Is e-KSF an eportfolio?

Background…

e-KSF is a nationally procured electronic system that holds a suit of tools to support the NHS personal development review (PDR) process. The PDR covers 3 main areas;

1. Review against the KSF - The KSF is a competency framework. The employee needs evidence to support their competency level.
2. Review against objectives - The objectives are usually work related business goals.
3. Personal development plan (PDP) – A development plan, can be based on KSF review, and Objective outcomes.

What can the eKSF system hold?

Both the employee and the manager can upload 1MB files; I don’t believe that there is a limit to the number of files. You cant tag the files which is frustrating.

• The employee has a free text box to write their evidence against each competency, there is a 4000 character word limit.
• Both the employee and manager have a space for additional comments. This is an area for more reflective and personal comments.
• In the PDP the employee has a record of all past and future development requirements. There is no place to record reflections after the activity has been completed.
• The individual also has a record of their objectives, with a single comments box.

The system is not a great eportfolio.

A few notes on how it could be made better…

• The emphasis of the system is the collection of evidence to support the competency framework. The system could be improved if it broadened it scope and gave more emphasis on learning, both formal and informal. This would potentially be more valuable for the employee, and they may be more inclined to use it.
• The system is viewable only by the manager or designated reviewers. It is not an employee centred system; the manager/administrators have control in who can view the evidence.
• The employee needs more control, a sense of ownership. At the moment it forms part of a formal review process. The system should be controlled by the employee and the content should ideally be accessible on their terms. The obvious down side to this is that the organisation will loose organisation wide progress reports.
• In general the e-KSF system needs bringing up-to-date. If it looked better and was easier to use, then more employees would be encouraged to use it.
• Unlike other eportfolio systems you can not present artefacts in different ‘views’ you can only refer to them within the written text which is not helpful. Having multiple views would allow the employee to use the evidence for more than just their KSF review.
• If employees could connect with using the system create communities, share learning and experiences. This would help embed a culture of learning.