The paper describes an analysis of the factors which relate to the establishment of staff development methods and examines how each affects the establishment of effective staff development policies. The paper illustrates and analyses a number of ways in which a department of engineering can formalize staff development programmes at minimum cost to the institution based on the policy developed within the School of Engineering at Glasgow. It discusses structured secondment to other educational establishments and to industrial companies as representing a major form of staff development for a department of engineering. The paper concludes that highly effective staff development programmes can be achieved at low cost to the institution by formal structuring of a range of activities which form the work of a department.