Overview

NIACE: working to improve the quality and breadth of adult learning to support all adults to participate in learning throughout their lives.

It’s been a challenging year. Uncertainty in a fast-changing sector has been compounded by reduced public funding and a wider climate of fiscal constraint. Organisations have had to adapt to  survive in this new environment. NIACE is no  exception. We’ve emerged from a period of  uncertainty with a new Chief Executive, a new  vision and a sharper focus on the areas we need to prioritise in order to make the biggest difference to learners.

One of the most important objectives we set ourselves last year was to review our strategic plan. In the course of this process it became clear that we excel in our:

• high-quality research, which is well-respected and critical to our reputation;
• development work, bringing people and organisations together and supporting and disseminating best practice in adult learning; and
• advocacy and policy activity, which uses the knowledge and intelligence gained through our research and development to great effect in informing debate about how adult learning can best contribute to UK economic prosperity, social inclusion and cohesion, and to the empowerment  of all its citizens.

However, we also found we could be more effective in explaining what we stand for and in setting out clear strategic priorities for our work.

Clarity about who we are and what we want to achieve is critical in responding to the challenges we face as a sector. Chief among them is inequality of access to education and training. Our research shows that participation in learning is determined by class, age, employment status and prior learning and attainment. All our work is underpinned by the aim of addressing such inequalities and empowering individuals from under-represented groups to take control of their lives and realise their potential. In reviewing our strategic plan we sought to sharpen our focus on three priority areas where we believe we can make the greatest difference, which are:

• improving the accessibility, range and quality of the life skills that underpin lifelong learning and enable adults to participate in society;
• making learning in communities more diverse, sustainable, responsive, accountable and better connected with other types of learning; and
• improving the range and quality of learning in and for work, in order that adults are best equipped to gain, sustain and progress in employment.

Each of these areas will be led by an expert in the feld, who will shape our work, often in partnership with other organisations, to ensure we make the best use of our resources to achieve the biggest possible impact.

Cutting across our three strategic priorities are four key themes informing all our work:

• Equalities and empowerment, which gives all our work a focus on those who have previously missed out on learning opportunities and/or are under-represented and not given the chance to learn;
• Advocacy and policy, where we use our knowledge and expertise to advance adult learning by influencing politicians and policy-makers;
• Promoting and advancing adult learning through our promotion and dissemination work; and
• Developing NIACE as a quality organisation to ensure we are strong and efficient in the pusuit of our externally focused mission.

This review sets out how we are addressing our three priority areas and how these four themes predicate all our work, helping us achieve our strategic aims and deliver on our commitment to improve the quality and breadth of the opportunities available for all adults so they can benefit fom learning throughout their lives.