Evaluation of the Implementation of Stevenage Borough Council’s Enterprise & Skills Agenda

The purpose of this report is to present an evaluation of the Stevenage Borough Council's (SBC) enterprise and skills agenda. This agenda seeks to leverage the potential for growth and prosperity by focusing on the area’s key strengths in STEM based enterprise in a way that addresses areas of deprivation. This evaluation was commissioned by the SBC and funded by the university of Hertfordshire’s Policy Support Fund.

Key facilitators were interviewed and surveys provided for individuals involved in implementation. The following main themes emerged from the interviews:
• Strategic Leadership and Vision — SBC was found to be proactive in its leadership and consistently focused on skills development and impact both locally and beyond.
• Collaboration and Relationship Building — SBC were able to identify and assemble the relevant stakeholders to co-develop initiatives, although greater involvement of stakeholders is needed moving forward.
• Adaptability and Innovation with Constraints — SBC effectively built on established frameworks and adapted them to service needs locally, which, in turn, facilitated partner buy-in. The council's agility and ability to innovate were also highlighted.
• Structural Changes and Long-Term Commitments — Long term funding was identified as an issue that needs to be addressed moving forward. Issues such as engaging high-tech employers in entry level roles and apprenticeship cycles were also identified.
• Moving Forward — SBC is well positioned to take advantage of local job growth because of its work on skills development, strategic partnerships, and place-based learning. There are also challenges to be addressed around deprivation and employer demand for high skilled workforces.



The responses to the implementation survey were generally positive and reinforced the themes that emerged from the interviews. Enablers and barriers were ranked. Enablers received overwhelmingly positive responses and aligned with the interview themes, although long-term funding was identified as a chronic problem. The response to barriers was balanced and long-term funding again identified as an issue.

Across the potential barriers identified, the majority of the implementors did not consider those issues of increased significance. Challenges such as insufficient funding, staff capacity or poor engagement, although recognised as issues, do not consistently impede the delivery of the programme. All eight enablers ranging from staff capacity and adequate funding to clear goals, effective project management and communication channels, stakeholder links, and young people’s readiness to engage were identified overwhelmingly as “extremely” or “very helpful,”.

Based on these findings, the following recommendations were made:
• A Steering Group established to review the skills agenda to ensure it remains relevant.
• More consolidation of funding opportunities so that the money goes further.
• Convince employers of the benefits of working with the young STEM futures programme over the long-term, rather than just on a project or pilot basis.
• Establish a network of employers working together to share the burden rather than just one company doing all the legwork.
• SBC needs to celebrate and communicate their successes, so that the good news is spread wider to attract more involvement.
• Communicate better between the projects to encourage and promote collaboration.