Research

In this section you can download research that the OFT has commissioned or undertaken on behalf of the consumer education Alliance:

Back to top

Research into Further Education (FE) tutors' format and teaching preferences (June 2007)

The OFT, on behalf of the consumer education Alliance, commissioned COI Strategic Consultancy to investigate the key requirements of an educational resource to FE (further education) teaching professionals.

In particular, to gain an understanding of:

• How FE tutors source teaching resources?
• What features give tutors the confidence and motivation to use a resource?
• What would help ensure that a resource would be used repeatedly now and in the future.

Download Consumer education: FE toolkit project research (pdf 154 kb).

The aim of the research was to support the OFT's development of a consumer education resource toolkit – a toolkit aimed to deliver consumer education through Key Skills and literacy and numeracy delivery, within the FE sector.

Back to top

Consumer education resource development: identifying target areas (November 2006)

Following the publication of Consumer education: establishing an evidence base, the OFT's consumer education team undertook desk research to:

• identify potential areas where the Alliance should focus its consumer education resource development work to make a positive difference
• identify areas which are currently well served by existing provision or where there is clear evidence of an established strategic approach.

The research was also to signpost consumer education providers and others to this established work not only to increase awareness of these initiatives and maximise their impact, but also to avoid duplicating existing provision and resources and the consequent waste of effort.

The results of the research were produced diagrammatically with five separate charts:

• consumer education audiences
• consumer education delivery channels
• a composite chart of consumer education audiences reached by delivery channels
• existing consumer education delivery by subject
• potentially vulnerable groups.

The charts can be downloaded along with the methodology which underpins this work and also explains the meaning of each chart

Download a copy of the methodology (pdf 74 kb)
Download the charts (pdf 123 kb).

Back to top

Mapping consumer education activity in the UK (April 2006)

The OFT, on behalf of the consumer education Alliance, commissioned COI Strategic Consultancy to carry out research to map existing consumer education provision in the UK. The aim of the research was to establish an evidence base which can be used to underpin our work in delivering coordinated, targeted and effective consumer education.

Download Consumer education: establishing an evidence base (pdf 162 kb).

The evidence base will play a vital role in informing the consumer education Planning Group's selection of priority areas and in enabling the Alliance to coordinate activities across the UK.

In the research COI identified over 60 consumer education initiatives. You can download details of the initiatives that were investigated.

For the purpose of analysis the initiatives were categorised as either:

• stand alone - consumer education initiatives that provide resources and a means of delivering materials to the consumer, or
• provision of resources - consumer education initiatives that provide resources but delivery to the consumer is left to others.

Download the table of stand alone consumer education initiatives (pdf 31 kb).
Download the table of provision of resources consumer education initiatives (pdf 30 kb).

Back to: Consumer education