.

1. Research as a partner in
strategic decision making
Koen Beirens, Training institute of the
Federal Administration, Brussels,
Belgium.

3. Research within tifa
• Why did tifa start doing research?
• Big data, but little time and resources to
analyse them
• A lot of assumptions, but no confirmation
• A need for change, but not always clear in
which direction

4. From challenge to collaboration
Assumptions, questions and suggestions
from trainers, project leaders, management
and training responsibles
Diagnosis from “big data”: administrative
data, external data bases
Search for academic partners
Collaboration agreement: win-win

5. Current research projects
• Antecedents of drop-out in training
• Needs of young civil servants in ICT training
• Transfer of knowledge in low educated
participants
• Intructional design and drop-out in e-learning

6. Case 1: drop-out – The challenge
2010 2011 2012
<100%present 37.6% 31.9% 24.1%
100% present 62.4% 68.1% 75.9%
.0%
10.0%
20.0%
30.0%
40.0%
50.0%
60.0%
70.0%
80.0%
%fullpresence
% full presence per year

7. • Administrative data analysis:
Case 1: drop-out – The
research (n=28074)
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
level A level B level C level D
absent
present
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
<37 <47 <53 <65
absent
present
0.00%
10.00%
20.00%
30.00%
40.00%
50.00%
60.00%
70.00%
80.00%
90.00%
100.00%
1-3 4-6 6-14 15+
absent
present

8. Case 1: drop-out – The
research (n=640)
• Questionnaire research:
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Not agree Neutral Agree
%dropout
Value training for job
0
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.1
0.12
Not agree Neutral Agree
dropout%
Efforts of the supervisor

9. Case 1: drop-out – The
initiatives

10. Case 2: Young civil servants and
ICT-training – The challenge
ICT trainings Other trainings

11. Case 2: Young civil servants and
ICT-training – The research (1)
• Interviews
• Improving the offer
 Network learning for professionals with
subject matter experts as trainers
 Screening the ICT skills before training
 Online coaching
 Social media, movie design, sharepoint as
new themes

12. Case 2: Young civil servants and
ICT-training – The research (2)
• Questionnaire research
Statement % agree % neutral % disagree
It is important that I’m involved in the decision on which
themes are treated during a training
59 29 11
I prefer a training that focuses on all possibilities of a
software
55 34 10
The TIFA offer should be more in line with the specific
software I use for my work
38 32 30
The TIFA ICT-offer closely matches my needs 50 40 10
I prefer shorter ICT trainings than the current 4-day ICT
trainings of TIFA
20 53 26
The TIFA offer on ICT is too limited for me. 32 52 16

13. Case 2: Young civil servants and
ICT-training – The research (3)
Not at all E-learning Training Discussions Ask colleague Try yourself

14. Case 2: Young civil servants and
ICT-training – The research (4)
Not at all E-learning Training Discussions Ask colleague Try yourself

15. Case 2: Young civil servants and
ICT-training – The intitiatives
• Revision of the offer:
• Shorter trainings, more focussed on specific
problems
• Collaborations with other institutions to
broaden the offer
• Introduction of a screening test to determine
the skill level

16. Added value of research
• « Prove » that
• a problem truly exists
• a method realy works
• a practice has an added value
• New insights and innovative approaches
• Link between theory and practice
• Visibility and credibility of the organization

17. Recommendations
• Use administrative data
• Keep in touch
• Keep in mind practical usability
• Inform the organisation
• Search for a win-win