Website: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk
Industry: Higher Education
Location: United Kingdom and Dubai
Employees: ≈10,000
Learners: 300 Managers
Standout Achievement: Thanks to our change management approach, demand for the programme increased from 100 to 300 managers (plus a waiting list) before learning even began
University of Birmingham is one of the UK's leading Russell Group universities, recognised globally for excellence in research, teaching and innovation and is placed 68th in the QS World University Rankings.
The University has already demonstrated strong commitment to its people and neurodiversity through its Employee Neurodiversity Network and wider initiatives. Looking to build on this, the University wanted to develop consistent manager experience and move beyond awareness towards measurable behavioural change.
National Neurodiversity Training acted as a strategic wrapper around existing activity, bringing together leadership buy-in, lived experience, and manager development into a single institution-wide programme.
Like many large institutions, the University recognised that managers often want to support but may fear saying the wrong thing.
While strong policies and support mechanisms are already in place for this, employees' experiences can vary when managers are uncertain about applying them in practice, creating a manager postcode lottery and pressure on HR with repetitive questions and requests. The University also recognised that the existence of policy does not always translate into adoption and day-to-day application.
Alongside this, as in most organisations, neurodiversity disclosure rates were lower than societal prevalence rates of 20%, indicating some neurodivergent employees may not feel ready to disclose in employee surveys or within teams. Creating psychologically safe environments where individuals know their managers are equipped to discuss how they work best was therefore a key priority for the University.
Rather than treating these challenges as isolated issues, the University viewed them as an opportunity to strengthen leadership capability, improve consistency, unlock talent and create a more inclusive and consistent employee experience for all colleagues.
The programme was closely aligned to the University of Birmingham's wider strategic ambitions, including its 2030 Strategic Framework, which emphasises attracting, developing and retaining exceptional talent while strengthening leadership capability across the institution.
The initiative also aligned with the University's 2025-2028 DEI Strategy, particularly its commitments to challenging barriers to equality, creating inclusive working cultures, embedding accessibility and strengthening inclusion through organisational systems and leadership practices.
Given the strategic alignment, National Neurodiversity Training designed this bespoke programme as a culture and leadership initiative rather than a standalone learning intervention.
We began with a Neurodiversity Audit, a tool developed by National Neurodiversity Training to assess where an organisation and its people are at with neurodiversity, people, and culture.
National Neurodiversity Training then worked hand-in-glove with the University's DEI and HR team to build a fully bespoke manager development programme aligned to the University's policies, culture, and people practices.
One of the defining features of the programme was the focus on change management before any education was delivered.
To ensure the programme reflected the realities of Birmingham, National Neurodiversity Training and the University of Birmingham conducted lived-experience research and change-management workshops with HR, OH, and EDI Teams.
Five key themes and priorities emerged:
National Neurodiversity Training launched a dedicated engagement campaign. Through leadership buy-in, targeted communications, lived-experience storytelling, the University established strong momentum ahead of the education launch.
The programme was originally planned for 100 managers but following the overwhelming demand we generated, we opened the programme to 300 managers and had a waiting list. This level of voluntary uptake demonstrated a significant appetite for neurodiversity learning.
Professor Nick Vaughan-Williams, Provost and Vice-Principal at the University of Birmingham, commented:
"We're delighted to be working with National Neurodiversity Training here at the University of Birmingham. The training is customised, involving experts alongside colleagues with lived experience in our workforce. We're moving from understanding neurodiversity to behavioural change to actively support people at work."
Alongside the learning design and delivery, National Neurodiversity Training worked with the University to make existing support pathways easier for managers to navigate in practice.
This included developing practical guidance and decision-making resources that helped managers evaluate what ‘reasonable’ means in their teams, who to engage for additional advice, and what steps to follow when implementing workplace support.
By creating greater clarity around existing processes, the programme helped managers feel more confident navigating support conversations while encouraging more consistent application of University policies and procedures.
Importantly, the programme was designed and delivered by neurodivergent professionals at National Neurodiversity Training.
Managers also heard directly from neurodivergent colleagues from within the University. As one learner noted:
"I was especially impacted by the contributions of participants who shared their lived experiences of neurodiversity so openly. Their honesty and willingness to speak about their challenges and strengths brought a powerful human dimension to the programme and significantly deepened my understanding."
One of our priorities was increasing manager confidence in implementing support while improving adoption of existing University policies and processes.
Following the programme, managers reported:
The practical frameworks, guidance resources and real-world learning approach helped managers move from uncertainty to action, creating greater consistency in how support is implemented across the University.
National Neurodiversity Training designed the programme to move managers beyond awareness towards practical behavioural change.
Managers reported:
Alex Johl, Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Birmingham, shared:
“We are delighted to see the impact of this programme on our staff community. We were keen that any approach centred the lived experience of staff, and was built around the context and culture of the University of Birmingham. Given the depth and length of the course, initially we aimed for 100 line managers, so to end with 300 line managers plus a waiting list shows the enthusiasm of staff to create a more inclusive culture. In particular, it's been great to see almost a third of learners describing it as the best training they've ever been part of.”
The programme achieved exceptionally strong engagement despite taking place during the University's busiest period of the year, including summer annual leave, examinations, and graduation activities.
Results included:
One learner said:
"This has genuinely been one of the most well organised, relevant, well managed, timely and well-paced training courses I've ever participated in. The way you've tailored it to the University organisation and context is remarkable, and I genuinely think it should be rolled out organisation wide."
The emphasis on practical action also resonated strongly with participants:
"Overall, I found the training programme highly engaging, practical, and thought-provoking. It has significantly strengthened my understanding of neurodiversity, inclusive leadership, and the importance of adapting workplace practices to better support diverse ways of working. The content was well-structured and I particularly valued the focus on practical application rather than theory alone."
Together, the University of Birmingham and National Neurodiversity Training demonstrated that through a combination of change management, leadership buy-in, bespoke education, and lived-experience, the programme helped embed the behaviours needed to create lasting organisational change.
This case study was prepared by National Neurodiversity Training. All figures and quotes are drawn from the University of Birmingham program materials and do not guarantee similar results for other organisations.
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