JISC

An invitation to tender for the establishment of a new, national JISC Centre of Expertise in the planning and implementation of information systems which improve the effectiveness of Further and Higher Education institutions.

May 2002

              Introduction

1. Many parts of the further and higher education sectors are changing the way they teach and support their students and administer their businesses in response to changing education priorities, different student demands and the availability of new technologies
2. The JISC carries out a wide range of activities that investigate innovative technologies and create awareness of the opportunities that they offer. The JISC also creates initiatives that provide help to institutions in the adoption of appropriate strategies and technologies.
3. The JISC now wishes to create a national centre of expertise that will help colleges and universities improve their effectiveness through better use of new developments. A key feature of the JISC Centre will be close cooperation with existing agencies and organisations across the whole post-16 sector to deliver its services; these partnerships will also make it possible to deliver support and advice in areas outside the remit of the JISC, such as pedagogical design and evaluation of business processes.
4. Proposals are invited from Further and Higher Education Institutions to set up and run a Centre to provide strategic and practical advice in the planning and implementation of information systems and other technologies that improve the effectiveness of FE and HE institutions. Proposals must be submitted to the JISC Executive by 5pm on Monday 2^nd September 2002.

   The Call and its Context

5. The JISC is aware that there are many different initiatives, agencies and associations already providing information about, and support for, the use of information systems and learning environments. It is also aware of considerable gaps in provision of support, information and advice and the need to provide a central, coordinated, authoritative source of expertise to assist the whole FE/HE communities address key organisational and technical issues.
6. At present the FE/HE sectors are concerned with the implementation of virtual learning environments (VLE) and library portals, and in understanding and developing the concepts of managed learning environments (MLE) and enterprise portals. There is increasing recognition of the role of information and related strategies in planning for change and the importance of addressing the change issues when embedding new systems in colleges and universities.
7. In addition, the JISC is investing in the creation of a national infrastructure to support the creation of integrated environments to support UK FE and HE. Examples include a national learning materials repository, subject portals, and a variety of shared middleware tools.
8. In the future institutions will be increasingly interested in help to improve integration of all these systems, to make better use of the information they hold and to make more effective use of their investments in information systems and technology.
9. Recent studies have shown the following gaps in current provision of advice & support:
   • An absence of synthesis
   • A weak evidence base (and a very high demand for evidence)
   • A lack of consistent, expert support regarding the specification, selection and implementation of systems
   • A lack of support that addresses whole organisation and change issues
   • A national organisation to represent the needs of the community in negotiations with vendors
   • Weak support for ensuring systems and content interoperability and conformance with standards
   • A significant gap in the provision of information and support that focuses on the needs and experiences of student users of MLEs and VLEs
10. From these research studies, the priority user needs appear to be:
    1. Teaching and Learning
       1. Effective pedagogical use of new technologies
       2. Creating, finding and using on-line content
       3. Accessibility
    2. Technical
       1. Integration of different components and standards conformance
       2. Specification and selection of software systems
    3. Managerial
       1. Whole organisational issues and coherence
       2. Costs, benefits and improved exploitation of investments
       3. Managing change
       4. Business process re-engineering
11. There is also a demand for a coherent and comprehensive collection of primary and secondary resources that include case studies, examples of good practice, experiences, models and methodologies in the use of new technologies to support business processes.
12. There are, therefore, gaps in current provision of services that the Centre can fill uniquely while supporting, not duplicating, the work of other agencies. The JISC Centre can develop three main competencies:
    • A comprehensive source of information on the whole area that will be of value to managers and planners in the sector; it will combine its own resources with value-added pointers to information that exists elsewhere, building on the work of JISC programmes and initiatives
    • A service that synthesises existing knowledge and provides unique, quality information on issues to implementers and managers and, especially, to other agencies
    • Providing services, using existing methodologies where appropriate or creating new ones, to support organisations and management

    REQUIREMENT 1: Proposals must describe the range of services that will be offered to meet the principal objectives of the Centre. These must include those listed above but the JISC encourages suggestions for further essential, innovative and practical services.

    Continue Existing Activities

    Sonja Bisset,
    JISC Executive,
    Northavon House,
    Coldharbour Lane,
    Bristol BS16 1QD.

    Email s.bisset@jisc.ac.uk
    Telephone 0117 931 7385.

13. This call is for proposals to set up and manage a JISC Centre that will be the first point of contact for any individual, group or FE/HE institution that is seeking definitive, authoritative, impartial and comprehensive information about the issues involved in identifying the most appropriate solution for their requirements and then implementing that system.
14. The Centre’s other principal priority is to support JISC-funded services and other agencies in the sector in training and supporting the users, implementers and managers of such systems. It will also create forums where strategic issues can be debated and then feed back the information about sector needs to the JISC to inform the planning of new development programmes and services.

    Service Contract

15. It is recognised that the Centre will need the full backing of the JISC to establish itself as a significant player in the sector and to attract staff of the right calibre to achieve its goals. It will also establish the Centre as a place that FE/HE institutions can rely on for long term support and not merely to address short term funding opportunities. In view of this the Centre will be funded for five years in the first instance, with reviews at the end of years 1 and 3, and every three years thereafter, which will consider the success and future funding requirements of the Centre.

    Scope of Service

16. The Centre’s main objectives are to:
    1. Help implementers and planners understand and use new developments in information management, information services and information and learning technologies that support learning and teaching and other business processes innovatively.
    2. Help senior management develop and manage strategies that identify the most appropriate technology to support business processes and address the organisational impact of implementing new developments and aligning them to business goals.
    3. Promote methodologies that implement such strategies, taking into consideration the organisational impact of incorporating new technological developments, new national initiatives or new thinking in education.
    4. Work with other areas of the JISC to promote the take up of relevant JISC-funded programmes and projects. This will include analysis and identification of the key outcomes, promotion of the understanding and implementation of these in FE/HE sectors and gathering feedback on their effectiveness and on new requirements to send back to the JISC.
    5. Synthesise existing knowledge and experience in managed and virtual learning environments and management information systems from JISC and other agencies. Provide materials that will help institutions support their own activities, train staff in the use of new developments and promote greater awareness of the opportunities that the developments offer.
    6. Maintain a national representative role in promoting the needs of the sector in discussions with commercial providers of solutions, support organisations in their engagement with vendors and promote the use of standards wherever appropriate.
    7. Maintain a collection of freely available resources that is authoritative, impartial, accurate and comprehensive. The information will cover case studies, best practice, guidelines, product information, methodologies and models.
    8. Promote a shared understanding and vocabulary in FE/HE as part of the process of increasing awareness of what can be achieved now with new developments, and what may be possible in the short to medium term. This will include creating forums where strategic issues and anticipated developments can be debated.
17. The Centre will be expected to respond to the changing needs of the further and higher education communities for advice, help and training and to deliver resources to individuals, groups, organisations and other agencies. In future the services may also be delivered to the wider post-16 community, in line with any changes to the remit of the JISC.
18. The resources will be designed to be of most help to managers and planners in the sector, although access to the resources will be freely available to all. The Centre will be required to redirect other enquiries, such as questions about the use of software or location of on-line teaching resources, to appropriate expert organisations.
19. The Centre’s services are expected to include, but are not limited to, the following:
    1. A web based repository that continues to offer ‘state of the art’ access to all the service’s resources; this will be the recommended method of access for all users.
    2. Short, text-based briefings, guides, articles and other material designed to convey succinct analysis and explanations of key issues, technical and other developments and their potential impacts on teaching, organisational activities or staff and students; these, and all other outputs, should be designed for a range of target audiences, from different types of establishment.
    3. The outputs from JISC-funded and other relevant activities; these will include project reports, evaluations, case studies, best practice documents, developments in standards, etc.
    4. Synthesis of the key findings of the above and the implications on any relevant area of an institution and its activities.
    5. Self-help guides to selecting and implementing new strategies, methodologies or technologies that support new or changed business processes or requirements.
    6. Workshops to run through the self-help guides or provide any other sector-wide training necessary.
    7. Training materials for the use of individuals, groups or colleges or any organisations operating in the sector.
    8. Materials that will assist institutions in their dealings with vendors/consultants, such as check-lists, suggested negotiating tactics, creation of invitations to tender, evaluation of bids, etc.
    9. Develop a national role with vendor organisations, especially in representing the needs of the sector and the necessity for conformance and adoption of standards for interoperability.
    10. Run conferences, workshops and seminars to increase awareness. These events will enable FE/HE participants to understand the potential of new developments, discuss the strategic implications and provide feedback to the JISC and other organisations about how the sector can best be helped to utilise them.
    11. Publish materials that will increase awareness of all relevant staff of the potential of new developments to change the way that teaching and administrations can or may be carried out in future. The Centre will provide material that will increase awareness, stimulate interest and provoke discussion.
20. It is essential that the Centre takes over and extends the activities of existing JISC-funded work in Information Strategies and Corporate Information Systems (IS and CIS), using the mechanisms outlined above.
21. The JISC Information Strategies Initiative has provided guidance to institutions wishing to develop organisation-wide information strategies and supported strategic planning for the introduction of technology-supported business processes in higher education for several years.
22. The Corporate Information Systems Focus has provided a comprehensive set of information about suppliers and users of management information systems (MIS) and provided advice on specifying and procuring such systems.
23. The Centre must take over these activities and extend it to the further education sector through appropriate mechanisms/partnerships. It is essential that institutions have access to resources that will assist them in developing a holistic view of their requirements, create appropriate strategies to manage these and help them bring about culture change.
24. There is a pressing need for information about how to specify, select and then implement a wide range of different systems to support or greatly improve the integration of teaching and learning and administration. The Centre will be required to create a single contact point for anyone seeking practical, authoritative and impartial advice for the whole range of different systems - MLE, VLE, MIS, Student Support Systems, etc. It should contain both primary and secondary sources of information and add significant value through synthesis, advice and self-help guides.

    REQUIREMENT 2: Proposals must describe how they will take over and develop services in the IS and CIS areas, and describe how the Centre will fulfil the requirement to create a single source of practical, authoritative and impartial advice on the whole range of different systems used by an institution.

    Links to JISC Activities

25. The Centre will play a key role in promoting the outcomes of relevant JISC and other initiatives to the education sector and in feeding back into programme planning activities.
26. It is envisaged that the Centre will work with JISC Committees and the Development and Outreach teams of the JISC Executive to determine key messages and outcomes from development and work programmes. This may include identifying one or more critical issues that it considers need special consideration and promoting these through workshops, briefing papers or articles in the press. The Centre must synthesise the outputs from projects or programmes and create materials that will explain the significant issues to the community.
27. The Centre will have to manage collections of resources about MLEs, VLEs, MIS systems and related areas that are outputs of JISC-funded studies, pilots and best-practice documents. They will be required to promote wide awareness of these in the sector and link them to other relevant material that is available from other areas of research/agencies. A key part of this work will be to add significant value to the collection through analysis and commentary on the key issues.
28. The JISC has already carried out a considerable body of work in the development of MLEs and VLEs. The Centre for Educational Technology Interoperability Standards is also funded by JISC.
29. The JISC Information Environment initiatives are developing national infrastructures to facilitate the discovery, access and use of online content.

    REQUIREMENT 3: Proposals must describe the mechanisms they will implement to work with JISC Executive staff to promote the key outputs of JISC programmes.

30. It is envisaged that the Centre will use its understanding of technologies, their use in the FE/HE sectors and the major strategic imperatives of the JISC and the funding bodies to identify suitable activities that the JISC committees should consider funding. These may be major programmes, such as an investigation of the student perception of VLEs, case studies of innovative or exemplary use of new technology or development or piloting of new methodologies.
31. The Centre must place an emphasis on the delivery of the outcomes of JISC-funded work into the FE/HE sectors, either by itself or preferably through training and support services, and in feeding back to the JISC the key areas where sectors wish to be helped and advised.
32. The bidders should also familiarise themselves with the other JISC outreach and advisory services (eg. JISC Regional Support Centres) as they will be expected to work with and draw on the expertise that already exists in these organisations to further improve their own service.

    REQUIREMENT 4: Proposals must describe how they will feedback information to JISC committees and work closely with other JISC funded services.

    Links to other organisations

33. With many other organisations involved in this area, the formation of strong partnerships with key players, avoidance of duplication of work and simplifying the bewildering array of initiatives, programmes and agencies that confront the average user of the Centre’s services will be paramount issues.
34. An early task for the Centre will be to identify all of the relevant players and establish how best they can work in partnership with them in delivering key messages and information to the FE/HE sectors.

    REQUIREMENT 5: Proposals must identify organisations that the Centre will expect to work with and describe a methodology for creating partnerships with the key players.

    Centre Structure

35. The Centre must appear as a single source of information to its users. However it is recognised that it is unlikely that a single organisation exists at the present time that can supply the full range of services to all parts of the sector, with staff experienced in both further and higher education.
36. While the JISC would encourage the formation of a new organisation that has all the requisite expertise and experience at a single site, it wishes to give bidders the opportunity to define their preferred structure. Proposals that offer a dispersed service must provide convincing descriptions of the partners, how such a service will operate and be managed, and how issues such as extra costs of travel, overheads of maintaining several offices and lack of contact between personnel will be addressed.
37. The new Centre will be expected to deliver services to FE/HE against annual objectives set by the JISC. These will be monitored and managed by the Service Management Team of the JISC Executive.

    REQUIREMENT 6: Proposals must describe the structure of the Centre and its management arrangements. The proposal must also describe how the Centre will monitor the quality and effectiveness of the services it intends to provide.

    Centre Personnel

38. The personnel in the Centre will be critical to its success. It will need a range of different skills to be successful, from senior figures of authority to experts in the provision of information and training to users. It must also be representative of all the different types of institution within the sector.
39. Demand for the Centre’s services is expected to be high right from its inception and the proposals must show how a reasonable service will be provided immediately, although it is acceptable to include a plan to recruit staff to replace or supplement the initial team.
40. Within the service team there must be experience of working in education across all sectors within the UK, preferably in senior management positions. The team will be expected to develop strong links to JISC, to relevant organisations in the sector and to relevant centres of research and expertise within institutions.

    REQUIREMENT 7: Proposals must describe the team structure and composition, provide CVs of staff who will run the service from day one and, if required, provide a recruitment plan to acquire permanent staff.

41. It is anticipated that for the team to become recognised as an authority in the area it will need to develop and maintain close links with other organisations, both in the UK and overseas, that are leading research and development in related areas. This is also needed in order to maintain awareness of technical, organisational and strategic issues.
42. The Centre must also ensure that staff members maintain an awareness of how work is carried out in institutions and the pressures that face teaching and service staff and management.

    REQUIREMENT 8: Proposals must describe the arrangements that will be put in place to continue professional development of service staff.

    Financial

43. A budget of £500,000 per annum has been allocated for this Centre. This level of funding will be reviewed after the first year of operation.
44. Bids must provide a breakdown of costs based on salaries and other staff costs, capital expenditure, office support and provision of activities and services. This should include relevant contributions from the host institution(s). The JISC will not normally make any contribution towards broader institutional overheads.

    Evaluation

45. Evaluation of the bids will be based on how well they have addressed the key requirements above. Other key criteria will include evidence of commitment from the host institution/consortium partners, experience of proposers and any linked consortium, service management/quality issues and value for money.
46. The JISC provides a guide to the preparation of successful proposals on its web site. .

    Accessibility Issues

47. JISC considers the accessibility of systems it funds to be of critical importance thus ensuring that all students and staff are able to use such systems. In keeping with the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act and Human Rights legislation, and the wider access policies of the Funding Councils, it is expected that software and IT resources in institutions should be accessible to staff and students with learning difficulties and/or disabilities. Proposals should, where appropriate, take account of accessibility issues.
48. Advice and recommendations for ensuring IT based systems, tools and resources are accessible by all staff and students can be found in the resource section of the Technology for Disabilities Service. Further advice and consultancy is available from TechDis.
49. The Centre will be expected to comply with the Data Protection Act 1998, the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and other appropriate legislation. Arrangements for this compliance will be negotiated as part of the service contract.

    Public Relations

50. The JISC will provide help and guidance to all funded projects and services regarding publicity, dissemination and evaluation activities.
51. The JISC endeavours to ensure that a coherent message is given to the community covering the breadth and depth of its activities. Projects/services will be expected to follow the JISC PR strategy and guidelines. These include advice on developing publicity materials and producing press releases, and will be issued to funded projects/services.

    Bidding Eligibility

52. FE and HE institutions and departments and individuals from FE/HE institutions funded by the UK funding bodies are eligible to submit proposals.
53. Consortium partners external to FE/HE are welcome, however the lead partner must be a FE or HE institution funded by one of the UK funding bodies. Budgets and contractual arrangements with partners outside the FE/HE community must be met by the lead institution.

    Timetable

54. A Town Meeting to explain the detail of the call and to answer questions from the community is planned for Wednesday 10^th July in London. Details of when and where this will be held will be advertised widely through mailing lists including JISC-ANNOUNCE. Please contact Sonja Bisset (s.bisset@jisc.ac.uk) by 3^rd July if you expect to attend.
55. Organisations interested in preparing a bid to run the new Centre must provide a letter of intent by 5pm on Monday 29^th July 2002. This will enable the JISC Executive to plan for the evaluation of the final bids.
56. Bidders must respond by 5pm on Monday 2^nd September 2002. Short listed proposals will be invited to present to a selection panel in late September 2002.
57. The JISC expects the Centre to become operational in January 2003.

    Submission of Proposals

58. Letters of Intent should be sent to Sonja Bisset at the address below by 5pm on Monday 29^th July.
59. Six paper copies of full proposals should be submitted to Sonja Bisset at the address below by 5pm Monday 2^nd September. These should be a maximum of 10 sheets of A4 plus appendices, together with a letter of support from an authorised senior manager at the institution (in the case of consortium proposals, from each member institution).
60. An electronic copy of the bid, appendices and letter(s) of support should also be sent to s.bisset@jisc.ac.uk.
61. Both hard copy and emailed proposals must be received by 5.00pm on Monday 2^nd September 2002. Faxed or late proposals will not be accepted.
62. General enquiries about the specific scope of the centre should be sent to:

    Rachael Corrie,
    JISC Executive,
    Northavon House,
    Coldharbour Lane,
    Bristol BS16 1QD.

    Email r.corrie@jisc.ac.uk
    Telephone 0117 931 7451.

63. General enquiries about the proposal submission process should be sent to: