Letter to the Chairman of the Committee
from the Director General, British Council, dated 4 August 2006
Dear Chairman,
I am writing to provide the additional information
requested by the Foreign Affairs Committee during the recent evidence
session on the British Council.
Firstly, the committee requested clarification
on the costs of the production in India of A Midsummer Night's
Dream. You may recall I estimated in oral evidence that these
were in the range of £250,000.
The total British Council funding over three
financial years (2004-05 to 2006-07) was £259,255. The project
attracted £208,000 in partnership funding bringing the total
to £467,000.[1]
This covered the cost of creating this large-scale production
from scratch and a four-city tour of India, seen by capacity audiences
of 8,500.
The project formed one of the centrepieces of
the India public diplomacy initiative, jointly undertaken by the
FCO and the British Council, seeking to build forward-looking
partnerships in areas demonstrating innovation and creativity,
aimed at inspiring India's rising generation of decision-makers
to choose the UK. Critics have likened the production in importance
to Peter Brook's landmark staging for the RSC of 1970.
The project has been a collaborative venture
drawing together British and Indian artists, performers, musicians,
technicians and designers to create a new interpretation of Shakespeare's
play drawing on the cultural creativity of both India and the
UK. Its aim was to demonstrate the UK's commitment to working
in a mutual manner with India's artistic scene and to achieving
high-profile impact for the public diplomacy initiative. Developed
in the seven principal languages in use in India, it has enabled
us to help reposition the UK's cultural relationship with India
to one based on genuine collaboration and equality, with 176 positive
articles including in most major Indian daily and weekly publications.
The inclusion of the play in the RSC's Complete
Works season in Stratford provided added profile in the India
media. Additional impact will now flow from two further years
of UK and international touring, including seasons in London and
Stratford, an extensive return tour to India and visits to East
Asia, North America and Europe. These tours will be substantially
funded by partners, with the British Council making only modest
interventions where necessary.
Secondly, further to my comments in reply to
Q200, I offered to inform the Committee of the teaching centres
that we are considering closing in 2006-07. These are Kosice,
Varna, Chittagong, Istanbul and Tel Aviv.
Thirdly, on Kyrgyzstan, whilst we have
no permanent public presence in the country, we carry out a cost-effective
outreach programme from our Kazakhstan directorate in Almaty.
Each year we demonstrate at least two aspects
of the UK's creativity in the arts. We brough British films to
both the 2005 and 2006 European Film week in Bishkek. In autumn
2005 we presented the "Magic Pencil" exhibition of work
by illustrators of UK children's literature, and during 2004 we
presented the Barbican Piano trio, the Spree Jazz band and the
film "Anita and Me".
In 2005 we also ran a seminar on "Children
as Readers" for local children's librarians and teachers
of English to introduce aspects of UK best practice in reader
development. This seminar complemented the "Magic Pencil"
exhibition, with a British librarian and a children's book illustrator
taking part. This autumn we are planning a short residency for
a UK artist to conduct workshops with local artists and show his
works as part of a wider UK-Central Asia contemporary arts exchange
project.
We are also active in Krygyzstan through our
implementation of the Peace-keeping English Project (PEP) funded
by the Ministry of Defence and the FCO. This supports the professional
development of Military English teachers, the development of curricula,
the building up of a testing system to internationally recognised
standards, and the setting up of self-access centres, to enable
Kyrgyz military personnel to participate more effectively in a
multi-national environment. The self-access centres provide services
to more than 200 learners of English in Bishkek and Osh. We ran
an international summer school in Bishkek this summer for language
teachers from countries in the PEP region, including participants
from Kyrgyzstan.
We also implement two EU funded projects in
Kyrgyzstan. The larger of these, "Strengthening the Implementation
of the Comprehensive Development Framework in the Kyrgyz Republic",
follows an earlier two-year phase, is an 18-month project, with
a budget of 750,000 euros. This works to build capacity in the
Strategic Development and Expertise Department of the Presidential
Administration to monitor and evaluate progress in implementation
of the country development strategy. The second project strengthens
the capacity of the National Statistical Offices to provide accurate,
reliable and timely data using international standards and methods.
This latter project is regional and is also being implemented
in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
Our further plans for Kyrgyzstan in 2006 include
outreach visits to promote UK educational opportunities to young
professionals, university students and teachers of English, and
development of our support for learners and teachers of English
through partnership work with a library.
Finally, I offered to provide information on
the British Council's staff survey. A paper on this is attached.
With kind regards,
Sir David Green KCMG
Director-General
STAFF SURVEY
2006
In response to the Committee's request for further
information on the British Council staff survey please see below
a short summary, action being taken and the complete results.
SUMMARY
The staff survey was run for the fourth consecutive
year by the market research company Ipsos MORI on behalf of the
British Council.
Staff were invited between 3 January and 3 February
2006 to complete a 44 question survey online in English or a paper
version translated into a variety of languages. As in previous
surveys, the questions covered staff opinion on management, understanding
of strategy, the employment offer, values, as well as diversity.
There was an opportunity to add verbatim comments.
The survey is open to all staff in the organisation.
In 2004, 61% of staff responded, in 2005 73% and this year again
73%. MORI norm figures are 59% for the private sector and 49%
for the public sector.
The survey shows a strong improvement in staff
perceptions of greater teamworking with colleagues outside their
immediate section. There are also improvements in line managers
listening and responding to staff concerns.
Staff report they know what is expected of them
and that they are treated without discrimination. They also feel
pay is fair compared to similar jobs in external organisations.
Please see below four areas for action: leadership
and middle managers, organisational vision, examining leadership
and teacher initiatives.
ACTION
The following actions are in train as a result
of the survey:
1. Leadership and middle managers
The deterioration in the scores among middle
managers was noted as a concern. There is a clear gap between
perceptions of senior management/country directors and middle
managers. This could affect the organisation's ability to take
change programmes forward.
There is a encouraging lesson to learn from
the way Country Directors report very positively and do not feel
disenfranchised which was a risk identified in the regionalisation
programme. This is attributable to the effort Regional Directors
have made in working with Country Directors.
Anne Wozencraft, Director Human Resources has
already presented the results to the Global Leadership Team and
emphasised the need to ensure better communications between Country
Directors/UK Heads of Department and their teams with the areas
of focus as professionalism, leadership and clarity of vision
and goals.
2. Organisational vision
The results suggest a need to adapt the approach
to help staff understand the organisation's overall business strategy.
Specifically, there is a need for consistency
in the language used when discussing the reason for change and
in communication coming from the different change programmes.
All messages should refer to the 2010 corporate
objectives as the context and reason for change.
To assist in the goal of ensuring the engagement
of staff, an external consultant will give advice to the senior
management team (SMT) on staff engagement and models of communication
during major change.
3. Examining leadership
Previous resolutions to address the issue of
confidence in SMT have not worked. There is a need to re-visit
assumptions around leadership held by both SMT and middle managers.
A project will run over the period May to June
2006 to develop a common understanding of British Council leadership
in order to recommend actions for SMT to take to improve staff
survey measures of their performance.
4. Teacher initiatives
Teachers continue to be significantly less positive
than other categories of staff. There are two initiatives that
are underway.
The first is the establishment of the English Job
Family Development Project post. The duties will include work
on a teachers' qualifications framework and performance management
and professional development for teachers. An experienced middle
manager from the English and Exams network took up post on 1 June.
The second project post is part of the Global Human
Resources Change Programme and focuses on developing a rationalised
and clear employment package for teachers and middle managers
in British Council teaching centres. An external HR consultant
is carrying out the project initiation stage, consulting British
Council managers and staff as appropriate.
RESULTS
| Question
| 06 | 05 |
04 |
| 1 | I know what is expected of me in my job
| 91 | 91 | 90
|
| 2 | I am given the support that I need to do my job well
| 73 | 74 | 70
|
| 3 | I regularly receive feedback about my performance
| 62 | 61 | 58
|
| 4 | I regularly receive feedback about how I can improve my performance
| 48 | 48 | 43
|
| 5 | My line manager listens to me
| 79 | 78 | 77
|
| 6 | My line manager responds to my concerns
| 74 | 73 | 71
|
| 7 | I know what the British Council's three corporate outcomes are
| 67 | 63 | 83
|
| 8 | I am able to see fully how my job contributes to one or more of the British Council's corporate outcomes
| 88 | 89 | 82
|
| 9 | I have sufficient opportunity to develop the skills I need in my current job
| 64 | 65 | 59
|
| 10 | I have sufficient opportunity, in my current job, to develop myself for the future
| 55 | 55 | 52
|
| 11 | I am encouraged regularly to look for ways of improving services to customers and clients
| 67 | 67 | 64
|
| 12 | My line manager encourages me to give him/her feedback on his/her performance
| 46 | 44 | 40
|
| 13 | At work I am supported when trying out new ideas even if risks are involved
| 57 | 55 | 52
|
| 14 | There is a strong sense of teamwork where I work
| 68 | 65 | 63
|
| 15 | I regularly work with people outside my immediate section
| 68 | 59 | 57
|
| 16 | I feel able to voice my feelings, views and concerns at work without fear of disapproval
| 59 | 60 | 55
|
| 17 | Team working and knowledge-sharing with colleagues in the regions and the UK helps me to be more effective
| 62 | 63 | 61
|
| 18 | I can be open about any mistakes I make at work rather than conceal them
| 76 | 79 | 78
|
| 19 | Where I work, all of the various activity teams are working towards common objectives
| 60 | 58 | 49
|
| 20 | I have confidence in the British Council's UK Senior Management Team at UK headquarters
| 40 | 43 | 44
|
| 21 | The British Council's UK Senior Management Team at UK headquarters demonstrates the British Council's values
| 42 | 43 | 44
|
| 22 | I have confidence in the leadership of my country/regional directorate or UK department
| 59 | 60 | 59
|
| 23 | Management in my country/region/UK department does what it says it is going to do
| 56 | 56 | 48
|
| 24 | Management in my country/region/UK department is open and honest
| 54 | 54 | 45
|
| 25 | I have a clear picture of the British Council's plans for the future
| 52 | 60 | 51
|
| 26 | Where I work, our programmes and services are based on principles of mutual respect, learning and benefit between the UK and other countries
| 74 | 73 | 0
|
| 27 | I feel confident that FABS (Financial and Business Systems) will bring long-term benefits to the way we work across the British Council
| 34 | 41 | 0
|
| 28 | I have a clear picture of the main aspects of strategy 2010
| 57 | 59 | 51
|
| 29 | I understand the reasoning behind the main aspects of strategy 2010
| 51 | 54 | 46
|
| 30 | I understand what strategy 2010 will mean for me in my job
| 40 | 41 | 32
|
| 31 | My line manager welcomes a diversity of viewpoints and opinions among staff
| 69 | 68 | 65
|
| 32 | Management in my country directorate/regional directorate or UK department deals effectively with poor performance
| 33 | 32 | 30
|
| 33 | I am satisfied that the British Council's recruitment policy and procedures are fair and transparent
| 54 | 53 | 47
|
| 34 | I am satisfied that, where I work, management applies the British Council's recruitment policy and procedures strictly as specified
| 59 | 58 | 54
|
| 35 | The British Council values all staff equally irrespective of their contractual status
| 50 | 48 | 43
|
| 36 | I feel I have the correct balance between my work and home lives
| 53 | 54 | 50
|
| 37 | Where I work people are treated without discrimination
| 71 | 71 | 68
|
| 38 | My overall benefits package is good
| 56 | 54 | 0
|
| 39 | My pay is fair compared to others in similar jobs in other organisations
| 39 | 39 | 0
|
| 40 | If asked by a friend, I would recommend the British Council as a place to work
| 69 | 70 | 63
|
| 41 | I am proud to work for the British Council
| 77 | 78 | 73
|
| 42 | I am aware of improvements where I work as a result of the last staff survey
| 34 | 37 | 31
|
| 43 | I am aware of improvements in the Council as a whole as a result of the last staff survey
| 29 | 31 | 27
|
| 44 | I think the British Council is a better place to work than 12 months ago
| 31 | 33 | 32
|
| | |
| |
1
Total non-British Council funding includes £144,000 from
the Public Diplomacy initiative fund and 64,000 from Hutchison
Essar Telecoms. Back
| 
