The Alliance for Lifelong Learning was commissioned by the Department of the Economy to conduct the research, which will be carried out by alliance members the Forum for Adult Learning Northern Ireland (FALNI) and AONTAS.
The catalyst for this research were findings from the Northern Ireland Community Education Census, 2021-2022. It noted that the emphasis in adult learning in Northern Ireland remains on ‘counting outputs’ and ‘fails to capture the full impact'. Collecting and measuring qualitative data is variable and resource-intensive, especially for community and voluntary organisations relying on short-term, project-based funding. This creates issues when raising awareness of the benefits of adult education and affects funding and commissioning decisions. AONTAS and groups like FALNI have called for more investment in impact measurement to promote uniform practices
The Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector in Northern Ireland is the largest provider of non-formal, non-accredited learning. FALNI estimates that there are over 300 community and voluntary organisations that engage in adult learning. 85% of respondents to the Northern Ireland Community Education Census reported delivering non-accredited learning, with 485 courses and 40,394 learners. These courses were supported by 41 different funders, a mixture of national and local government and philanthropic bodies. Organisations reported working with multiple funders, with one group citing 11 different funding streams.
The Census also showed that while many positive impacts from non-accredited learning could be observed – such as personal development, health and wellbeing and social inclusion – organisations often struggled to collect and collate impact data, largely due to a lack of resources.
The aim of this research is to arrive at evidence-based solutions to improve data collection and impact measurement of non-formal adult education, which will:
The research will consist of a survey that can be completed by Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations and Further Education (FE) colleges in Northern Ireland only. If you would like to complete the survey, click here. It will take fifteen to twenty minutes to complete. The survey will be live until January 20th 2025.
Researchers are also conducting a number of focus groups and interviews with VCSE and Further Education representatives, as well as funders and learners. If you would like to take part in the focus groups, please see this event page.
A final research report will be launched in April 2025.