The challenge is that the deployment of e-learning in performance improvement can only be considered if, at a more fundamental level, training and development is seen as a lever in the change and improvement process. This presents the dilemma faced by many organisations, public and private, around the world today. Investment in the knowledge and skills of the workforce is essential, not least as jobs become more complex and new knowledge and skills are needed. However, making the links between training and development and performance is a complex task. Add to this the 'e' component and the need to build training and development programmes using technology that directly impact short term operation and longer term strategic objectives, and you get a picture of the challenge facing IDeA's e-learning team.
Some factors may help to push the e-learning option to the forefront. One of these is the UK Government's e-government agenda. Given the front- and back-end changes that are being made in local government services with the integration of technology, e-learning can be a driver of these changes, enabling an e-enabled 'learning organisation' maintain continuous skills and professional development to work with new e-processes and services. However, this scenario remains in most cases a long way off.
IDeA Learning Pool subscribers have begun to demonstrate some of the characteristics of such organisations, as can be seen from their case studies. Their website provides some excellent case studies from a number of local authorities. Overall, however, their conclusions are that integrating learning technologies and using them to drive improvements in performance in local government will not be achieved for some time to come for many local authorities.
Paul English provided the following reflections when reviewing the ICCA Toolkit. 'One observation relates to the issues around councils' readiness to consider e-learning at a macro level. This seems to be too much to digest in the early stages of adoption, with a greater concern in councils being getting some real projects up and running. I still hold the view that when looking at the ICCA success factors or similar building blocks that the emphasis would change depending upon the maturity of the implementation at any specific council. So the "must do" aspects would change depending upon where they are, so they feel that each stage or set of success factors are more achievable. Maybe the broad set of factors could be broken down further into sub-stages, for example:
1. starting out
2. making progress
3. mainstreaming.'
During the ICCA projects, two local authorities were shown the ICCA Toolkit and the response from both was very positive. One had already experienced using learning technologies over some years, whereas for the other e-learning has been a new experience. These might be described as one 'starting out' and the other 'making progress'. ...continue to Blyth Valley Borough Council
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