Eurolocal - European storehouse on the local and regional dimension of Lifelong Learning

Funder: EACEA – Lifelong Learning Programme KA4 Dissemination and Exploitation of results.

Amount Awarded:  297,343 Euros

Duration: November 2009 – October 2011

Project Staff:
Professor Michael Osborne
Professor Norman Longworth (outwith GU)
Dr Robert Hamilton
Lynette Jordan

EUROlocal reinforces the EC policy on lifelong learning regions by collecting the tools, strategies, learning materials, reports and everything concerned with the development of learning regions, putting them into an innovative web site that all regions can access, and actively marketing the qualitative benefits of becoming a European learning region. Its workshops promote trans European cooperation.

The availability of the all knowledge on learning cities and regions and its active marketing by a multiplicity of networks throughout Europe and through the website and workshops will do much to help the continent progress more rapidly towards a European lifelong learning area. The project could lead to the development of a new version of the policy document on learning regions to replace the original, written by the project  advisor in 2001. This will be included in the recommendations.

The commission definition of a learning region is one '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.' EUROlocal is at the heart of this objective. The examples of good practice collected and marketed by the project will help fulfil it.

Since quality, attractiveness and accessibility of the opportunities are all learning region attributes, the project addresses these concerns by providing learning materials (e.g. from LILLIPUT), indicators (e.g. from INDICATORS), and case studies of good practice to enable regions to increase awareness of the need.  Workshops will certainly be attractive examples of how to do it.

The EUROlocal and the learning region message is one of European harmony and tolerance. Workshops will reinforce that through the materials used. Examples of regional learning projects that promote internationalism and communication between European children and adults from different countries, as in the PALLACE project, will be actively marketed as a priority.

This is the purpose of EUROlocal - to gather all products, processes, tools, materials, recommendations, strategies, case studies etc and encourage their best use by using the PENR3L and other networks to actively market them and encourage their exploitation in the regions. The web site and the learning materials produced by the project will also be of great value to this process.

The materials collected by EUROlocal cover all aspects of learning region activity including the different stakeholders - schools, universities, adult education, enterprise, community, administration. The stakeholder audits in the INDICATORS project are an example. They promote the active participation of these organisations in learning region activities. So will the learning materials developed by the project to assist take-up.  Workshops are specifically designed for this objective's purpose.

Four major aspects of EUROLOCAL have a part to play a) Collection of data from all sources will be a two-way communication process with regions in a dissemination exercise covering all Europe b) the website will be interactive and innovative, permitting easy identification and access to knowledge c) the existence of this treasure house will be actively marketed by networks d) learning materials will be designed e) Workshops will be marketing oriented to activate a cascade process by delegates.

EUROlocal will not only collect tools, strategies, reports, projects, materials etc on learning regions - the 'what' - it will also actively stress the 'how' and the 'why' of this key European policy. Partners, who themselves lead their own extensive networks, will contact all the key European networks e.g. CoR, EAEA, Eurocities. The marketing literature and the learning materials it creates will use all these networks to generate exploitation.

This is a sectoral and thematic cross-sector project. Learning regions are created by joint action among its stakeholders in schools, universities, adult colleges, enterprises and the regional administrations themselves. The INDICATORS , TELS and PENR3L projects developed materials for all these. Thus the knowledge on the interactive web site will stress interaction and partnerships between the stakeholders. This is a key project message. 

The web site will be the key knowledge tool for the housing of the information. It will use modern techniques, grouping information into logical groups with a navigation hierarchy, but also using blogs/moving images/rich media and encouraging users to ‘digg’.  Information will be ’clustered,' ‘tagged’ and associated with regions, topics, sectors, language etc. Partners will analyse input, develop marketing tools & learning materials suitable to particular regions and ensure that they are known.

The partners include 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 and base in DACE, University of Glasgow. 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 other partners are Universus – CSEI, Bari, Italy, Lernende Regionen Deutschland e.V., Munich, Germany and University of Pecs, Hungary.

Work packages
1. Designing and developing the Audit
2. Design, develop and maintain innovative website
3. Knowledge gathering
4. Testing learning region development tools
5. Active Learning materials development
6. Regional development organisations database
7. Writing of publicity literature for regions
8. Recommendations for European Policy Document on Learning Regions
9. Organisation of Seminar
10. Project Management
11. Dissemination
12. Exploitation
13. Quality Control
14. Reports

Point of Contact (for queries): Lynette Jordan 0141 330 1801