About Us - NASH

NASH's Improvement Science Journey

Drawing inspiration from the Institute of Health Care Innovation Breakthrough series (IHI, 2003), the NASH Improvement Science approach was designed to apply Improvement Science methodology to key problems of practice identified by member systems as high priorities. Existing Improvement Science models from partner organizations such as the Carnegie Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement were studied and adapted to the public higher education context via ‘NASH Improvement Communities’ (NICs) that applied a modified organizational structure and methodology for application to higher education problems of practice.

In 2022, NASH launched three NICs and since its inception, over 200+ campus team members have participated in a NIC. In just two years, NASH has demonstrated that the concept of bringing rigorous improvement science to higher education works!

WHY Improvement Science in Higher Education?

Improvement science aims to bridge the knowledge gap between what works and how to make it work across variable organizational settings. Ideas for change are created based on the best available knowledge and generated by those closest to the problem. Participants engage in very small initial tests of change through iterative, rapid action cycles. The tests expand from small, initial tests to wide-scale tests of change over successive cycles. The process enables participants to “fail before scale,” with an end goal of identifying successful change ideas that can be implemented reliably at scale and across settings.

Within higher education, improvement science offers an effective set of tools to solve for both operational and cultural barriers to change, including organizational paralysis, “solutionitis,” low organizational trust, and fear of failure.

WHY Improvement Science in Higher Education?

Organizational Paralysis

The problem: Higher education institutions are notoriously slow and resistant to change. Because of the short 45-day cycles to test ideas, the change muscles of individuals and organizations are developed alongside the knowledge generated by the tests of change.

The solution: As a result of their engagement with our improvement science methodology, participants and observers see evidence that organizational change is not only possible but can be done more quickly than many assume.

"Solutionitis"

The problem: Higher education professionals, particularly faculty and staff that work most closely with students, bear the brunt of solutionitis. That is, the tendency of change initiatives to be developed by those with limited knowledge of the environments where changes will be implemented and often with little-to-no consultation with those that are closest to the problem. Solutions are often developed by theoretical researchers, think tanks, philanthropies, government agencies, higher education leaders, elected leaders, or others that are disconnected from the day-to-day experiences of faculty, staff, and students.

The solution: IS flips this structure on its head; change ideas are developed and tested by individuals working on the ground. Scaling only occurs after successful iterations of change ideas are proven over time. This approach honors and respects the knowledge of individuals who work with students directly and understand their lived experience.

Low Organizational Trust

The problem: Higher education institutions often suffer from low organizational trust, which has proven to limit and distort communication and therefore impede change efforts. This is particularly true in public higher education system settings, where there are often deep, longstanding tensions between system offices and campuses, differences across sectors (i.e., community colleges, technology colleges, research universities), and competition between campuses.

The solution: We bring together both system representatives and campus teams, which requires collaboration in novel ways between individuals and institutions that can build organizational trust. Participants learn firsthand that not only is change possible, but so is effective collaboration.

Fear of Failure

The problem: Finally, a key feature of IS is that not only is failure allowed, it is encouraged. Because the tests of change are small, the risk of failure is minimized. This stands in stark contrast to the top-down approach, where massive initiatives (often untested) require extensive investment of staff and funding and may take years to yield positive results. Failure in such scenarios can be very damaging and the risks of sunk costs and lost political capital can be significant. As a result, higher education institutions have been socialized to fear failure which inhibits the risk-taking needed for innovation.

The solution: The IS model enables “failing before scaling,” inherently encouraging experimentation and minimizing the risk of investing time and resources in untested strategies.

The NASH Center for Post-Secondary Improvement is fulfilling its commitment to advancing higher education through improvement science. This is achieved by:

Introducing and inspiring higher education professionals to the principles of improvement science.
Educating professionals through a variety of learning opportunities, including customized workshops and engagements
Providing structured opportunities for practitioners to apply and practice improvement methodologies

Do you want to learn more about our current Improvement Science initiatives?

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