JISC

JISC’s mission statement

JISC’s mission is to help further and higher education institutions and the research community realise their ambitions in exploiting the opportunities of information and communications technology by exercising vision and leadership, encouraging collaboration and co-operation and by funding and managing national development programmes and services of the highest quality.

1. Complaints against JISC
   We are committed to working in an open and accountable way that builds the trust and respect of all our stakeholders. This includes responding positively to complaints by putting right mistakes where we can, and learning from their lessons. This document defines what we mean by 'complaints' and sets out our procedure for dealing with them.
2. What is a complaint?
   A complaint is more than purely an objection to the merits of a decision or action by the JISC or its staff. A complaint is a claim of impropriety, irregularity, misconduct, poor performance or ineffectiveness. In other words, a complaint is concerned with the manner in which a decision has been made or action taken, rather than with the decision or action itself. This can include undue delay or failure to act or make decisions.
3. This procedure covers complaints from people who are not employed by the JISC. There are existing procedures for whistleblowing and staff grievances.  Where your complaint is not against the JISC but against another body then we will give you what advice we can as to how your complaint could be pursued.
4. How to complain
   In the first instance, if you have a complaint which you consider should be dealt with by the JISC then you should write to the member of staff who dealt with you, or their manager, so that they have a chance to put things right (contact details for the JISC Executive).  In your letter you should set out the details of your complaint, the consequences for you as a result, and the remedy you are seeking.  You can expect your complaint to be acknowledged within three working days of receipt.  You should get a response and an explanation within 20 working days.
5. If you are not satisfied with this response then you can write to the JISC Executive Secretary (Dr Malcolm Read) and ask for your complaint and our response to be reviewed.You can expect the Executive Secretary to acknowledge your complaint within three working days and to respond within 20 working days. The Executive Secretary will give you reasons for upholding or revising our original response. His reply will be copied to the JISC Head of Policy & Corporate Services, who oversees all complaints and whistleblowing allegations.
6. JISC's complaints panel
   JISC also has an independent procedure for appealing against the decision of the Executive Secretary.
7. If you are not satisfied with the Executive Secretary's response then you can write to the JISC Head of Policy & Corporate Services asking for your complaint to be considered by the JISC complaints panel.  This panel comprises two external members drawn from a pool of suitably experienced figures independent of the JISC, and is chaired by a non-executive JISC member.  The panel will normally be convened within 30 days and serviced by the JISC Head of Policy & Corporate Services. It will have the authority to advise the Executive Secretary and to report to the JISC Board.  You should write to the JISC Head of Policy & Corporate Services within two months of receiving the Executive Secretary's response if you want the panel to hear your complaint.
8. The JISC Board's complaints procedure has been kept as simple as possible. The JISC Head of Policy & Corporate Services will collate the papers relating to your complaint and will send them to panel members at least one week before they consider your complaint.You will see the Executive Secretary's case papers and he will see yours.  The panel may not necessarily meet, and will not normally hold a hearing. You will be informed of the membership of the panel. They may well do their work by correspondence, email or by videoconference and will not normally ask to meet with you unless there are matters of fact to resolve.
9. Appeals, exclusions and costs
   If the panel identifies gaps in the information, then it may approach either you or JISC staff to supply what is missing.You will have the chance to reply to any fresh information supplied by JISC staff.
10. When the panel has considered your complaint, then its decision and the reasons will be sent both to you, the Executive Secretary and the JISC Chairman within 10 working days of considering your complaint. It is open to the panel to recommend reforms and remedies to the Executive Secretary. The panel may also suggest the basis of a settlement or reconciliation between you and the JISC.
11. You cannot appeal against the panel's decision, but if you send any fresh information to the JISC Head of Policy & Corporate Services then it will be put to the panel and it will review its decision if appropriate. The panel is the final JISC process for dealing with complaints.  This does not prevent you using other processes (such as complaining to the JISC’s funding bodies or to the Parliamentary Ombudsman) but we would like the opportunity to put matters right first ourselves.
12. The panel will not consider a complaint that is the subject of legal proceedings or judged by the panel chair to be trivial or vexatious. Complaints of financial impropriety will be referred to the JISC's internal audit service.
13. You will not be expected to pay anything towards the cost of the panel's work. We will pay its expenses and operating costs such as postage and copying.  You will, however, be expected to pay your own costs, although it is open to the panel to recommend in certain cases that we should contribute towards your costs.
14. Further information
    If you have any questions about this procedure or would like a printed copy, please contact David Cook