I’m Allan Dean-Lewis, and in this short presentation I would like to tell you a little about the FIA Institute’s Accreditation initiative and Regional Training Provider Programme, and to share some of the thoughts of my own ASN in the UK about the initiative.
First of all, some basic principles……. No one country is more important than another in our world of motor sport, but there is much we can all learn from each other through a two way exchange of information. Of course, safety has to be paramount in everything that we do, and raising safety standards and improving competency levels in our sport is a common aim, and something I know that many of you are passionate about. There is no doubt that building knowledge and understanding provides considerable benefits for all
It is important to emphasise that the Accreditation initiative is a voluntary scheme, which requires an ASN to submit an application to the Institute for assessment. As part of this process, the ASN is required to indicate the degree to which it aligns to a series of benchmarks, which are mapped to the best practice principles from the framework. We found that the Best Practice Framework – downloadable from the FIA Institute website in the Education programmes section – provided us with an excellent way of self-assessing our own practices and processes regarding officials training, and our first priority in fact was to measure ourselves against the Institute’s published criteria in the two key areas of competency development and programme structure. I would very much encourage other ASNs to follow the same process, - based on a recent survey conducted by the Institute, 40 ASN’s signalled their intention to seek accreditation going forward. For everyone it offers considerable benefits when you identify your own strengths and weaknesses, particularly compared with others in the same sport. We are honoured to have satisfied the requirement to attain Gold level accreditation for our Officials Training Programmes, and subsequently the opportunity to apply to become an FIA Institute-approved Regional Training Provider. I would make the point there that the RTP initiative is also voluntary, and ASN’s must make application to the Institute for assessment once they have gained gold level accreditation - it is not an automatic appointment.
Five ASNs have currently satisfied the requirement for accreditation of their Officials Training Programmes, the Chinese Taipei at Bronze level, Ireland and Turkey at Silver level, and CAMS in Australia and the Motor Sports Association in the UK at Gold level – these two now both being Regional Training Providers. Are we in competition with Australia for the commercial opportunities? Sure we are, but this is to the benefit of our clients, the ASNs, who have the option to negotiate and choose which RTP to use!
One key benefit of this initiative is that RTP’s are able to develop customised solutions for ASN’s, rather than ASN’s having to rely on a generic curriculum developed by a central body like the Institute, which would probably be less likely to meet their specific needs. The initiative also allows ASN’s to choose which RTP they wish to work with. This stimulates competition and helps to maximise quality, both of which ultimately benefits the ASN During this year 2010, there have been 6 grants provided to ASN’s to work with the RTP’s, and this work has been performed by the Institute’s 2 current RTP’s, CAMS and the MSA UK. Going forward, it will be these types of projects, with ASN’s working with the RTP’s, that will be given priority when funding applications are received each year. In 2011, the FIA Institute will continue to encourage other ASN’s with the appropriate capabilities to seek accreditation and put themselves forward to operate as an RTP, with the medium term goal to have at least 1 RTP for each of the 5 funding areas.
Being one of the more active ASNs in supporting the work of the Institute, we have been an early adopter of a business model, which provides a platform for our own continuing development as well as for knowledge and information sharing with other ASNs. We are naturally proud of our historical and current reputation in the training of volunteer officials and marshals – many of whom now regularly assist at events in other countries – as well as our new reputation being built in the area of young driver training and development. For the delivery of our programmes, we use a dedicated and specially trained team of International Trainers, able to work with translators where required. Although we recognise the commercial opportunity that Regional Training Provider status provides for the MSA UK , by using experienced volunteers and subject specialists to deliver training in a professional way, any profits from this function will be re-invested in the sport to benefit future training initiatives, and as a result provide added value to the ASN network.
In many cases, the first step in the process of engaging with other ASNs will be an exploratory meeting to assess current status and identify future needs and requirements – a Training Needs Analysis. This can be delivered either in the UK or in the country of origin. Although not the preferred practice, in some cases this may even be possible by conference call. As a result of this initial analysis, individual proposals are developed, with a range of options to address the ASNs identified requirements, and these can be phased according to budget or time needs – for instance if the training is targeted ahead of a major event on a given date. The typical content of these proposals might include but not be limited to some of the topics there – ASN and Club Development ; Train the Trainer courses – and I would just add that Train the Trainer courses we have found are a very cost effective way of cascading learning down to a wide base of recipients and offer a lasting benefit to the recipient ASN and the officials and marshals in that country. Also to maximise that benefit, the Train the Trainer courses can include ongoing mentoring, advice and feedback, sometimes over an extended period, if required. Senior officials training, marshals training and major incident planning are all popular topics, and young driver development and training, including performance master classes in a range of topics, are recent additions to our available specialities, based on our growing experience in these areas in recent years. And importantly of course, grants from the FIA Motor Sport Safety Development Fund may be provided to ASNs to support these activities where they meet the current eligibility requirements and receive appropriate approvals from the FIA Institute. In this instance, it is the ASN who must apply to the Fund and NOT the RTP.
Further information and contact links for both CAMS in Australia and ourselves in the UK can be found in the Regional Training Provider section of the FIA Institute website, and a copy of the MSA UK booklet (HOLD SAMPLE UP) is included in the FIA Institute General Assembly pack and electronic copy can be accessed at www.msauk.org/training. There is also a direct e-mail address for enquiries to the UK, and this is training@msauk.org shown there, which will be directed via myself.
In conclusion, we welcome the Regional Training Provider initiative and strongly believe that by working together, we can further help to raise safety standards in motor sports around the world. Thank you for your interest and attention.
