Briefing Paper 15

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Observatory PASCAL
Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions PASCAL UNIVERSITIES REGIONAL ENGAGEMENT PROJECT (PURE) PURE Briefing Paper No. 15 October 2009
The work of the Cluster Forums is developing contact, initiating discussions and sharing information and progress amongst PURE colleagues and Regions.
A.
Scope and Purpose of this Briefing Paper This Briefing Paper is to introduce the Cluster Forums website to colleagues and to update Regions, their representative groups, PURE colleagues (core staff, Associates and Affiliates) and, especially, Cluster Leaders, as to its operation and to its objectives. It should be read in close association with the previous Briefing Paper 13, dated July 2009 and Briefing Paper 14, dated September, 2009. The Cluster Forums website is a 'work in progress' in that its use by colleagues will determine how it is further developed. Comments are welcome and should be addressed to Alan Foster (contact details below). Contact Details The prime responsibility for the operation of the Cluster Forums website (function not content (except with regard to contact and admin content)) is that of Alan Foster. Enquiries, advice and comments about the website should be addressed to him using any of the following contact details: Dr. Alan Foster Research Centre Manager, PURE, PASCAL International OSG, Room 684b Dept. of Adult and Continuing Education (DACE), St. Andrews Building, University of Glasgow, 11, Eldon St., GLASGOW G3 6NH 0141 330 1833 (0011 44 141 330 1833) [email protected]
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions B. Updated Cluster Membership (This information will be available on the website in the near future) Cluster 1: Regional Innovation and Renewal (RIR) Cluster leader David Campbell (Melbourne) (Adviser Bruce Wilson, RMIT) Buskerud Flanders Jamtland Melbourne Varmland Essex Gaborone Kent South Transdanubia
Cluster 2: Social Inclusion and Active Citizenship (SIAC) Cluster leader Jan Geens (Flanders) (Adviser Mireille Pouget, Glasgow) Darling Downs Kent Melbourne Puglia Flanders Lesotho Northern Illinois
Cluster 3: Creative and Cultural Industries (CCI) Cluster leader Henrik Zipsane (Jamtland) (Adviser James Powell, PASCAL Board) Buskerud Gaborone Jamtland Flanders Kent Varmland
Cluster 4: Green Skills and Jobs (GSJ) Cluster leader Diana Robinson (Northern Illinois) (Adviser Steve Garlick, PASCAL Board) Essex Melbourne Puglia Cluster 5: Tertiary Systems (TS) Cluster leader Paul Crawford (Northern Illinois) (Adviser Chris Duke, PURE Director) Darling Downs Northern Illinois Glasgow Kent Northern Illinois
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions Cluster 6: Sustaining Rural and Remote Communities etc (SRRC) Cluster leader Michele Cirillo (Adviser Kate Sankey, Glasgow) Buskerud Darling Downs Puglia
Cluster 7: (Meta Cluster): Lifelong Learning and the Learning Region (LLLR) - presently inactive Cluster leader (tba) (Adviser tba) South Transdanubia Accessing 1. Look up www.pure-pascal.com - this will take colleagues to the Cluster Forums website. 2. To log in for the first time, colleagues will require a username and password. This has been sent to colleagues already known to the PURE office. Check with Alan Foster at the e-mail address above if uncertain. Further usernames and passwords can be issued when requested by Link Partners in regions. 3. Once logged in, colleagues will be able to access all of the present features of the site.
C. Some Ground Rules 1. Forums Overall only colleagues within the PURE project will have access to the website. The purpose of the Cluster Forums is to sponsor open and inclusive discussion; what is added to the forums by way of discussion is up to the colleagues concerned. There are 7 Thematic Forums related to 7 Clusters previously identified: each will have a core membership of colleagues who have been proposed by their regions. These colleagues will be the main contributors to the forums. However the forums are also open for contribution from any PURE colleague (and by this term we mean members of Regional Coordinating Groups (RCGs) and other nominated representatives of Regions and associated HEIs, members of Consultative Development Groups and other operational or strategic staff from PASCAL associated with PURE). The 'Regional Advisory Network' (RAN) is a 'restricted' forum which will be accessible to particular groups of colleagues who wish to hold short-term discussions on specific topics - without opening the discussion out publicly. Its origin is in the following paragraph of BP8: "All LPs and CLRs are automatically members of the PURE Regional Advisory Network(RAN), and are invited to comment on any aspect of the work of PURE, either to the Glasgow Office and to Chris Duke as the Academic Coordinator, and / or to the full RAN." But this facility may also afford other groups of colleagues - for example those within one region but at distance from each other - the opportunity to discuss issues specific to their group.
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions 2. The Role of the Cluster Leader The Cluster Leader will be expected to focus and channel the discussions within his/her respective Forum by posting 'starter' position papers, questions, suggestions and so forth. The Cluster Adviser will do likewise in collaboration with the Cluster Leader. It is suggested that the RCGs discuss how contributions should be made from their regions and pass their views to Cluster Leaders. Normally a 'regional representative' is appointed, who then feeds the views of the region onto the site. In some cases several representatives may be appointed especially where a region has decided to participate in a number of Clusters. A region may wish to involve more than one person in a single forum and in some cases perhaps all members of a Regional Coordinating Group may directly take part: these matters are for regions to decide. Irrespective of which clusters are being focussed upon, all Regions will be welcome to observe all discussions and take part in all Forums. 3. Blogs The Blog section is an informal notice-and-discussion board for any matter (related or un-related to previous postings). As such it requires no regulation in terms of representation as the messages posted there will be taken as expressing the views of the author alone. 4. Library The objective of the Library is not to provide yet another depository of citable publications; it is there to facilitate the Forum discussions. Discussions should go on within the Forums and should not be a series of pamphleteering contributions to the Library. Posting articles in the Library from outside sources may present functionality problems for the Cluster Forums site. For the moment then, all articles or papers which you would like featured in the Library should be sent to Alan Foster. The sections should be used as follows: Briefing Papers - for PURE Briefing Papers and other PURE documents. Position Papers - for papers referred to in one or more Forums and dealing with the functions, direction, aims and objectives of PURE overall. Progress Reports - for papers commissioned by Forum discussions or of use in highlighting Forum discussions and of direct relevance to the progress of PURE overall. Cluster Topics - for papers to be for reference with regard to specific Forum discussions.
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions D. Development The website is developmental in nature and aim; it is subject to formative evaluation and will be altered to suit the needs of users and contributors. The facility for PC-based communication (between individuals and amongst groups) will be activated within the site shortly. Using Adobe Connect (simplified version), we can run one PC conference at a time and this service will be available to all PURE colleagues. As a 'starter', Alan Foster will be organising and chairing a discussion amongst Cluster Leaders shortly. Perhaps Cluster Advisers might like to organise their own meeting; perhaps Regions themselves would like to organise a meeting of their RCG online? All that is required is an agreed date and time and e-mails will then be sent to the participants to give them login details for the conference. It is also intended that Briefing Papers will appear on the site as and when formulated and that the Central Reference Spreadsheet - comprising all PURE CDG teams' data, contact details and schedules - will also be linked on the site, rather than being distributed by e-mail as at present. Again, as a developing resource, it would be useful to hear the views of colleagues on the site itself and on additional features they might find useful. Lastly, the 'Events' section on the site will be a regularly updated feature for events, news and information of interest to PURE colleagues.
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