In 2001 the Trustees of the Nuffield Foundation established the Nuffield Languages Programme. Its brief was to:

• help translate the Inquiry's key messages into action, working alongside government, key agencies in the language field and other potential partners;

• promote specific initiatives, selecting a range of projects to benefit from Nuffield funding and seeking additional material support from other sources where appropriate;

• contribute to policy debate, monitor policy-related developments and engage in international exchange of information and experience on issues of language policy;

• secure promotion of the importance of languages in the UK, maintaining the high profile for languages achieved by the Inquiry and keeping its vision of the future in the public eye;

• encourage leadership and strategic action on the part of government with the aim of making the group's existence unnecessary within two years.


The Programme's activities
The Programme based its activities on the Nuffield Inquiry's conclusions, published in the report Languages: the next generation.
A balance of activities was agreed by the Steering Group. In addition to engaging in policy debate and maintaining a high profile for languages, they organised activities within the following two categories:
• commissioning major policy-related initiatives, the results of which fed into national policy development;
• awarding grants to innovative projects with the potential to enhance opportunities for people of all ages to learn languages other than English in the UK.

A range of reports and other documents produced by the Programme are available. It is permissible to reproduce extracts from these for non-commercial purposes provided that the source is acknowledged and the findings are not misrepresented.