Ipsos | Formative Evaluation of Uni Connect Phase Three
5 partners to co-design , develop and fund collaborative strategic outreach and attainment raising interventions .
Recommendation 2 – Uni Connect partnerships should plan for full phasing out of targeted outreach Uni Connect partnerships had implemented a wide range of measures in response to the reduction and planned phasing out of targeted outreach . However , the focus of these measures was often on what was needed within the current academic year rather than the longer term . Some had postponed difficult decisions – for example , by using strategic outreach funding to address emerging gaps from the reduction in targeted outreach or by reducing the use of external delivery partners to protect existing staffing structures .
Recommendation 3 – Uni Connect partnerships should ensure appropriate resourcing is in place to deliver strategic outreach interventions , including to explore match funding opportunities
While some partnerships were making good progress in implementing collaborative strategic outreach interventions , others had made limited progress in developing a separate strategic outreach offer and were using the available funding to enhance their targeted outreach offer or address gaps emerging from the phasing out of this . There was a perception among partnerships that it would be difficult to secure match funding from local partners to deliver collaborative strategic interventions , but there was limited evidence of proactive approaches being taken by partnerships to identify such opportunities .
Recommendation 4 – OfS should provide greater clarity on expectations for collaborative interventions The evaluation identified a lack of clarity among some Uni Connect partnerships on expectations for the attainment raising element of the programme , including how success would be measured . The OfS should consider providing additional guidance to partnerships to ensure that expectations for attainment raising are clear and can be met , including that the onus is on individual partnerships to identify appropriate measures of success for their attainment raising interventions and that these can include intermediate outcome measures .
Recommendation 5 – Uni Connect partnerships should take a more proactive approach to gaining buy-in from local higher education providers to deliver attainment raising interventions
There was evidence that some Uni Connect partnerships were prioritising attainment raising interventions that they felt confident they could deliver themselves with minimal input from local higher education providers . Partnerships should consider whether they could do more to broker engagement , input and buy-in from local higher education providers to support the design , development and / or delivery of attainment raising interventions for schools .
Recommendation 6 – Uni Connect partnerships should expand signposting offer to incorporate local attainment raising activities
Signposting was found to be a well-established element of the Uni Connect programme . Partnerships should consider how their signposting offer could be further expanded to incorporate local attainment raising activities and interventions for schools , including those delivered by higher education providers .
22-025200-01 | Version 1 | Public | This work was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the international quality standard for Market Research , ISO 20252 , and with the Ipsos Terms and Conditions which can be found at https :// ipsos . uk / terms . © Office for Students 2023