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Poppy Chadburn is Senior Change Manager on the ION-DRI Programme
I joined UCL as part of the Change Management Team approximately three and a half years ago in the Change & Improvement division. Our teams complement the capability of projects/programme/product management professionals across the University, bringing a strong focus on the people element of the change. We support a wide variety of changes; examples include a new professorial appraisal system or the Scheduling Programme. My first piece of change work here, was supporting UCL in implementing their Technician Commitment signatory responsibility – aiming to build visibility, recognition and career development of UCL’s brilliant technical workforce.
I started working on the ION-DRI project in October 2023. I really like the fact that the programme, as a physical move, is tangible and with long-lasting benefits. Personally, I’m also really happy to be working closely with scientists again. My academic background was originally life sciences and I joined UCL from the Natural History Museum, where I worked on a variety of changes including the moving of entomologists and botanists into the new Darwin Centre and other various capital build plans, including a relocation.
As Change Managers, we aim to understand change impact on stakeholders and to develop plans to engage and support those affected by change so that it lands and embeds well. Support for ION-DRI will span the migration process and anticipate the bedding in of a new Dual Hub ‘business as usual’ ways of working. There will always be a learning curve.
“Relocations are always more than physical changes - it affects your ways of working, the social dynamics of a building and how occupants interact with each other. There's so much more to it than space and technical functionality.
I commenced my work on ION-DRI by meeting with people to learn what is important to them about the change, how colleagues are feeling about it and what the greatest challenges are. I then started to look structurally at governance groups, the history of how people have been engaged with, and talking to the leadership team about what the strategic changes are that will benefit the organisation the most.
I'm delighted to hear how positive people are feeling about a new and improved working environment, but I know the devil is in the detail with programmes like these. Relocations are always more than physical changes - it affects your ways of working, the social dynamics of a building and therefore how occupants interact with each other. There's so much more to it than space and technical functionality. Sometimes small things can have bigger impacts and are worth paying attention to and exploring with colleagues. It is key to consider aspects of change that affect people’s output and how they feel about working in a new space – engagement is critical to successfully embedding any change and making the building work for your needs.
Shared spaces are always important to pay attention to. From sharing laboratory space, to an upgraded common room environment, all can be attractive on paper, but won’t bring about the benefits you need without exploring how they will work – clarifying responsibilities and ways of working in those settings.
“Sometimes small things can have bigger impacts and are worth paying attention to and exploring with colleagues... engagement is critical to successfully embedding any change and making the building work for your needs.
At the Natural History Museum, there had been concerns about moving from cellular space to open plan, but by bringing the researchers and curators close to the design of space layouts, we worked hard to understand their roles and operational challenges to improve the experience of the change, so occupants (researchers, curators, students and scientific visitors) could thrive in the new setting.
When people move into a new building, after all that work to prepare their kit and belongings and to carefully relocate them, there’s initially relief. However that’s when the learning starts - how do they navigate through a new space and access services? Who can they talk to, to resolve issues? What was once second nature, will take a little longer to do in the new setting. Our aim is to find ways to make that transition quick and as painless as possible.
Having spent my entire career working for and with research scientists, technical professionals and academics, it is an honour to work more closely with the ION and DRI staff, to get a little bit of an insight into their world and understand more about the amazing things they do. I’m really looking forward to continuing the change journey with the teams.