John Tibbitt, PASCAL Vice-chair for policy engagement, contributed to a recent study visit to Glasgow by Mayors from the cities around Tampere in Finland.  The focus for much of the visit, hosted by the European Policies Research Centre (EPRC) at Strathclyde University, was on the effective use of European Structural Funds.

The report “At the Heart of the City: Mayors on the Urban Future” (featured below) encompasses the captivating discussion that occurred during the Mayors Roundtable at the World Urban Forum 6 held in September 2012 in Naples, Italy.

Attended by 400 Mayors and Local Authority Associations, topics such as the financial architecture in countries, job creation strategies, women and youth empowerment and the need for an improved partnership between Ministers and Mayors were passionately debated.

The Scottish Futures Forum hosted the final seminar in a 4-part series sponsored by the Scottish Universities Insight Institute (SUII) at the Scottish Parliament on 19th November, bringing together academics, practitioners, businesses and policy-makers to take stock  of the discussions in earlier sessions and suggest priorities for 'next steps' in maximising the opportunities for Scotland from developing digital technologies.

It's easy now to catch up with the topics PASCAL has featured on Twiiter.  Visit our new page at www.twylah.com/obspascal . Updated daily, the page highlights issues organised according  to the main PASCAL themes.

This much improved guide is attractive and informative, and keeps topics in view for much longer than OBSERVATIONS Weekend, which is now discontinued.  

Your feedback would be welcome.

There's a new logo and whole new look to PASCAL's Twitter page.  We have more than 400 followers now from around the world, and the number continues to grow. Why not check out the site and join them for up-to-the-minute news, comment and links to the latest ideas relating to PASCAL themes?