Benchmarking made the headlines when a Formula One (F1) pit stop team helped surgeons to improve how they moved premature babies from the theatre onto life support equipment. Both these teams prize speed; one to save lives, the other to win races.

Is it an obvious step from life-support systems to F1 racing teams? It is if you are using Benchmarking – with a few important steps in between. The surgeons examined what was important to improve their service: in their case, the stark truth was that the longer it took to transfer a baby to life support the more likely it was that the child would die. The speed of transfers was down to the teams who undertook and supported the activities and the way they used financial resources available to them. Once they knew the important processes and criteria like speed, efficient teamwork and sharing information, they then looked for the best example of a team undertaking acts upon which someone’s life would depend. The F1 team was the answer.

The surgeons took their highly efficient and optimised teamwork techniques, then adapted and used them in theatre. The surgeons followed a Benchmarking approach, identifying, understanding and adapting business practices and processes from organisations anywhere in the world in order to help their own organisation’s performance.

Now consider Benchmarking Academic Administration within universities. What should be Benchmarked; what are the critical criteria for providing an efficient, quality service; what are the processes used now by universities to deliver services; how do they compare with other universities; what are the Benchmarks? This is where the English Universities Benchmarking Club (EUBC) comes in.