JISC

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The application of technology to enhance learning and the wider activities in which universities in the UK are engaged is a source of interest not only to universities, their staff and the Funding Councils but also to Ministers and Government Departments. Universities are only too aware that the UK’s global position as a world leader in higher education will only be maintained by the innovative use and application of digital technologies to learning, teaching, research and administrative and operational activities. Technological innovation in universities in the UK has been supported by JISC.

In its role as a university think-tank, million+ has investigated the impact of funding awards from JISC to 28 UK universities over a six-year period. This report confirms the value of JISC funding but importantly, also provides recommendations to inform JISC’s future strategy and procedures. There are also valuable lessons for universities which will benefit from the analysis and should be better equipped to optimise the important opportunities offered by JISC funding as a result of the report’s recommendations.

The case-studies which are included are also instructive and provide a sample of the innovative projects undertaken and developed by universities. They demonstrate yet again that these universities support innovation and collaboration and reach far beyond their own academic communities to benefit a range of learners, providers, partner organisations and, in some cases, community-based projects. For all of the latter as well as for students and staff, JISC funding has been highly beneficial and assisted, sometimes through relatively small awards, the technological innovation that has helped to maintain the world-class reputation of the UK’s universities.

Pam Tatlow
Chief Executive, million+

Executive Summary

This report presents the findings of a project commissioned by the university think-tank million+ with funding from JISC (the Joint Information Systems Committee). It investigated the impact of small to medium-sized JISC funding (less than £1 million) over a six-year period to the 28 UK universities which are members of million+, the university think-tank.

The research was undertaken by Leeds Metropolitan University in partnership with the Universities of Bedfordshire and Middlesex. Since million+ universities have had varying degrees of success in bidding for JISC funding, the project team undertook a survey of the 28 universities to assess the extent and impact of projects using JISC-funded technology enhanced learning, and to identify recommendations for JISC and for universities to optimise access to JISC funding.

The research identified barriers to success in bidding for JISC awards and why some universities have been successful in achieving JISC funding while others have not.

Researchers found

• relatively small amounts of funding enable higher education institutions (HEIs) to reach beyond their own academic communities to benefit a wide range of learners, providers, partner organisations and the wider community
• in HEIs without access to substantial research funding streams, even sums of £30,000 can have a profound impact on project activity and individual careers
• funding has enabled institutions and individuals to undertake exploratory projects in a low-risk context, with opportunities to experiment that might not be possible within routine university systems
• the impact of projects can be higher and broader than initially envisaged in the bid, leading to changes in university policies in relation to technology enhanced learning
• networking between institutions and individuals is a key incidental outcome of projects, often with sustainable and productive contact between HEIs whose staff would not normally encounter one another
• collaborative working between HEIs is likely to be crucial to maximise co-learning and ensure cost-effectiveness
• 69% of projects met or exceeded all their objectives, and a total of 44% of projects provided additional benefits beyond the projects’ objectives
• over a third of project findings were directly used by bodies outside the lead HEI, and project results not directly implemented have nevertheless influenced, or generated considerable interest in, the lead HEI (30% of the case studies) and the wider sector (19% of the case studies)
• transferability of learning between subject areas and levels of learning has taken place in a number of projects
• many of the project teams were successful in obtaining further funding or generated associated projects (36% of the case studies)
• those HEIs which have a formal or co-ordinated approach to responding to calls for bids, with appropriate facilities and staff, tended to have a higher likelihood of obtaining JISC funding.

Perceived barriers to obtaining funding

• HEIs not possessing sufficient expertise in or resources to devote to bid writing
• a perceived short timescale in which to complete bids and the amount of work and detail required for success.

Recommendations to JISC & universities wishing to increase their success in bidding

• JISC could broker contacts between HEIs without success in JISC bidding and others with experience in achieving funding
• a single named person in each HEI should be identified to ensure effective communications between the HEI and JISC
• HEIs should invest in the expertise to draft thorough and detailed bids, and build time for bid writing into staff workloads
• new bidders should look out for an appropriate call for bids which matches their HEI’s expertise and aspirations, and not compete in calls where they have limited chances of success
• workshops should be offered giving guidance on JISC bid preparation, and examples of successful and unsuccessful bids should be made available, together with the feedback received by the bidders
• JISC could be less demanding of fine detail in the first stages of bidding
• further follow-up funding could be made available for work to build on the successes of the original bids.