Findings - conclusions

The Transformation Fund projects offer some important lessons for the future of informal adult and community learning.

Innovative approaches

The emphasis for most projects was on testing innovative approaches - reaching disadvantaged groups, creating new spaces for learning and delivering learning more creatively and flexibly. Many focused on getting as many individuals as possible active in their communities, working together to shape local services or to set up self-organised groups. Nearly half of the projects engaged new learners through the use of new technologies.

Partnerships

Meaningful and effective voluntary, public and private sector partnership working produces good outcomes for learners, can provide value for money and facilitate future planning. However, the projects were most successful when the partnership was well established before funds were available, and where the contribution of each partner was respected.

Learner involvement

Each project took a different approach to engaging individuals in learning. However, the most successful projects were those that listened to learner voices, addressed learner demand, but most importantly, involved learners in shaping their learning.

Learning champions

Although most projects involved community educators and harnessed the know-how of local institutions and services, the aim was to put more power and responsibility into the hands of project participants - individuals, families, self-organised groups, local networks, neighbourhoods or specific communities. The projects proved that enthusiastic and committed people - 'learning champions' or 'ambassadors' - play a decisive role in making projects work by acting as role models in their communities, and encouraging others to learn. Learning champions were successful where the volunteers were properly supported and trained to do the job.

Small sums of funding

The Transformation Fund showed that innovative projects could, even with relatively small amounts of money, engage adults who believe that learning is not for them, offering models for future work in this territory. Small injections of funding for innovation can galvanise voluntary organisations, community groups and local education providers to work in partnership to make learning available in new places for new kinds of people who may not have benefited before.

Learning at work

The acquisition of capabilities and skills and informal adult learning should not necessarily be separated. Workplaces and other premises can contribute to, and benefit from, supporting community-based adult learning, and there is much to learn about deploying informal adult learning approaches in a variety of contexts.

Increase in confidence and self-esteem

In almost all projects, learners gained in happiness, self-esteem, confidence and well-being - hard to quantify but of durable impact. The opportunities offered by the Transformation Fund engaged people's imagination, enthusiasm and commitment, manifested in the many significant instances of volunteer development and involvement. Ways to systematically improve individual confidence are explored further in the main report.