More for less: Easing the cost burden of performance measurement

Background to the project

As governments around the world respond to the economic downturn by trying to do more with less, education is not exempt from serious questions about cost-effectiveness. With austerity biting hard in the UK, the opportunity is ripe for those concerned with delivery and outcomes in further education to re-think how performance in their sector is measured: how well is the system achieving its goals? 

As we ask if there is a better way to use resources, questions on the role of practitioners – those responsible for delivering further education services, like teachers and trainers – take centre stage. Can practitioners play a greater role in designing measures to evaluate performance? Could their increased involvement lead to savings for the public purse?

Project overview and approach

Working with the 157 Group, the Association of Colleges, the Association of Learning Providers, the Talent Foundation and Geoff Stanton - an independent consultant, we are seeking to find answers to those questions, with a focus on UK further education.

CSD has investigated how other publicly funded sectors and other countries measure performance, to see if there are any lessons or good practice that can be shared and disseminated with a UK audience.

Expected impact and next steps

We will use findings from the literature as a starting point to engage with practitioners and influence policy makers.

By talking to practitioners, we hope to find out if the messages from our research report ring true for them, and to learn their thoughts on alternative approaches for measuring performance.

We will also use our research findings to write a paper summarising our findings that will help further education providers consider the strengths and weaknesses of different performance measures as they develop business plans the coming year. Finally, we will draw on all of that activity to engage with policy makers, including government departments.

Further information

Further findings can be found in our report: The role of practitioners in measuring what matters (PDF), which has just been published. This will be followed by activities (for example, focus groups) to engage with practitioners.

Project duration

July 2010 – October 2011