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Regional Priorities
For the Academic Year 2011/12, RSC Wales has been asked to identify a number of priority areas which it will aim to develop in order to support the growing requirements of learning providers across Wales. As RSC Wales’ managing agent, JISC Advance will be looking for the RSC to build a portfolio of impact evidence related to these priority areas, and offers the expert advice and guidance of its range of specialist advisory services to support the process. The three priority areas are described in more detail below, and have been identified from a range of source materials (provider feedback from events and training activities, and documented round table discussions), as well as input from the RSC Wales Steering Group made up from senior personnel from across the post-16 education sector, including Welsh Government (WG) officials.
It is important, in the current economic and political climate, that the RSC focuses its limited resource on the areas which will have the greatest impact at the provider level. Aligning its service offer, therefore, to key Government policy areas will help to ensure that the RSC service is contributing to the development of the FE and Skills sector at a strategic level. It will be no surprise, I am sure, to hear that for 2011/12 the RSC will aim to support providers through the challenges of delivering a high quality curriculum within the context of 14-19 Learning Pathways, as well as supporting the identification of ICT efficiency savings within the WAG Transforming Education and Training Provision in Wales and For our Future agendas.
The three priority areas are:
Supporting Cost Efficiencies
Support in this arena is important today, more than any other time in recent history. RSC Wales will be working with its partner services across JISC Advance to make available practical skills to help identify where cost savings, and importantly, cost prevention, can be achieved. Support will be in the form of structured staff development, online workshops, as well as bespoke ICT Audits and information dissemination.
Technology for Learning
Support here will primarily focus on the provider use of technology to further enhance learning provision - with an emphasis on innovation. RSC Wales will be making available a number of small project grants available to the sector. This programme is aimed at supporting the provision of technology to enhance quality of business whilst also generating overall cost savings for the provider.
Applications are welcome from all JISC RSC Wales supported sectors i.e. HE institutions in Wales and WG funded post 16 education and skills sectors, and are expected to focus on a range of learner cohorts and contexts. More information is available from here
Strategic Development
Support providers in addressing Welsh policies and initiatives - RSC Wales will be working to align its service offer, and those offerings from its partner services in JISC Advance to the strategic requirements of Welsh Government, particularly around Digital Wales and its various strands and working groups. It will also look to streamline advice and guidance available through JISC and its associated programmes where they add value to the Welsh strategic ambition (e.g. JISC Digital Literacy Programme).
