Success Factors

What are the key outcomes of the initiative?

Women returners found e-portfolios useful in supporting their employability and progress back into employment- despite software limitations.

Successful engagement of a wide range of employers and other stakeholders, raising their awareness of, and interest in, e-portfolios.

Raising awareness in the community - the final dissemination event was well attended and facilitated a wide-reaching debate (contributed to by practitioners and learners) about e-portfolio use with returners.

Partner outcomes included capacity building. Partners in the project experienced wider benefits and unexpected outcomes largely related to capacity building and greater awareness of the influence of e-portfolios on their work.

Outcomes by partner:

Sheffield Hallam - gained a greater understanding of e-portfolios and their value to returners. Also, a greater integration of the Women in SET team into the institution with potentially greater take up of services from staff and students within the institution and potential for collaborative work with other relevant members of staff.

Salford University found that the cooperation between project partners encouraged sharing resources and ideas and enriched the experiences of the teams involved.

UKRC - outcomes included strengthened links between UKRC and Bradford College e-portfolio developers in particular, meaning potential for follow-on development of e-portfolio work within UKRC and improved sills and awareness among UKRC staff, benefiting their support and advice to women returners and other women in SET clients.

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

Further research needs to be undertaken into the impact of the 'look and feel' of e-portfolios on their uptake and usage, for example including a comparative study that examines which system would be better for independent users not associated with an institution.

It is apparent that there is a need for e-portfolios, that are not institutionally driven, that can meet the needs of lifelong learners.

Feedback suggested that further development work should involve professional body and employer engagement. Students and returners.