Responses to a policy initiative: the case of centres for excellence in teaching and learning

This article considers the impact of a major government initiative to reward and promote excellence in teaching and learning in higher education. The proposal to create Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in England's universities and colleges of higher education was first announced in 2003. A two-stage bidding process took place over most of 2004 and the chosen centres were established from April 2005. The article reports the findings from interviews with 24 staff involved in a total of 25 bids from 14 institutions ( including one further education college taking part in a collaborative bid). It shows how members of staff from different types of institution came to understand the initiative, how they responded to its requirements, how the bidding process itself shaped the proposals, and the individual and institutional effects of both failure and success in the bidding rounds.