RVR1 - Puglia

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Observatory PASCAL
Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions PURE Regional Visit Report (RVR1) PUGLIA, ITALY 20th – 22nd April, 2009 Chris Duke, Norman Longworth, Roberta Piazza, John Rushforth
Preamble The initial Regional Profile was built on, with a Briefing Paper that enabled the CDG to have a good understanding of the region before commencing the various interviews, and the composition of the team was strong with a balance between practicing academics, university managers and independent consultants meant that issues were probed from a variety of perspectives. Although details of the visit and the Regional Briefing Paper were not available to the team until a few days before the visit, the arrangements that were made enabled the team to get a good sense of the region and talk to a number of the key players. With hindsight it would have been desirable to talk directly to some more of the employers in the region, but that said there were no major omissions from the programme. The translation arrangements worked well, although inevitably some of the richness of the discussions was lost on some of the group, but the detail of the travel arrangements etc were organised in such a way that the CDG could focus on the review. Three days and two evenings proved a very short time to attempt such a task; nevertheless the CDG had managed briefly to consult, debrief, prepare and deliver an initial draft set of conclusions. Unfortunately it was not possible to share those conclusions with the regions’ universities since they were unable to attend the final meeting. It was clear to the CDG that there were varying degrees of commitment to the PURE process and although that did not stop the team forming some clear conclusions, it was clear to us that as the PURE process unfolds in Puglia, if it is to be properly effective, there will need to be a more systematic and comprehensive engagement of all the parties (regional government, employers and universities) if the full benefits are to be obtained. The members of the CDG express their warmest appreciation to those who organised the visit, notably Maria Sasso, Ettore Ruggiero, Nello De Padova, and Simona Loconsole, with a special thanks to Mary Jane and to Tiziana Corti, for all their efforts in interpreting the real meaning of the many Italian conversations that we had. We were also grateful to all those we met, who gave so generously of time and energy to inform the work of the visit. The level of interest, and the energy shown in most of the discussions, were remarkable. Irrespective of the particular focus and task chosen by the region within the project, it is clear that Puglia has much to offer to partner regions, as well as prospects for significant learning, and the potential benefit of an improved capacity for engaging higher education in the region’s development, in exchange.
Essential Characteristics of the Region Puglia is one of the 20 Italian regions and is divided into 5 provinces: Bari, Brindisi, Foggia, Lecce, and Taranto. It has just over 4 million inhabitants, with an active adult workforce of some 1.270.000, made up of 68% men and 32% women. With an overall surface area of 19.363 square-km), Puglia is one of the largest Italian regions and one of the most densely populated. It also has the longest coastline, bordered to the east by the Adriatic Sea.
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions Puglia has:       A strategic geographic location at the heart of the Mediterranean area, a crossroads between Europe and the East. A significant natural, cultural and historic heritage. A highly diversified and graduate, post-graduate and educational system. A diversified economy. A strong entrepreneurial spirit and companies keen to engage internationally. A public administration that is keen to create opportunities and to respond to international challenges.
The regional land transport system guarantees efficient connections within the region and links major national and international destinations: an extensive rail network, more than 1230 km, and 2 motorways connect Puglia to the rest of Italy and Europe. Puglia has 3 fully equipped ports: Taranto, the third national busiest port; Bari, a stop-off for tourists and cruise ships; Brindisi, an excellent wharfing and storage facility for petrochemical and energy industries. Puglia has also 2 international airports. The regional economy is based on SMEs, with employment concentrated in:     Services = 72.8% Agriculture = 3.9% Manufacturing Industry = 14.2% Building sector = 9.1%
There are currently 77 universities in Italy. In Puglia there are 4 public universities and a private one, besides a network of public and private structures that offer higher education. One of the public universities is a Polytechnic, the only one in Southern Italy and one of the three in Italy. All Universities are recognized by the Government and are state-financed but they have an autonomy in defining curricular paths. Their programmes are accredited according to the national Act 509, November 3, 1999. According to the principle of university autonomy, each university may draw up its own statute and regulations by rectoral decree. Each statute states the regulations governing management, teaching and research within the institution. Students of public universities pay a minimal enrolment fee of approx. € 1500, with possibilities of reductions based on merit and financial means. There are 28 faculties with hundreds of Departments that offer a wide range of bachelor and master degrees. Universities compete with the other education institutions, public and private, present in Apuglia also, in the offer of continuing training and education intended for young graduates and public administration employees. One particularly interesting organisation was Universus, a university level institution with links to all the universities in the region for delivery of continuing education and specialised other courses in subjects and to timescales which they were unable or unwilling to deliver themselves.
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions It seemed to the CDG that the new global fiscal/economic crisis that broke in 2008 has not yet fully impacted on regional planning and the thinking of the regional policy community, although sharply rising unemployment was mentioned with different examples on occasion. It may be that the development support of the EU (ESF) is serving as a buffer at present. There is a budding awareness of serious longer-term environmental problems and the challenges represented by sustainable development, eg. In terms of waste disposal, land use and planning, transport, and most dramatically in the case of pollution in Taranto. For further information about the profile, interests and priorities of the Puglia region, see the Regional Profile and Briefing Paper on the Pascal Website.
Hopes and Priorities, Obstacles and Barriers The Puglia region has significant ambitions and is looking to make progress in number of areas. In particular it has identified five key areas that it wants to explore       Transparency in public administration and the ability to engage with the public directly unlocking the potential of young people and in particular their intellectual and creative resources Land planning with a particular emphasize on the need to respond to some serious issues of environmental degradation The engagement, collaboration and operation of its higher education institutions The development of a ‘Learning Region’ as a structure for engaging stakeholders and vitalising regional development for the future The regional Higher educational system is perceived by the regional government as not particularly involved in the “third mission”.
The Main Findings of the CDG Puglia is well placed for highly effective engagement between higher education and the region. The regional administrative structures are undergoing a transformation, with innovations in developing active citizen participation, a clear commitment to transparent decision-making processes and a recognition that one of its key assets is the creativity, drive and enthusiasm of its young people. It has higher education institutions all of whom have signalled a degree of commitment to developing the contribution that they make to the region. However the CDG recognised that there were some constraints generated by the national policy and legislative framework
Critical National Policy Issues The PURE project is for and about regions but, as the preceding OECD 14-regions work also showed, in addressing some recommendations to national governments, national governments can set conditions and a wider policy ‘environment’, which make engagement easier or harder. In the case of Puglia it seemed to the CDG both that some changes were required at national level to enable really effective regional engagement, and also that some deeper cultural factors to do with universities in Italy constituted a significant impediment. We now briefly address these aspects by reference to regions first and then to higher education. At the broadest level there are cultural, economic and long historical differences between Italy’s North and South which affect how people think and how they see and feel about themselves. The CDG was surprised how buoyant and economically as well as socially and culturally vigorous it
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions found the Puglia region, contradicting general stereotypes of backwardness of the South. Traditions of traditional and personalised power however appeared to support the stereotype of influence, nepotism and in different degrees what was often referred to as ‘corruption’ – hence the significance of a Region dedicating itself so purposefully to transparency. Equally serious the CDG was told of widespread and culturally embedded indifference or cynicism over institutions of all kinds, which are seen as self-serving rather than in the public interest. Such national or wider-regional features are difficult to address but a lead from the top is a good way to start. This affects the standing of universities no less than governments at all levels. More specifically, the devolution of authority from national to regional level leaves some things to be done better. In the background the suggestion that Northern Italy would be better off separated from the South is bad for morale. On the other hand cumbersome procedures following new legislation mean that it is slow and difficult to get things implemented. The CDG learned of several central government decisions that had simply not been implemented regionally; the Puglia Region was indeed trying to go forward and act on these things notwithstanding the systemic delays and traditions. More purposeful support from central government is needed to enable regional administrations to carry out their delegations confidently and efficiently. As to the universities, the CDG gained an impression that the old stereotype of the Italian ‘God Professor’ (e.g. the professor as the fount of all knowledge) is alive and well, an impression reinforced by seeing the interaction of some faculty with graduate students. A culture of strong academic authority which inhibits questioning thought and innovation does not help students or a learning society. The CDG sees the staff and student, learning and teaching, side of university work as a general national issue that needs confronting for effective and relevant engagement, for Italian higher education as well as for Puglia. There are aspects of the culture and work of the region’s universities that are almost determined by such national cultural and systemic factors. It may be that as in other European systems, significant change is required from the top, to force universities to be more innovative and entrepreneurial, to take student and society needs more seriously, even as ‘markets’, to engage with the needs of the economy and employers, and to acquire the capacity to make partnerships and agreements, and to carry out decisions so that they are acted on, in the name of the whole university. Such reforms are difficult and as in France may prove conflictual; but they appear unavoidable if complacency, conservatism or misplaced individualism are not to weaken the universities and so their society and its regions and communities. Specifically, it was explained to the CDG that Italian universities have no clear sense of a higher education ‘third mission’, much less how to carry this out in practical ways. It may be necessary, first, that the whole funding regime of Italian universities is changed. The present arrangement appears to make for complacency, discouraging rather than requiring reflective reform and selfdevelopment. Full professors, and therefore their Departmental staff, may see no need to do things differently or to engage more usefully with the society and region which indirectly, if not directly, supports and employs them. Secondly, it may be necessary to require community stakeholders to have a direct voice in the governance and development of universities, through councils, boards, committees etc., centrally and through the faculty structure, so that programmes are better informed and more responsive to changing economic and social needs. Thirdly, an apparent incapacity of the university management to decide, lead and act centrally for the whole institution may require changes in the powers of rectors, senates and other aspects of the systems of governance and management.
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions It was evident to the CDG that there was much ‘local’ and individual goodwill and indeed good practice for engagement in universities in the region; the CDG saw some exhilarating examples. However there was little evidence of a university capability to speak and act purposefully in 3rd mission terms for the whole institution. Without this, a university cannot be a full partner in the shared development of its region through effective programmes of teaching, applied research, and knowledge creation, use and dissemination in general. This requires the capacity to make sustained agreements, to build long-term partnership, and to demonstrate regional ‘membership’ and accountability. The Puglia region and its universities can work around difficulties to some extent. They may for example be able to make long-term contracts with public and private sector partners via Universus; but it would be better if the national system itself could be reformed to enable rather than hamper such essential arrangements. All of that said, the CDG did believe that there were some opportunities to take things forward that were within the grasp of the stakeholders within the Puglia region, particularly with the view to developing it as a learning region.
The Learning Region Everywhere we went we saw a keen interest in the notion of the ‘learning region’ In view of the strength of this feeling, we feel that it deserves a separate section to this report. This can be seen in annex 2. It explains the main characteristics of a learning region and how it might be applied in Puglia, reinforcing some of the comments made in this report. It also contains some suggestions, adapted from the European policy document and other papers such as the ‘Limerick Declaration’ on the key role of Higher Education Institutions in the construction of learning regions. Our key conclusion is that the region needs to prepare and implement an explicit detailed strategy in order to become an effective learning region and annex 2 sets out specific elements that such a strategy could encompass.
Better Together The regional administration clearly believes in the value of higher education and is looking for additional benefits – however, they have not clearly articulated their views as to what that contribution is or communicated it in a way that has been heard by the HEIs. We recommend that the region and the HE institutions develop a joint concordat for HE in the region, setting out:    The institutions commitment and expectations of the region, The regions commitment to and expectations of the HEIs, A joint statement of their shared priorities in the next few years
However, we are clear that this must not be merely the production of a symbolic statement. What is needed is an active process of engagement and it is this process that will be more important than the concordat itself. We believe that the process will need to start with a discussion of principles between the key players – initially we would suggest it should be the leaders of the HE institutions together with an equal number of senior leaders of the regional government. There may be a benefit in having such a meeting chaired or facilitated by an independent and respected individual. Such a meeting would then give authority to a wider meeting, again possibly with outside facilitation, which would meet with the explicit aim of developing not just a concordat, but also a clear action plan, with quantifiable targets, an explicit timetable, identified milestones and a mechanism to monitor and
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions report on progress. This may require sub-groups eg at more local (province) level, and certainly the participation of province and municipality levels of government as well as private and third sectors. There is a need to make certain that this process covers the main fields of development environmental, social, civic and cultural as well as economic. It seemed clear to us that the region was committed to making policy based on evidence, and in this respect the Universities have an important part to play – we believe there may be benefit in the regions identifying all their data needs for the future and negotiating with the institutions to establish the contribution that they can make. This might be an important element of the concordat described above. However, much of the impetus must come initially from a university convinced of its responsibility to contribute, and so we also suggest that each university should make an inventory of its potential contribution to the economic, social and environmental development of the region in which it is situated. It was also clear to us that there were a number of strong and effective personal connections between individuals in the region and within institutions – the challenge is to create an institutional framework that systematises these relations and ensures their sustainability – the institutions have already constructed a consortium of all the Puglian institutions and we would recommend regular joint sessions with the region to consider matters of mutual interest. However, in developing these relationships, it will be important for the region to treat each institution as different and individual rather than as a collective. It was very clear to us that there were varying attitudes, managerial values and systems and approaches to teaching, learning and research at each of the institutions we visited.
Approaches to Learning and Teaching One of the challenges for both the region and the institutions will be the approach to teaching and learning – as we prepare students for a global economy, they will more than ever before need to be innovative, creative and enterprising. This means that institutions will increasingly have to develop attitudes and values within their students over and above any notion of delivering subject content to them. This will require a range of pedagogic methods and approaches. However, the CDC recognizes that the idea of creating courses that address the needs of individual learners and the competences that the university proposes to develop in the context of Lifelong Learning is a relatively new concept for Italy, even though the European Year of Lifelong Learning took place more than 13 years ago. The teaching reform of 1999 (decree 509/1999) established, according to the European system, a first level degree (3 years) and a specialist second level (2 years), instead of the traditional degree courses (4 and 5 years). The guidelines of the reform included: a) Different organization of training courses required by the needs of a Lifelong Learning society. b) Flexibility of courses and choices in response also to the needs of students who are no longer only young people. c) The autonomy of the universities, which were given the task of creating new teaching and learning systems for their study courses. Credits and modular systems were chosen as units of measurement for teaching and the other training activities, in harmony with the ETCS system, instead of the traditional year or semester. The declared objective was to focus attention on the student and on learning instead of on the teacher and teaching. As soon as the reform was implemented in the university on a practical level, the
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions difficulties became evident. Among the most relevant was the weakness of curriculum planning within the academic culture: in effect, there was a complete lack of experience in this area, since the Italian university had always operated within ministerial guidelines that set out the curriculum in the smallest detail. Added to this was a central bureaucratic resistance to the innovations. This compromised the flexibility of the curriculum from the very beginning and established an absolute lack of central unity in the choices of the universities. In fact, throughout most of Italy, there is a notable absence of a general university strategy for the introduction of new methods– there is neither an identification of its mission nor effective coordination. In addition, the reforms, organized according to a top-down model, imposed on the university the need to form relationships with the outside world (economic, social, political and civic affairs). This highlighted the lack of preparation of the university teaching staff to face the ‘intrusion’ of external forces, the stakeholders of the territory, especially for the creation of continuous professional development courses. It is clear that the Scientific Faculties responded in a different way to the Arts Faculties to the request to open up the institutions to the world of work. The Scientific Faculties have always provided for a link with the outside world and an experimentation that connects theory to empirical verification; there is also here greater identification between the institution and the work connected to it. On the other hand, the Arts Faculties which have long seen academic work – both teaching and research – as individual and with minimal links to the local region, saw the reform as an intrusion into the traditional practices of course delivery. This would explain not only their reluctance to consider training courses in professionalized terms, but also their reduced interest in the activity of continuing education, the task of which is often taken on by external education providers. Where the reforms and the teaching innovations have been implemented, it has certainly convinced some lecturers of the need to modify forms of traditional teaching based mainly on face-to-face lessons and a limited use of distance and e-learning. However, on an institutional level, little has been done to give individual teachers the skills of the new learning methodologies, including:             The foundations of the pedagogy of teaching and learning and research in adult education. The capacity for recognition and use of individual styles of learning and for building personal development programs. The effective use of mentoring and the main methods for the development of critical thought and meta-cognitive processes. The capacity to establish collaboration relationships with other organizations and to adopt them as a learning source. Knowledge and effective use of ICT and the internet. The capacity to manage human resources. The acquisition of various assessment techniques. The transversal abilities required for team work. New knowledge of multiple intelligences and into how people learn. Individual eportfolios and their use in increasing motivation and awareness. The involvement of staff and students in active citizenship projects that increase practical awareness and application of theory. The use of distance learning technologies and associated changes in pedagogical methods.
In brief, what is required of university teachers in a professional capacity is to adapt their teaching to the modified and diverse learning needs of their students. While we noticed some willingness among some staff to embrace the new methods we did not detect a university wide strategy to encourage their adoption. The establishment of an inter-university multidisciplinary structure, able to promote, coordinate and support the formation and continual updating of university teachers could represent an important and innovative aspect of university change. Think, for example, how useful it would be to activate processes for sharing and exchanging
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions knowledge and competences present in the different Faculties, both on a national and international level, in order to form a ‘laboratory’ of analyses of existing resources and to create and spread new skills. Consider also the promotion of the development of transversal competences which give added value to different professions, or the acquisition of the necessary competences for the production of interactive and hypermedia materials to use in the classroom and/or for distance courses. As regards the students’ learning, the requirements of the learning society and the job market demand that they acquire critical diverging thought, the capacity to question themselves and put into operation ways of obtaining knowledge autonomously, to find new solutions to newer and newer problems. The necessary teaching methodology that favours active participation of students requires that:     The learning environments offer multiple representations of reality. Emphasis is given to the construction of knowledge rather than reproducing it. Concrete cases are presented (in context rather than abstract). Awareness of learning processes is encouraged.
These objectives can be reached by integrating traditional curricular activities – often based on reproduction – with a more widespread use of laboratories, training, work placements, active citizenship and research activity that includes the community and allows for a greater connection between theory and practice. In effect, this concerns activities laid out by current university regulations but not always adequately used. The adoption of learning models based more on research, on the active role of the learner, on collaboration, and on the construction of personal learning programs should promote a change in the way students perceive learning. Dependence on the authority of teachers, the reduced capacity to interact or ask questions, all aspects noted during interviews with students from Puglia, do not encourage them to take responsibility for their learning or allow them to take on an active role in the learning society. And in effect, one of the most important tasks of the learning region is to awaken the desire to learn, convincing people that learning is not only a way to create wealth but especially the way to develop their potential and contribute to the development of the community they live in. Whilst this was recognised in some institutions, it was clear that there was no systematic approach to developing learning and teaching strategies fit for the 21st century. If Puglia wants to assume any position of regional leadership or enjoy the benefits of university engagement in regional development, we think that there is scope for a cross regional project that looks at approaches to learning and teaching within HE, drawing both on international practice and the views and expectations of students themselves. Although there are ways that the region can develop, it has already taken initiatives in a number of areas which offer much promise for the future.
Developing Initiatives One of the most inspiring initiatives we saw on our visit was that of Knos. Here an amazingly energetic and visionary approach to urban regeneration has been adopted relying on voluntary efforts to develop an abandoned factory into a major cultural centre. It is clear to us that much good work is being performed there and that the resource that has been developed is valued by a range of institutions. At best, we felt that it has the potential to transform the Lecce region into a major cultural industries centre. What wasn’t clear, was whether there was any effective business plan underpinning the operations, or whether detailed discussions had taken place between the KC and
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions other institutions to articulate the potential the KC Centre had, how institutions might benefit from it and the contribution they were prepared to put into it. In the absence of a business plan that sets out how the KC will have a sustainable future, we see there is a real risk that in the long term the Centre will collapse. The Knos project, is in many ways an exemplar for a major initiative Bollenti Spiriti (Hot spirits): this initiative will enable young people to express their project-making and creativity ability, allowing them to present entrepreneurial and more general ideas. The selected projects will attract specific public financing. The programme has 4 key elements – urban laboratories, similar to Knos, an enterprise competition, innovative ways of bringing young people together to discuss issues that matter to them and use of Web 2.0 technologies to cost effectively communicate and involve a wide range of people across all of the initiatives. For us, it is an excellent initiative that could be replicated in many areas of Europe. It is very clearly early days yet, and we recommend that PURE tracks progress of this initiative as it unfolds. However, bearing in mind the experience of Knos, we would like to see a more concrete expression of how its undoubted potential can be made to contribute to the economic and social development of Puglia. In addition, we thought that Universus (the consortium of Puglian universities, that is constituted to make available managerial competencies across Puglia), is an excellent example of good practice with the potential to expand its activities to continuing education for a range of organisations. In many ways the Region’s firm and unusual commitment to transparency and citizen participation can also become a good practice example for other regions of Italy and beyond.
Overall Conclusion The central message that emerges from our visit is that there is a clear willingness to collaborate, but there would be benefit in developing systematic processes and procedures that institutionalise that collaboration both within and across all the regional institutions. This may be within the context of a ‘Learning region’ which, given the interest expressed from all stakeholders, we feel is appropriate for Puglia. The PURE project, with the key element of mutual self assessment with the added dynamic of a further external visit offers a good initial mechanism to explore possible for a range of groups to promote this collaboration. Apart from the consideration of this report, the next key steps are the Vancouver Conference, the use of benchmarking and the development of a regional action plan.
The PURE Vancouver Conference May 2009 Cluster special interests There are several themes important to the Puglia Region which might emerge as priorities for clusters among regions at the Vancouver meeting. In some cases there are already clearly other regions in PURE with similar priorities. An important regional commitment is transparency in governance – ‘the eyes of the citizens’ – and the quality of civic consultation and participation in setting priorities and implementing them. In the Puglia case, participation would extend as a method of learning within regular university programmes as well as in terms of community-based learning. The central focus of the whole PURE project, understanding and carrying out universities’ Third Mission is another central challenge and priority for Puglia. This might stand alone, or be connected
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions with the shared interest in developing a regional capacity for innovation, with higher education involvement in innovation systems, and especially the SME and maybe creative industry sectors. A third possible focus could be inter-university collaboration for regional development, taking the example of Universus and its possible wider development. Finally, programmes to develop the full potential and socio-economic participation of youth is a challenge shared by several PURE regions. All of this would be within the context of Puglia’s desire to create a learning region, which is shared among other PURE regions. It is for the region to consider these and indeed other possibilities, for determination at the Vancouver meeting.
Initial use of and reactions to the Benchmarking Tools The Region expressed keen interest in using the draft regional benchmarking tool, and was encouraged to look at it, and to advise via its representative at Vancouver as to its possible suitability. Universities need to be approached and if willing to use the HEI tool as part of an internal stocktaking and development process for engagement.
A Regional Action Plan Time and the current stage of shared thinking between Puglia Region and its universities meant that it was not practicable to discuss an Action Plan during the CDG visit. Several initial suggestions not mentioned there can be made by the CDG, as follows. Prepare and oversee a strategy for the development of a learning region, using Annex 2 as a basis. Establish a working group on teaching/learning practices in the universities, in order to make changes that will prepare students better for active citizenship, and effective participation in the new knowledge economy. (See more detailed notes in this CDG report). The regional government to create an effective forum and mechanism (such as a Regional Development Group) involving all the key stakeholders, including the universities, to guide, inform, support, monitor and evaluate the contribution of HE to regional development. (see more detailed notes in this report). Make use of the PURE HEI benchmark tool to take stock of universities’ current attitudes and engagement activities. Develop an inventory of current engagement activities so that the Region and its universities to see what they are already currently doing. Use the draft regional tool to identify areas of need and gaps that universities might be able to fill. In this process also begin to strengthen a data collection process in which the universities are active contributors as a basis for good governance and decision-making by the region. Set up a Universus review group, to report to both Universus and the region’s universities by the end of 2009, on the potential of Universus as a CPE (continuing professional education) arm of all the Region’s universities. The Terms of Reference should include: (i) brokerage for the universities, including the commissioning of applied research, R&D and consultancy for the regions; (ii) options for a Universus business plan and financial model (including the present one) to benefit universities at
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions different levels from institution to individual and including development investment; (iii) ways of monitoring and reporting on the benefits of Universus to the Region and partners; (iv) an accessible and widely publicised ‘knowledge shop-front’ to promote and bring business to all the different academic areas of the universities. Consult and advise on the sustainability of Knos and Bollenti Spiriti, and monitor on and report their progress initially to the end of 2010.
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions ANNEX 1
Those whom the CDG met during the visit to the Region
At or through the University of Pécs, www.pte.hu                   
Dr. Márta Font, Vice-Rector, short intro to the University of Pécs, [email protected] Dr. Balázs Németh, Associate Professor, Faculty of AE and HRD, RCG leader, [email protected] Ms. Gyöngyi Pozsgai, Secretary for foreign relations, Rector’s Office, [email protected] Ms. Kata Dobay, Head, Technology Transfer Office, RCG-member, [email protected] Dr. Zoltán Gál, Senior Research Fellow, Associate Professor, Hungarian Academy of Sciences Centre for Regional Studies, RCG-member, [email protected] Dr. Péter Merza, Development Manager, Pécs2010 Management Centre PBC, RCG-member, [email protected] Mr. József Póla, Head of Department of Human Development, City Council of Pécs, [email protected] Dr. Zsolt Nemeskéri, Associate Professor, Faculty of AE and HRD, [email protected] Dr. Teréz Kleisz, Associate Professor, Faculty of AE and HRD, researcher on Social Capital and Citizenship, [email protected] Dr. Éva Fodor, Director Representative of the Pécsi Regional Training Centre, [email protected] Ms. Csilla Vincze, Managing Director, House of NGOs Pécs, [email protected] Mr. Béla Németh, managing director, Medical Diagnostics Centre, [email protected] Prof. Gábor Rappai, Dean of Faculty, [email protected] Dr. Péter Dobay, full professor, Dept. of Business Methodologies, Faculty of Economics, [email protected] Dr. Gábor Halász, Full Professor, Centre for Higher Educational Management, ELTE University Budapest, [email protected] Mr. István Tarrósy, Director for Networking and External Partnership, Directorate for Partnership, Faculty of Economics, RCG-member [email protected] Dr. Valéria Pavluska, Associate Professor, Department of Business and Management Studies, Faculty of Economics, [email protected] Dr. Attila Varga, Full-professor, Dept. of. Econ. and Regional Studies, Faculty of Economics, [email protected] Mr. Tamás Kocsis, Managing Director, Regional Innovation Agency (RIÜ) Pécs, RCG-member, [email protected] Mr. Ákos Pál Buchenberger, Student Representative of the Faculty of Economics, [email protected]
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions At or through Kaposvár University www.ke.hu                 
Dr. Júlia Vass, Head of Rector’s Office, [email protected] Prof. Dr. Péter Bogner, Director, Health Center, [email protected] Dr. Zsolt Polereczky, Assistant Lecturer, Faculty of Economic Science, Dept. for Marketing and Trade, [email protected] Dr. Csaba Szabó, Associate Professor, Vice-Dean, Faculty of Animal Science, [email protected] Dr. Ferenc Dér, Associate Professor, Faculty of Animal Science, [email protected] Dr. Erzsébet Kópházi Associate Professor, Vice-Director, Faculty of Pedagogy, [email protected] Dr. Zsolt Gyenes, Associate Professor, Vice-Director, Faculty of Art, [email protected] Ms. Linda Egyed, Managing Director, Fino-food Ltd., [email protected] Ms. Beáta Keller, Managing Director, Milker Ltd. Pécs/Pécsi Milker Kft., [email protected] Mr. György Lukács, Project Manager, Regional Food-Science Competence Centre, [email protected] Ms. Alíz Baranyó, International Relations Officer, Department for Strategic Development of the Office of Self-Government of Somogy County, [email protected] Department for Human Development of the Office of Self-Government of Somogy County, Mr. Zsolt Bátori, Head of Dept., [email protected] Self-Government of the City of Kaposvár with County rights, Mr. Péter Sárdi, Director for Asset Mangement [email protected] Ms. Baranyai,Ajnó Krasznai, South-Transdanubian Labour Center, Local Office. Institute for Teachers’ Further Training and Services, Ms. Holjevicz, Ferencné, Director-in-charge, [email protected] Ministry of Defense’s “Honvéd” Cultural Services PLC., Ms. Gál, Gyuláné, Managing Director, [email protected] Alliance of Technology and Engineering - Natural Science Associations/MTESZ Kaposvár, Mr. Csaba Orbán, Managing Director, www.kaposvar.mtesz.hu; [email protected]
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions ANNEX 2
Puglia as a Learning Region As the report shows we found strong evidence of interest in the development of Puglia as a learning region. The establishment of the Italian Learning Cities Association from Puglia reinforces the commitment and shows a desire to be an Italian leader in this area. Since there was not always a clear view of what it might entail in many of the organisations we visited, this annexe describes what we mean by the concept of the Learning region in relation to the subject of the PURE study. While the small sample of organisations we were able to meet with was insufficient to make a great number of specific action recommendations, we try below to make some general ones on the basis of what we have learned. However we know that the Puglia administration is aware that the Learning Region concept covers a much larger range of activities than can be described in this short section. We suggest that, insofar as it affects HEI-Regional Administration cooperation, a learning region is characterised by several aspects. a) Fruitful cooperation between stakeholders in order to help develop a 21st century region that grows sustainably in economic, social and environmental terms. As stakeholders we include  Organisations – Higher Education, the Regional Administration, Business and Industry, Adult Continuing Education Institutions, voluntary and community organisations and public bodies such as schools, hospitals etc – all now have a developmental stake in the creation of a prosperous and stable region in Puglia, as they have in other regions.  People from all levels of society– who become empowered to contribute to regional development through personal participation in local communities, knowledge of regional affairs and personal learning. In this latter regard we recognise and applaud the Puglia region’s commitment to transparency in keeping its citizens involved and updated. However we believe that the concept could be carried further into the empowerment of citizens to take action upon the solutions they themselves help to identify. We also note the contribution of Higher Education and Industry in social initiatives with great potential like KNOS. We also note that these are mainly ad hoc, based on the actions of a few interested people, and, in view of the fact that the region is supporting some of them financially, we would hope that, in the future, they become part of a much expanded formal inter stakeholder strategy in order to promote a return on that investment. Similarly, through our discussions with representatives of Confindustria, we note the apparent absence of the types of university-industry cooperation that would potentially increase the region’s economic capital. In order to realise the opportunities, and the benefits, arising from stakeholder cooperation, Puglia will need to develop a strategy and appoint someone to drive the implementation of that strategy. b) The effective use of existing resources and identification of new ones that enhance the performance of the region. These would include: i) Intellectual resource, for example from the application of innovative university and research projects to assist in developing economic and social capital, to the release and deployment of the collective mind-power of Puglia’s citizens to suggest and implement creative solutions to community challenges- and everything in between. ii) Human resource, for example from the secondment of knowledgeable people from university to regional administration or industry and vice-versa, to the use of mentors, guides and
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions personal learning tutors within and between organisations to make available knowledge and support to those who need it – and everything in between.
iii) Community resource, for example from the establishment of neighbourhood learning centres including outreach to families, to the mobilization of citizens in volunteering and active citizenship projects – and everything in between. iv) Cultural resource, for example from the enhancement of Puglia’s heritage and historical sites, and the creation of sporting and cultural facilities and events to encourage cultural tourism to the development of cultural industries centres – and everything in between. iv) Learning resource, including all the informal and non-formal sources of learning that exist outside of the traditional educational structures. v) Other resource that would, creatively applied, make use of the region’s unique position, climate, traditions and places for economic and social benefit, for example, environmental, diversity, location resources. In such a short visit, we were unable to determine the extent to which the Puglia region has made efforts to identify, and profit from, these resources in a formal way. We were interested in the highly successful secondment of one of the University of Bari’s professors to the city of science, and regard this is as a model for similar initiatives involving the release and exploitation of intellectual and human resource. During our visits to the universities, we were also made aware of active cooperation between teaching staff and external organisations, but we found little evidence of a formal strategy to unlock the considerable power of their students and staff in all faculties to contribute solutions to the economic, social and environmental challenges faced by the region. Similarly, we were greatly impressed by the ‘Bollenti Spiriti’ initiatives to release the energies of young people in activities that could contribute much to the economic and social development of the region, in particular the urban laboratory, and would have liked to see a more visible link to the region’s economic development programme. c) The proper use of tools and strategies to improve creativity, innovation and stimulate learning region action. These might include: i) Personal eportfolios – in which everyone has a written declaration of his/her own ideas, achievements, aspirations, learning needs and contributions to society. ii) Learning region charters – published statements of the regions commitment to becoming a learning region and the steps it will take to achieve this. References to examples are shown below. iii) Consultation tools – to increase both the knowledge of the region’s activities and the involvement of citizens in implementing them. iv) Learning Festivals – to showcase the learning opportunities in the region, inspire citizens to take part and obtain valuable information about learning needs. v) Bench-marking, measuring and monitoring tools – to keep the region and its stakeholders informed on performance and progress. vi) Active citizenship registers – matching organisation needs with people willing to satisfy them
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions With the exception of the active citizenship strategy mentioned above and its stated function as social energy multiplier, we were unable to gauge whether or not any of these tools had been considered or implemented in the region. However, the references at the end of this annexe provide a gateway to further information on these topics. d) The effective use of links with other regions in Europe and elsewhere in the world. The benefits of these would include: i) The opportunity to link Puglia’s people with people in other countries to increase understanding, tolerance, knowledge, motivation etc. ii) The opportunity to link all Puglia’s stakeholder organisations with those in other countries to exchange knowledge, ideas, good practice, people, research and development. iii) The opportunity to increase the growth of Puglia’s regional economic and social capital through inward investment, trade links and the import and export of know-how, capability and expertise. We note the links which universities, especially the university of Bari and Universus, have created with international partners and expect that these enhance the research of these organisations, though we found little evidence that this extends further into regional development. We also note that many of Puglia’s projects are based upon European Regional Development Funding. We were however unable to ascertain the extent to which the region has links with other regions in Europe and elsewhere, and if so, what form they take. We would suggest that the PURE project is a particularly good opportunity to build up such profitable links. Especially we have in mind links with the large Italian community in the Townsville region of Central Queensland, which would be especially useful for schools and community centres, and similar rural regions in Sweden and Hungary. e) Issues around Learning, Employability and Skills needs for the future. This might include: i) The contribution of key stakeholders, especially universities and polytechnics, to work with regional planners in developing a strategy to identify and satisfy key skills needs. ii) The responsibility of all organisations in the region to become ‘learning organisations’ implementing continuing professional development strategies for all workers, defining their contribution to regional economic, social and sustainable environmental development, establishing partnerships with the next generation in schools, empowering their workforce and continually orienting their strategies to provide customer focus in a changing world. iii) The establishment and implementation of a regional lifelong learning strategy that produces an adaptable, flexible and creative populace able to meet rapidly changing lifestyle and work situations iv) The employment of new methods of student-centred teaching and learning that empower people to use modern technology successfully, manage themselves and their affairs effectively and become enquiring, informed, responsive, caring and considerate citizens. We note the commitment of regional administration to continuing professional development but were unable to assess the extent to which it encompasses all workers nor how it was carried out. We also note and applaud the key role of Universus in Continuing Education in the Region and the flexibility of its approach. We would hope that that role might be extended in the future to cope with the inevitable increase in continuing education needs. Our
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions conversations with the Universities of Bari and Lecce indicated a willingness in some departments to consider new teaching methods. However we believe that this process has much further to go in all the establishments we visited. We were especially concerned that those students we met at Taranto seemed to lack the sort of enquiring mind that enables them to play a part in solving today’s social and environmental problems. These are five of the topics affecting the development and growth of Learning Regions. There are many others and, for those who wish to know more about the subject we would particularly direct your attention to the sources of information at the end of this annexe.
Initial Actions - Elements of a strategy for Creating a Learning Region The following is a list of initial recommendations for inclusion in a strategy for establishing a Learning Region in Puglia. They are adapted from the European Policy Document: 1. The Puglia Region should establish a committee comprising representatives of each of the stakeholders, private and public, to discuss and create an overall learning region strategy with the following characteristics:  An implementation timetable with 1, 3 and 5 year benchmarks for each of the provinces and major cities  A plan to link stakeholders into the region’s economic and social development plan  An assessment of the resources available from all sources and how they can be best utilised  A timetable for educating and involving organisations and citizens in regional economic, social and environmental development 2. In terms of personnel, the strategy should include:  A central driver – we recognise the excellent work that Universus has done so far to energise learning region ideas and actions and this may be a good place to continue, but it will need full-time assistance from the region to help implement the strategy.  A contact point in each province, city and stakeholder organisation, senior enough to stimulate action.  A Learning Region Champion - one of the most influential figures in the Region. Give him/her powers to get things done.  The active involvement of Young People. ‘Bollenti Spiriti’ is a good starting point. It should consider how to fire the imagination of other young people to participate in learning region development. 3. Launch the learning region initiative with a one-day conference of 100 key people and hire key experts to deliver the Lifelong Learning Region message to them. Make the conference bidirectional - during the day hold a series of guided brainstorming sessions in several aspects of Learning Region activity to obtain their commitment and ideas. Give someone the responsibility to collect and act upon these ideas. 4. Create an electronic Learning Region Forum to which these people and others can contribute. Link it to international forums to allow them to communicate with sources of expertise in other cities. 5. Run Lifelong Learning Region workshops, seminars or conferences for people from all parts of Regional life in the provinces in order to create as quickly as possible a core of committed
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions workers. Make this a cascade process - provide the learning materials and train participants to train others. 6. Continue to lead the establishment of an Italian Learning Cities organisation, in order to export and import specifically Italian experiences and case studies of good practice. 7. Link stakeholders in the region to those in similar regions in and outside of Europe for the exchange of good practice, ideas, people, electronic forums between professionals and councillors, information and knowledge. Organise a Learning Festival. Involve many organisations in the region. Link it to other activities taking place eg an Adult Learners Week, Achievement celebrations etc. Spread the message. Devise a Learning needs questionnaire, administer it in companies, shopping centres, pubs etc Use the Universities to carry out and analyse the research results.
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10. Hold an-annual conference for organisations in your, and others', region. 11. Ask Universities to make an inventory of their potential contribution to regional development and to produce an implementation plan that can be incorporated into the regional strategy. Below we have set out a number of ideas for universities, adapted from the PENR3L Limerick Declaration of 2008. Do the same with other stakeholders.
Potential activities for Universities in Puglia This is a list of the potential contribution s that universities can make, adapted from the Limerick declaration of 2008 (see www.obs-pascal.com) Insofar as the HEIs contribution to the development of a Learning Region is concerned, it coincides with the PURE objectives of stimulating Third Mission activities. This selection of potential actions can be carried out at regional, province or city level. There are, of course many more possibilities that will emerge from the completion of an inventory within the university. 1. Widen participation to allow Puglia local and regional government employees and people from local industry to take part in continuing education at university level, and to mix with students. 2. Design, develop and deliver tailored courses on aspects of learning region policy and practice in Puglia, wherever, whenever and however your audience requires it. 3. Carry out commissioned learning region research activities for the Puglia regional authority or for the local city or province. 4. Open up international gateways in joint projects with other regions. Engage people from the region in these. 5. Add to regional economic and social capital through joint projects and activities with other regional stakeholders. 6. Provide dynamic leadership in the development of a learning region in Puglia. 7. Encourage students and staff to volunteer their skills, creativity and knowledge in local community activities.
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions 8. Exchange or second staff with other regional stakeholders from companies, regional administration and community organisations. 9. Find local, national and international funding sources to create partnership with local and regional authorities. 10. Transform yourself into a true Learning Organizations as an exemplar. 11. Help design and monitor continuous improvement programmes for staff in local and regional authorities. 12. Develop indicators and monitor learning city/region development in Puglia or your local authority. 13. Design, develop and apply tools and techniques that help create a culture of lifelong learning in the region. 14. Make University facilities available for learning city/region activities and events. 15. Represent the city in projects, missions and other events nationally and overseas. 16. Become involved in celebration events such learning festivals, fairs open days etc. 17. Involve local citizens in environmental research projects under the leadership of the university. 18. Use student-centred teaching methods to increase their creative capacity to engage in solving local and regional problems. 19. Run tailored seminars and workshops for local and regional authorities in their own locations. 20. Develop and publish case studies of good learning region practice. 21. Carry out Learning Needs Audits on behalf of local and regional authorities. 22. Develop brochures, booklets and other materials for other organisations. 23. Develop and deliver learning modules, degree courses, post-graduate study etc on learning region matters. 24. Invite creative contributions from staff and students to add to this list. 25. Promote the cultural heritage of the region while at the same time broadening the cultural horizons of its people. 26. Audit intellectual resources in the university with a view to sharing them in regional social, economic and environmental development.
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Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions Sources of Information on Learning Regions Websites: 
www.longlearn.org.uk – This site contains a wealth of information on learning cities and regions, learning charters, learning organisations etc. It also contains learning materials for people and organisations in aspiring learning regions. www.obs-pascal.com – This site is the PASCAL parent site containing a great deal of information on lifelong learning and learning regions. www.feek.penr3l.hu – A site containing information about PENR3L (PASCAL European Network of Lifelong Learning Regions) an association established through a European Commission grant to set the agenda in European Learning Regions (Universus is a member).
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Books and Reports  Longworth, N. (2001) ‘The local and Regional Dimension of Lifelong Learning: creating learning cities, towns and regions’, A European Policy Paper from the TELS project, DG Education and Culture, Brussels. Longworth N (2007) ‘Citta Che Imparano – Come far Diventare le Citta Luoghi di Apprendimento’ Raffaello Cortina, Milano. Longworth, N (2006) ’Learning Cities, Learning Regions, Learning Communities– Lifelong Learning and Local Government’ Taylor and Francis, London. Allwinkle, S and Longworth, N (2005) ‘The PALLACE project: linking learning cities and regions in Europe, North America, Australasia and China’. Final Report to the European Commission, Napier University, Edinburgh, [online] www.longlearn.org.uk/pallace.html. Longworth, N., Osborne, M. and Sankey, K (Eds.) (2005) INDICATORS -Developing and testing Indicators for monitoring and measuring stakeholder organisations in Learning Cities and Regions. Final Report to the European Commission. www.longlearn.org.uk/indicators.html. Osborne, M, Sankey, K and Wilson, B. (Eds) (2007) Social Capital, Lifelong Learning and the Management of Place: An international perspective London: Routledge.
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