Excellence and Innovation: Beacon innovation activity

The Beacon innovation programme offers Beacons an opportunity to apply for funding to support innovative ideas and concepts they wish to develop and test.

Since responsibility for the Beacon programme transferred to LSIS in 2006, we have commissioned over a hundred innovation projects, the outcomes of which represent a significant resource for the overall quality improvement of the further education and skills sector. 

Innovation write-ups

As part of our ongoing commitment to promote and disseminate the work Beacons are doing, we have commissioned a bank of write-ups. The write-ups capture, in concise detail, the clear outcomes, lessons learned, both about the project outcomes and about the process of implementing an innovation project.

This initial bank of write-ups represents a growing body of good practice that we’re keen to build on - providing others with an opportunity to read about some of the creative and original ideas the Beacons are trialling and testing. The examples vary, from innovative approaches to teaching and learning and enlivening the curriculum, to effective employer engagement strategies – ensuring learners, employers and communities are at the heart of everything we do.

To download the write-up template, please visit the resource pool. The written write-ups can be found on the excellence gateway. 

Beacons sharing expertise

To capitalise on the proven and acknowledged expertise of Beacons, LSIS has recently launched a new 'transferring expertise' pilot, which will give LSIS further opportunities to fulfil its brokerage, or dating agency role. This will enable Beacons and other high-performing providers to help address areas of performance that can be improved, whilst also allowing all involved the opportunity for further development - retaining the resource available directly within the FE system.

By harnessing the Beacons’ expertise in this way we hope to develop a model which will contribute significantly to the sector’s move towards self regulation and its continuous improvement and further development. As this new pilot project establishes itself, we would, with the support of Beacons in the future, like to replicate the model across the programmes offered by the new sector-led improvement agency.

The pilot project currently involves two strands of activity – the first is where we have asked Beacons to complete a comprehensive questionnaire with details of where they feel they could offer expertise. This information will be used to match Beacons with providers working with the Improvement Adviser Service, as part of their ‘aspiring to excellence’ offer. The second strand of the project enables Beacons to apply for funding to support the sharing of good practice and expertise with providers who they have been approached to help, or who they are already working with. More information about how to apply for this funding can be found by downloading the sharing expertise documents in the resource pool.

In the meantime, please send any enquiries or questions to excellence.innovation@lsis.org.uk