A taste of its own medicine

For 18 years, Jisc helped universities cut costs and do more using clever IT and smart technology. But now the government wants it to take a dose of its own medicine. Elizabeth Gibney speaks to Martyn Harrow who, as interim chief executive from 1 February, is charged with creating a leaner Jisc.

Martyn Harrow says he is a man familiar with both Jisc and handling “complex change”, which is a good thing, given the task at hand. Last February an independent review found that Jisc’s 18-year success in pioneering new technologies had caused it to sprawl into an unwieldy 74 services and 32 organisations, which must be cut back.