After being appointed chief executive of the National Union of Students, one of the first things that Simon Blake did was to read its policy book ¨C twice.

This was a substantial undertaking: the union has policies voted through by students on a vast range of issues, ranging from the teaching excellence framework and tuition fees to women¡¯s liberation and boycotting Israel.

The inevitable consequence of having a weighty policy book is that the NUS cannot pursue all its remit with equal vigour all the time. And in a union with members who feel passionately about such diverse issues all the time, it means that the organisation cannot please all its members all the time.

Speaking to ̽»¨ÊÓƵ, Mr Blake said he believed that the NUS should respond to these concerns about its effectiveness by focusing its campaigning efforts more explicitly.

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¡°What the members are telling us is that they value all the different bits of what NUS does, but then when you bring them all together, they don¡¯t equal more than the sum of its parts,¡± Mr Blake said. ¡°Our trick has to be getting to the point where we¡¯re able to prioritise and focus our resources where we believe we make the biggest impact and add the greatest value to student unions who are operating at local level.¡±

This is not necessarily about doing less. But it probably is about dialogue, communication and managing expectations, he explained.

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¡°What is really important is that we are always clear on where we will make the biggest difference, and people understand why those decisions have been made,¡± Mr Blake said. ¡°We should remember that our process of engaging, of debating, of developing motions is a really important process in and of itself.

¡°There will be a whole series of wins which will be the most important thing for some people and others will wish that we had focused on something else; and we just have to deal with that.¡±

Mr Blake has been with the NUS since May, having formerly been chief executive of youth sexual health charity Brook. A psychology graduate from Cardiff University, Mr Blake succeeded Ben Kernighan, who left after less than a year in charge.

The NUS is no stranger to political power struggles and some chief executives might find it difficult to play second fiddle to a student leadership that has sole responsibility for policy.

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Mr Blake said that it was the student leadership that had attracted him to the role in the first place.

¡°I absolutely believe in, in any sector, in all issues, being led by the people it [the issues] affects most; and NUS and students¡¯ unions have got absolutely the best model of that leadership,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s obviously a different model of working and it would be naive to say it doesn¡¯t require you to think and understand things differently. And what you don¡¯t have is the ability to say ¡®that will happen¡¯ or ¡®that won¡¯t happen¡¯ and for it to happen or not happen.

¡°What you get is the ¡®magic¡¯ where staff and officers work together because it is about student leadership, but it is also a role in which you are there to advise, help, manage and support that leadership model in the best way that you can.¡±

chris.havergal@tesglobal.com