Trailblazer projects worry about future

Managers of identification, referral and tracking schemes are
concerned about their projects’ sustainability, according to new
research.

The evaluation of the 10 trailblazer projects said managers were
concerned about the short-term nature of pilots’ national
funding.

It adds that many managers felt under pressure to find local ways
to resource the projects once the pilot period was over. Pilots
have received a grant of £1m from the government to spend by
September 2004.

The research, conducted by Royal Holloway College, University of
London, also found that the lack of national guidance from the
government caused all the trailblazers to become engaged in
time-consuming and complex discussions about legal issues.
Trailblazers had developed links with one another to tackle this
problem.

The Children Bill, published four months after the research was
completed,Êaims to remove any legal barriers to
information-sharing.

Other problems included some agencies being unable to resource IRT
work and finding it difficult to make time to attend
meetings.

– Developing IRT Systems: An Evaluation of the Processes
Undertaken by Trailblazer Authorities: Early Findings from: www.dfes.gov.uk/research/