An update from the SDF Executive Committee – 18th Feb 2016.

Branding

The full Committee agreed that the current website and corporate branding of the SDF are in need of a major overhaul to ensure that they reflect the 21st century needs of members.

Tenders were invited for the branding option, to which three submissions were received (Adventure Graphics, DoubleYouVee and Turquoise).

Two of the companies involved were requested to provide additional information to enable a final decision to be made as to the preferred supplier.

The re-branding is in conjunction with the redevelopment of the SDF website that is on-going. It is hoped that the new website and branding process will be completed by the summer of 2016

SDF website

It was agreed that the purpose of the website was to be a ‘product’ in itself and not just a marketing tool. What the site will eventually look like will be driven by the banding work. In terms of what the website will contain it was agreed that there needed to take a more curator driven approach with user generated content. Instead of information on the site being navigated by region it was agreed that this needed to take a themed approach. An example list of themes included:

  • Coaching/mentoring
  • Induction/review (HR processes)
  • Leadership and Management Development
  • OD projects/approaches

It was agreed that the Exec would 'socialise' these themes at the next full Council meeting (April 2016) to see if they reflected the needs/wants of the community.

The idea behind the themes is that institutions/individuals could put forward case studies/examples of work done in an area which others could then look at as a means of benchmarking or getting ideas of how others approach the topic.

There would be regional zone area which regional coordinators could use to help organise regional events, keep contact details etc.A national news zone could highlight info/news which might be of use/interest including links to LF reports, CIPD reports etc.

2016 conference

The title and purpose of the conference was agreed.

Title: Future Fit?

Purpose:

  • To explore excellent practice within and external to HE in L&D
  • To develop practitioners skills
  • To network with others in the sector

Further information will be provided in the April SDF Newsletter

SDF Awards:

Following the decision to end the SDF Fellowship process, it was considered appropriate that an Awards process/ceremony should be introduced that would recognise the effort and professionalism of members and of exciting new initiatives in the sector.

As a consequence, it is suggested that the following three awards be introduced, with presentation to be made at the National Conference in November 2016 (Sheffield:

  • Outstanding individual - by nominations only
  • Outstanding team - by submission
  • Outstanding L&D initiative - by submission.

The criteria for each award is still to be identified but will be announced in due course.

For this year there will have one national panel which includes:

  • A representative from LFHE
  • Chair of SDF
  • 3 Regional reps

SDF members will be able to “vote” on-line by using drop box / google spreadsheet. A scoring framework is still to be determined.

Full information about the awards would be announced at the end of April in the SDF newsletter

Deadline for submission will be the 2/3rd week in June

SDF Regional visits:

Since National Conference in November 2015, a representative from the Executive Committee has attended the following regional meetings:

  • Scotland (Kathy Ashton, Deputy Chair)
  • South West (Kathy Ashton, Deputy Chair)
  • SE and London (Nick Gallagher-Hughes, Chair)
  • Midlands (Nick Gallagher-Hughes, Chair)
  • NESYD (Emily Hopkinson, Secretary and Kathy Ashton, Deputy Chair)

Regional coordinators are encourages to inform the Exec Committee of any planned regional meetings and to consider inviting attendance so that members may receive an update on SDF issues relevant to them.

It was agreed that Emily would contact the NWregion and arrange to go to the next regional meeting.

Linda would make contact with the Northern Ireland region and see if she could fly over and visit them. Nick will contact the Wales region and arrange a visit

Regional Grants:

During academic year 2015/16 four requests for SDF Grant Funding have been received and approved, namely:

  • Bournemouth (Coaching)
  • Manchester (Coaching)
  • Midlands (Sim-Uni)
  • Leeds (Development day)

It was agreed that the Chair would circulate another email via JISC reminding members of the regional grants and encouraging more people to apply, which was done on Tuesday 16 February. Further information on how to apply, plus guidelines can be found on the SDF website

HEA fellowship workshops:

With the demise of the SDF Fellowship programme, it was decided by the full SDF Committee that an alternative source of professional recognition should be made available to members.

It was concluded that the HEA offered the most appropriate route for members, especially as many members are either already progressing through the process or have achieved HEA recognition.

It is planned that three workshops will be funded by the SDF to assist members complete their application to the HEA – at the appropriate level.

It is anticipated that the three regional events will be in Midlands, North East and South east regions during 2016, with possibly more to be added if there is sufficient interest from members.

The SDF will also provide additional funding to the host institutions to cover the cost of refreshments etc. If your institution would like to host one of these events, please contact the Chair.

It is recognised that other professional recognition alternatives are available to members, such as CIPD or BILD ( )