Student Grants
Online
TPS Conference on eGovernment
18th January, 2011
Brian Power, Principal Officer
Department of Education and Skills
BACKGROUND
Student Grants – The Numbers
• Number of Student Grant Schemes
4
• HEG : VEC : TLT : PLC
•
•
•
•
•
Number of Grant Agencies
Number of Grantholders
Number of New Applications
Number of New Awards
2010 Budget Outturn
66
70,000
56,000
30,000
€362m
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BACKGROUND
The Need for Reform
• Existing schemes reflect the incremental and sectorbased growth of higher and further education in Ireland
• Multiplicity of agencies
• Administratively inefficient
• Open to abuse
• Causes customer confusion
• Lacks consistency of application
• Results in late payment of grants
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Student Support Bill
Reform Objectives
•
Simplification: One Scheme, One Source
•
Improved efficiency of administration
•
More consistent application of the scheme
•
Greater transparency of processes
•
Increased automation
•
More information – studentfinance.ie
•
Greatly enhanced service for students
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eGovernment
The Drivers of Change
• Student Grants Reform Programme
•
•
•
•
•
Modernisation/Automation
Paper driven inefficiencies – data input requirement
Up to 60% return rate for incomplete forms
Public Expectation
EU Benchmarking
• Crisis in Administration
• 30% increase in applications in 2009 alone
• Increases in complexity and appeals
• Public Service moratorium
• Sectoral response to crisis
• Potential for client confusion
• TPS – Single Grants Authority
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eGovernment
Key Facilitators of Change
 Partnership
 DES, CDVEC, DLR Co Co, CMOD, Revenue
 Front-end development - utilised existing VEC and LA systems
 Preparation
 Support of D/Finance including BPR exercise under TPS
 Project managed by CDVEC
 Process
 Tendering process – clear requirements in RFT
 Project implementation – clear responsibilities and timelines
 Robust agreement, communications and delivery arrangements
with iSoft Business Solutions
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eGovernment
Implementation
• Extremely tight timeframe
• RFT published 6 May 2010
• Go live date 16 August 2010
• Security Audit – high risk personal/means information
• Went live on 9 September 2010
• Initially 11 VECs and local authorities
• Further roll-out in 2011
• Development of single agency system
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eGovernment
Benefits
• Improved efficiency of administration
• Greater resource efficiency – data input savings
• Greater accuracy of data
• Fully complete applications – system requirement
• Qualitative improvement even with PDF downloads
• Strongly positive customer reaction
• Further potential in single authority
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Kay Cullinan
Head of Grant Services
City of Dublin VEC
Brian Power, Principal Officer
Higher Education - Equity of Access
Department of Education and Skills
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