Bidding Guidance Draft final V1190916
Union Learning Fund
Bidding Guidance
Round 18
2016
Page 11. Introduction
1.1 The Union Learning Fund (ULF) Prospectus
· This guidance is designed to assist you in completing the application form for Round 18 of the ULF and should be read in conjunction with the ULF Prospectus.
1.2 ULF Round 18
§ Unionlearn is required to submit a business case to DfE, which will need ministerial sign off to draw down funding for 2017-18 financial year.
§ The business case will include a summary of bids that unions have put forward for support through the Union Learning Fund as well as the work that unionlearn itself will do in supporting and developing the union contribution to skills and learning.
§ Union Learning Fund proposals will need to clearly show how they will help to deliver on the key priority areas agreed with DfE and/or set out the activity which makes each bid uniquely placed to provide learning and skills support.
§ Unionlearn will need to demonstrate to DfE and Ministers that the breadth and uniqueness of the work of ULF bids underpins the delivery of learning and skills in the workplace and beyond and is pivotal to future economic growth and that unions are a mainstream industrial partner in the UK’s skills landscape.
§ The bids submitted by unions for support will be reviewed by the ULF Assessment Panel who will recommend whether they are approved for a period of one year and form part of the unionlearn business case for 2017/8.
2. PROCESS OVERVIEW
This document provides an overview of the process and a guide to those writing the full application to the ULF Assessment Panel. The dates given for DfE decisions are provisional and subject to funding decision timescales within the Department.
Bidding Guidance Final 190916 / Page 33. WRITING YOUR BID - WHAT WILL ASSESSORS LOOK FOR AND HOW WILL THEY ASSESS BIDS?
a) At the assessment panel the bids will be scored using the priorities described in the Prospectus:
Priority 1 Improving equality and engaging those most disadvantaged in the workplace.
Priority 2 Growing high quality Apprenticeships and Traineeships
Priority 3 Supporting English and maths Learners
Priority 4 Developing the learning infrastructure, improving workforce development and skills progression
Priority 5 Demonstrating sustainability, value for money and mainstreaming union learning activity
b) In order to ensure that unions can propose bids that are both broad (covering all or most of the priority areas) and more specific, projects do not have to address all these priorities but must address at least 2 of Priorities 1-4.
c) To ensure that all bids address value for money and sustainability all bids will be scored against Priority 5.
d) The scoring will be out of 100 and the elements assessors will score against are:
1. Strategic Fit of the Project (40/100)
2. Impact and Added Value (25/100)
3. Previous performance, Sustainability and Value for Money (35/100)
e) The assessment process will ask a number of key questions about your bid:
· What is the aim of the bid? What is its unique selling point? Is there a clear and well-articulated rationale for the activity proposed?
· Who will it benefit? Is there evidence for the need/demand for the activity proposed?
· Why is the union best placed to deliver the bid? Is the proposed activity added value (eg. is not substituting for other provision)?
· Is there a clear delivery strategy with clearly defined inputs, outputs and outcomes? How will learners be tracked and impact assessed?
· Is there evidence that the costs and benefits have been described and represent value for money? Is the extent and nature of union/employer contribution satisfactory?
f) The unionlearn team will provide assessors with a short summary document for each bid that will outline:
o Union background (size, distribution geographically etc.)
o Previous ULF bids and details of audit and performance reports.
o Any particular issues that the panel may need to be aware of when considering the bid (eg. Industrial relations/employer attitudes in sector, pay and conditions issues or experience with providers).
4. STRATEGIC FIT
Bids will be scored for their Strategic Fit (40/100). This will assess whether the bid is addressing the agreed priority areas and whether evidence is presented for both the reason the bid is required and the action it proposes to take.
In writing your bid you should ensure that you address both these issues.
4.1 Fit with Priorities
· Does the bid address two or more of priorities 1-4 adequately and fully? (If so which ones and how) The application should identify:
o Who the bid will focus on.
o What it will do with them.
o How it will reach them.
o What the outcomes and outputs will be.
· In showing how the bid meets strategic needs it should identify the specific issues for the priorities selected and demonstrate why the bid is required. For example:
o For Priority 1: Which disadvantaged groups will be supported? How has this group been identified? What is the evidence of need? What will they achieve through the bid? How will success be measured?
o Priority 2: How will the project work with employers to increase the number of high quality apprenticeship/traineeships? What type of traineeship or apprenticeship will the bid focus on? How will the bid engage with employers to maximise use of the levy? What will the bid do to ensure the quality of apprenticeship/traineeship? How will the project support the development of new apprenticeship standards?
o Priority 3: How does the project plan help to identify and support learners who need to improve their maths and English? How will the project engage employers and providers to improve the development of maths and English?
o For Priority 4: How will the project work with employers and stakeholders to promote lifetime learning and co-investment? What workforce need will be tackled? How will progression, productivity or job security be improved? Which Employer/LEP/Sector/Combine Authority strategies will be supported? How will learning access or learning outcomes be improved?
4.2 Evidence of Need
· Evidence for the need and for the approach adopted should be provided. This might be demographic, sector or union data in the case of need and may be union track record or evidence from other bids in the case of approach. Where a bid is offering a new or innovative approach the evidence requirement may be less important than the argument made for the potential success of the bid.
· Bids needs to show they are setting themselves stretching but achievable targets in order that ULF achieves the best value for money.
· The bid will need to show its outcomes and outputs (in total and profiled by quarter) and how these will be recorded, measured and reported. All projects will have to demonstrate that they have systems in place that are able to track their learners. To demonstrate that there is a project plan a quarterly profile for outcomes will be required. Successful projects will be subject to performance monitoring and a performance related payment system which will be based on the achievement of these outcomes. (Appendix 1)
5. IMPACT AND ADDED VALUE (25/100)
5.1 Projects should aim to show how the union role adds value, what activity/learner engagement would not occur without union intervention and why ULF investment is required.
5.2 Your bid should demonstrate that the project is necessary and that the union is well placed to deliver this bid. For example:
o That the bid is filling a gap or addressing a market failure (eg where employers are not supporting development or where particular groups find it hard to access appropriate learning or will not attend traditional learning opportunities).
o That there is something innovative about the bid in terms of approach? (eg that it will it reach people that others cannot or that it will engage or improve access to learners in a different way).
o That it will it achieve better outcomes or support learners and provide opportunities that do not already exist or in a way that is different to existing opportunities.
5.3 How will the union will measure or assess the impact of its proposed activity. (eg Does the union have a track record or can it provide case studies/surveys or have evidence from other bids that supports this approach?) Where a bid is offering a new or innovative approach the evidence requirement may be less important than the arguments made for the potential success of the bid approach (eg why it might access learners better than others or why learners might be better engaged).
6. PREVIOUS PERFORMANCE, SUSTAINABILITY AND VALUE FOR MONEY
6.1 In this section you will need to show how your bid provides value for money, how its activity will be sustained in the future (if that is appropriate), that the union has the capacity and track record to deliver the project and to demonstrate how the union intends to embed the activity within the union and the mainstream.
§ The type of evidence required in this section will be:
o union track record of delivery in previous projects with ULF or other funding streams.
o details of bid financial inputs and outputs
o additional sources of support (other than ULF) to the bid
o explanations for bid costs (including staffing requirements)
o calculations of bid costs per outcome, details of management
o Governance arrangements (including equality and diversity arrangements)
§ Where a bid is offering a new or innovative approach the evidence requirement may be less important than the arguments made for the potential benefits of the activity or approach (e.g. why it might improve productivity, reduce costs to the employer, state or individual or enable an individual to achieve improvement that enhances their progression, employability and life chances).
§ When reviewing your bid you should ask yourself:
o Have the spending costs been justified?
o Has the bid been costed to provide value for money?
o Is the bid governance and staffing adequate to deliver its objectives?
o What will the union /employer/individual leverage be?
o What will it measure to show impact?
o How will it mainstream or sustain the work after ULF?
6.2 In the application form’s financial section you will be asked for details of expenditure and leverage. There is also an open ended section where you can place details of your financial arguments and calculations for the benefit of the Panel. You are advised to make these as clear and concise as possible to assist in the assessment of the bid. The key things that will be used by the ULF Assessment Panel to assess value for money are:
o Cost per learner
o Cost per outcome/output
o Leverage ratio (how many pounds are levered in for every pound invested through ULF. See Appendix 2 for guides to Leverage and Sustainability)
o Overheads ratio (cost of administration/office cost etc. as a proportion of the bid)
The panel will also see a DfE VfM Score (this calculation weights outcomes and the DfE priority outcomes (Maths, English, qualifications at 2 and L3, Apprenticeships and Traineeships) will score more highly.
In Appendix 3 there are some simple calculators that will help you look at these values for your bid.
Your bid will need to clearly state the numbers of learners and other outcomes and outputs you propose to achieve on a quarterly basis so that these figures can be calculated.
6.3 If your bid is offering a new or innovative approach or initiating work in a new area this should be explained in the bid. The Panel will allow for circumstances and will judge the cost effectiveness in the context of the sector and local circumstances as well as the stage of the activity proposed (eg. setting up cost). The evidence requirement may be less important than the arguments made for the potential benefits of the activity or approach (e.g. why it might improve productivity, reduce costs to the employer, state or individual or enable an individual to achieve improvement that enhances their progression, employability and life chances).
The spread sheet in Appendix 3 may help you with your calculations and the detail of your calculations can be put as a word file in the application form.
6.4 Equality and diversity are important issues for unions and your bid should demonstrate that it has embedded equality and diversity in its activity. This should be in terms of its approach (i.e. ensuring equal access to learning opportunities) and operation (i.e. ensuring staff are trained appropriately). Your bid should show how the bid is ensuring equality and diversity:
o How will bid staff be trained?
o How will you ensure any specific issues of inequality or disadvantage are tackled?
o How will this be recorded and monitored?
o What policies exist?
o Is there union track record?
7. HOW WILL ALL THIS BE SCORED?
7.1 The Assessment Panel will score the bids as described above. The detailed scoring Matrix is outlined in Appendix 4. The Panel will discuss bids and agree a final score for each bid.
7.2 The Panel will determine whether an application should be:
o Recommended – score = >61
o Recommended following negotiation and improvement – score = 46-60
o Rejected – score = <45
7.3 The Panel will have discretion to recommend a bid that does not meet the exact scoring requirements but has shown some exceptional quality that they feel should be supported by the ULF.
7.4 DfE and the unionlearn Board will review the recommendations and make final decisions on whether bids are successful. DfE have the final decision on the funding of projects.
Appendix 1. Performance and Payment
1. PBR