Paper 3 - Board Business Planning
Paper 3 – Board Business Planning
Purpose
1. This paper provides an outline of how we see our business planning
developing over the next six months. During this time Becta and its
relationship with the DfES will both undergo considerable change;
introducing a significant number of uncertainties which we will need to
manage flexibly. This paper proposes an initial plan to enable us to
map what we want to do but also identifies some of the dependencies
that will affect and change timings.
Recommendation
2. That the Board discuss, amend and agree this paper to provide a
flexible timetable for future Board meetings.
Strands of activity
3. There are five overlapping strands of business planning activity:
a) Current business: the current version of our business plan is
provided with the papers and shows the present workload of Becta.
Within this there are six programmes of work with supporting
projects designed to deliver our current objectives and the current
priorities letter.
b) Additional work being transferred from DfES Technology
Group: we are in the process of analysing and transferring work
and resources from the former Technology Group to Becta following
David Bell’s announcement. The aim is for this to be completed by
the end of December. The transfer will be ratified by an addendum
to the current priorities letter.
c) The e-strategy delivery plan: Following discussion of the delivery
plan at this Board it will be developed and agreed with partners, and
its broad outline presented to the Harnessing Technology
Conference in November. It will provide a framework for developing
our new work, particularly in clarifying our partnership working and
increasing our impact on the system.
d) New work in discussion with DfES Directorates: We will begin
the process of developing a closer involvement with DfES Policy
Directorates and this will lead to new work, both in terms of us
providing stronger policy advice, and supporting their initiatives.
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Paper 3 – Board Business Planning
e) Becta’s organisational development programme. We have
developed and begun a change programme which will shape the
organisation and the other four strands above. This will require
effort and involvement from the whole organisation, not just in the
short term but next year and beyond.
Bringing these together
4. Over the coming six months we need to bring these together into a
single, sensible programme of work for Becta described in an evolving
flexible, business plan. This paper suggests there are four stepping
stones to this:
a) Reviewing and prioritising workloads. We need to review our
workload during the next six months against clear evidence of the
needs of the system. We should do this in two stages: now and
following the transfer of the work from the Technology Group. The
first with the aim to provide us with head-room to carry through
these developments and the second to refocus our work once we
know where we are going.
b) Developing a clear proposition to the DfES of Becta’s role for
the future. As discussed at previous Boards we need to
proactively clarify our direction by making a clear proposition to the
DfES of what we think the future role of Becta should be, and what
it means for us to be delivering the strategy and putting technology
at the centre of learning and teaching and policy. We may need
several attempts at this as we change and our context changes.
c) Working with the DfES to develop a new remit letter and new
priorities from the Secretary of State. We need to work with the
DfES to translate our proposition into formal documents from them
setting out our remit and the Secretary of State’s priorities.
d) A new business plan. Our ability to plan and achieve our work
would be greatly increased on a three year planning cycle. Ideally
we would want a new three year business plan showing how we
carry out that remit and achieve these priorities in place for 2007/10.
Alternatively we could look to producing a three year plan for
2008/11, matching the Comprehensive Spending Review period,
and use 2007/8 as a lead-in year.
Dependencies
5. There are a number of dependencies that will affect how this will
develop:
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Paper 3 – Board Business Planning
a) The Comprehensive Spending Review. The initial stage of the
spending review for 2008/11 has begun and Becta will need to get
heavily involved, particularly in the discussions on how monies are
allocated within the DfES. Without the Technology Group much of
the championing of technology, and working out the detailed
financial implications will fall on Becta. The outcome of these
decisions will greatly affect our workload and shape.
b) Development of the top team. The development and appointment
of Becta’s top team of executive directors will be a key milestone
and a major influence on Becta’s development.
c) Partner and system response. We will need to consult widely to
ensure that we achieve buy-in to the e-strategy delivery plan from
partners, policy makers and the wider system. Achieving these
partnerships will greatly enhance the leverage Becta will have to
achieve its goals, failing to achieve them will make life a lot harder.
Timescales and Board meetings
6. These variables mean that it will be difficult to predict precisely at which
Board meeting we will be able to present and discuss particular
elements of this plan. A schematic diagram is attached of how they
might fit together and the proposal is that we constantly update this to
meet changing circumstances.
7. In the short term it would be useful to use the residential in October for
both the Executive and the Board to develop their early thinking around
the “proposition”.
8. Can the Board discuss and agree this course of action?
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