Growing interest in its Publishing capabilities has won major UK institutional and corporate contracts for learning design specialist, Echelon Learning.

Using its bespoke content management system (CMS), the London-based company publishes learning and knowledge based materials on the web and in text for professional bodies offering students distance learning programmes, as well as repackaging data in the form of structured libraries of information for blue-chip intranets.

Via its generic resource of proven off-the-peg learning materials learningmatters.com/.

Echelon is meeting the needs of trainers and self-learners seeking training, personal development and job performance support.

The company hosts client sites and offers a lite learning management system (LMS) for distributing content via the web and for tracking usage.

Publishing has become increasingly central to our offer, says director David Hill. Organisations are increasingly recognising the importance of structuring their intranet-based knowledge and information through the content management of material so providing learning that is easy to access, and stored and displayed in an effective structure.

The time and cost-efficiencies being demonstrated by new capabilities in the electronic re-purposing and updating of content are also attractive to users, he adds.

Recent work undertaken with professional bodies developing qualification-based learning and continuous professional development (CPD) includes projects for the Royal Town Planning Institute, Institute of Civil Engineers, Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators, and Charted Institute of Personnel & Development.

Echelon Publishing has undertaken additionally work for blue-chip organisations seeking to repackage informational knowledge and learning to provide real-time performance solutions.

Corporate clients include BUPA, Vodafone, North West Development Agency, Moat House Hotels, Qualification Curriculum Authority, Westminster Kingsway College and Coventry Building Society.

Meanwhile, an award-winning initiative to help trust status seeking NHS hospitals capture improvement ideas from staff and patients has been introduced by Echelons consulting arm.

One Thousand Ideas is a three-month long programme enabling patients, users and staff to identify up to 1,000 practical opportunities for improved service delivery.

The initiative, which can be tailored to specific Trust needs, includes an implementation toolkit for use in all staff/PPI situations including expert patient groups and Foundation Trust member groups.

The programme has been rolled out in an acute Foundation Trust and a London teaching hospital.

Chelsea & Westminster NHS Trust won the 2005 Health Service Journal Communication Award for evidenced service improvements resulting from the initiative.