FE colleges and HEIs are invited to apply for one or more of the Podium Awards and be part of a prestigious one-off celebration recognising the vital role FE colleges and Universities across the UK will play in delivering the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Individual projects that are shortlisted will be showcased at a high profile Awards Evening in London on 3 May 2012, to be attended by shortlisted applicants, Government Ministers and dignitaries from Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016. The Podium Awards Evening will take place at Forman’s Fish Island overlooking the London 2012 Olympic Stadium.

There are a number of award categories including education, research and skills. Grant funding will be awarded to category winners to enable projects/activity to continue in legacy post London 2012. Nomination deadline is 12 March and further details at www.podiumawards2012.com.

Martin Sepion

I thought the day was very good with much food for thought and saw some excellent networking going on. One of the things that always comes out of these events is the realisation by attendees that they are not alone in the challenges they face on a daily basis at work. There are always others who can both empathise and offer practical advice and suggestions.

The presentation that struck me the most was the one on strategy writing from Adult Education College Bexley. In my job as JISC RSC London Adviser, I review many strategies from the HE, FE and ACL education sectors. Very often these have been written by an individual who has been tasked with writing a strategy and the driver is an imposed deadline, e.g. a funding bid requires a strategy in place or the internal quality process requires a new strategy every 4 years. In my view this approach, while it ticks the box and produces a document, does not usually transform the organisation. It does not lead to a strategic change of direction by the organisation. This is because one individual, however dedicated, charismatic or forceful cannot, on their own, change the organisational culture. This can only happen if a wider commitment is achieved across the organisation so that people begin to create a shared vision of the future and develop an agreed way to get there. This is exactly the approach that Adult Education College Bexley have adopted.

Janet Evans from Bexley described how they managed this. They undertook a self review activity called an EPR (e-Progress Review). This involved managers and staff from across the organisation responding to a series of questions which were then collated, analysed and the results fed back to college management. This took the range of divergent views in the organisation and explored the differences. They also undertook staff and student surveys. All key managers from across the college were involved in the process. This collective approach led to collaborative solutions, one of which was the writing of the new college ILT/ e-Learning Strategy. The new strategy was drafted, consulted on, re-written and consulted on further. It was then endorsed by governors, SMT and all managers across the college. The strategy identifies who will do what and by when. Who will enact, who will lead and who will review each element of the strategy. The strategy references other documents such as the college three year plan and specifies which elements of the plan the ILT strategy will deliver. Other strategies, such as the IT strategy and the staff development plan, are cross-referenced so that they are not seen in isolation.

I believe the key to success here are the two points made by Janet below

• Consult widely and work collaboratively

• Make the document easy to understand, easy to navigate

A strategy that is consultative and collaborative has the best chance of achieving real change across the organisation. For this to happen it needs to be accessible to all staff in the organisation. Busy tutors and managers need to be able to digest and understand what the strategy is about and feel they have a role to play in the formulation of the strategy. For me this is an exciting document as it has the potential to make a major impact on the experience of the learners of Adult Education College Bexley.

Janet’s presentation
Adult Education College Bexley Website
RSC London EPR guide
ACL Forum Event report

Those interested in the role of technology in public services will welcome the report of the Microsoft-sponsored seminar series published by Reform. I attended the Education Debate, where Kevin Brennan MP, Shadow Minister for Schools, highlighted the importance of value for money, but also referred to the need for schools to leave the analogue world behind and embrace the digital world. In the end, I was pleased with the common view that:

“While technology can make a big difference in improving services and value for money, it is not an end in itself. Technology enables the public sector not just to cut costs but to adopt fundamentally different ways of doing things. Services can be provided in much more efficient ways; citizens can interact with government and public services through an entirely new approach that puts the user at the heart of the experience. This is not just about the back office but the front line of service delivery, and this kind of transformative approach is necessary to generate significant improvements in outcomes and reductions in cost”.

Interestingly enough, the JISC Regional Support Centres have been championing such a view since its inception. Mind you, cost reduction has been obviously in vogue in recent years given the economic and financial crises affecting all quarters of the world. Eight to ten years ago, our emphasis on the use of technology was to invest in innovative ways of delivering teaching and learning and running organisations in the education sector. Nonetheless, learning providers that have been working with us have been able to evidence significant gains because of their strategies to use technology to make a difference. This was particularly evident in one of our events (Engaging Learners – Evidencing Impact) in London.

Technology has the power to help us do things better while acting as a silent catalyst for dramatic changes in the things we do and the way we do them. Undoubtedly, we are all reading far more than we used to just 10 years ago. I can’t remember the last queue I was in at a bank!

However, it would be a fallacy to claim that technology alone will immediately lead to money savings, it might well be the opposite, at least in the short term. At the JISC RSCs I have always believed in the wisdom of the crowd when it comes to procuring technology. It could not be simpler. When you are planning to invest in technology, we can facilitate interactions with people who have been through the same process so that you learn from their experience, and ours. And our experience shows that, more frequently than not, it takes time to realise the full potential and cost-benefit of investing in technology.

In 2011, the JISC e-Learning Programme produced a series of web-based radio shows, known as JISC on Air, on how digital technologies are supporting institutional practices. These shows offer an informative and engaging discussion with leading experts around how technology is supporting colleges and universities in addressing the challenges they currently face.

Your input

They now need your assistance in the development of the next series of shows due to be produced this year. Please can you provide your views, opinions and experiences of the JISC on Air shows? You may have listened to all the shows, intend to listen to them or have, to date, been unaware of them, however they would be very grateful if you could assist them with the completion of a short questionnaire.

As an incentive, there is a prize draw – two prizes of £50 Amazon vouchers for completed questionnaires. The survey will close at midnight on Friday 10th February. To access the survey and the JISC on Air Radio Shows please click here.

The RSC London e-Bulletin January 2012 is now available.

If you are a supported learning provider you can subscribe to our mailing list, just mailto:admin@rsc-london.ac.uk

Getting things right first time and collaborating with others can save your organisation time and money. Take part in our free short online events and we’ll show you how!

Presented by experts from across JISC Advance services, we focus on three key topics which can improve cost efficiency and effectiveness within your organisation.

• 10am Thursday 19 January  – Cloud Computing and the Law presented by John Kelly, Principal Legal Information Specialist at JISC Legal
• 10am Tuesday 24 January – Project Management presented by John Burke, Senior Adviser at JISC infoNet
• 10am Wednesday 1 February – How can Generic eMarketplace (GeM) save my institution money? Presented by John West, Director of JISC Procureweb and Cost Efficiencies with GoogleApps presented by Pete Scott, Manager RSC Wales

The events are suitable for management, senior staff and policy makers from all post-16 education sectors throughout the UK.

To book your place or for more information please visit http://www.jiscrsc.ac.uk/wales/events.aspx or contact events@rsc-wales.ac.uk

~via JISC Advance~

JISC Advance has appointed Nigel Ecclesfield to manage its new FE and Skills Development and Resources Programme. This new project – secured with over £1 million of UK-wide funding – will see us offering a wider range of resources and information to the FE and Skills sectors.

JISC Advance services have offered expert advice and guidance to the FE and Skills sectors for many years. This two stage project will overhaul existing provision, identify gaps and then create high quality content to ensure the development of a complete package of support.

John McLaughlin, Team Leader for ICT and Technology for Learning at BIS described the vision of the project as:

“the application of technologies which will transform teaching and learning in the Further Education and Skills sector, with significant improvement in the quality of student experience [and] significant improvement in organisational efficiency”

Nigel has worked as a practitioner, manager and researcher working with FE providers since 1978. Since 2003, Nigel has worked with JISC Advance services and JISC through Becta and LSIS projects.  His knowledge and experience of a wide range of sector agencies and providers will be pivotal to the success of this project.

The 2011 JISC news round up highlights the stories, videos and reports that generated most interest from visitors to the JISC website last year. Worth a check to see if you have missed something that others found useful!

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/stories/2011/12/jiscroundup.aspx

Would you prefer a video?

…and

A short report of our key outputs to date before it snows.

The year has been very productive so far, with a number of activities involving your RSC and its supported organisations. In this first quarter, our events have attracted in excess of 500 people since our support has yet again been extended to include ULCC’s FOTE11, and the AoC Conference, two key events in the RSC London calendar. Our role is to ensure that the target audience includes all our supported sectors, as well as higher education. Our annual visits are well under way and the whole RSC London Team are looking to engage with 100% of our providers this year.

At the AoC Conference, JISC Advance led a session organised by the JISC RSC London and Yorkshire and Humber to offer delegates two presentations to demonstrate best practice and how our support has enabled colleges to tailor and integrate systems to achieve specific needs. The presentations from Barnsley College and College of Haringey, Enfield and East London were extremely well received, prompting a delegate to say,

“This is excellent. How do I get that in my college?”

Under JISC Advance, the JISC RSCs continue to develop services, strategies and systems to respond to the increased demands to avoid duplication wherever possible, without stifling creativity and innovation, and to find efficiencies. You will have seen our new website that functions as a brochure for all RSCs. Under the banner of One RSC, we have also delivered nationally-planned events online (Mobile Learning and The RSC Green Conference), which have attracted delegates from all over the UK and abroad. As you know, this year the RSC had a 5% reduction in its funding and next year the reduction may be up to 10%. The good news is that the Department for Education have agreed to continue to fund our support to Sixth Form Colleges until 2014.

In the JISC arena, Martyn Harrow has been appointed as the new Head of JISC and he will have the ultimate responsibility to take us into the New JISC. The JISC Transition Group has now received the three interim reports. Strand A continues to investigate new business and governance models for the New JISC after Strand B reported that it is feasible, and indeed advantageous, for JISC to take most of its services in-house. Strand C’s review concluded on the importance and value of JANET to the UK education sector.

Colleagues at the RSC continue to work hard to engage with our communities and the feeling of achievement is overwhelming. This is all backed up by the continuous positive response we get from those who engage with us. Our 2010-11 Value for Money Report highlights the importance of the work of the JISC RSC delivered through the JISC Advance services.

If you’re already looking for how you or your organisation can benefit from our support after the New Year, make sure to have a look at our latest e-bulletin.

With best wishes for Christmas and the New Year period from all of us in the RSC London Team.

The RSC London e-Bulletin December 2011 is now available.

If you are a supported learning provider you can subscribe to our mailing list, just mailto:admin@rsc-london.ac.uk