Lost in (third) space? Third space professionals in a post-pandemic world
In 2014, the then Leadership Foundation and Higher Education Academy funded our project on how to build successful partnerships between academic and professional services (Parkes et al, 2014). This brought together Celia Whitchurch’s ‘third space professionals’ with Bruce Macfarlane’s ‘para-academics’ and informed our chapter "Making partnerships work: practical strategies for building successful collaborations" (Parkes, Blackwell Young & Cleaver, 2016). Here, we presented five guiding principles for effective partnership working:
1. Understanding the motivations behind forming partnerships
2. Recognising the need for strategic support
3. Ensuring appropriate rewards and recognition for those involved
4. Acknowledging the organic and often chaotic nature of change
5. Fostering a culture of honesty and transparency.
Ten years hence, and we’ve been reflecting on the activities of third space professionals during and following the COVID19 pandemic, and whether our principles remain relevant.
We believe that they are (well, we would say that wouldn’t we?!) and can see how fundamental these were to higher education practice during the pandemic. To our mind, third space professionals understand the importance of the relational, working together with colleagues from different areas of the university to get things done in what are often organic, quickly changing and often felt ‘messy’ environments (Principle 4). No wonder then, that such colleagues utilised their skills and boundary spanning positionality to support and often lead activity in institutions throughout this uncertain time. Strategic support (Principle 2) underpinned by the key values of honesty and transparency were clearly fostered (Principle 5) with third space professionals working as what Akerman (2020) calls “positive disruptors”. Indeed, in many institutions the voices of third space professionals, particularly those skilled in curriculum design, regulatory practices, assessment, and online working were brought to the fore and amplified in a way they had not before (Principle 3).
We have been wondering what the experiences have been of ‘third-spacers’ as the sector (re)turned to ‘business as usual’. The necessity for third space knowledge and ways of working remains incredibly important, especially so when issues such as student wellbeing, the cost-of-living crisis, equity and accessibility, and the continued effects of Covid19 on student populations need a third space mind and skill set. There continues to be understanding of the motivations behind doing this work with strategic support provided (Principles 1 and 2), yet we wonder if professionals coming to the fore in the third space are themselves changing. During the pandemic, the expertise of learning and teaching specialists were at the front of work as curricula and practices shifted. However, in tackling more recent sector-wide challenges in HE, for example, the rise of artificial intelligence and ‘big data,’ expertise from what may be considered even more disparate areas and disciplines are needed. This may feel disconcerting for those feeling more visible during the pandemic, who perhaps sense they are less so now. But then, the continually shifting nature of the third space (Principle 4) that produces different knowledge(s) enable us to respond pro-actively to the challenges in front of us. This should not, though, be at the expense of forgetting the contributions that all ‘third spacers' make to our collective endeavours – whether in the spotlight or not. And so, it remains the case that successful collaborative practices supported by authentic and effective mechanisms for reward and recognition (Principle 3) are needed to prevent internal acknowledgement lagging behind the receipt of external accolades and appreciation (McIntosh & Nutt, 2022). As WonkHE’s Debbie McVitty (2024) discusses, university funding is likely to become more stretched as institutional finances take a battering. Hence, we may be heading towards a tough time again for third space professionals, particularly in terms of strategic support for reward and recognition. The honesty, transparency, and intrinsic value attributed to third space working during and evident across the pandemic may diminish as institutions with limited funds feel that they are competing again for a smaller number of students. Losing institutional and sector-wide acknowledgement of the benefit these workspaces and practices bring would be a retrograde step. Alongside cross-sector openness, such approaches are a real strength witnessed in the testing times of the COVID19 pandemic crisis. The resilience that third space professionals embodied, and the learning gained through such change must not be forgotten. We must continue to emphasise compassionate practices that embrace uncertainty as a positive norm for individual and collective flourishing. By doing so, we can nurture adaptable higher education practices that are equipped to embrace the complexities of an ever-evolving world. Who is better placed than those embodying third space practices is best placed to do this work?
PICTURE FROM INSEAD (2022)
References
Akerman, K. (2020), ‘Invisible Imposter: Identity in institutions’ in Perspectives: Policy and practice in higher education, 24(4), pp.126–130. doi:10.1080/13603108.2020.1734683
McVitty, D. (2024) ‘OfS assessment of university finances warns of need for structural change to stave off risks of provider collapse’, WonkHE May 2024. Available at: https://wonkhe.com/blogs/ofs-assessment-of-university-finances-warns-of-need-for-structural-change-to-stave-off-risks-of-provider-collapse/ (Accessed: 17 May 2024)
Parkes, S., Blackwell Young, J. and Cleaver, E. (2016) Making partnerships work: practical strategies for building successful collaborations; in Schneider, M., Kelsall, J. and Webster, H. (eds) Connecting the dots: Collaboration across learning support professions in higher education to enhance student learning, Innovative Libraries. DOI: 0.13140/RG.2.1.1260.0404
Parkes, S., Blackwell Young, J., Cleaver, E. and Archibald, K. (2014). Academics and professional services in partnership literature review and overview of results. York: Higher Education Academy. Available at: https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/academic-and-professional-services-partnership-literature-review-and-overview-results (Accessed: 29 March 2024)
INSEAD (2022) How to Design for Disruption. October 2022. Available at: https://knowledge.insead.edu/sites/knowledge/files/styles/1280x500/public/2022-10/finalballimage_0.jpg?h=40ad7b99&itok=Cb0YI2JQ (Accessed 17 May 2024)
