A best practice resource for FE property
Good Client Relationships This document is not intended as a step-by-step guide on how to manage a building project. There are lots of publications explaining the process in detail (some of these are identified in the text) and the professional team will also provide expert guidance through each stage of the project. The focus of this guide is on good leadership and so will be of most use to college principals and senior members of their team who are to take key roles in the project. Coping with Cuts A Strategic Approach to Delivering Estates Efficiencies. This paper provides a commentary aimed at senior college managers engaged in estates matters and facing the need to respond to overall reductions in funding. Using the experience of two large but very different colleges, Bradford College and Kirklees College we have considered how the two colleges have responded to on-going funding reductions whilst developing estates strategies and implementing new building projects. Consistent Condition Assessments This paper is about seeking clarity and consistency in defining the condition of college estates. It underlines the importance of collating reliable data on the condition of the college estate, allowing the data to be analysed and compiled to both form a national picture and a benchmark for individual colleges. Building an Exemplary Business Case In 2014, Kirklees College submitted an application for Skills Capital funding to the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). The application was commended (by the LEP) for the thoroughness of the business case, potentially providing a ‘best practice’ approach for Colleges in how to develop businesses cases for submission to LEPs under future Skills Capital funding programmes. Preparing Property Strategies to be Consistent with LEP Objectives This briefing paper reviews the requirements for further education (FE) colleges to prepare property strategies. It considers how they might be best aligned to the strategic needs of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs). It is not intended as guidance on how to prepare a property strategy but it reviews the main issues colleges should consider in approaching that task. It should be read in conjunction with a related briefing paper in the RIBA/AoC Best Practice Programme series: New Capital Proposals – Building an Exemplary Business Case. Conducting Project Reviews/Post Occupancy Evaluations This paper identifies an approach to the “high-level” review of on-going projects for senior college managers. The framework is flexible, encouraging managers to begin by identifying objectives or benchmarks relevant to their project. Following these procedures will also be a useful vehicle for college governor participation and prepare colleges for the post-occupancy evaluation process identified by the Skills Funding Agency. Management of Floorspace in Further Education Colleges This document provides guidance to Colleges on the management of floor space. It is designed to update the advice previously offered by the now dissolved Learning and Skills Council’s (LSC) document: Guidance for Further Education Colleges on the Management of Floor Space (May 2007 – an annex to the Capital Handbook issued in November 2006). This earlier advice was based upon previously established techniques and upon original research (carried out in 2006). At that time an LSC property team would review a College’s application of these techniques and make recommendations; however, given the present relatively limited availability of central expertise, we have chosen to set out some of the underlying assumptions behind the methods in more...
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