This independent study aims to report and evaluate the project known as “Closer to Home, Closer to Work”.  The East of England Development Agency (EEDA) allocated funding from 1999 to 2001 across the county of Norfolk to assist in providing computer based training for students.  This funding stream added to the general provision of learning through Learning Shops, Outreach centres and Mobile computer units and as such is part of a general movement of change within the Further Education sector.  This research looks at some of the influences, processes and results of these changes.
The focus of Interim reports are to outline the progress of the “Closer to Home, Closer to Work” research project across Norfolk, and to begin to tease out the emergent themes that will be made in the Final Report which will be completed by March 31st 2002 and distributed during April 2002.
The Closer to Home, Closer to Work project came at a time of shifts in pattern of governance in England as regional government was established and the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) was set up.  Later the funding patterns for Further Education were to shift from the National Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) to the new Learning and Skills Councils (LSCs) which are county based rather than regionally based and encompass a larger remit than their predecessor. 
The developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) have fundamentally changed patterns of working and have caused concern as to the skills base of the country relative to international competitors, together with concerns about the social divisiveness of poor access to these skills.
At the same time changes in technology are bringing opportunities to revisit the way in which learning is both organised and offered.  The push towards widening the pool of participating students in learning, and the funding of ‘off site’ outreach facilities reflects these wider concerns.

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