Integrated Adult Careers Service Partnership Strategy

Date: June 2010Version: 1.3Author: Abi Mason and Sally Oakley

2

Contents

Introduction

The Partner Landscape (existing and new)

Engagement and Management of Partners

1

2

3

Implementation of the Partnership Strategy

Appendices

4

5

7

Executive Summary

Next Steps6

3

Introduction

The new Integrated Adult Careers Service will be implemented on the 1st August 2010. The service will provide a universal offer, for all those in and out of work and will also provide targeted support focusing on people with specific barriers to getting into and on in work.

Working with partners will be essential for the service to achieve its vision and bring together a wide range of services into one single access point.

The service has a number of targets(a) to reach – engagement via partners is an essential route to meeting these targets

Background

The Partnership Strategy outlines the approach to working with partners, from engagement to ongoing relationship management.

The strategy identifies the partnership arrangements for the service and provide direction on how these partners should be managed in the future.

Furthermore, the strategy will provide the first step to ensuring that the Agency provides clear and joined-up messages to its partner organisations, a key element in the transition to the new service.

Purpose of the document

To present the current and proposed future Integrated Adult Careers Service partners for Destination 1

To outline the benefits each partner brings to the service To outline an approach for developing and managing new

and existing partnerships To outline the implementation plan to transition partners to

the new service

Objectives

The scope of the partnership strategy covers the organisations identified as partners by the partnership strategy working group and client sponsor (Sally Oakley). It does not cover external organisations identified as stakeholders (or supplier management. While the partnership team regularly works with internal teams, internal relationship management is considered to outside the scope of this strategy.

The partnership strategy will focus on partners identified as important to delivery of the SIM. Organisations considered to be partners post delivery of the SIM will need to be included in future partnership work.

Scope

1

Source: (a) Service volumes outlined in the Service Implementation Model (Delivering the Service) v3.0 (April 2010)

Executive Summary

5

Executive Summary

Partners support the agency to increase visibility and demand into the service, and it is important to outline a strategy for identifying and managing them in preparation for the introduction of the new service

- Existing partners account for 50% of current Careers Advice Service volume/traffic.

- Referral from Jobcentre Plus accounts for approximately 60 % of face-to-face interventions

- Partners drive approximately 50% of traffic to the current Skills Accounts website. Partners are defined as external organisations who hold a partnership agreement with the agency, monitored and managed through

Service Level Agreements (SLA), but may also include relationships where there is an association that has substantial benefit to the service.

Partners bring four main benefits to the agency - Drive demand for the service- Enable the service to engage hard to reach (priority) groups- Endorses the brand of the service through association with trusted organisations- Support policy commitments and government agendas.

Partners are currently supported by the three channels that make up the service: web, face-to-face and telephone- While there will be minor changes to the partner offer for face-to-face and telephone, there will be a significant change in

emphasis in the web offer, including the integration of Skills Accounts into the web channel. To determine the future partner landscape, a benefits assessment was conducted for current and potential future partner

organisations - We recommend that 7 out of the 14 current careers advice web and telephone partners are taken forward as partners to the

new service, and identified a further 6 organisations to engage as potential future partners- A quarterly review of the partner landscape will ensure that future partners continue to deliver value

All partners will need to be managed through the transition to the new service - Existing partners will be managed through the transition by their dedicated partnership manager (or via Prime Contractors for

face-to-face partners) - Partner organisations will be engaged by a single partnership function. To ensure an effective and joined up approach to

partnership management, the team will work in collaboration with internal agency teams including policy, stakeholder and marketing

A high level implementation plan outlines the required activities for the future engagement and management of partner organisations Some recommended next steps have been outlined which identify how the strategy can be implemented

- The key next steps are sign off the partnership strategy by the SIA and review of face to face partners following submission of the Prime Contractor implementation plans

2

The Partner Landscape (existing & new)

7

The key distinction between a partner versus a stakeholder is the presence of a partnership agreement

• External organisations

• Partnership agreement* in place through which the agency and organisation are actively working towards an agreed target / goal – termed a “win-win” relationship

• Partnership is managed and monitored through Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

Partners

• External or Internal

• Stakeholders need to be aware of the service and, in some cases, support the service in some way (e.g. cascading messages through the organisation) but not within a partnership agreement

Stakeholders

A number of organisations were identified as both partners and stakeholders but this document will only focus on partner organisations

Positioning of Partners and Stakeholders

*The nature of face to face channel partner relationships (distinct from those that are procured and managed by contracts) range in the degree of formality in some cases partnership agreements are not in place. However the relationship is characterised by mutual benefit and we will continue to refer to these organisations, e.g. Learning Providers, as partners in the strategy. Note: A review of these partners against policy will take place in Q4.

3

8

Partners bring a number of benefits to the skills funding agency in the delivery of its services

Partners support the agency in increasing visibility and demand into the service

The four main benefits of partners

Drive demand for the service (e.g. supporting the agency to deliver within a reduced marketing budget)

1

Enable the service to engage hard to reach (priority) groups

Endorses the brand of the service through association with trusted organisations

Support policy commitments and government agendas (e.g. the employment and skills agenda)

2

3

4

Partnership benefits are aligned to the Integrated Adult Careers

Service targets (a)

3

Source: (a) Service volumes outlined in the Service Implementation Model (Delivering the Service) v3.0 (April 2010). Targeted volumes for each channel: Telephone 1 million sessions per year; face to face 700,000 individuals engaged per full financial year; Web 20 million sessions per year

9

Partners are supported by the three channels that make up the service (Web, Telephone and face to face)

From August 2010 the bespoke web offer will be replaced by a link to the Integrated Adult Careers Service for their website

Careers Advice Web current partner offer

• Call Me – Customers can contact advisers via the “call me” function whereby the customer enters their contact number and is subsequently called by an adviser. Some partner organisations host a “call me” function on their website

• Portal – Mini portal to a Course directory hosted on the agency site but branded according to the organisation

• Email an adviser – Similar to call me customers can contact advisers via the “email an adviser” function whereby the customer enters their email address and is subsequently contacted by an adviser. Some partner organisations host the “email an adviser” function on their website

Overview of offers Partner Landscape

Partner Call Me Portal Email

BBC   ü  

Agency funded Campaign for Skills for Life (Get on)

ü    

Direct Gov ü ü ü

Health, Learning & Skills ((NHS, Skills for Health SSC and the Agency)

ü ü ü

Home & Communities Academy (HCA)   ü ü

Union Learn ü ü  

SSC - Asset Skills   ü ü

SSC - SEMTA   ü ü

SSC - Skills Active   ü  

SSC - Skillset Careers   ü  

SSC - Eskills   ü  

3

10

For the telephone channel some partners are offered a dedicated phone service while others are managed through the core service

There will be no immediate change to the partner offer through the telephone channel with the introduction of the new service

Telephone channel current partner offer

• Dedicated telephone number - Unique telephone number and branded according to the partner’s organisation (or campaign). Calls are handled by telephone contact centre, but there is a personalised salutation. Partners also have a data set within the CRM allowing them to receive meaningful Management Information

• Core service number – Generic number handled by the telephone contact centre with no personalised salutation.

• The core service may include a fulfilment offer whereby the contact centre offers a product (e.g. application form or information pack ) to the caller depending on the nature of the enquiry

Overview of offers Partner Landscape

Partner Dedicated phone

Core Fulfilment

BBC ü    

Campaign for Learning   ü  

Agency funded Campaign for Skills for Life (Get on)

ü   ü

DELNI ü    

Health, Learning & Skills ü    

Home & Communities Academy (HCA)   ü  

Jobcentre Plus (JCP) ü    

NIACE (Adult Learners Week)   ü ü

NIACE (Sign up now)   ü ü

UK Online Centres ü    

Union Learn ü    

SSC - Asset Skills ü    

SSC - Creative and cultural service   ü  

SSC - IMI (Automotive skills) ü   ü

SSC - SEMTA ü    

SSC - Skills Active ü    

SSC - Skillset Careers ü    

SSC - Summit Skills ü    

YPLA   ü ü 

3

11

Prime Contractors engage and manage partner organisations to support delivery of the face to face component of the service

The partner landscape for face-to-face is unknown at this stage due to ongoing agency contractual discussions but it is unlikely to change significantly

Face to face provision

• Prime Contractors manage, coordinate, and are accountable for the delivery of face to face careers and skills advice to adults

• The Prime Contractor obligations (a) sets out requirements relating to national and regional partnership working: It is a requirement that the Prime Contractor develops strong partnership working arrangements with key national and regional partners

• The specification also outlines Prime Contractor service requirements relating to integration of face to face services with the other components of the core offer from August 2010

• Regional Managers from the Skills Funding Agency manage the Prime Contactors to ensure delivery against contractual obligations

Overview of service component Partner landscape

Awaiting delivery plans from Prime Contractors

Source: (a) Schedule 1a National Specification 19/05/2010

  London North East

North West

West Midlands

East Midlands

South East

South West

Y&H East of England

Partner

Organisation

                 

                 

                 

                 

                 

                 

                 

                 

                 

                 

                 

                 

                 

                 

3

12

Skills Accounts – Current Partner Activity

Trials of Skills Accounts have also included substantial partnership activity

In particular, approximately 50% of the demand for skills accounts has been driven by Learning Providers.

Learning Providers promote accounts, encourage individuals to register for an account and provide feedback for the service.

A mapping exercise was undertaken for skills accounts, and this needs reviewing to inform partner activity as the Skills Account becomes integrated within the overall integrated adult careers service offer from August 2010

3

The future partner landscape for skills accounts will be picked up under partner engagement for the Web Channel

13

A review was conducted of existing Careers Advice web and telephone partners, leading to recommendations for the future partner landscape

Through the review process the partnership team will ensure they focus on the relationships that deliver the highest value

Benefits Assessment

Recommendations

• BBC

• DELNI

• NHS

• Jobcentre Plus (JCP)

• Union Learn

• UKOnline

• Campaign for Learning

• NIACE

• Home & Communities Academy (HCA)

• Direct Gov

• SSCs

• Agency funded Campaign for Skills for Life (Get on)

• Adult Learning Grant

• Professional Career Development Loan

Current Partner Landscape

Partners assessed against the four identified partnership benefits:

1. Drive demand for the service

2. Enable the service to engage hard to reach (priority) groups

3. Endorses the brand of the service through association with trusted organisations

4. Support policy commitments and government agendas

The benefits assessment will yield three possible outcomes:

1. Continue: The partnership continues to deliver mutual benefits Continue the partnership as outlined in the partnership agreement

2. Handover: The partnership is no longer delivering mutual benefits and a dedicated partnership is no longer the most appropriate relationship Handover the relationship to a more appropriate team in the agency* (e.g. marketing, comms and stakeholder management) and inform the organisation of the change

3. Decommission: The partnership is no longer delivering mutual benefits and there is no identified requirement to continue the agency-organisation relationship Decommission the partnership

Partner Review Process*

*There is an assumption that the future agency organisation structure will support the review process outlined

3

14

As a result of the review process we recommend that the partner relationship continues with 7 of the current partners

The partner landscape will be reviewed on a quarterly basis to determine whether the partner relationship is delivering value to the service

Partner benefit assessment (web and telephone)*

3

Con

tinue

par

tner

ship

Partner Drive demand for the service

Engage Priority Groups

Engage Priority Groups Endorses the brand

of the service

Support policy

commitments

Low Skilled Redundancy

JCP Ethnic minoriti

es

50+ LLDD Offenders

BBC ü ü ü ü   ü ü     ü  

DELNI*   ü ü ü       ü     ü

NHS ü ü ü       ü     ü

Jobcentre Plus (JCP)* ü ü ü ü ü ü   ü ü ü ü

Union Learn   ü ü ü       ü   ü ü

UK Online ü ü ü ü ü     ü     ü

NIACE                   ü ü

Campaign for Learning   ü                  

Home & Communities Academy (HCA) BIS ü ü               ü ü

Direct Gov ü ü               ü ü

SSCs ü                 ü  

YPLA (Adult Learning Grant & PCDL)

 ü ü                 ü

Dec

omm

issi

onH

ando

ver

Assessment against priority groups not completed for organisations recommended for decommission, handover to a different agency team or identified

as an internal relationship

15

For the remaining CAS web/telephone partners, we recommend 2 are decommissioned while 4 are transitioned to a more appropriate function in the agency

Organisation Recommendation* Reason

Sector Skills Council

Handover The partnership team currently works with 10 out of the 25 SSCs. We would expect SSCs to engage with the service, but suggest the relationships with SSCs continue under a wider sector skills strategy through the Secotr Team in collaboration with IACS functions. Recommendation: The sector team are accountable for management of SSCs, including coordinated engagement with SSCs across the agency. The dedicated phone line for the SSCs (total 6) will be decommissioned as part of the Q4 review.

Campaign for Learning (IAL)

Decommission The level of resources needed to manage the partnership does not deliver significant demand from the relationship. Campaign for learning is a very localised campaign and would be better supported through local networks. Recommendation: Campaign for Learning is decommissioned

Home & Communities Academy

Decommission The HCA does not bring significant benefits to the service. The organisation is not directly related to learning and skills, therefore it is not an effective use of resources to engage with HCA as a partner. Recommendation: HCA is decommissioned

Direct Gov Handover DirectGov brings a range of benefits to the agency. However the relationship is currently focussed on providing marketing support for the organisation.Recommendation: The marketing team (and e-comms) s accountable for the management of DirectGov

Agency funded Campaign for Skills for Life (Get on)

Handover Agency funded Campaign for Skills for Life (Get on) brings benefits to the agency. However the relationship is purely operational and a dedicated partnership manager is not required for current engagement. Recommendation: BIS is taken forwards as a stakeholder whose requirements (e.g. marketing, comms) are managed by the appropriate agency team. (the operation will continue)

YPLA Handover Adult Learning Grant and Professional Career Development Loan will become part of the core service in the future. Recommendation: The relationship is owned by Marcomms to ensure the services are truly represnted (a MOU may need to be developed to manage the relationship). Operational enquries are handled by operational delivery (with an interface with the appropriate policy team)

Changes to the partnership landscape will ensure that partnership engagement is focussed on organisations that clearly deliver against the identified benefits

*There is an assumption that the future agency organisation structure will support the proposed recommendations

3

Recommendations

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Future partners have been identified based on their perceived performance against benefits, particularly reaching priority groups

New partners identified at a national level will be complemented by those engaged at a regional / local level by the face to face Prime Contractors

Potential future partners

Future Partners

• Future partner organisations are categorised as • Priority – Organisations considered to be vital to the delivery of

the service, to be engaged from July • Long term – Organisations who are considered to be important

to the delivery of the service and will be considered as part of the Q4 partner review (partners identified may change depending on the outcome of the review)

• A partnership may be formed on a national level (managed by the partnership team) or on a local level (managed by the face to face Prime Contractors)

• To ensure the partner offer meets the needs of the organisation (and their customers / users), the offer will be developed through discussions between the partnership manager and organisation The offer may include:

• Delivery support: The partnership manager will support the organisation to deliver the best possible service to the user / customer by providing service expertise and up-to-date service information

• Engagement support: The partnership manager uses their expertise, and existing networks, to support the organisation to reach and engage its user / customer base, for instance the manager may support development of consortia working relationships across different partner organisations

Commentary

Assumption that face to face Prime Contractors have (or will form) partner relationships with the following organisations: Recruitment Agencies and Services; FE Colleges; HEIs; WBL; Training Providers; nova; Employment and Skills Networks; NOMS; OLASS; Local Authorities; Children Services; and RDAs

Organisation Level Recommendation*

Nat Loc*

Charity Organisations

Priority •National – engage 3 organisations 1) Mind (mental health) 2) Age concern (50+) 3) Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) (Debt) •Regional - Prime Contractors

Regional / National Agencies (i.e. CAB, Health, Housing, Debt)

Priority •National – TBC following investigation by partnership team •Regional - Prime Contractors

Voluntary Sector

Priority group • National – TBC following investigation by partnership team (may include National Association for Voluntary and Community Action, Volunteering England)•Regional – Prime Contractors

Libraries

Priority • National - engage via BIS• Regional - Prime Contractors

NAS Long term partneracas Long term partner

*Please see appendix A for the full benefits assessment

3

*The face to face Prime Contractors may already be engaging with the organisations identified - we will be able to confirm this once the implementation plans are received from the face to face Prime Contractors

Engagement and Management of partners

18

Partners can be engaged through six distinct routes, directly or indirectly via internal or external relationships

The single Integrated Adult Careers Service partnership function will work in collaboration with other agency teams (and other government departments) to engage

partners

Description

Direct Engagement

1. Broker a relationships directly with potential partner organisations

2. The agency is approached by an organisation to form a partnership

Indirect Engagement

3. Look across the agency (including regional managers) for existing relationships / links and collaborate an approach. to engage the organisation

4. Use existing partner relationships with face to face Prime Contractors to develop a direct partnerships with the identified organisation

5. Use existing partnership relationships to engage organisations

6. Develop partnership with an organisation through BIS-stakeholder relationships

Potential routes to engage partners

Skills Funding Agency (other internal team)

Existing partner organisation

BIS

Skills Funding Agency (Regional

Manager)

Face to face Prime Contractor

Inte

rnal

Ext

ern

al

Partnership

1

2

3

4

5

6

4

Routes to engage partners

Ski

lls F

undi

ng A

genc

y (P

artn

ersh

ip T

eam

)

19

Partnership Function

The partnership function will drive partner engagement and management, working closely with the comms and stakeholder function to ensure a joined-up approach

It is recommended that a single partnership function is created across all three channels to ensure alignment with the one vision, one brand, one service.

High level organisation structure*

• Partnership Function – Responsible for the engagement and management of current and future partners across the agency

• Comms & Stakeholder Management Team** – Responsible for the design and delivery of comms and stakeholder management for the service. The team consists of:• BIS – Lead on comms and stakeholder management.

Responsible for engagement with : BIS staff; Influencers, the networks; and other government departments

• Marcomms – Responsible for engagement with face to face Prime Contractors and their frontline staff; Skills Funding Agency staff; and JCP staff. Marcomms also have a key role in supporting the partnership team to identify and engage partners and in the implementation of the partnership strategy

Roles & Responsibilities

Regular comms

• Partnership Group Meeting – Weekly updates within the single partnership team to discuss progress against the plan and raise issues / concerns. An output of this meeting is recommendations and issues / concerns to be raised to the SIA

• Operational Management meeting – Monthly meeting involving regional managers, attended by member of the partnership team to discuss the partner offer.

• Partnership Management meeting (NEW) - Quarterly meeting involving the partnership function, marcomms and BIS, and a regional champion with the objective of reviewing and agreeing the partner landscape for Integrated Adult Careers Service and ensuring alignment across the agency

• Operational marketing meeting – Monthly meeting to discuss and provide updates on marketing

Governance

Proposed Governance Arrangements

Comms & S’holder Team(IACS) Partnership Function Lead

IACS Managers

(with the responsibility for managing partners)

Marcomms BIS

4

*The future structure and governance arrangements will need to be taken forwards as part of organisation design**Please see appendix B for an overview of the comms and stakeholder management approach

Learner Services

Managers (Regions)

20

A standardised process to engage partners will ensure a consistent approach to future partnership arrangements

The monthly operational management meeting would allow join up across the partnership function and face to face Prime Contractors

Process to engage and manage partners

• The partnership function will drive the identification and engagement of new partners for the Integrated Adult Careers Service

• The partnership team will engage organisations through six main routes (as outlined on the following slide) – we expect the majority of partnership relationships to form as a result of direct engagement or engagement via the face to face Prime Contractors

• To ensure a coordinated approach to partner engagement the partnership team will regularly engage with the Regional Managers (and face to face Prime Contractors) through the monthly operational management board

• We recommend a rolling agenda item at the meeting to discuss progress against the partnership strategy and partner engagement

Description

4

Process to engage and manage partners

21

Partnership related activities have been assigned owners to demonstrate how the partnership function (and wider agency) would engage and manage partner relationships in the future

Partner organisations will be engaged and managed through collaborative working across agency teams

The RACI below shows the proposed approach to managing Integrated Adult Careers Service policy development across the functions of the agency that hold relationships with partner organisations

High Level RACI

• Partnership Function – Translates Integrated Adult Careers Service policy into operational partnerships to deliver the work of the Integrated Adult Careers Service and contributes to the achievement of targets (including regional colleagues)

• Policy Team (BIS) – Develop policy based on ministerial commitments

• Policy Team (Skills Funding Agency) – Translates the BIS policy into the service / offer design

• External Marcomms – Delivers comms to external stakeholders and develops campaigns to promote the service

• Internal comms – Delivers comms to internal Skills Funding Agency members

• Operational Function – Implementation and ongoing management of the policy

Description

High Level Integrated Adult Careers Service RACI

Activity Partnership Function

Policy Team (BIS)

Policy Team

(Agency)

Ext Marcomms

Int comms Operational Team

Develop policy C A R C I C

Identify organisations (potential partners) relevant to the policy

R C AC C C I

Engage organisations R I A C I C

Agree focus of the partnership

AR C C C C C

Develop partnership agreement and SLAs

AR I I C I C

Manage (and review) partnership

AR I I C I C

4

RACI key (R) Responsible – Performs the activity , responsible for action / implementation(A) Accountable – Ultimately accountable, including yes / no decision and the power of veto(C) Consulted – Must be consulted before a decision or action is taken (I) Informed – Must always be informed after a decision or action has been taken

Implementation of the partnership strategy

23

All partners will need to be managed through the transition to the new service and beyond

Partners will need to be carefully managed through the transition to ensure they are ready to embrace the new service

Approach to transition and future management

Call Me, Portal & Email an adviser

Current Offer Future Offer

• Interim handling comms – generic information plus tailored information relating to changes in the web offer distributed early June (web only)

• Generic comms - detailed information regarding the service launch (including URL if possible) and partnership offer distributed July 2010

• Work with partners to review and agree SLAs in line with new contact centre contracts and web offer including

• Partnership focus post August 2010• Engagement of priority groups (a)

Management approach

• Link to the service website • Dedicated agency partnership manager• Management information

Dedicated telephone & Core

Service

None (new partner) • Approach to engage and manage new partners will vary depending on the nature of

the organisation (see Engagement and Management of new partners section for detail)

• No change - current offer will continue as part of the new service until Q4 review

• Dedicated agency partnership manager • Management information

• Dedicated agency partnership manager (or managed by the face to face Prime Contractor)

• Channel offer: Web (link to the Integrated Adult Careers Service website) and / or face to face (dependent on the partner arrangement with the face to face Prime Contractor)

• Management Information (depending on CRM functionality)

Face to face

• Face to face Prime Contractors to deliver obligations as outlined in the contract a) – including engagement of partner organisations to support delivery of the service

• Face to face Prime Contractors will be managed by Agency regional managers and provide progress updates via quarterly contract reviews.

• Monthly or Qtrly meetings are recommended for future governance with the partnership

function to ensure join up across web, phone, and face to face

• 12 face to face Prime Contractors across 9 regions will deliver Face-to-Face adviser services to customers

• Face to face Prime Contractors will be managed by Skills Funding Agency regional managers

Source: (a) Schedule 1a National Specification 19/05/2010

5

Providers (Skills Accounts offer)

• Promote ‘my profile’• Clarify provider role in registration• Agree partnership arrangements• Provide customer information (via batch upload)

• Interim comms to relay changes to account/web• Manage the transition• Agree and communicate processes for customer registration• Provide management information until online I.D assurance is in place• Review the role played by regional colleagues

24

A high level implementation plan outlines the required activities for the future engagement and management of partner organisations

The partnership strategy will need to be revisited in preparation for the Q4 2010 service delivery

June 2010 July 2010 Aug 2010 Sept 2010 Q4 2010

Mg

mt

Gov & Mgmt

Partnership E

ngagement & Management

Transition

Ongoing

High level implementation plan

Distribute web holding statement

Remove portal access (10 partners), email an adviser (5 partners) and call me services (4 partners)

Manage partners through transition to new service (inc. review and agree SLAs*

Go Live (1st Aug)

Develop partnership agreement

Review face to face Prime Contractor implementation plan (x12) to identify face to face partner organisations**

Finalise current partner list – face to face, Web, Telephone

Quarterly partnership review

Distribute comms to partners re: launch of new service

Engage priority partners identified: Charity Organisations, Regional / National Agencies, Voluntary Sector, and Libraries

Partnership agreement in place with priority partners

* Dependent on contract for face to face Prime Contractor

Finalise single partnership engagement plan

Partnership management meeting

BIS service stakeholder group

5

Implement outcome of review

Op Mgmt meeting (to be reviewed)

Op Mgmt meeting Op Mgmt meeting Op Mgmt meeting

Strategy sign offSIA review

Partners decommissioned / transitioned to appropriate agency team

** Dependent on response from face to face Prime Contractors

BIS service stakeholder group

Next Steps

26

A number of recommended next steps have been identified to support implementation of the partnership strategy

Addressing these next steps will be key in ensuring that the partnership strategy is implemented effectively

6

Ref Next step Owner Date

001 SIA members sign off partnership strategy Sally Oakley 24/06/2010

002 Identify and incorporate face to face partners in strategy and future management

Sally Oakley (and Chris Jones)

Post receipt of delivery plans from Prime Contractors

003 Confirm structure and roles and responsibilities for partnership function covering the integrated the service

SIA to assign owner

SIA to determine timeframes

Appendices

28

Appendix A – Benefits assessment (Future partners)

Organisation Drive demand for the service

Engage Priority Groups Endorses the brand

of the service

Support policy

commitments

Low Skilled

Facing Redundancy

JCP Ethnic minorit

ies

50+ Carers Offenders

LLDD

National Apprenticeship Services ü ü ü         ü   ü ü

acas ü ü ü     ü ü     ü  

Charity Organisations ü ü ü ü   ü ü ü ü ü ü

Regional / National Agencies ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü

Voluntary Sector ü ü ü ü   ü ü   ü ü ü

Libraries ü ü ü ü ü ü       ü  

Recruitment Agencies and Services ü   ü                

FE Colleges ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü

HEIs ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü

WBL ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü

Training Providers ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü

Employment and Skills Network ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü

NOMS ü ü ü         ü      

OLASS ü ü ü         ü      

Local Authorities ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü

Children Services ü     ü     ü ü      

Regional Development Agency* ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü ü

Ide

ntifi

ed

as

imm

ed

iate

fu

ture

p

art

ne

rs

7

Ass

um

ptio

n t

hat

fa

ce to

fa

ce P

rim

e

Con

tra

ctor

s a

re w

ork

ing

with

th

ese

o

rga

nis

atio

ns

29

Appendix B - Skills Accounts Stakeholder Map

    Commitment Activities

Stakeholders Influence As – is To be BriefingsSystems Training Email Bulletin Email Comms Brief

OLASS IAG 5 3 4 ü      

nextstep Prime Contractors 5 4 5 ü ü ü  

DIUS 5 5 5     ü  

Probation Service 4.7 2.7 4 ü      

OLASS Providers 4.7 3.5 4.5 ü      

nextstep sub-contractors 4.5 2 5 ü ü ü  

Union Learning Reps 4.5 2.7 3 ü      

Reg Champions & SA Team 4.5 4.5 5 ü   ü  

AACS Prototypes 4.3 3.6 3.6        

Skills Brokers 4.2 2.7 4        

SLP Senior Managers 4.1 4 5 ü   ü  

SLP Ops Staff 3.8 2.7 4.5 ü   ü  

SLP Customer Facing 3.8 3.7 5 ü ü ü  

LP Senior Manager 3.8 4 5 ü      

LP Ops Staff 3.6 2.7 4.5 ü   ü  

MIAP 3.5 1.5 4.5     ü  

LP Customer Facing 3.5 3.7 5 ü ü ü  

ESP Providers 3.5 4.5 5 ü ü ü  

JCP 3.3 2.5 4 ü ü    

Area Partnership Teams 3.3 3.5 5        

LSC Policy Teams 3.2 4.5 4.5 ü      

CAS 3 5 5 ü ü    

Third Sector Organisations 2.4 3 3.5        

Employers 2.1 3 3.5 ü      

Technical Support 1.5 4.5 4.5 ü ü    

Non-ALR Providers 1.2 3 4        

LSC National Office 0.5 3 4 ü   ü  

Connexions 0.3 3 4.5        

30

7Appendix C – Approach to communication and stakeholder management

The partnership strategy has identified the need to engage with web partners through an interim holding statement followed by further comms (to all partners) in July

iacs comms & stakeholder management

BIS lead on engagement with BIS staff; Stakeholders identified as influencers*; the advancement network; and other government departments, (e.g. DWP)

Skills Funding Agency Comms lead on engagement with Prime contractors and their frontline staff; Skills Funding Agency staff; and JCP staff

1. BIS

3.Partnership team

2. Skills Funding Agency Comms

Several key partners (e.g. BBC) are not engaged as part of the BIS / Skills Funding Agency comms approach

Partnership team manages 10+ organisations through partnership agreements

• The agency needs to engage with partners to ensure continued support for the new service• Partners are responsible for directing

50% of users to the current service • There will be a major change to the

web offer with the introduction of the new service which will have a significant impact on partners (est. 12 partners will be affected)

• The partnership team plan to engage with web partners through an interim holding statement, followed by further communications in July

• The partnership team, in collaboration with Marcomms, has developed a communication for the web partners to be distributed by end of May

Comms requirement for web partners

*Influencers defined as organisations which exert significant influence over delivery staff and potential service users (e.g. unions)

Approach to communication and stakeholder management

1

2

3

Comms and stakeholder management is led by BIS, supported by the Skills Funding Agency