Presented by WECD at HEFCE's Degree Apprenticeships Conference on 4 May: https://goo.gl/H9gtzD

1. Degree Apprenticeship Development Fund (DADF)
Overview of Evaluation Findings
HE Degree Apprenticeships Conference 2017
4 May 2017 - Birmingham

2. DADF activities: rationale, progress, value added
DAs design and development
Evaluation of DADF - Emerging Findings

3.  DADF contribution ≈ 54% to overall project
expenditure:
• 37% own funds
• 9% other (e.g. National SkillsAcademy, FE
Colleges and LEPs)
 Allocation of Overall Expenditure by Phase
1 DADF funded projects
Overview of DADF Investment
Key Facts and Figures (1)
Source: Based on DADF funded projects Business Cases

4. Overview of DADF Investment
Key Facts and Figures (2)
Courses by Sector – Level 6 DA
Courses by Industry – Level 7 DA
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
Engineering & Manufacturing
Health
Built Environment
Digital &Technology
Business & Professional Services
Construction
Food
Policing
Courses (%)
Digital &Technology
Broadcast Production
Policing
Courses by Sector – Level 6 DA
Courses by Industry – Level 7 DA
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 4
Engineering & Manufacturing
Health
Built Environment
Digital &Technology
Business & Professional Services
Construction
Food
Policing
Courses (%)
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Engineering & Manufacturing
Digital &Technology
Broadcast Production
Policing
Courses (%)

5.  Strategic (enhancement/strengthening)
• Scale-up awareness - institutional focus of provision i.e. raise awareness across the
University management teams and academics, implement change management
and achieve cultural change for responding to the degree apprenticeship agenda
• Development of new pedagogies
• Enable alignment of existing provision with wider regional aspirations
• Increase profile of own work and learn from others
 Operational (capacity/capability)
• Realisation that dedicated/specific resources are needed to ‘expand and/or develop
new elements’
• Build up long-term capacity but also accelerate what a HEP is already doing
• Inform academics/enhance their awareness
• Partnership working and transactional costs
• Use DADF-funded activities as test-bed for wider DA provision
Why Engage in DADF

6. DADF Funded Activities

7. • Recruitment of specific number of staff (shortages reported and difficulties in
recruiting)
• Development of internal systems processes i.e. systems development making
their systems ‘audible’ to external organisations but also enlarge/diversified
• Reviewed admissions processes for DA starts - to ensure applicants are tracked
from enquiry to completion of the commitment statement
• Strengthening internal engagement i.e. raise awareness of DA opportunities
with other faculties across the University with potential for development post
DAD project
• Widen employer awareness and buy in engagement in relation to degree
apprenticeships sectorally, regionally, and nationally
• Widen learner awareness and engagement
• Mapping current provision against standards
• Build on Quality Assurance innovative approaches and disseminate outcomes
and good practice
Examples of DADF-Funded Activities

8.  DADF has added value (in all projects) - in particular in terms of time,
resources and number of new apprenticeships explored
We would not have gone ahead to this extent, DADF has been a catalyst – raising the profile of
DADF internally among senior management and enabling capacity to be built
Yes, but not as quickly or it would have been at the cost of something else
Probably but not as quickly. DAs are a strategic priority and within the direction of travel, so
they would have happened but in two years rather than one
Signalled HEFCE/policy commitment to DAs
Brilliant - has enabled us to create the consortium in the light of busy schedules and further
develop our business
Make HEP management teams take notice/invest resources on DAs
 DADF related support e.g. workshop and Strand B highly commended
DADF AddedValue

9. DA Development – Engagement of Partners
• FE Colleges - progression pathways i.e. progression pathways into DAs, but
also being able to offer employers an integrated offer from Level 2 to DAs, but
also experience i.e. more used to negotiating with employers than HEPs
• Professional/Chartered Institutes - standards and EPA bodies
• Employers - mostly large employers at the moment for a number of reasons
(e.g. anchor institutions) and drawing upon existing relationships (unless
trailblazers)
• Other HEPs – complementarity of degrees
• LEPs/CombinedAuthorities – strategic alignment, operational alignment and
existing infrastructure (e.g. employer support groups and skills hubs, and
funding
• PrivateTraining Providers (occasionally)
• Other e.g. National SkillsAcademy

10. Emerging Business Models
Core DA
function:
Employer
engagement,
communications,
partnerships, QA,
data, dissemination
Strategic
partners:
LEPs, CAs/
LAs
Faculties
developing
DAs:
content and
curriculum
Faculties not
developing
DAs:
Assessing
current
provision
Employers:
Existing, new,
sector bodies,
business orgs
Operational
partners:
FE providers,
other HEIs,
schools, CIs

11. Emerging Financial Models
• Early stages - first year of operation critical
• Existing models are used (test-bed) – limited cases could share
comprehensive income projections
• Where estimates exist, this is seen as a low margin activity (at the moment)
• In the future, the thinking is to also monitor:
Assessment costs
Advice and mentoring/early development of graduates with employers
(who pays for that - employers would like to know)

12. DA Processes
• Governance - DADF part of existing structures
• Standard and Frameworks - delays where these are new/not developed
• EPA- agreement on who/how/at what price can cause delays
• Curriculum and content - developing flexible approaches mainly based on
existing provision and employer involvement, considering open/closed
programmes dependent on volumes
Sectoral variations to be monitored in the future but also types of employers (not
just small vs large, but also their outlook in terms of learning/upskilling of their
workforce)

13. Various Other Issues Raised - Examples
• Role of DAs in addressing skills gaps/shortages
• Resourcing at faculty and institutional level after/post DADF
• Employers’ Engagement
• Learners’ views – participants and non-participants
• Sectoral approach: Degree and/or Professional Standards
• Impact of DAs on other types of provision e.g. Foundation Degrees

14.  A truly developmental/pump prime fund used by all projects to better
understand, raise awareness and put in place robust
systems/processes/partnerships to take forward the DA agenda
 Has helped to consolidate strategic integration of DA with other institutional
agendas
 Has ensured senior management buy-in
 Has enabled wider institutional reviews of target markets and approaches to
provision
 Not as many apprentices and apprenticeships in September 2017 without DADF
Conclusions – to date