Memorandum submitted by the British Council
This has been a particularly important year
for the British Council. While we were forced to suspend two of
our operations in Russia in St Petersburg and Ekaterinburg, we
remain open in Moscow.
An NAO audit, undertaken at the request of this
committee, confirmed that our performance is strong and valued
by our customers.
In addition, we achieved worldwide impact and
direct benefit to the UK through our large-scale, global programmes.
Highlights in 2007-08 include:
— engaging directly with 15.6 million
people through our programmes and reaching a further 112 million
people online and through broadcast;
— customers' and partner income generating
almost £2 for every £1 of government grant;
— teaching 300,000 learners of English,
earning £202 million;
— delivering 1.8 million UK examinations
and qualifications—earning £35 million in exports for
UK exam boards;
— positioning the UK as a market leader
in international education, helping to attract the half million
foreign students who contribute £8.6 billion to the UK economy;
— linking 300,000 young people in 900
schools through our Connecting Classrooms programme;
— piloting International Inspiration,
a global sports and community leadership programme which will
reach 12 million young by 2012—helping to deliver the UK's
Olympic sporting legacy;
— making 53 research grants totalling
almost £8 million through our UK-India Education and Research
Initiative;
— supporting UK arts and creative organisations
to work around the world and helping the best of the world's talent
to work with UK artists;
— shifting 41% of our programme resources
onto higher impact, larger-scale regional and global activities
(compared with 11% in 2006-07); and
— making in-year savings of £4.5
million to achieve our target of £13 million over the last
three-year spending review.
VALUE FOR
MONEY
Achieving impact through global programmes
Achieving Impact, a year-long study by
the National Audit Office, confirmed that our performance is strong
and valued by our customers and stakeholders. The report endorsed
our drive to re-align our priorities and increase effectiveness
and efficiency, particularly: transferring resources to the Middle
East and priority countries; regional working; and, the development
of large-scale projects through our new commissioning process.
The NAO noted the challenge of managing so many interdependent
change programmes across a dispersed global network.
Last year's total audience figure of 128 million
was the largest in our history. However, we saw a 5% reduction
in those with whom we "engaged directly". This reduction
is a result of our transition from smaller local projects to regional
and global projects, some of which only came on stream mid-year.
Early evidence of these large scale projects shows higher levels
of customer satisfaction and, from this year, increasing numbers
of key audiences being reached. We are on track to achieve a shift
of 80% of our total operational spend onto larger-scale regional
and global activity by the end of 2010.
Meeting our spending review commitments
2007-08 saw the end of the 04 Spending Review.
Over the three-years we worked directly with 47 million people,
had indirect contact with a further 234 million and continued
our shift of resources into areas of priority for the UK and onto
larger-scale regional programmes. We met our efficiency target,
achieving £13.1 million of savings—£10.7 million
of which were cashable.
GENERATING INCOME
THROUGH ENGLISH
LANGUAGE TEACHING
In 2007-08 we taught English to 300,000 learners
in 49 countries, and delivered 1.8 million exams to 1.3 million
individuals. This activity generated £202 million (an increase
of 11% on the previous year) and £35 million in export earnings
for UK exam boards. This activity is delivered at no cost to public
funds.
Our products remained in high demand. Every
month over 1 million viewers accessed more than three million
pages on our free-to-access websites and 1.6 million lesson plans
were downloaded by English teachers delivering lessons to around
48 million learners.
We are also contracted by foreign governments
to help meet specific English-language needs. This year the Rwandan
Government asked us to provide English courses for its civil servants.
To date 140 participants have enrolled on the programme.
LARGE-SCALE,
GLOBAL PRODUCTS
Over the last year we continued to focus our
global programme activity on three corporate objectives:
1. inter-cultural dialogue;
2. supporting the UK's creative and knowledge
economy; and
3. highlighting the case for tackling climate
change.
1. INTERCULTURAL
DIALOGUE (ICD)
ICD strengthens understanding between and within
different cultures. We promote active and constructive participation
in society and counter deficits of trust.
Connecting Classrooms
Connecting Classrooms builds and supports links
between pupils, education professionals, schools and school systems
in the UK and around the world. The programme supports DCSF and
devolved administrations' agendas to internationalise education,
and the parallel agendas of foreign Education Ministries. It fosters
international awareness and global citizenship, builds the capacity
of teachers and head teachers, and works with Education Ministries
and curriculum authorities to influence educational reform. Over
300,000 young people in 900 schools were linked between 2006 and
2008. By 2013 we will connect 30,000 schools and two million young
people.
Global Xchange
Global Xchange is our reciprocal, international
volunteering programme run in partnership with VSO. GX links young
people and community leaders from the UK with young people in
developing countries. Since its launch, 550 young people have
taken part in 42 international exchanges in 20 countries. This
year the programme will work with around 150 additional young
people linking communities in the UK with communities in Pakistan,
Nigeria and Bangladesh amongst others.
2. SUPPORTING
THE UK'S
CREATIVE AND
KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY
Activity under this objective promotes the UK's
position as a global hub for the world's creative and knowledge
economies.
International Young Creative Entrepreneur Awards
Growing in stature and international recognition,
this programme identifies the best emerging entrepreneurial talent
in the UK and overseas. In doing so, we build connections for
Britain which support growth and the long-term viability of the
UK's creative economy.
Young Creative Entrepreneurs are identified
for awards in nine sectors (communications, design, fashion, interactive
software and gaming, music, performing arts, publishing, screen
and visual arts). This year we also ran five awards (emboldened
above) for creative entrepreneurs based in the UK highlighting
the contribution that they make to the development of their sector.
London Book Fair—increasing the flow of
talent and ideas into the UK
This year we provided the cultural programme
for the London Book Fair's Market Focus on the Arab world. The
event brought together writers, publishers and journalists from
the 20 countries and two states which have Arabic as their registered
official language. We ran a seminar series that celebrated the
strength and diversity of Arabic literature and encouraged collaboration
between UK and Arab publishers and translators. We will build
on the resulting connections when Britain is the country of honour
at the Cairo Book Fair in January 09.
Prime Minister's Initiative for International
Education (PMI2)
We manage this project, which has released £5
million of funding to 170 organisations in the higher and further
education sectors (HE and FE). HE projects have focused on enabling
UK universities to deliver programmes overseas; increasing the
outward mobility of UK students; and greater research co-operation.
FE projects have supported innovative approaches to the design
and delivery of training and education programmes; and broadened
the scope of UK FE and Sixth Form Colleges' international activities.
3. TACKLING CLIMATE
CHANGE
This programme aims to support young people's
understanding of the challenges of climate change; they, in turn,
engage with global leaders, influencers and wider publics around
these issues.
International Climate Champions (ICC)
ICC initially identified young people in the
13 countries key to developing an international consensus on tackling
climate change (including Brazil, Canada, China, India, the UK
and the US). In 2007-08, we brought young people to London to
develop a "Kobe Challenge" outlining the actions that
world leaders should take to tackle climate change, which they
presented at the G8 Environment Ministers in Kobe in May 2008:
a unique opportunity for young people to have worldwide impact
and support a UK government priority. Following Kobe, 5 young
people from communities vulnerable to climate change presented
personal accounts to the Global Humanitarian Forum in June. Building
on this, we are creating a global network of climate champions
to advocate the continued need for action on climate change.
BRITISH COUNCIL
AROUND THE
WORLD
Our global presence in 110 countries is a unique
resource for the UK. Through our platform and programmes we contribute
to the policy priorities of the FCO. In doing so we focus on three
broad areas:
1. countering trust gaps;
2. major emerging economies; and
3. connecting people cut off from international
discourse.
Examples of some of our activity in each is
set out below.
1. COUNTERING
TRUST GAPS
In Saudi Arabia we support education reform
and provide opportunities for target groups to contribute to social
change. Working with the King Abdullah School project we are developing
leadership skills and methodology training for 400,000 teachers
in 41 educational regions. Our Springboard programme has trained
600 women helping them to respond to and shape social change and
in partnership with the World Economic Forum we are giving young
Saudis a voice in shaping regional agendas.
Supporting our wider activity in the Islamic
world, we are working with Al Azhar University, the seat of Sunni
learning, teaching English to 500 of their brightest student Imams.
2. MAJOR EMERGING
ECONOMIES
Through our presence and activities across the
major emerging economies we develop links into new market places,
support skills agendas and respond to ever increasing demand for
high-quality English-language teaching.
Last year in mainland China we saw a 68% increase
in exam uptake: 258,000 people sat UK exams and professional qualifications
through us. We developed an Alumni UK network of 15,000 returned
graduates (from the UK) and help them to contribute to China's
business and social needs through our policy and institutional
partnerships in employability and entrepreneurship.
991 cultural institutions in the UK, mainland
China, Hong Kong and Macau have become members of our Connections
through Culture programme, run in partnership with the Foreign
and Commonwealth Office and Department for Culture, Media and
Sport.
Climate Cool, our two-year climate campaign,
has already reached 160,000 school pupils, 658 teachers and 584
journalists.
In India we launched Project English to train
"Master teacher-trainers" which will reach 750,000 teachers
and more than two million students in five years. We are developing
English language products for business in India including UK companies.
In addition we are supporting the Market Focus on India at next
year's London Book Fair.
3. CONNECTING
PEOPLE CUT
OFF FROM
INTERNATIONAL DISCOURSE
British Council offices and information centres
provide an important lifeline for people who are unable freely
to connect to the world.
Last year in Zimbabwe, 71,000 people visited
our Information Centres in Bulawayo and Harare. 1,945 people took
exams with us and 37 Zimbabwean young people were able to study
at a UK Higher Education programme through the Chevening Programme.
In Burma, over 246,000 people pass through our
information centres in Rangoon and Mandalay ever year. We offer
uncensored web and media access and space for free discussions.
In addition over 4,000 people took examinations with us.
Looking forward
We believe our cultural relations mission remains
as important today as when we were first established. We operate
independently of the FCO but support its foreign policy priorities
and remain one of the key instruments for securing the United
Kingdom's reputation abroad. We play a fundamental role in our
country's public diplomacy by building long-term, sustainable,
two-way engagement which leads to a platform of positive influence
for the UK.
We secured a "flat-cash" settlement
in the recent comprehensive spending review with additional funding
of £9 million for our efficiency and modernisation programme
and £6 million for priority programmes for young people in
the Islamic world. While this demonstrates that a high value is
placed on our work, the tight financial settlement gives some
future operating challenges.
Next year is our 75th Anniversary and is an
important opportunity to raise our profile in the UK. We will
draw on our rich history, celebrate our achievements and refresh
relations with the hundreds of millions of people whose lives
we have touched since 1934.
20 October 2008
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