LCN Pathfinder Project

Sue Cara, Associate Director of NIACE, then took the platform to give an overview of the Learning City Network Pathfinder Project. The aim of this project had been to field test Practice, Progress and Value, a guide produced by the LCN in conjunction with the DfEE to help learning communities evaluate their activities and achievements. The Pathfinder Project supported 18 learning community initiatives in the use of the Guide to develop and evaluate their work. Sue Cara explained how their activities covered four different strands:

• developing and sustaining partnerships;

• marketing learning;

• learning and regeneration;

• the use of ICT strategies.

Of the many important outcomes to emerge from the Pathfinder Project, the first concerned the importance of having the right balance of members in a partnership and the need for clarity about members' roles. There were questions about maintaining partnerships in the long term, an area where the LCN had plenty of experience. The main issue for the marketing initiatives was how to attract those people who did not think learning was for them. Many learning communities were preaching to the half-converted rather than to a non-converted audience. Finally, faced with a wealth of ICT initiatives, there was a need to reflect on how these could be joined up to benefit learning. "Joining up is something that Learning Cities are good at doing and I think the refreshing thing is that they do the joining up at a level where it can make a difference," Sue Cara concluded.

A series of good practice guides have been produced as a result of the Pathfinder Project. Needless to say, copies were eagerly snapped up by conference delegates.