We are currently running a number of projects on an international and national level. Prominent amongst these is the PASCAL Universities Regional Engagement (PURE) project being offered in 19 regions in four continents. We are also involved in a number of projects part-funded by the European Commission within its Lifelong Learning programme with partners across Europe.
Some projects are being undertaken for subscribing members such as Kent County Council and Skills Development Scotland. Other projects are being carried out for other agencies.
If you are interested in the work described in the details that follow and want to learn more, then please contact our Executive Officer, Dr Alan Foster [1].
PASCAL Universities for a Modern Renaissance (PUMR) is an ongoing and developing programme focussed among college and university members of the PASCAL International Observatory. Members in PASCAL affirm a commitment to using the best principles of social capital, place management, and life-long learning to inspire and sustain strategic partnerships with policy makers, professional practitioners (both public and private), businesses and communities in their regions to secure improvement to regional competitiveness and the quality of life for all residents.
PASCAL’s PUMR program helps improve the effectiveness of regional partnerships by creating a learning network among college and university peers, and then with local businesses and communities. Regional engagement is still a new art within higher education. Many of our institutions still struggle to achieve widespread commitment to the goals, and even when they do commit, to delivering effective engagement. There is much to learn from the experiences of our peers, and we have a responsibility to the profession to document our learning and disseminate it broadly.
The learning network begins with an endowment of knowledge about successful university engagement that has been pioneered by PASCAL Board Member, Professor James Powell of Salford University (UK) [1]. By using this knowledge as a starting point, PUMR is a global attempt to go beyond simply ‘reaching out’ in a generalised fashion, to society. It is a programme for constructive action fuelled by knowledge, skills and facilities made available through colleges and universities. PUMR participants pledge to develop new models for regional transformation and modern renaissance, and new ways of working for the co-identification of, and solutions to, problems of priority concern in civic society.
This is achieved through deep, meaningful and maturing conversations between universities and their community partners.
The current knowledge base emphasises the following key factors:
What does PUMR offer?
PASCAL’s Advisory Board has set up a working party to develop an initial work plan for the PUMR programme. The goal is to create a “virtuous learning circle” that will allow participants to expand this knowledge base and ‘know-how’ on a continuous basis, disseminate it through meetings, workshops, professional exchanges, peer consulting opportunities, and formal publication outlets, and by:
PASCAL International Observatory is eager to work with any university that seeks to participate in this exciting new initiative.
Participation is possible through becoming a university member of PASCAL at one of two levels which bring different benefits and associated membership fees. These are:
University network membership
For a fee of €10,000 pa, members have access to relevant knowledge networks, guidance and toolkits available only through the PUMR pages of the PASCAL website and a programme of coaching based on the UPBEAT model; priorities according to member concerns
Full Service programme members
For a fee (the extent of which will depend on specific services negotiated) over two years, members will participate in a global study based on the PURE methodology pioneered by Pascal, involving expert benchmarking and assessment, a monitored action development programme, and further assessment, leading to possible validation as a PUMR.
More information?
For more information, please contact James Powell [3].
[1] See www.ac.salford.ac.uk/james-powell/ [4] for additional background information see Appendix I, which illuminates the vision for PUMR by comparing the Old with the Modern Renaissance as PASCAL currently sees it.
[2] So, for Instance the University of Victoria is engaging the ‘Binners’ of its City, and also in Sao Paulo, through powerful, cost-effective and sustainable waste management developments for the benefit of all their citizens.
[3] Five Universities in the North West of the UK have developed a programme of learning with 150 small to medium sized enterprise (SME) aimed at improving their innovation for wealth creation; known by the SMEs as ‘Bouncing Higher’, this programme increased their ‘Gross Value Added’ profits by an average of 24.5% - new skills acquired through nine evening action learning meetings, tailored open learning and virtual coaching. 360,000 such SMEs existing in the NW of the UK could similarly benefit, and millions throughout the world.
[4] Peoples Voice Media, a social enterprise working closely with two Greater Manchester Universities is coaching a thousand ‘Community Reporter’ in a constructive development known as ‘Reuters for the Community’; using sensible, sensitive and cost-effective social media networking this project could enable the sort of ‘Media Conversation’ the BBC is looking to promote in the UK when it moves to Manchester
[5] The University of British Columbia is working with local citizens to empower them to ‘do-it-yourself’ in retrofitting their homes to become carbon zero and highly sustainable.
[6] The UN Global Cities programme, led by RMIT in Melbourne Australia, works across the world to ensure smart city futures enabling citizens and communities to gain confidence to flourish in the global knowledge economy.
[7] The Aalto University’s Camp for Social Innovation is using the skills of University expertise through the world to work with citizens in Helsinki to empower them to help solve six major local problems in their city; key in this is to use ‘Flip-video’ technology linked to powerful social media networks to continuously improve prospective solutions.
EUROlocal - European storehouse on the local and regional dimension of Lifelong Learning.
The term ‘Learning Region’ is commonplace in the lifelong learning debate. This is logical -they are a key plank of EC policy - places where lifelong learning is implemented. The EC definition is 'A city, town or region which recognises and understands the key role of learning in the development of prosperity, stability and personal fulfilment, and mobilises all its resources creatively to develop the full human potential of all its citizens.’ These resources include both people and organisations - VET, HEIs, SME's, local authorities, schools and adult education, all key stakeholders in a learning region.
Activity abounds. PENR3L's Limerick Declaration identified economic, social and environmental indicators distinguishing learning cities and regions. Germany is covered by more than 64 learning regions, UK and Finnish national learning city networks boast 100+ members and the EC has itself supported projects and programmes to create learning regions, notably the R3L programme, TELS, LILLIPUT, INDICATORS, PALLACE, LILARA, PENR3L and others. All this effort has produced data,tools,indicators,reports,videos,projects,recommendations,plans,strategies,learning materials - a wealth of potentially valuable knowledge for EU regions that urgently needs to be brought together in one place and made available to them. There is a clear qualitative difference in a learning region, and yet research shows that in many places there is little awareness or action. In EUROlocal, PENR3L , a network created by an EC project to spread the learning region message, will lead other networks in gathering together all European knowledge and practice in this area from all sources across all sectors and countries, test the tools, find the best practice, dynamically organise it in an interactive website, produce learning materials, and actively disseminate and exploit it to effect a transformation of Europe's regions. The impact this would have on regional economies and social well-being is huge.
Lynette Jordan, Principal Investigator
The University of Glasgow, through its Department of Adult and Continuing Education undertakes leading-edge, internationally-competitive research and development, while offering a challenging learning environment. As the adult education arm of a leading international university, we bring global knowledge and practice to local and national and European adult and lifelong education. DACE hosts the European centre for PASCAL (the Observatory for Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions), a global network of academics and practitioners in lifelong learning; PASCAL is the administration centre for PENR3L (PASCAL European Network of Lifelong Learning Regions), a European network of expertise in every country on learning regions, established in 2008 by a grant from the EC. This network will be mobilised to ensure the success of EUROlocal, and a number of sub-contractors are drawn from PENR3L to ensure pan-European coverage.
The role of the organisation in the project:
PASCAL will act as coordinator, ensuring good management, high quality and smooth running. It will lead the work package on the development of the Audit working with other partners to create a quality document that will facilitate the collection of data on learning regions from all sources. It will gather the knowledge in UK, Ireland and Benelux using PENR3L members to assist, and contact European regional development organisations. It will analyse the data obtained, organise tests of tools and develop dissemination/marketing/learning materials that enable regions to use them. It will organise a seminar for academics, education decision-makers and regional practitioners to discuss the data and its implications for regional development. It will host meetings and attend the other workshop. It will also manage other assigned workpackages and produce reports and information required by the Commission. It will assist the web developer to construct a quality fit for purpose product.
Antonio Massari, International Unit Coordinator
Universus is a non-profit University consortium, a linking, flexible and pro-active organisation between the field of University education (with its scientific and research potential) and the industrial, service and territory sectors in the dynamic and evolving Apulia region.
Universus works in these fields: Management, Energy and the Environment, Quality, Construction and Territorial planning, Cultural Heritage, ITC, Technology (plant engineering, quality, security, mechatronics), Health and safety.
The know-how gained in over 30 years of activity places Universus as an experienced and accredited organisation in designing training courses and learning pathway in the vocational and managerial training sector. Its activities, such as the “Regional Eco-development Centre", testify its knowledge and expertise in the sustainable approach culture.
Universus participates to several European training network, as EUCEN, THENUCE, ICEE and realized several European projects.
The role of the organisation in the project:
Universus, as a core partner in EUROlocal will participate in all work packages. It will bring its expertise to the drafting of the Learning Regions Audit and use its extensive knowledge of Italian regions to amass the information which will be presented on the website. It will also use its other European network contacts, including PENR3L, in Southern Europe to oversee the collection of data there. It will also play its full part in the management structure of EUROlocal, taking charge of the implementation of the exploitation workpackage and supervising the provision of all reports. Its experience in using a learning region framework for integrating the efforts of VET, HE, Adult Education, SMEs and local and regional authorities in Puglia will be invaluable to the project. It will test tools and help write, translate and distribute learning materials and marketing literature.
Jutta Thinesse-Demel, 1st President
Learning regions in Germany through the past vast years have taken a leading role in establishing, planning, delivering and supporting lifelong learning, adult learning, VET and education initiatives. LERNENDE REGIONEN DEUTSCHLAND e.V. (LRD) is a national association, which emerged from the German national programme "Learning regions". It is aiming at the mainstreaming the products and results aroused by 75 German Learning Regions to umbrella-organisations, ministries, city or regional councils in Germany and other European countries and thus helps to create pilot-regions for lifelong learning-initiatives. Furthermore the association is offering guidance and concrete educational programmes to cities and regions.
The role of the organisation in the project:
LRD, as a core partner in EUROlocal will participate in all work packages. It will bring its expertise to the drafting of the Learning Regions Audit and use its extensive network of 64 regions in Germany to amass the information which will be presented on the website. It will also use its other European network contacts, including PENR3L, in France and Benelux to oversee the collection of data there. This includes some working with European Commission DGs and associations. It will also play its full part in the management structure of EUROlocal, taking charge of the quality control workpackage and supervising the collection of the regional database in workpackage 6. Its experience in using the German learning region framework for integrating the efforts of VET, HE, Adult Education, SMEs and local and regional authorities will be invaluable to the project. It will test tools and help write, translate and distribute learning materials and marketing literature. It will host the seminar.
Balazs Nemeth, Head of Centre
The Regional Lifelong Learning Research Centre is an integral part of the University of Pécs (27.000 students; 3000 employees), the second biggest in Hungary. The university has 10 faculties and operates a Faculty of Adult Education and HRD that has a 30 years experience in researching the education and training of adults, including those from Industry. The Faculty is one of the outstanding educational and research centres in Hungarian higher education in the field of adult education, human resource management, cultural management and lifelong learning. The University is an official member of EUA, the Hungarian Universities’ Lifelong Learning Network (MELLearN). The Regional Lifelong Learning Research Centre is leading the learning region initiative in the South-western region of Hungary, which promotes knowledge transfer between University, Industry and Regional developers in all sectors. It is thus well placed to play a defining role in EUROlocal.
The role of the organisation in the project:
Pecs University will contribute to the development of a Learning Regions Audit that will be applied to European regions in order to collect data on learning region activity for uploading onto the web site. It is responsible for obtaining and analysing data from Hungary and the Eastern countries - Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Poland, Austria and the Czech Republic, and for actively marketing the concept to regions in these countries through the associations and networks for schools, adult education. universities and regional administrations. PENR3L members will help in this. It will provide reports as necessary and lead the workpackages on tools testing, publicity literature and dissemination. It will help to organise and attend the project seminar. It will keep to the timetable, manage locally and insert quality into all its activities.
Over the past decade, the Learning Region has become a widely adopted concept in European education policies. However the concept has taken different forms and has been reflected in a variety of network figurations. From different departures points and though various pathways many projects have developed domain specific knowledge in the area of social capital building, governance and institution building, stakeholder collaboration, public-private partnerships and transversal cooperation. The basic intention of the R3L+ project is to capitalize on this diversity by bringing together actors from our respective countries in order to learn from each other and jointly elaborate a common quality framework for the development and management of cooperative learning arrangements among educational providers, SMEs and public agencies.
Findings from recent evaluations have shown that a major obstacle towards a broader diffusion of the learning regions concept is a lack of common quality instruments, which would allow for trusting and sustainable cooperation among educational actors. Following the priority of the Grundtwig call, the project will address the problem of improving quality in adult education by reflecting good practice to be found in Learning Regions in the light of the Common Quality Assurance Framework (CQAF). More specifically the project will capitalize on good practice found in Learning Regions, and further develop a common set of quality methods and instruments to ensure the development, assurance and improvement of the quality of learning networks in compliance with the Common Quality Assurance Framework.
From the project results the partners will derive a handbook, best practice guide and training module for managers and stakeholders of learning regions, which will allow for the effective planning, implementation, evaluation and review of cooperation among educational providers within Learning Regions.
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Links:
[1] https://pascalobservatory.org/contact/alan_foster
[2] http://twitter.com/share
[3] https://pascalobservatory.org/contact/james_powell
[4] http://www.ac.salford.ac.uk/james-powell/
[5] http://www.scribd.com
[6] https://pascalobservatory.org/sites/default/files/flyer_engl_druck_3mmb_0.pdf