Growing Interest in Flexible Service Delivery in UK Higher and Further Education

From early September 2009, JISC has welcomed HE and FE institutions to be considered for participation in the Flexible Service Delivery (FSD) programme. Institutions can either be funded as ‘explorer’ members or be funded to deliver a ’pathfinder’, ‘demonstrator’ or ‘pilot’ project. A great deal of interest has been generated: A total 22 institutions have already become funded members, either individually or via consortia. A further 11 institutions are considering or are in the process of applying. The list of member institutions, together with a description of about how they will be contributing to the FSD programme, can be found on the programme website (URL below). Interested institutions have until 30 November 2009 to apply by completing a four-page ‘expressions of interest’ form.

Programme Events

A launch event, held on 2 October 2009, focused on the barriers and enablers to adoption of a flexible approach to service delivery. Much of the discussion centered on the significance of cultural, rather than technical, barriers, highlighting a need to develop a rounded case for adoption.

One of issues raised at this first event was the need to improve dialogue between suppliers and educational institutions. A follow up event on 10 December 2009, entitled ‘Meeting the Suppliers’, will provide institutional members a unique opportunity to discuss with supplier companies the potential for a FSD online forum to assist this dialogue, to consider how this forum might operate and be structured. There will be particular focus how such a forum could aggregate, use and present data obtained from educational institutions, consortia and suppliers.

Further Information

For more information about the FSD programme, including how to participate, please contact Alex Hawker (a.hawker@jisc.ac.uk) or visit the programme webpage.

www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/flexible-service-delivery