Evaluation, statistics and OR

Training for those new (or relatively new) to Research

It has been an interesting period at Plantagenet Consulting Ltd.  The changes in Government Machinery, the "bonfire of the quangos", and the savage cuts to all and sundry in the public sector have proved to be a challenge for companies like Plantagenet.  However despite that, I have had the immense pleasure of continuing my working relationship with HOST Policy Research, and have in fact now become a partner in HOST.

HOST is a larger organisation, and has a longer track record than Plantagenet, and has a wide range of subject experts to call on to meet client needs.  It can therefore be rather more proactive and outgoing.

In February 2013, HOST will be offering a series of masterclasses at Roffey Park near Horsham.  Dorothy Berry-Lound - the founder and Managing Partner of HOST - will be offering sessions on how to set up impact assessments and evaluations and managing research sub-contractors.  I will be leading sessions on scenario planning and developing a research strategy.  For those that stay over at Roffey Park with us, there will also be extra free sessions in the evening.

You can find more information and how to book at this web page.

 

Taking a Macro or a Micro view on funding success

Two stories have been reported in the media over the past two days, that can be taken at the macro level as an indictment of government policy, or at the micro level, as a great boon to individual beneficiaries.

One yesterday from the Audit Commission criticised the instability of funding and the administrative burden of bidding for funds and managing funds on work with disaffected young people, including young offenders.  The Government hit back saying that this was unfair on youth workers who did a marvellous job.  I couldn't help thinking that both were right - particularly having evaluated a project for young offenders in the Midlands last year that had just lost its funding.  The funding systems and the accountability that go with them are a nightmare, and must distract from the fundamental purpose of work in this area - to re-engage and inspire disaffected young people and get them ready to make a positive contribution to society.  Individual workers do resent this funding hash, and do their wonderful work despite it, not as a result of it.  On the project I evaluated, I spoke to the youth workers on the day they received their P45s, but all were positive about the work they had done, and some were still seeing clients that day as well.

Today the Public Accounts Committee have said that an unacceptably high number of people in England cannot read, write or count properly, and Ministers have defended their record of having pumped huge amounts of funds into Skills for Life in an attempt to redress this.  At an individual level, they reckon that something over 1 million people have benefited.  Again through various evaluations I have done in Plymouth and for Investors in People, I have been lucky enough to meet individuals who have benefited from Skills for Life, and heard their stories about how it has changed their lives. 

So much as it pains me to say it, I have to defend the politicians on that one, and say their activities, delivered by dedicated workers on the ground, have made a big difference.  However, the size of the task is immense and the funding and measuring rules that have been put in place have not been helpful and teachers and trainers all say that the tools they have to use to do the job do not meet everyone's needs apart from the funding regimes.

Ah - is there a link there?  Good work being done, but could be done better if the funding rules were not quite so silly?  The balance between doing good with public funds and being seen to purchase the right things with public funds inevitably brings perverse outcomes if it is not totally right.  I am not sure that the right balance has ever been achieved.  Perhaps that might be worth a study, carefully funded of course, and with a suitable procurement process...

Skills Implications of Financial Crisis

The world financial crisis is at the front of every one's minds currently - hardly surprising with 10% drops in stock exchange indices over breakfast, and international summits at every turn.  The Alex cartoons in the Daily Telegraph have been a joy, showing a possible view inside the institutions that are losing our pension funds.  But what will it mean for skills?

At one level, you think that with a chance of a global recession, having skills and experience will be valuable, and if not, welcome to the dole queue - but isn't that the case at any stage of the economic cycle?  Certainly, during a downturn is when it is more important than ever to have every one in your organisation clear on corporate goals and how to reach them in a cost effective manner - Investors in People should be selling like hot cakes currently. 

There is no slack in the system, so you have to ensure that every resource you have is working to its maximum potential, and that means keeping people upskilled.  On that basis, it should be boom time for providers who can do training targeted to the needs of the company, not to the needs of qualifications systems.

My first reaction was that the National Skills Academy for Financial Services could see a tough period ahead, but actually, there could be a need to ensure staff are skilled to communicate difficult or bad news and explain clearly options to client.  I'm not sure if that sort of thing is on their current syllabus, but I am sure it will be in demand.

With money tighter and individual's spending power reduced, there should also be a demand to learn the skills our mothers and grandmothers took for granted - cooking with leftovers and cheaper cuts of meat, darning socks, knitting, crocheting, tatting rugs, growing vegetables, and making jams and preserves.  Adult education groups and community groups should therefore be seeing a revival in interest, if not in funded from external sources.

Finally, and a bit tongue in cheek, there could be a bunch of people out there who need to learn how to live in the real world, not the world of massive bonuses.  It would be a good market niche to be in perhaps, particularly if tax deductible for the learner, although difficult to keep schadenfreude to a minimum for the tutor I suspect.

All in all, the crisis should not be an excuse for not taking an interest in training and improving skills - reducing or removing training budgets at this time would be a false economy, while for individuals, gaining and reinforcing skills has never been more important.  It isn't a bear market for everyone!