I worked with Dr Jonathan Pratt to deliver East Kent College’s Community Impact Assessment. Based on an analysis of a wide range of data sets for 2012/2013 and depth interviews with key partners and stakeholders, the report highlighted the local economic and social impact of the College in five key areas:
- The College’s impact through learners in terms of the achievement, progression and satisfaction of its 5,800 students.
- Its impact through business customers by working to match its services to the needs of the local economy and improving levels of customer satisfaction.
- Its impact as a local employer, being one of the largest, better paying employers in East Kent, with 320 staff and salaries contributing £5.5m to the East Kent economy.
- The College’s impact through purchasing local goods and services, with around a third of its suppliers by value based in East Kent and over half in Kent.
- The College’s active role in local partnerships to drive local regeneration and its commitment to working with the community to address social and economic deprivation.
Overall, the report estimated that the economic value of the College to East Kent, above and beyond the value to students and businesses of the learning it delivers, was in excess of £29m in 2012/2013.
“Through the Community Impact Assessment, Steve and Jonathan have done a great job in enabling us and our partners to see how we are making a difference to our local community, while also helping us to see how we could improve our impact.”
Graham Razey, Principal, East Kent College
In follow-up work with the College, we supported an internal review of the quality and efficiency of data collection and analysis methods to support further improvements in services to learners and employers.
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