Application for Local Initiative Funding 2001-2002

1. Details of Applicant Organisation:

University of London

2. Borough where services provided

Please show the approximate coverage of your proposed project in terms of beneficiaries.

Camden 75%
Kensington & Chelsea 20%
Other (Lewisham) 5%


3. Priority Areas Addressed by the Project

Please indicate which one or more of the five LIF priority areas your bid addresses.

1. Widening participation, including ensuring adequate Basic Skills provision
X
2. Equality and diversity
X
3. Support for neighbourhood renewal

4. Increasing Employability
X
5. Developing the skills of the employed workforce in smaller businesses

4. Project Summary, Aims and Objectives

Please give a description of your project including the aims and objectives in the space below.  Please indicate clearly how it will support London Central LSC's priorities for LIF.

The overall aim of the Project is to improve the basic skills of the many staff working in manual and ancillary grades within Higher Education institutions in London, who are most likely to be those in need of support to improve basic skills, but those least likely to be engaged in development.  C&IT training across all occupations and basic skills development among manual grade staff are highlighted in the HESDA (NTO for Higher Education) Sector Workforce Development Plan.

The demand for basic skills and increased use of computerisation within all job roles within Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) has excluded those with a lack of basic C&IT skills.  This lack of key skills has proved a barrier to effective communication within organisations as electronic and web-based communications become the norm.  

The provision proposed would be in addition to the work-related C&IT training which is already on offer to employees using computers.  However, we need to generate a different type of provision - and one which addresses the substantive work required on C&IT type issues alongside issues of confidence, guidance and support for those returning to formal learning after long periods out.

The project aims to provide a framework that takes a holistic approach, to the person, work and career development needs of the target group.  It will offer a wide range of activities, support and services to include: C&IT training, basic skills in literacy and numeracy, one-to-one coaching, open and interactive learning and the possibility of pursuing a number of accreditation routes.  Different host institutions will adopt their own interpretations of most appropriate provision within the broad palette.

The objectives of the Project can be summarised as follows:

• To build a sustainable network of Higher Education Institutions in Central London committed to basic skills development for their staff;
• To recruit a representative sample of staff most in need of basic skills (manual and ancillary staff) covering a wide mix of gender, race and age
• To assess their current skill level in basic skills, including C⁢
• To register and assess the participants for appropriate key skills units at Level 1 or 2;
• To draw up individual action plans for each participant and advise on progression;
• To evaluate the success of the Project by its immediate outcomes and longer term impact on individual and organisational development;
• To encourage partnership and good practice amongst HEIs in central London;
• To provide the skills needed to continue further development.

5. Lead Organisation and Partnership Information

Please provide a brief background to your organisation including your wider aims and objectives.

The University of London, as one of the leading universities in Europe, through its Colleges and central Institutes provides an unrivalled range of higher education opportunities of outstanding breadth and quality and engages in world-class research.  The University is mindful of its historic and pioneering role in extending university education to those prevented at the time by their religion or their sex from gaining access to higher education, in offering educational opportunities to many who would not otherwise have been able to take university degrees, and in developing university institutions in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.

The University:

• is committed to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in a research environment, which draws on many different traditions, practices and methods in a wide variety of institutions, offering unsurpassed opportunities to students from all countries who are able to benefit from its courses so that they attain the highest academic standards and develop to the most exacting intellectual level;
• is dedicated to the prosecution of research across all fields of study at the highest international standards;
• seeks to contribute to the public welfare in the work of its graduates and its staff and in the results of its research, enriching and advancing culture, education, the humanities and social sciences, the performing and creative arts, science, engineering, technology, medicine and public affairs;
• by its significant presence in London seeks to make a major contribution to the economic, scientific and cultural life of the metropolis;
• seeks to represent nationally and internationally the highest standards and enduring values of the university tradition, including academic freedom, intellectual integrity and equality.

Details of partner organisations
Name and address of partner organisation
Contact name and telephone

Birkbeck College, London, WC1E 7HX

Goldsmiths College, London, SE14 6NW

HESDA - The NTO for Higher Education, Sheffield, S10 2GJ

Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine, London, SW7 2AZ

Institute of Education, London, WC1H 0AL

King's College, London, WC2R 2LS

London School of Economics and Political Science, London, WC2A 2AE

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, WC1

Westminster/Kingsway College, London, WC1

6. Project Management and Partnership Arrangements

Please describe the management structure for the project, indicating the role of the partners listed in section 5. Where partners are not yet confirmed, please indicate this.

The Project Management Group (PMG) will consist of representatives from all Partner Institutions.  The Project Manager will report to this Group and will be in attendance at meetings. 

The Partners (via their Staff Development Units) will be responsible for co-ordinating access to the provision; selling the benefits to local managers and staff; using the administrative resources of their local Staff Development Units to recruit and select the participants; provide local guidance and support to participants; gain feedback from participants to ensure provision is adequate.  At the end of the Project, the Partners will also have a role to play in disseminating information about the Project back to HEI managers to demonstrate its value to the sector and the importance of continuing such provision.

HESDA will carry out an independent evaluation of the project, as well as attending PMG meetings.

Westminster/Kingsway College will provide the tuition and assessment and will provide a representative to attend PMG meetings.  (This is to be confirmed.)

7. Innovation

Please describe the innovative nature of the project.

The use of on-line learning specifically directed at manual and ancillary staff is an innovative step for the HE sector.  It has been found to be highly motivational to those who are returning to learn, with a focus on basic skills acquisition and application in the workplace.  However, the target group do not currently have the skills to access on-line learning for their own development.  Therefore this Project aims to ensure that they have the C&IT skills they need, as well as appropriate support and guidance in order to exploit these opportunities and be able to access the on-line learning materials, (such as learndirect) for basic skills development.  The Project targets those who have been excluded from this area and proposes an innovative motivational strategy to develop their C&IT and basic skills within a constrained project timescale of six months.

A recent HESDA report found that over 50% of HE staff working in traditional manual-grade ocupations such as security/catering/cleaning functions, were in the 45-64 age bracket.  This age group is the least likely to be engaged in formal learning and the most difficult to encourage back into mainstream provision, so innovative approaches to their development are essential for success.

By offering three streams, depending on ability, as assessed in the initial assessment stage, the demotivating atmosphere of learning in mixed ability groups is avoided.  Participants on other programmes have indicated that they prefer to learn in groups of like ability.

The Project uses the carrot of unlocking the mysteries of IT - as a tool to motivate the participants to return to learning.  By providing them with the IT skills to access on-line learning they are then encouraged to go further and improve their basic skills.

As well as using on-line learning materials being developed at Birkbeck College and learndirect, it is also planned to create a web-based Discussion Board across the participating institutions to support the participants.

8. Equal Opportunity and Social Inclusion.

The LSC expects all projects to support Equal Opportunity and Social Inclusion.  Please describe how your project will achieve this.

HESDA noted in its Labour Market Information Project December 1999, "Whilst considerable resources have been dedicated to Communication & Information Technology (C&IT) in HE, there is growing concern about its effectiveness in particular areas."  Additionally, the report recommends "In order to allow traditionally more disadvantaged staff to participate in the new learning and skills agenda, HEIs should consider the introduction of 'work-based' employee development schemes, with the aim of extending life-long learning opportunities to all staff within the HE sector."

An independent review of Higher Education, published in June 1999, revealed that 13.6% of all HE staff were located in manual grades; within central London this amounts to nearly 6,000 staff.  This Project has the potential to establish a sustainable employer partnership network aimed at developing the basic skills of these staff working in the higher education sector.

A recent HESDA report also found that over 50% of HE staff working in security, cleaning and catering, traditional manual grades, were in the 45-64 age bracket.  This is the age group which may not have had many educational opportunities first time round and who need support and encouragement to return to learning.

The target groups are slightly different at each institution - hence the need for direct employment involvement through the Project Partnership.  But overall the target population includes a mix of age, gender and ethnic constituencies.  They are all generally defined by evidence of traditionally low educational attainment, measured by qualification routes and limited visibility within an organisational staff learning environment. Most also have very limited IT experience from within their work roles.  Their earnings place them among those more likely to be excluded from computer ownership in the home (confirmed by a training needs analysis carried out in 2000), reinforcing their potential for social exclusion.  As the target group in this project, the Partnership would intend to assist the least advantaged amongst our staff to accept the idea that they too can embrace C&IT and become lifelong learners.

The proposed Project is thus addressing an identified skills gap which applies, to a greater or lesser extent, to manual and ancillary staff working in all HEIs in central London.  The purpose of the HESDA evaluation of this project is to ensure lessons are applied for the benefit of the wider population of 40,000 manual-grade staff employed throughout the UK higher education sector.

C&IT training has traditionally been offered to those categories of staff who use computers and electronic communication on a daily basis.  Amongst the employer organisations in the Partnership bid, this has been offered in a variety of formats:  internal tutor-led courses, internal interactive CD-Rom courses, as well as by outside attendance on public courses.  The Project will, for the first time, offer opportunities to categories of staff who have been denied training which was not perceived as being directly relevant to their current job roles.

The project will address longstanding issues of equality of access to training and development and in so doing will enhance employees' individual skills and levels of engagement.  This in turn ensures the partner organisations have a more fully developed staff resource and are more able to fulfil the inclusiveness criteria required for external quality assessments like Investors in People.   Additionally, it ensures that the sector is addressing learning and skills issues for traditionally disadvantaged staff groups.

9. Project Milestones and Outcomes

Please outline below the key milestones, outputs, and outcomes your project will provide.  The outputs should be specific and quantifiable.  They should relate to National Learning Targets wherever possible.

Milestones:

• 100 staff recruited to the project by 30 September 2001;
• All staff initially assessed for current skill level in numeracy, literacy & IT and individual action plans drafted by 31 October 2001;
• 80 staff registered for key skills units at level 1 or 2 by 30 November 2001;
• Individual action plans completed by 28 February 2002;
• Post project evaluation carried out by HESDA and published by 31 March 2002; additionally there will be a six-month evaluation to look at the longer term impact on individual and organisational development by September 2002.

Outputs:

• 50% of participants (minimum) obtained improvement in level of basic skill (as defined by Basic Skills Agency) from initial assessment to project conclusion;
• 50% of participants obtain key skills units at Level 1 or Level 2 (numeracy, literacy, IT) by project conclusion;

Outcomes

• Project evaluation identifies impact of approach on learning outcomes, progression into further personal development and lifelong learning, attitudes to work, communication skills and business effectiveness;
• Project conclusions disseminated through the NTO to HE sector leading to increased provision for manual staff in basic and key skills, thus contributing to sector, regional and national skills targets.

If your project involves recruiting learners, how will you ensure your targets are achieved by March 2002?

The recruitment of participants to the Project will be the responsibility of the Staff Development Units in each Partner Institution.  Their local knowledge of managers and staff who would be likely to benefit are of paramount importance.  They will be responsible for engaging managers in the process and ensuring that staff are allowed time to complete the Programme.   They have demonstrated their commitment to this process by joining the Project as Partner Institutions.

One of the first actions of the Project Management Group will be for each Partner Institution to set local targets.

10. Monitoring & Evaluation

We expect all applicants to have a plan for internal monitoring and evaluation of any project funded by the London Central LSC.  Please describe what data will be collected, who will be responsible for collating this information, how often will monitoring and evaluation occur and how the information will be reviewed. 

The Staff Development Manager in the Lead Organisation will be monitoring the progress of staff within the central University and the other members of the Project Management Group, located in the Partner Institutions, will be doing the same.  The criteria for monitoring include:

Initial take up
Targets for qualifications
Numbers achieving qualifications
Feedback from managers on performance
Progression and promotion of staff involved
Take up of training opportunities
Take up of other learning opportunities

The Project Management Group, consisting of representatives of the Partners and some users will also be meeting to evaluate and monitor progress.

HESDA - The NTO for Higher Education will carry out an independent evaluation of the Project, either directly or by employing a consultant within the London region to do so.  They will be evaluating the immediate project outcomes, as well as the longer term impact on individual and organisational development.

How will you ensure that you achieve your spend and activity targets by the end of March 2002?

The Project Management Group will draw up a formal financial management timetable with target dates for recruitment and spend.

These targets will be reviewed at each meeting of the Project Management Group.

Additionally, Partner institutions will share data, and be flexible about offering places.

11.  Project Costs

Please indicate the estimated project costs in the table below.

Totals
£107,100
£103,000
£210,100

12. Other Sources of Funding

Please give details of the other sources of funding, including public, private or European funding, to support this project.  Please indicate if you think you project is eligible for ESF on a co-financed basis.

There are no immediate plans to access any other sources of funding to assist in piloting this project.  We understand that the HE sector, as a public sector employer, is not eligible for ESF matched funding.  However, the Project Partners are making a substantial 50% contribution to the Project costs.

13. Value for Money

Please describe how you will ensure maximum effectiveness, promote excellence and high quality delivery and avoid unnecessary bureaucracy.  Please confirm that your proposal does not substitute mainstream funding from the LSC or another body.

All systems and procedures of staff development at employing institutions are overseen by a senior manager and the committee system to ensure that quality is maintained and ensured.  This project would fall under the same scrutiny.  In addition there would be the following:

• clear contract specification with the FE College provider, including milestones and outcomes;
• clear job description, performance targets and development plans for the project manager;
• establishment of a project management group with representatives from each of the partner organisations and staff members;
• clear objectives and goals for the project disseminated to all parties involved;
• regular reports on progress to senior managers, HESDA and partners;
• the evaluation carried out by HESDA will include a report on value for money.

The proposal does not substitute mainstream funding from the LSC or another body.

The funding which will be going to the FE College provider is going to the commercial arm of the provider and will not be drawing down mainstream LSC funding.

At roughly £2K per candidate (including the matched funding), the Project represents excellent value for money.  As such as serves as a pilot model to encourage employers to continue to make such an investment in the future.

14. Sustainability/future funding strategy

Please explain how this project will be funded after March 2002.

To sustain the Project beyond March 2002 and across the sector, it is intended that the Project evaluation will encourage institutions to resource for themselves what is an important but neglected area of staff development.

Getting the involvement of the NTO is a key element in disseminating to the sector and encouraging employers to take up the model.  By demonstrating the success of this model we will be growing a larger network of partners who will take on ownership of the model and be prepared to build it into their own staff development strategies.