Get in touch
get in touch

Education & Careers

Making complex data collections simple, agile, and user-centred

Education & Skills Funding Agency – Data Collections

The Education & Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) manages the collection of learner data to distribute public funds for further education via colleges, training organisations, local authorities, and employers. The existing service placed a significant burden on providers, was costly to run, and suffered from low trust among stakeholders. ESFA needed a modern, agile solution that would improve usability, reduce costs, and rebuild confidence in the agency.

Challenge

The service was struggling with:

  • A complex, high-effort submission process for providers.
  • Low trust in ESFA’s ability to deliver an effective service.
  • The need to meet Government Digital Service (GDS) standards while integrating with legacy business processes.
  • Diverse user groups with high digital capability but very different barriers to successful service use.

Our Approach

Apprilis supported ESFA through an accelerated transformation programme, applying agile delivery and GDS methodology across discovery, alpha, and beta phases:

  • Discovery (2 weeks): Gathered insights from existing support teams, internal users, and ‘expert’ users to form a strong evidence base.
  • Alpha (8 weeks): Built and tested coded prototypes through contextual interviews, card sorting, surveys, group sessions, and taxonomy research. Over 400 users were involved, ensuring diverse perspectives.
  • Private Beta (4 weeks): Iterated prototypes into a working service with user stories and backlog items shaped directly by findings.

Through the research, Apprilis identified three critical factors that shaped how users engaged with the service:

  1. Knowledge – availability of information.
  2. Comprehension – clarity and interpretation of information.
  3. Application – ability to apply understanding to meet obligations and goals.

We embedded these insights into the backlog as features and user stories. UX specialists worked closely with business analysts, architects, and developers to ensure the final product aligned both with user needs and ESFA’s clearly defined business processes.

Impact

  • Service successfully passed GDS Discovery, Alpha, and Beta assessments, launching into Public Beta.
  • Reduced burden on providers by simplifying data submission processes.
  • Kickstarted a wider programme of cultural transformation within ESFA’s data science function.
  • Improved stakeholder confidence in ESFA’s ability to deliver digital services.
  • Positioned ESFA to continue scaling the service with agile, user-centred principles.

Key Outcomes

  • 400+ users engaged during research phases.
  • Discovery completed in 2 weeks, Alpha in 8 weeks, and Private Beta in 4 weeks.
  • Service launched into Public Beta with strong GDS compliance.
  • Tangible cost savings and improved usability for further education providers.

Ready to explore further?

Delivering comprehensive and collaborative services worldwide for lasting impact

explore our services