Report 00/35

Widening participation: special funding programme 1999-2000 to 2001-02

Executive summary

Purpose

1. This publication sets out the allocation of funding for the widening participation special funding programme for 1999-2000 to 2001-02. It describes the aims of the funded projects, and gives contact details for further information.

Key points

2. As part of a wider programme to improve access and participation to higher education for under-represented groups, we allocated £5 million to a regionally based programme with a commitment to continue the programme in 2000-01 and 2001-02. We contributed a further £2 million per annum for three years to a joint special funding programme, to which the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) have also contributed £2 million, initially for one year.

3. HEFCE 99/33 invited HEFCE-funded higher education institutions to submit proposals for funds in their region. The FEFC also issued a circular (FEFC publication 99/29), which described the joint initiative and called for proposals for funding from further education colleges.

Action required

4. No action is required.

Background

5. In 1998 the HEFCE agreed to establish a special funding initiative to widen participation (see HEFCE 98/27). £1.5 million was provided during 1998-99. The funds were to be allocated regionally, primarily to enable partnerships to be established and need identified. HEFCE 99/07 describes the 25 partnerships funded in this stage of the initiative.

6. We made clear at the time that this was the first stage of a longer-term initiative and was part of a wider programme to improve access and participation to higher education for under-represented groups. The programme includes: special premiums in the mainstream funding method for mature students, part-time students and young students from under-represented groups; a special initiative to support institutions in recruiting and retaining students with disabilities; and this special initiative to improve the participation of other under-represented groups. HEFCE 99/24 describes the overall policy.

7. In January 1999, we allocated a total of £7.5 million in 1999-2000 to a special funding programme to widen participation. This included a further £5 million regionally based programme, with a commitment to continue the programme in 2000-01 and 2001-02. We also decided to contribute a further £2 million per annum for three years to a joint special funding programme with the FEFC. The FEFC has contributed £2 million, initially for one year. We publicised the initiatives in HEFCE 99/33 and in regional seminars held in May 1999 for higher education institutions (HEIs) and further education colleges (FECs). The seminars discussed regional priorities to be addressed by the programme. We encouraged institutions to work in partnership and to present single integrated applications to both funds, where possible.

8. The funds for the nine regions were distributed according to need. As in 1998-99, we measured need by the number of young people from poor neighbourhoods in each region who do not enter higher education. The initiative was aimed at all age groups and not only young people. The distribution of the funds by region is shown in Annex A.

9. The FEFC also issued a circular (FEFC publication 99/29), which described the joint initiative and called for proposals for funding from FECs.

10. In HEFCE 99/33, we also requested HEIs to provide by 1 October 1999 an initial statement of their strategy for widening participation and to account for the special premium funding they are receiving for this. We asked institutions to make links to their initial strategic statements in their applications for special project funding.

Assessment of bids

11. In 1998, we established Regional Advisory Networks (RANs), consisting of representatives of regional organisations from both the HE and FE sectors and from government offices. These advised on the allocation of funds to the first stage of the initiative and re-convened for the second phase in 1999. In May, the RANs devised the regional priorities, which were then considered by the regional seminars. Each region’s priorities are listed in Annex C. In October, the applications for funding were considered by HEFCE officers and, in the case of the joint initiative, by FEFC officers, and then assessed by the RANs. We established a national advisory panel to give an overview of decisions by the RANs. The membership and terms of reference of the panel are given in Annex B.

12. The panel met in late October to consider reports from the RANs and to provide a national overview of the process. It examined the national criteria, the regional priorities, the detailed proposals for allocations from the RANs and the notes from their meetings. It also saw all successful bids and received a national summary overview report prepared by Council officers. The panel confirmed the proposed funding allocations. It was particularly pleased to note that:

1. Most bids were student-focused and concentrated on outcomes, not institutional processes.
2. Most bids contained quantified targets.
3. The co-operation between the FE and HE sectors appeared to be working well.

Outcomes

13. We are supporting a total of 71 projects. In Northern Ireland the Department of Higher & Further Education, Training and Employment (DHFETE) is supporting two projects. In the North East, South West and Yorkshire and the Humber regions the previous pattern of funding single partnerships covering the whole region will continue. In the other regions, partnerships have been established on a more sub-regional level. A summary of the regional priorities for each region and the aims of each funded project is given at Annex C.

Joint FEFC/HEFCE fund

14. We designed the joint fund to encourage the development of progression opportunities from FE to HE, and a condition of the funding is that the local Lifelong Learning Partnership endorsed the application. The joint fund has been established for one year only in the first instance, although the HEFCE has set aside funds for three years. We were encouraged by the high level of collaboration between the HE and FE sectors, as shown not only in the applications to the joint fund but also in many applications to the HEFCE fund.

Monitoring

15. In all cases work in the projects will be monitored by the HEFCE Regional Consultant, either as part of the steering group for a project or in conjunction with the RAN. We have also appointed a co-ordination team, 'Action on Access', for which a key role will be to ensure good communication among the different projects, and to encourage the dissemination and embedding of good practice. ‘Action on Access’ will have a wide-ranging remit to offer support and advice to projects and activities conducted by individual universities and colleges and the sector as a whole. The five-strong team is led by Geoff Layer, Professor of Lifelong Learning and Continuing Education at the University of Bradford.

Annexes

The Annexes and can be downloaded in MS Word or zipped MS Word format.