Pascal brosure

Observatory PASCAL - Place Management, Social Capital and Learning Regions

The

PASCAL

European Network

An International Observatory to provide valuable knowledge and action links between Local and Regional Government and Centres of Expertise in

Place Management

Learning Cities and Regions

Building Social and Human Capital

CREATING STRONGER LEARNING CITIES AND REGIONS

(Contact: Prof Michael Osborne:m.osborne@gla.ac.uk)

WHAT IS THE PASCAL EUROPEAN NETWORK?

Learning Cities, Learning Regions, Learning Communities and Learning Organisations are relatively modern concepts with a vast range of domains, aspects and implications. They are the practical application of the lifelong learning principles that Europe has espoused in the Lisbon agenda as the engine of future growth in the continent. The PASCAL European Network is the European arm of a global organisation that concentrates on providing the knowledge, ideas and action that will transform these concepts into useful and productive enterprise in local and regional authorities. It can provide solutions for the practical needs and demands of local and regional government by drawing upon the expertise of its university and consultant membership.

WHO IS IT FOR?

The network is for everyone in local and regional administration - Chief Executives, directors, councillors, managers, professionals, secretaries –to ensure that cities and regions invest in the future through better place management and capacity development within the construct of a learning entity. Beyond that the investment reaches every social partner - schools, hospitals, adult and higher education, voluntary and community organisations, industry and business ,- every institution and organisation that can profit from the healthier growth of the city and region

WHO ARE ITS CURRENT MEMBERS?

The PASCAL European Network is a fast growing mixture of universities and regional authorities from many countries of Europe. Examples are The Universities of Pecs (Hungary), Catania (Italy), Limerick (Ireland), Akershus (Norway) and Toulouse (France) working together with their own regional authorities and with the Scottish Executive and Kent County Council. In other parts of the world it works with regions and organisations in Australia, Africa and North America to expand the scope of its knowledge and activity base. It is administratively based in the University of Glasgow (Scotland) (see below)

Who are you?

You are a Manager, Professional Administrator or a member of staff in a Local or Regional Authority You know that wealth creation, social stability and the personal development of your fellow-citizens depends primarily upon improving knowledge and learning performance in the authority. You want to play your part in transforming it into a ‘Learning City, Town or Region so that it can be a beacon of good practice and a great place to live and work. You want to know why, what, when and how. The PASCAL European Network can help you understand your learning needs and how you can satisfy them.

You are the Mayor or a councillor in a City or Town. You love your community and you take pride in it. You have the responsibility to make sure that it is stable and prosperous in the present and that all its citizens are prepared for the life in the 21^st century. You know that learning for life is important for that, but also that money supply is tight. You need a constant flow of information in order to know how to turn expenditure into investment and for a better grasp of what needs to be done. The PASCAL European Network is a valuable organisation for helping with that.

You are a aprofessor or a member of staff in a university expertise centre concentrating on urban and local government affairs Your responsibility is to make relevant and high quality education and training available to those who need it in local and regional government, and to carry out rigorous and useful research and development that will help local and regional authorities meet their targets. You want to create a new centre of expertise in these matters or you want to improve the one you already have. The PASCAL European Network can help you to do both of those.

You work for a Regional Development Organisation or Partnership. You have the responsibility to ensure that your region becomes a ‘learning region’ growing into the future through better place management and the development of the social and human capital in your region. You want the organisations in your region to become Learning Organisations. You have energy and ideas. What you need is an organisation that you can work with, and can work with you, to help bring those ideas into fruition. The PASCAL European Network is there to help.

You are a Financial Adviser to a Local or regional authority with a budget of many millions. You want a better return on the investment of the money that is spent and to ensure that much of it is used as an investment to help create a better future for the city, the region and its citizens. You have heard of the concept of the ‘learning city’ and the ‘learning region’ and how important the development of a true learning organisation, with continuous improvement programmes for all, is. Guess what – the PASCAL European Network can help to fulfil your dream. .

WHERE CAN I FIND OUT MORE?

Contact Professor Michael Osborne (m.osborne@gla.ac.uk) at the University of Glasgow, www.penr3l.feek.pte.hu

And/or the PASCAL Observatory website at www.obs-pascal.com

The PASCAL EUROPEAN NETWORK,

Europe-based and Linked to the World

The future holds many uncertainties, not least in the way in which local and regional authorities cope with the impact of the 21^st century on their procedures, their budgets and their citizens.

What knowledge and learning will be needed? What actions will need to be taken? Who are the leading edge thinkers and doers? How can we jointly anticipate and meet the problems, and the opportunities, thrown up by 21^st century living? Where are the exemplar cities and regions?

Europe has need of a flourishing network of expertise partnerships in Place Management, Learning Cities and Regions and the Development of Social capital

The PASCAL European Network provides both the leadership and the links to its world-wide organisations.

Some of the Benefits of Joining are

· An international clearing house providing details of relevant best practice, evidence-based research, and programmes matched to your policy and/or practice issues.

· Access to research and consultancy services including in-house Pascal research and consulting specialists

· Regular briefings from Observatory staff on current and emerging issues

· Access to reports on ‘hot topics’ prepared by international experts

· Monitoring and evaluation expertise including access to relevant international evaluations and commentaries on policy and practice

· Seminars and conferences on topics of interest to stakeholders

· Direct access to key international academic and public sector experts in your area of policy/practice interests

· Access to a wide range of universities with relevant expertise

· Linkages to expertise from the world-wide PASCAL network