REVIEW OF SCOTLAND'S COLLEGES
LONG TERM STRATEGIC FUTURE OF COLLEGES - STEERING GROUP
Minutes of Meeting
on 31 January 2006
at JamesWatt College, Greenock
(You can download a pdf version of this document by clicking here)
Attendees
Laurence Howells, Scottish Funding Council (Chair)
Linda Hall, Further and Adult Education Division (Secretariat)
Hugh McAloon, Higher Education and Science Division
Kish Srinivasan, HMIE
Stuart King, Futureskills Scotland
Bill Wardle, ASC
David Caldwell, Universities Scotland
Mary Senior, STUC
Gail Edwards, NUS Scotland
Apologies
Col Baird, Further and Adult Education Division
Raaj Bhatti, Further and Adult Education Division
Grahame Smith, STUC
1. Introductions
2. Scenario Development Process
The Group discussed paper SEETLLD CSFSG-P01 which had been circulated prior to the meeting. This paper proposes a process for considering the long term strategic future of Scotland's colleges. It is anticipated that there will be four key stages in the process.
1. Evidence Gathering
The Executive is organising a series of meetings with groups of key stakeholders to begin initial discussions about the strategic future of Scotland's colleges. The first of these was held before Christmas with Glasgow Community College Principals. Another three meetings have been arranged for February - these will be for a rural group, a UHI group and an Edinburgh group. It is expected that these meetings will last approximately 2 - 2 ½ hours and will follow the format of the first meeting i.e.
- Questions will be sent out in advance so that participants will have an opportunity to reflect on them prior to the meeting.
- Following the meeting a note (probably 4-5 pages of bullet points) capturing the main points made will be circulated to participants.
- All remarks/suggestions/comments made at the meeting will be unattributed in the note of the meeting.
- Participants will be invited to add to the note any further thoughts they have had following the meeting.
It is expected that the evidence gathering stage of the process will be completed in March/April.
The Steering Group commented as follows:
- This is a crucial phase of the work so it's important to take time with it and speak to as many people as possible.
- Employers and the trade unions need to be included in these discussions as much as possible.
- Students and other people working in colleges also need to be included.
- We need to consider how best to reach people with disabilities and ethnic minority groups and it might be possible to link into the Executive's work on equality in this regard.
- Prominent funders need to be included.
- Contact should be made with the Regional Widening Access Forums.
- It would be interesting to include some HEI principals in the discussions. (HESD will be speaking to all HEI principals in April and will take this opportunity to get their views on this work.)
Action Point: Steering Group to consider whether they wish to commission any other 'think' pieces to feed into the process. (All)
Action Point: Executive to speak to STUC about how best to engage employers and trade unions. ( ColBaird/Hugh McAloon)
Action Point: Executive to draw up a list of all the stakeholders to be included and circulate it to the Steering Group for comment. ( ColBaird/Hugh McAloon)
2. Drivers
Once the evidence has been gathered and analysed it should be possible to identify the main drivers or themes emerging. These will usually be factors outwith our control which people consider to be important e.g. demographic change, technological advances, the effect of an ageing population. A half-day workshop will be held in May for members of the Working Group to discuss the potential drivers. It is expected that the Steering Group will meet before then to discuss the format of the workshop.
3. Scenario Development
A one day workshop will be held in July for the Working Group to develop four likely scenarios. Again the Steering Group will have a role to play in planning this workshop to make sure we get what we want out of it. The Steering Group made the following comments:
- The Working Group will need to consider all possible scenarios and sub-scenarios which will give rise to quite a large number of possibilities. Whittling these down to only four will be challenging. Could perhaps consider using an 'Open Space' event to do this. People might feel more comfortable about discarding scenarios if there was some external expertise brought in at this stage of the process.
- There may be broad categories of scenario e.g. 'Act' or 'React' and within this the sub-scenarios would be crucially important.
- Remember that colleges cause change as much as they respond to change.
- Do we have any evidence of how effective the 'scenario' process is? Has it been used before in any similar type of work? Could we perhaps consider the model used by Shell i.e. develop capacity so that we are in a position to respond positively to change when it comes.
- Be sensible about what you are unable to predict. Plan on the basis of what you know and what you are aspiring towards.
- Recognise that there is no such thing as the 'right' scenario. The real world will probably be encompassed best in a whole range of scenarios.
- Examine what is successful and what is not and consider both scenarios. Remember also to consider negative scenarios i.e. what we don't want to happen.
- Remember to take account of societal change as well as educational change.
- Try not to be too prescriptive about what you are looking for in advance of the workshop. Nothing has been set in stone at this stage.
- Make links with the wider futures work being undertaken by the Executive looking at Scotland in 20 years time.
Action Point: Steering Group to consider whether we would want to commission some external expertise to facilitate the workshops. (All)
Action Point: Check if any other work like this has been done internationally. (Hugh McAloon)
Action Point: Information from the Employers Survey carried out by Futureskills Scotlandto feed into the process. (Stuart King)
4. Options
Once the likely scenarios have been identified a further one day workshop will be held in October for the Working Group to consider options for dealing with issues of strategic importance to the sector in the future. The Steering Group will be involved in planning the format of this workshop.
The Steering Group commented that it might be more appropriate to call this phase of the work 'Decisions' rather than 'Options'.
Proposed Timeline
The Steering Group agreed that the proposed timeline set out in the Annex to paper SEETLLD CSFSG-P01 was both appropriate and achievable. There is scope for moving some of the dates but the aim is for the report to be completed by January 2007. The Steering Group was also happy to take on the planning role which it will have in relation to the workshops.
Action Point: Consider how best to feedback the Steering Group's recommendations to the Working Group. (Laurence Howells/ ColBaird)
3. Any Other Business
There was no other business.
List of Action Points
1. Steering Group to consider whether they wish to commission any other 'think' pieces to feed into the process. (All)
2. Executive to speak to STUC about how best to engage employers and trade unions. (Col Baird/Hugh McAloon)
3. Executive to draw up a list of all the stakeholders to be included and circulate it to the Steering Group for comment. (Col Baird/Hugh McAloon)
4. Steering Group to consider whether we would want to commission some external expertise to facilitate the workshops. (All)
5. Check if any other work like this has been done internationally. (Hugh McAloon)
6. Information from the Employers Survey carried out by FutureskillsScotland to feed into the process. (Stuart King)
7. Consider how best to feedback the Steering Group's recommendations to the Working Group. (Laurence Howells/Col Baird)
Linda Hall
FAED
1 February 2006