ID 3976745 DAC 172/21 DfE - Review of Further Education Delivery Model

Description

The Department for the Economy is awarding a 4-5 month Direct Award Contract to carry out an evidence gathering exercise in relation to Further Education (FE) to inform a review of the FE delivery model in Northern Ireland (NI). The estimated value of this DAC is £250,000 for the period 17 January 2022 - 31 May 2022. Lot 1: The Further Education sector is currently operating within a rapidly evolving strategic and economic environment and needs to be able to adapt quickly to meet the changing skills needs of the economy and of learners. It is clear that the FE delivery model, constrains the sector’s ability to adapt to meet those requirements mainly due to changing economic, demographic and skill requirements . As a result, the Department is undertaking a review of the current Delivery Model and as part of the initial stage of that review, is seeking to engage a contractor to carry out an assessment of the current performance of the sector in order to inform the Department’s consideration of how Further Education should be delivered in the future. The assessment will build on the VfM benchmarking study which was carried in 2018. It will provide an evidence base around the respective financial performance of colleges and of the sector as a whole, providing relevant metrics in relation to efficiency and effectiveness which will facilitate benchmarking both within the sector and externally, in order to identify examples of good practice which can help to inform the direction of travel for the Further Education Sector.