Women s Football Apprentices, Research Brief

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1 INTRODUCTION AoC Sport is the lead organisation for college sport and physical activity. We believe that sport and physical activity are essential components of college life, giving students significant advantages in education, employment and health. Our vision is for every college student to participate regularly in sport or physical activity. Our purpose is to promote, support and deliver college sport and physical activity. We work to: 1. Promote - We champion the education, employment and health benefits of participation in sport or physical activity. 2. Support - We are the trusted voice for college sport and physical activity, driving improvement, attracting funding for the sector and shaping the further education sporting landscape 3. Deliver - We design and deliver competitions, activities and advice that meet the needs of students, member colleges and external agencies. There are 280 further education and sixth form colleges in England. 230 of these are members of AoC Sport but project delivery is not restricted to members. AoC Sport is a non profit distributing company and is part of the Association of Colleges. BACKGROUND After a successful pilot year, the FA/AoC Sport Women & Girls Football Apprentice programme has been rolled out to involve 19 colleges, 17 apprentices and 4 interns. The project aims to create a workforce solution to driving participation in girls and women s football both in the FE colleges and their l ocal community, with a specific aim to increase the number of BAME participants. The apprentice is employed by the college to work within the sport department and is responsible for growing female participation through running regular sessions for beginners, festivals, tournaments, and will work to establish links with local partners such as primary and secondary schools, Charter Standard Clubs and so forth. The intern model has been adopted by some colleges this year due to challenges with providing apprentices. As such, the model differs slightly in that the candidate need not adhere to the apprentice specifications (eg. Apprenticeships can only be undertaken so long as the candidate does not have higher qualifications in the same line of work than the current apprenticeship). Furthermore, the intern does not need to spend 20% of their time on off-the-job training, so their work contracts are 20/25 hour weeks, rather than 30/37 hour weeks. BUSINESS OBJECTIVES

2 To assist in doubling participation in participating colleges that reflects the added value of having an apprentice working in a College Grassroots Hub; increase the diversity of both the workforce and players; and helping to create a more diverse future women s football workforce. RESEARCH DELIVERABLES The following deliverables are required: 1. Monthly progress updates, including identification of challenges/ risks. 2. Interim report: a written report that provides analysis of information collected to this point and a summary of the emerging conclusions. By 31 May Final written report, with executive summary, that integrates all sources of evidence and provide us with an understanding of the outcomes achieved, and recommendations to inform future delivery. By 31 Ju ly Data files: any survey data files should be made available, in an appropriate format. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES Research should aim to: 1) Assess the impact of apprentices/interns on increased participation in the college within the female student population both within the college and surrounding community. 2) Establish the extent to which the apprentice programme is a successful solution to developing the female football workforce of the future. The research aims to understand whether future investment is worthwhile and to establish whether a dedicated Women s Football Apprentice within College Grassroots Hubs is an effective solution. To understand this, we will look to assess the following criteria; Research Objective (1) Assessment Criteria Each apprentice/intern has been tasked with recruiting 100 new female participants, 10 new female leaders and tailored BAME participation target dependant on their college population. This is in addition to the college s College Grassroots Hubs targets for female participation. Do College Grassroots Hubs with a Women s Football Apprentice generate? Increased female participation levels Increased diversity of female participants (disabled and BAME participants) Increased female volunteer workforce? (Including coaches, referees and general volunteer) Quicker growth and greater sustainability of programmes? (is the work delivered through an apprentice of benefit to College Staff) Greater visibility/publicity for football? Greater community grassroots outcomes?

3 More scale and reach (ability to deliver more) with their football development plan/offer. Greater impact against the Community Hubs vision, mission and principles for success. Greater ROI Increased progression opportunities for college students into apprenticeship role Growth in support structure making college football more accessible for all students. More partners and a stronger relationship within these partnerships? What value added does an apprentice deliver beyond the work of: Female Football Activators Existing College Staff Has the recruitment of the apprentice has created/maintained community partnerships and community football delivery? If so, to what extent? Research Objective (2) Assessment Criteria Here we are looking to identify what impact the programme has had on the apprentice/intern, the staff and external partner perceptions of the apprentice/intern and whether the programme is a solution to developing the workforce of female football. Increase in employability skills of individuals apprentice making students more work ready Likeliness of progression into female football industry Employability skills of individual apprentice (linked to the Behaviour Framework currently being developed by the FA) Whether the apprentice/intern programme is perceived as an integrated part of the College Grassroots Hubs programme (does the apprentice see themselves as part of the Hub? Do the staff members? Value of the Learning & Development programme organised by AoC Sport (monthly webinars, training events, online platform) Value of the apprenticeship qualification with regards to their role in Women s Football Support received for next steps into employment (work experience opportunities? CV/interview help? Who is providing this and how valuable is it?) Employment of apprentices concluding their apprenticeships Proposed Methodology As part of the College Grassroots Hubs project, scoreboards are submitted in January and June capturing the following data: 1. Participation levels 2. Diversity of female participants (BAME & Disability) 3. Female volunteer workforce 4. Return on Investment Scoreboards are completed by the college sport staff member who is the designated lead for the Co llege Grassroots Hubs programme and submitted to AoC Sport/The FA. These scoreboards can then be used for the quantitative analysis of the apprentice programme.

4 We would provide access to the data held in the scoreboard so that quantitative analysis could be undertaken. The following qualitative data would then need to be captured: a) Growth and sustainability of programmes (is the work delivered through an apprentice of benefit to college staff?) b) Visibility/publicity of female football c) Scale and reach of football development plan (capacity to deliver more?) d) Impact against College Grassroots Hubs vision, mission and principle for success e) Likeliness of progression into female football industry f) Employability skills of individual apprentice (linked to the Behaviour Framework currently being developed by the FA) g) Number of, and relationship with, partner organisations (particularly with regards to County FA) h) Whether the apprentice/intern programme is perceived as an integrated part of the College Grassroots Hubs programme (does the apprentice see themselves as part of the Hub? Do the staff members? i) Value of the Learning & Development programme j) Value of the apprenticeship qualification with regards to their role in Women s Football k) Support received for next steps into employment (work experience opportunities? CV/interview help? Who is providing this and how valuable is it?) Comparisons to be undertaken: Apprentice vs intern Tier 1 Hub with Apprentice vs Tier 1 Hub without apprentice We are open to suggestions of new methodology. Previously, site visits and telephone interviews have been conducted. Telephone interviews have historically been more successful when gathering data from County FA s. Audiences we need to speak to: Apprentice/Intern Line manager Other Sport/College staff County FA Women & Girls Officer Not all customer groups will be able to answer questions on all topics. We will be able to advise on which audience will be best suited to answer specific questions. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION, MILESTONES AND TIMINGS Please submit a full written brief in your preferred format. As a minimum, the following should be included in your proposal: Details of the proposed methodology Your organisation s experience, including examples of similar research projects you have delivered

5 Details of the team who will be working on the research, including their role, previous experience and DBS status if applicable Arrangements for managing the research and quality assuring the deliverables Added value for AoC Sport Timetable for delivering the research A detailed breakdown of costs for undertaking the research, including a breakdown of time and costs per activity and per team member. How proposals will be assessed: Methodology, including a good understanding of the research requirements Experience, particularly to evaluation, apprenticeships, young people and sport. Value for money. Proposals will be assessed by a panel and shortlisted companies may be invited to interview. Please submit proposals to Ceylon_Hickman@AoC.co.uk with the subject line: RESEARCH PROPOSAL: Women s Football Apprentices. If you have any questions, please Ceylon_Hickman@aoc.co.uk. Application for proposals opens: Wednesday 7 th March Deadline for submission: 5.30pm Friday 16 th March April: Programme commences May - June: Research period July: Final Report BUDGET (AMOUNT / HOLDER / SPONSOR) 10k STAKEHOLDER(S) Donna McIvor Sue Campbell John Folwell

6 Segment and Objective Alignment MACRO CUSTOMER GROUP FOCUS Young players Adult Players M Adult Players F Coaches Referees Parents League Secretaries Club Secretaries Spectators CW Spectators - GA Other (TYPE IN) Women s Football Workforce Strategic priorities project aligns to England men s and women s senior teams ready to win in 2022 and 2023 A world-leading education programme for a diverse football workforce A doubling of the player base and fan following of women s football Playing opportunities for everyone in a rapidly changing game Direct engagement with every fan, player and participant Trusted regulation, efficient administration and world class competitions Wembley Stadium and St. George s Park as inspirational venues x x x