sector—addressing web accessibility, infrastructure resilience, and the digital strategy for entire new campuses.
    • Financial Sustainability and Operational Excellence: We work with institutions to identify inefficiencies, enhance processes, and evaluate emerging opportunities for automation and transformation, helping to improve operational effectiveness and secure long-term financial sustainability.