From ideas to impact: Cohort 6 graduates lead the way
Sixteen talented Associate Practitioners have recently completed the Continuous Improvement (CI) Local Practitioner Programme, delivered by Focus.
The graduates' work is already making a positive impact across the University, supporting improvements in areas such as Engineering Sciences, Humanities, and Estates.
We’re proud to celebrate the latest graduates of the CI Local Practitioner Programme— colleagues who’ve taken on real challenges and delivered practical, lasting improvements across the University. Their work is helping to build more efficient, collaborative, and future-ready ways of working.
The CI Local Practitioner Development Programme is a 20-week structured course run by the Focus team. It provides participants with essential CI skills and tools that empower them to drive local process improvements within their departments. To implement their project, they use a variety of resources, including e-learning modules, class events and a structured workbook. Practitioners are supported throughout by an experienced buddy from the Focus team or the Associate Practitioner Network, which now has over 100 members.
Practitioners champion CI in their departments and continuously seek ways to implement improvements in their projects and processes. Supported by the CI Community of Practice, a professional community with over 900 CI enthusiasts as of August 2025, practitioners are driving positive changes across the entire University.
Cohort 6 project summaries
Here is an overview of the projects from Cohort 6 of the CI Local Practitioner Programme:
Valerie West
Research Manager
Department of Psychiatry
Valerie explored inefficiencies in the Department of Psychiatry’s pre-award research grants process, where unclear responsibilities and inconsistent tracking created risks in a high-pressure environment.
Building on recent Oxford Research Management System (ORMS) workshops, she mapped the process, engaged stakeholders, and used CI tools like Voice of the Customer and Bugs & Butterflies. Feedback revealed both valued elements and areas for improvement—particularly around inbox management and role clarity.
Her work highlighted the importance of balancing change with what already works. It also laid the groundwork for future improvements by surfacing hidden issues and encouraging a culture of continuous, collaborative problem-solving.
Putting into practice some of the tools we learned really brought them to life. For me, the Discovery Log felt similar to gratitude journaling — it reflected a shift in mindset. I began to notice things I was learning all the time (just as one might start noticing the good things in life when practicing gratitude), and it became a self-perpetuating habit!
Helena Barron
Senior Course Administrator
Department for Continuing Education
Enrolment of students across the non-accredited teams
Helena reviewed the enrolment forms in use in her section, which were time-consuming and susceptible to error. Through Voice of the Customer activities, she confirmed widespread issues: forms arrived in multiple formats, were often incomplete or late, and sometimes sent to the wrong team. Manual processing raised concerns around General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance, financial impact and staff workload.
Helena worked with colleagues to define a preferred enrolment method and drafted a new online form. With a pilot planned for autumn 2025, her project aims to reduce processing time, improve clarity, and support a better experience for both students and administrators.
It's only when you engage with your stakeholders and start the conversation - as daunting as that may be - that the momentum for change really begins.
Nick Thomas
IT Support Team Leader
Department of Engineering Science
Nick addressed usability and engagement issues with The Hub, the department’s IT self-service portal. Staff often defaulted to email, increasing workload and reducing efficiency. Feedback revealed that many users were unaware of The Hub’s features or found it confusing. Using the Impact/Effort Matrix, Nick prioritised improvements, reducing 13 incident forms to just one, and developed a communications plan, training and relaunch materials.
While the technical updates are ready, the next phase focuses on encouraging adoption and ensuring The Hub becomes a more effective, user-friendly tool for IT support.
Anne-Marie Beneat
Laboratory Data Analyst
Clinical Trials Service Unit
Induction process in the laboratory
Anne-Marie set out to improve her facilitation skills and identified the laboratory’s induction process as an area for change. With inductions sometimes lasting up to a year, she worked with colleagues to understand pain points and gather feedback.
Workshops and Voice of the Customer activities revealed stress, confusion and the need for clearer deadlines and communication. Her project revealed opportunities to streamline the process and laid the foundation for introducing tools like Canvas to support training and task scheduling. The goal is to make the experience more manageable and welcoming for new starters.
Joe O'Connor
Academic Administrator
Humanities Divisional Office
Updating examination regulations
Joe focused on improving clarity around the process for changing examination regulations, which staff often found confusing and stressful. Through development of detailed process maps he mapped the steps and stakeholders involved; helping to identify where misunderstandings and delays occurred.
Voice of the Customer feedback revealed gaps in awareness around requirements, deadlines and the purpose of the process. Joe’s project led to the creation of a new SharePoint guidance site, set to launch before Michaelmas term. The aim is to support staff with clearer information and a smoother, more transparent experience.
Visualising the complexity of the full University-mandated process meant that we could identify which bits we did have control over, and speaking to people meant that we could work out where their understanding needed support.
Maria Garcia
Foundation Year Administrative Assistant
Department for Continuing Education
Termly battels payment discrepancies
Maria focused on improving the termly payment process for students on the Astrophoria Foundation Year Programme, which supports students financially as they prepare for undergraduate study. Payments rely on timely data from colleges, and discrepancies can cause delays and stress.
Using Voice of the Customer activities and a SIPOC analysis, Maria clarified roles and steps in the process, then introduced short Teams meetings to replace email-only communication. She also created visual tools to help her team manage workload and spot bottlenecks. Her project highlighted the importance of clear communication and standardised processes, especially in a small team, and opened the door to future automation using tools like Power Automate to streamline tasks.
The Local Practitioner Programme has given me so many ideas, practical tools, and valuable opportunities to apply them through the monthly sessions. My main takeaway is the importance of stakeholder input - collaboration not only strengthens working relationships but also leads to more effective solutions.
Marika Haseldine
Project Accountant
Engineering Science
Workshop technician timesheets
Marika set out to improve how technician time is recorded and recharged, aiming to maximise cost recovery and reduce confusion. Using the SIPOC tool she identified key players and process gaps, then gathered feedback through surveys, workshops and a Go See activity to understand day-to-day practices.
Marika co-designed a new timesheet template with input from programme managers and the Head of Department, making the process clearer and more consistent. Her project laid the groundwork for a more accurate, collaborative and transparent approach to timesheet management.
The LP programme really emphasised the importance of collaboration between stakeholders. You don’t have to fix everything by yourself; in fact, people will feel ownership if they are involved in the problem analysing and solving process.
Stella Mwakio
Trial Monitor & Quality Assurance Manager
Oxford Vaccine Group
Minor protocol deviations in studies
Stella focused on improving how minor protocol deviations are tracked and handled in clinical trials. Manual data entry and review was time-consuming making it difficult to spot patterns or assess the effectiveness of corrective actions.
Using baseline data and process mapping from the Focus toolkit, Stella identified key pain points and opportunities to streamline the workflow. Her project introduced a more structured and transparent approach to deviation tracking, laying the foundation for a system that reduces manual input, improves oversight, and supports both operational efficiency and data quality.
Small changes in process can lead to big improvements in quality, clarity, but it all begins with knowing where we stand. Baseline data doesn’t just reveal the gaps; it empowers us with purpose and direction.
Kathryn Betts
Regulatory & Quality Assurance Lead
Research Services
Kathryn focused on improving the Research Governance, Ethics and Assurance team oversight of clinical research studies by reviewing how end-of-study notifications are tracked, logged and managed within the team. The existing process relied on manual checks, duplicated guidance and extensive email communication, which created confusion and delays.
Using process mapping and stakeholder engagement, Kathryn identified key inefficiencies and opportunities to streamline the workflow, including exploring email automation, consolidating guidance and simplifying communications.
Kathryn’s project highlighted other opportunities for future work to clarify expectations for study teams and laid the foundation for a more efficient, transparent, and compliant approach to end-of-study requirements.
Voice of the Customer activities are not just a ‘nice to have’ but are an essential element of process improvement. Listening to and engaging with your stakeholders provides vital background and context when looking forwards to potential solutions.
Lucy Sajdler
Transformation Programme Officer
Department of Computer Science
Visitor process
Faced with a visitor process that was inconsistent, unclear, and time-consuming, Lucy brought together teams for process mapping workshops to understand the full journey.
Using the 8 Wastes tool, she identified delays, duplication and gaps in communication. Feedback from visitors and hosts revealed confusion around expectations and compliance. Lucy responded by introducing clearer guidance, updating welcome materials and scoping automation opportunities.
Reducing overprocessing now saves around 15 minutes per visitor case, freeing up time and improving the experience for everyone involved.
After years of circling the same issue, this programme gave me the clarity to pull everything together into one clear, supported process.
Liv Passey
Senior Planning Officer
Planning and Council Secretariat
Improving the process around compiling the front half of the University’s Annual Statement
Liv focused on improving coordination of the narrative section of the University’s Annual Statement, which involves multiple contributors and tight deadlines. Through Voice of the Customer activities including a questionnaire and a workshop, she identified challenges around unclear roles, inconsistent timelines, and limited guidance.
Using stakeholder mapping and the Impact Effort Matrix, Liv developed a clear briefing document and clarified responsibilities to streamline the process. Her work has already improved collaboration and confidence among contributors, laying the foundation for a more efficient and repeatable approach in future reporting cycles.
With newly gained insight into Continuous Improvement tools and methodology, and the invaluable support of my buddy and cohort, I’ve been able to identify opportunities for improvement and empowered to set in motion a number of changes to a complex process.
Neil Carveth
Divisional Safety Officer
Social Sciences Division
The travel and fieldwork process
Neil tackled inefficiencies in the University’s travel and fieldwork process, which supports over 10,000 trips annually. Using SIPOC and the Stop Start Continue tool, he uncovered significant variation in how departments approached the process, leading to duplication, delays and compliance risks.
By engaging stakeholders and mapping the current state, Neil identified opportunities to streamline workflows, reduce overprocessing and improve guidance. His project has already sparked collaboration across departments and laid the groundwork for automation and clearer, more consistent support for staff undertaking travel and fieldwork.
The LP Programme was a joy to be a part of. As well as being surprisingly fun I’m now much better equipped to tackle challenges in my day job and make a real difference.
Steve Martin
Continuous Improvement Practitioner
Focus
Steve focused on reducing the number of unnecessary access removal requests for Planning and Council Secretariat (PACS) TM1, a financial planning tool used across the University. Analysis showed that 93 percent of these requests weren’t needed and were often due to confusion about what was being requested.
Using the Stop Start Continue tool and process mapping, Steve identified communication gaps and simplified the request process. By improving guidance and clarifying system access information, his project aims to reduce admin time and ensure that only essential requests are submitted - freeing up resources and improving user confidence.
By talking to others involved in the process I was able to discover completely new possibilities that I didn’t know existed and have the potential to make huge differences. The LP programme helped create these opportunities and gave me new skills as well as changing my way of thinking.
Miriam Mendes
Senior Research Facilitator
Blavatnik School of Government
Internal budget costing process for projects
Miriam focused on improving the internal budget costing process for research projects - an area that contributes around a third of the School’s income. Using a structured approach that included 5W1H, SIPOC, Impact Effort Matrix, Start Stop Continue and an engagement plan, she created a safe and collaborative environment to explore challenges.
Interviews and workshops showed that costing practices varied across teams, with many seeking more structure and visibility. Miriam’s project helped clarify expectations and laid the foundation for more consistent, transparent budgeting that supports financial sustainability and better planning across the School.
This project has handed me a proven toolkit for streamlining our workflows—freeing people to do their best work, plan deadlines with confidence and keep last-minute pressure to a minimum.
Sophia Evans
Head of HR
Department of Physiology, Anatomy & Genetics
Sophia explored the complex process of managing graduate student finances during admissions, where overlapping responsibilities and unclear steps often caused confusion. Using process mapping and Voice of the Customer activities, including a survey with recently admitted students, identified gaps in understanding and communication.
Recognising the need for a focused scope, Sophia facilitated a workshop that successfully mapped two-thirds of the process, with a follow-up session planned to complete the rest. Her work has already brought greater clarity and structure to a critical process.
The LP Programme gave me the confidence to review a long-standing, complex process in a structured, supported way. It has also given me a great network of people to utilise moving forward.
Thomas Rigault
Change & Improvement Manager
Estates
Planned preventative maintenance standardisation
Thomas focused on improving compliance and data quality in the University’s planned preventative maintenance (PPM) processes - critical for ensuring systems like fire alarms and emergency lighting function reliably. As part of phase two of a broader project, he used SIPOC, process mapping, and a staff survey to uncover inconsistencies across sites, connectivity issues and gaps in training.
Voice of the Customer activities, including engagement with the Customer Experience Manager, helped identify key areas of waste and variation. His work is paving the way for more standardised, efficient and compliant maintenance practices across the estate.
By using Nancy Kline (Time to Think) as well as a variety of Focus tools; the LP Programme genuinely allowed me to look at the PPM process through a different lens, almost as though the fog had been lifted and the problem was clearly visible.
The CI Local Practitioner Development Programme contributes significantly to the University’s overall success, as part of the Professional Services Together collective ambition for how we work in support of the University's mission, focused on our shared principles of collaboration, quality and our people.
