This reflective paper is an account and analyses of the change process forced upon a university's education department in the light of unexpected financial downfall. Rather than rehearse the well documented research on innovation and change it focuses on the process from the head of department's prospective. The issues raised highlight that there remain aspects of the change not yet fully documented and understood. These are discussed and used to illustrate how departments might prepare themselves for the changes they will inevitably face. (Contains 2 notes.)