Success Factors

What are the key outcomes of the initiative?

The JOSEPH project:

• exemplified the importance of building and sustaining mutually beneficial partnerships. It demonstrated the value of a mature core partnership with the flexibility to add new partners to meet the needs of a project
• developed a pioneering tool to support the career development and hence help realise the potential of young people
• delivered a workable and practical model which can be used flexibly, both as a standalone and also capable of interoperating with an e-portfolio
• started out as a project to support learners into engineering in higher education, but developed to become a model which could support the whole range of vocational and pathways, not just at 14-19
• demonstrated that IAG processes proved to be generic in terms of type and age of learner
• showed that an institution-free e-portfolio was viable and popular with learners, advisers and institutions
• showed how e-portfolios can interoperate with a variety of online resources and online and/or face-to-face advice services provided by IAG organisations (primarily Connexions, but also FE/HE/workplace mentors)
• identified a set of generic core processes for decision-making and preparation for transition, identifying the key resources to support those processes

The JOSEPH tool:

• has become an integral and sustained part of the core work of Connexions Nottinghamshire
• acted as a hub for a series of identified and tested web services required by IAG processes
• by providing the IAG tool with a content management system JOSEPH has given it the capability to support customisation and flexibility
• a set of scenarios show how JOSEPH could be used at a variety of transition points as the IAG processes are similar

In addition, JOSEPH encompassed the use of XCRI (eXchanging Course Related Information) to link successfully to the local 14-19 online prospectus: work used to develop this feed has now been taken further by taking standardised course information feeds from a number of East Midlands area prospectuses into a single reference point (the AimHigher Progression Pathways site). JOSEPH has thus been able to demonstrate integration of this information into a wider IAG framework, showing the added value that this can offer prospectus data.

What follow-up activity will be/has been carried out as a result of the project?

As Diplomas gather more momentum and further lines of learning are offered to students, it is recognised that more work is needed in this area. The first learners with Diploma qualifications are expected to enter higher education in late 2010.

JOSEPH recommended that:

• Further work should be done on combining e-portfolio use with further web-based IAG services to enhance a learner's experience, especially where that experience is gained across a range of institutions/learning situations including workplaces
• The full potential of aggregating the IAG tool, e-portfolios, 14-19 prospectuses, XCRI, Common Application Forma and college MIS systems should be explored further in a variety of contexts and settings
• Further testing and implementations of the 'thin e-portfolio' model should be done with real users and real systems in different practical situations
• Links should be made with LEAP 2A interoperability work which could connect the existing tool with other sets of services and e-portfolio systems
• Work should be carried out around the use of the Common Application Form and its integration into wider systems, especially IAG and induction, to provide a seamless experience for the learner
• MIAP services, including the ULN, should be factored into all of the above landscapes

Next steps

In collaboration with the CIePD, Connexions Nottinghamshire is planning further work to explore demonstration and practical adaptation of the tool to other lines of learning.

Other work is exploring how JOSEPH might join the IAG, e-portfolio and XCRI work to support the use of a standard Common Application Form and a linkage to the MIS systems of FE colleges. This is an exciting prospect and reflects the value and practicality of the JOSEPH work and would realise some of the early developments explored by the RIPPLL project. It will also facilitate cross-border access to data to increase choice for learners who currently only have access to information within regional boundaries.