July 2007/22
Special funding
Guidance
Proposals can be made at any time
Strategic Development Fund
Updated guidance - 2007 onwards
This guidance on our Strategic Development Fund (SDF) supersedes HEFCE 2006/15 and details changes we are making to the operation of the fund from 1 September 2007. The changes focus on increasing the flexibility and responsiveness of the approval process and highlighting the importance we attach to outcomes assessments. Proposals can be made at any time, and these will be assessed by us at regular intervals.
| To: | Heads of HEFCE-funded higher education institutions |
|---|---|
| Of interest to those responsible for: | Planning, Finance, Senior Management |
| Reference: | 2007/22 |
| Publication date: | July 2007 |
| Enquiries to: | HEFCE regional consultant or regional higher education adviser |
Executive summary (read online)
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Annex B
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Annex C
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Whole report
Executive summary
Purpose
1. This document provides details of our Strategic Development Fund (SDF) with revised processes to be used from 1 September 2007 onwards for assessing proposals for funding and an increased emphasis on assessing long-term outcomes of projects. New processes will increase our flexibility and responsiveness so that we can assess proposals at more frequent intervals (with smaller scale and lower risk projects being assessed roughly monthly and larger scale and higher risk projects assessed roughly quarterly).
Key points
2. This revised guidance substantially reflects that given in 'Strategic Development Fund: Updated guidance' HEFCE 2006/15, with the sections on criteria and priorities, who can apply for funding and funding likely to be awarded largely unchanged. The purpose of the SDF remains to help us achieve our strategic aims and objectives, including the aim to sustain a high-quality higher education (HE) sector. Its overarching priority, reflected in the criteria for the fund, is to facilitate constructive development and change in the HE sector at a strategic level. From time to time we identify some specific priorities for the SDF, which are linked to our strategic plan.
3. We have revised sections of this guidance in response to issues raised by an internal audit of processes for the SDF and an external evaluation of the fund. We set out the main changes we have made at the start of each section. The main changes and developments are in the sections on assessment and approvals process, and evaluation and outcome assessment.
4. In particular, from 1 September 2007 our chief executive (using delegated authority), advised by our directors in the monthly meetings of our chief executive's group (CEG), will be able to approve higher value awards - up from a previous maximum of £250,000, to £3 million - with linked additional student number (ASN) requests. From the same date, the SDF Panel (made up of HEFCE Board members) will also be able to approve awards worth more money - up from a previous maximum of £4 million, to £8 million, with linked ASNs. Projects valued at over £8 million will require approval from the HEFCE Board. Approval of ASNs is of course dependent on the overall availability of numbers. Projects at high risk levels will still need to go to higher levels of approval even if, on the basis of their value, they could be approved at a lower level.
5. We have also highlighted in this guidance the importance of a whole project lifecycle approach to project investment, development and management, so that the outcomes of past projects inform future investment decisions and then project management approaches. In line with this, we will be giving more attention to assessing long-term outcomes of projects and to evaluating the effectiveness of the SDF.
6. Up-to-date information about the fund is maintained under the SDF section on our web-site.
Action required
7. There is no deadline for submitting proposals to the SDF. We will consider proposals at any time, and fit them into our approval process (as described in this guidance) throughout the year, with smaller scale and lower risk projects being processed roughly monthly and other projects being processed roughly quarterly. The changes we set out in this revised guidance are intended to increase the flexibility and responsiveness of the fund. Universities and colleges should discuss any proposal with their regional team at HEFCE before submitting it. A proposal can be sent via e-mail to the relevant HEFCE regional team or to a policy officer if the proposal is for a specific priority programme as advised on the web-site.