Introduction

For over 20 years, Boland and Hazelkorn have each led higher education organizations, and provided policy advice to governments and university leaders in all parts of the world.

Services include policy guidance on all levels and matters of education; evaluation and advice on benchmarking and strategic planning; accreditation policy, procedures, guidelines and regulations; leadership and strategic planning training; international networking, including designing, organizing and hosting high-level policy-sharing and benchmarking seminars and workshops..

Strategic Partners & Associates

BH Associates works with a wide international network of scholars, policymakers, and other international experts with experience across the education landscape. This includes our work with the European Commission, UNESCO, OECD, and the World Bank.

We also host seminars and webinars with members of our international network through which we can bring the benefits of an international pool of expertise and experience to our projects.

Mr. Tom Boland

Mr. Tom Boland is Joint Managing Partner, BH Associates. He is an international adviser and expert on higher education and research. He has wide experience in leading complex, high performance organizations across a range of public service activities, with strong competence in strategy, organizational and system reform and stakeholder management.

Professor Ellen Hazelkorn

Professor Ellen Hazelkorn is Joint Managing Partner, BH Associates, and Joint Editor, Policy Reviews in Higher Education.

Ellen has expertise across further and higher education policy and system governance, leadership and management, including funding of higher education systems; institutional differentiation and system articulation, with particular reference to new universities/higher education institutions; institutional research strategy and national science/innovation policy; quality assurance and accreditation; national and institutional systems of evaluation and rankings; and across teaching, learning and research in especially in the arts, humanities and social science.

Ellen is currently a member of the Coordinating Council for Higher Education of Portugal, the EU Higher Education for Smart Specialisation (HESS) Advisory Group (2022-2023), the International Panel of Experts for the “Excellence Initiative – Research University”, Poland (appointed by the Minister of Science and Higher Education), and the Government Steering Group for the Framework for Success and Sustainability of Scotland's Universities, and the Scottish College Sector of the Future, appointed by the Minister for Education). 

She was previously a member of the Commission for the College of the Future (UK, 2019-2022);  and the Quality Board for Icelandic Higher Education (2017-2023). Ellen was policy advisor to, and board member of, the Higher Education Authority (Ireland) (2011-2017), and to the Programme for Institutional Management of Higher Education, OECD (2001-2010).

She was also a Member of the Advisory Board and Affiliate Faculty, Centre for International Higher Education (CIHE), Boston College, USA, and the Research Management Committee and Advisory Board of Centre for Global Higher Education (CGHE), Oxford.

She has worked with international organisations and governments for over 20 years, including the European Commission and the EU Joint Research Council, OECD, World Bank, UNESCO, European Investment Bank, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, U.S. Government Accountability Office [GAO]) as well as the different governments/government agencies in (inter alia) Australia, China, Finland, Georgia, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Lebanon, Netherlands, and Russia, Spain, St Kitts-Nevis, United Kingdom, the United States, UAE and Wales. She regularly undertakes strategic and research evaluations for European and national research/scientific councils and universities.

She was Vice President, Dublin Institute of Technology (now TU Dublin) (1995-2008) – including as VP for  Research and Enterprise, and Founding Dean of the Graduate Research School, and as Founding Dean, Faculty of Applied Arts. She was founding Director, Higher Education Policy Research Unit (HEPRU), 2008-2020.

Ellen has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, short articles and blogs, commentaries, and policy papers. In addition, she has given almost 200 keynote addresses at international ministerial, university and further/higher education conferences. She has been included in the Stanford University/Elsevier World's Top 2% Scientists list. Her research has influenced governments, universities, and international organisations on their understanding and use of rankings and metrics drawing on her seminal research and analysis beginning in 2006, thought leadership on civic universities and regional engagement, and post-secondary/tertiary education systems which have been implemented in Wales.

Ellen was President of EAIR (European Society for Higher Education), 2013-2016. She was a  NAFSA Senior Fellow, NAFSA: Association of International Educators, 2018-2019 and awarded the Tony Adams Award for Excellence in Research, European Association for International Education (EAIE), 2018. Ellen’s podcast on university rankings was EAIE’s top-rated podcast for 2022.

Ellen was awarded a BA and PhD from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and the University of Kent, UK, respectively. She has a Certificate from the Institute for Educational Management, Harvard University, USA, and was elected to the Phi Kappa Phi Honour Society.