Welcome to the 16th edition of the Observatory PASCAL Newsletter – an e-newsletter about the development of this strategic information tracking and sharing service of international developments in place management, social capital and learning regions within the knowledge economy.

You have received this e-newsletter because of your expressed interest in tracking the progress of this initiative. If you do not wish to receive any further editions of the Observatory PASCAL newsletter, please follow the instructions at the bottom of the page to be removed from our mailing list.

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NOTE: Last chance to register for the fourth PASCAL International Conference which will be held in Melbourne, Australia, July 13-14, 2006 – The deadline for full papers has been extended to July 5, 2006. *Papers submitted after this date will NOT appear in the conference proceedings.
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In this issue:
1. Interim Programme for PASCAL Observatory’s Fourth International Conference
2. Chris Shepherd’s Briefing Note to Hot Topics paper by Martin Yarnit
3. Martin Yarnit’s Hot Topics paper, "Area Regeneration in England: Is there a success formula?”
4. Conferences and Events
5. New Book Notices
6. New Items in the PASCAL library
7. About the PASCAL Observatory Project

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1. Interim Programme for PASCAL Observatory’s Fourth International Conference
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For information about the fourth international conference hosted by the PASCAL Observatory, and to register, please visit: http://www.obs-pascal.com/docs.php?doc=154. Registration includes lunch, conference papers, an invitation to PASCAL's book launch and a copy of the book.

* BOOK LAUNCH – Sponsored by The City of Melbourne
Thursday 13 July 2006
The Supper Room, Melbourne Town Hall, 90-120 Swanston Street (near Flinders St), Melbourne Vic

5:30 – 6:30 PASCAL Book Launch: ‘Making Knowledge Work Sustaining Learning Communities and Regions’. The book is the proceedings from PASCAL's 3rd international conference in October 2005 convened in Scotland: Making Knowledge Work: Building Sustainable Partnerships through Place Management, Social Capital and Lifelong Learning. The conference examined the policy and practice implications of research in different models of place management, the role of social capital and learning regions, and future research directions in these areas.

* CONFERENCE
Friday 14 July 2006
Storey Hall, 344 Swanston Street (near the corner of Swanston and La Trobe Streets), Melbourne Vic

8.30 – 9.00 Registration and tea/coffee (Foyer)

9.00 – 9.10 Welcome: Professor Margaret Gardner, Vice Chancellor and President, RMIT University

9.10 – 9.30 PASCAL and Conference Overview: Professor Bruce Wilson, RMIT University; Professor Mike Osborne, University of Stirling

9.30 – 10.30 Keynote: “Contemporary Social and Economic Priorities and Practices: How they are Changing – An International Perspective,” by Professor Barry McGaw AO, former Director for Education in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Melbourne University.
10.30 – 11.00 Morning Tea

11.00 – 12.00 Concurrent Papers (Break Out Rooms)

12.00 – 1.00 Plenary: Governance (Main Hall)
Sue Vardon, Chief Executive, Department of Families and Communities, South Australia; Dr. Ruth Dunkin, founding member of PASCAL, Victoria; Peter Welsh, Research Director, Kent County Council, UK.

1.00 – 2.00 Lunch (Foyer)

2.00 – 2.45 Plenary Learnings (Panel to be confirmed)

2.45 – 3.45 Concurrent Papers (Break Out Rooms)

3.45 – 4.30 Closing Plenary
Moderators: David Adams, Executive Director, Strategic Policy & Research Division, Department for Victorian Communities; Joseph Konvitz, Head of Division, Regulatory Policy, Directorate for Public Governance & Territorial Development, OECD; Professor David Charles, David Goldman Chair of Business Innovation and Director, Policy and Practice, University of Newcastle.

4.30 – 4.45 Close: Jarl Bergesston, Chair, PASCAL Board and former Head, Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI), OECD.

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2. Chris Shepherd’s Briefing Note to Hot Topics paper by Martin Yarnit
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PASCAL's 11th Hot Topic paper by Martin Yarnit, “Area Regeneration in England: is there a Success Formula?” looks at the British Government’s new approach to community regeneration initiatives in England where ring fenced expenditure is focused on the most deprived neighbourhoods within a wider community. The paper explores how multi-agency partnerships in 88 of the most deprived municipalities in England receive Neighbourhood Renewal Funding (now in its third year) to tackle the key causes of deprivation.

This is an interesting paper which clearly sets out much of the recent developments in community regeneration but in many ways the paper raises more questions than answers and illustrates that short term government can't deliver long term transformation. It is clear from all the evidence that the measure of success for regeneration, whether it is in education outcomes or health indicators will only materialise well beyond the lifetime of a single government and must be an unattractive option for politicians for whom a week in politics is a long time.

With short term success remaining illusive, how can politicians be persuaded to stay in there for the long haul?

Read the Briefing Note: http://www.obs-pascal.com/docs.php?doc=163

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3. Martin Yarnit’s Hot Topics paper, "Area Regeneration in England: Is there a success formula?”
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“UK governments are currently investing record levels of public funds in regeneration programmes.
In England alone – the focus of this study – the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund has provided £1.875 billion over the period 2001-2006 to 88 of the most deprived authorities to help them improve public services in their most deprived neighbourhoods and meet key local and national targets for narrowing the gap with the rest of the country. Spending Review 2004 (SR04) made available a further £525m. Given this level of commitment to the economic and social transformation of disadvantaged places and groups, it is hardly surprising that the government should scrutinise the outcomes with special interest.”

“Th(is) study draws on a growing body of evaluation studies in the UK to identify effective practice in regeneration and to isolate success factors. The study represents a deliberate attempt to relate this Hot Topic to previous work for Pascal, to promote the sense of debate and dialogue that is the life force of a virtual network. It draws on the work by Faris, Mowbray and Healy as well as recent work on social capital in the UK by Green and others. It also draws on a considerable body of research on the economies of deprived communities and on sustainable communities including work published by Joseph Rowntree Foundation. It also reflects new thinking from the European Union about what makes for successful cities. Finally, it attempts to integrate thinking about sustainable communities with the 3-part Pascal framework: place management, social capital and lifelong learning.

Read the Hot Topics paper: http://www.obs-pascal.com/resources/hottopic_martinyarnitjune2006.pdf

* ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Martin Yarnit specialises in the links between lifelong learning, employment and urban regeneration. He is a Neighbourhood Renewal Adviser to the NRU on Education and Worklessness and joint director of Martin Yarnit Associates with Liz Cousins. His recent projects include work on school performance in Nottingham, Manchester, and Bristol; evaluation of learning networks in South Wales and Swindon; advising DfES on testbed learning communities; and running a series of seminars for the Sheffield vocom network on lifelong learning and neighbourhood renewal. He has recently designed a framework for recognising resident achievement in regeneration for GO West Midlands.

* FURTHER READING

Ron Faris (2004) “Lifelong Learning, Social Capital and Place Management in Learning Communities and Regions: a Rubic’s Cube or a Kaleidoscope?” PASCAL Observatory, Hot Topic, September 2004.
http://www.obs-pascal.com/resources/faris_2004.pdf

Martin Mowbray (2004) “Beyond Community Capacity Building: the Effect of Government on Social Capital” PASCAL Observatory, Hot Topic, December 2004.
http://www.obs-pascal.com/resources/mowbray_dec_2004.pdf

Tom Healy (2005) “Social Capital and Educational Policy: Serious Issues from an Imaginary Conversation with a Minister” PASCAL Observatory, May 2005.
http://www.obs-pascal.com/resources/tomhealy_may2005.pdf

Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield Hallam University
http://www.shu.ac.uk/research/cresr/index.html

Geoffrey Meen, Kenneth Gibb, Jennifer Goody, Thomas McGrath and Jane Mackinnon (2005) “Economic segregation in England: Causes, consequences and policy” Bristol, UK: Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Policy Press
https://www.jrf.org.uk/bookshop/ebooks/multi01-1861348428.pdf

ODPM (2006) “European Evidence Review Papers: UK Presidency EU Miniterial Informal on Sustainable Communities”, March 2006, London, UK: ODPM Publications.
http://www.odpm.gov.uk/pub/478/EuropeanEvidenceReviewPapersUKPresidencyEUMinisterialInformalonSustainableCommus_id1164478.pdf

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4. Conferences and Events
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SEPTEMBER

* Learning Communities Conference 2006
September 24-27, 2006 in Brisbane, Australia

The Australian Learning Communities Network biannual conference is a major three-day event focused on exploring practitioners' perspectives of developing and sustaining learning communities. The 2006 conference aims to provide networking, skills development, policy debate and trigger conversations and actions, which will support increasing community activity making a positive social and economic impact in Australian communities. It will actively bring together leaders in all forms of learning, service providers, industry and government to pursue how communities can embed real learning outcomes.

Website: http://www.learningcommunities2006.qut.edu.au/
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* Governments & Communities in Partnership: From Theory to Practice
September 25-27, 2006 in Melbourne, Australia

Organised with the support of the OECD, this conference will bring together key policy makers, community leaders and researchers from around Australia, together with leading experts from the UK, Ireland, Austria, Canada, the United States and New Zealand. The aim of the program is to deepen the academic and policy debate about the impact and value of efforts to 'join-up' different public services and related initiatives to strengthen communities. ??

Website: http://www.public-policy.unimelb.edu.au/conference06/index.html
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OCTOBER

* Child in the City: 3rd European Conference
October 16-18, 2006 in Stuttgart, Germany

This conference will seek to identify guiding principles and practices for the realisation of child-friendly cities. Specifically, it will focus on mobility from five viewpoints: urban planning integrating children's view on mobility; the design of space of children to enable them to move in the living environment; public transport; children's participation and mobility; and children's mobility and health.

Website: http://www.europoint-bv.com/child2006
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NOVEMBER

* 28th European Association for University Lifelong Learning Conference
November 4-6, 2006 in Kaunas, Lithuania

Website: http://www.eaea.org/events.php?k=3996&aid=3996
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* Learning Cities and International Education Conference
November 5-8, 2006 in Adelaide, Australia

The conference aims to unite key international educators with business, community and government leaders, to explore the mutual benefits of international education and the creation of sustainable, dynamic cities. Conference highlights will include informed and passionate debate on the development of creative learning cities, the showcasing of innovative programs, products and services, education and industry site visits and significant networking opportunities with Australian and international government officials, business and community leaders and international educators.

Website: http://www.learningcities.net.au/
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* ALA Conference - Social Capital: Learning for Living
November 23-25, 2006 in Melbourne Australia

Features and social events will include:
International and local keynote speakers
Interactive workshops and presentations
Arrivals cocktail reception
Annual conference dinner
ALA National Awards 2006

Website: http://www.ala.asn.au/conf/2006/natconf2006.htm
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* Social Policy and Regional Development
November 30, 2006 in Zagreb, Croatia

Social policy and regional development are often narrowly defined and treated as separate and distinct areas of scientific study. Indeed, in the context of transition and prospective membership of the European Union, reforms in each are considered necessary and are the subject of scientific and political debate in Croatia as in many other countries. This conference aims to bring the topics together and to explore aspects of territorial cohesion, social inclusion and social justice. It will focus on the regional (sub-national) dimensions of social policy, and the social dimensions of regional development policy.

Call for papers (pdf): http://www.regio-hr.com/eaadmin/catpics/N269_2_E_1.pdf
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* Symposium on Social Architecture
November 14-15, 2006 in Cambridge, MA

The Symposium will bring together the leading lights of the social software and social media space to discuss the overarching themes and underlying technologies that are driving the massive uptake of people-centered, user-driven, individual-connecting applications, communities, content, and services. Participants will investigate emerging social architectures, the convergence of social software, social media and social computing that is a critical element of the next generation Web. We will explore the implications for business and beyond of these technologies and their application.

Website: http://www.corante.com/events/ssa/
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PASCAL listing of conferences and events for 2006: http://www.obs-pascal.com/events.php

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5. New Book Notices
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* Peter Geoffrey Hall and Kathy Pain (Eds) (2006), “The Polycentric Metropolis: Learning from Mega-city Regions in Europe”, Earthscan publications.

A new 21st century urban phenomenon is emerging: the networked polycentric mega-city region. Developed around one or more cities of global status, it is characterized by a cluster of cities and towns, physically separate but intensively networked in a complex division of spatial labour. This book describes and analyses eight such regions in northwest Europe (southeast England, the Bassin Parisien, central Belgium, the Dutch Randstad, Rhine-Ruhr, Rhine-Main, northern Switzerland and Greater Dublin), showing how businesses interrelate and communicate in geographical space – within each region, between regions, and with the wider world. It goes on to show the profound consequences for spatial planning and regional development.
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* Barbara Arneil (2006) “Diverse Communities: The Problem with Social Capital”, Cambridge University Press (Available September 2006)

Diverse Communities is a critique of Robert Putnam's social capital thesis, re-examined from the perspective of women and cultural minorities in America over the last century. Barbara Arneil argues that the idyllic communities of the past were less positive than Putnam envisions and that the current 'collapse' in participation is better understood as change rather than decline. Arneil suggests that the changes in American civil society in the last half century are not so much the result of generational change or television as the unleashing of powerful economic, social and cultural forces that, despite leading to division and distrust within American society, also contributed to greater justice for women and cultural minorities. She concludes by proposing that the lessons learned from this fuller history of American civil society provide the normative foundation to enumerate the principles of justice by which diverse communities might be governed in the twenty-first century.
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* Ann Dale and Jenny Onyx (Eds) (2005), “A Dynamic Balance: Social Capital And Sustainable Community Development”, University of British Columbia, UBC Press

Sustainable development is often viewed as having three imperatives: ecological, economic, and social. A Dynamic Balance illuminates the importance of understanding the social dimension as it examines the links between social capital and sustainable development within the overall context of local community development. Looking at case studies in both Australia and Canada, it draws upon lessons that can be learned to reconnect large urban centres and smaller communities. Given the number of small communities in both countries struggling to diversify from single-resource economies in a context of increasing globalization, the analysis touches on several critical public policy issues. The contributors argue that the key strategies for communities must be embedded in the dialectics of sustainable development. Unless this critical imperative is met, single-resource economy communities will continue to face ecological, social, and economic collapse.

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6. New in the PASCAL Library
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* Robert Furbey, Richard Farnell, Doreen Finneron (2006) “Faith As Social Capital: Connecting or Dividing?” Joseph Rowntree Foundation, The Policy Press

An assessment of how faith communities contribute to building social capital. Faith communities have been identified as important sources of ‘social capital’ in community development and regeneration. But religion is also associated with conflict and division. How far is this faith in ‘faith’ justified? And how far should faith communities comply? Faith as social capital assesses the debate and the evidence. It: summarises the controversies surrounding the idea of 'social capital' and the place of 'faith' in community policy; assesses the contribution of faith communities to social capital, which extends beyond bonding to building bridges and linking with others in civil society; and identifies policy and practice implications for secular and faith organisations and networks. The research in the report encompasses five major faith traditions (Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh) across four English regions. It explores the nature of social capital stemming from faith buildings, associations, engagement with governance and participation in the wider public domain.

http://www.jrf.org.uk/bookshop/eBooks/9781861348388.pdf
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* Romina Boarini, Asa Johansson and Marco Mira d'Ercole (2006) “Alternative Measures of Well-Being” OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, no. 33.

All discussions about the desirability of policy reforms rest on judgements about their effects on individuals and societal well-being. Yet, suitable measures for assessing how well-being is changing over time or compares across countries are lacking. This problem is, of course, not new and standard economic theory has provided, over the years, a range of insights about the criteria and domains that are most critical for the measurement of well-being, and on the relation between well-being and measures of economic resources. This paper assesses whether GDP per capita is an adequate proxy as a measure of well-being or whether other indicators — used either as substitutes or as complements to GDP per capita — are more suitable for that purpose.

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/13/38/36165332.pdf
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Kristin M. Ferguson (2006) “Social Capital and Children's Wellbeing: a Critical Synthesis of the International Social Capital Literature” International Journal of Social Welfare, Vol. 15, pp 2-18.

Drawing on international social capital literature, this article presents a critical synthesis of the idea of social capital in relation to the well being of children and youth.

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-2397.2006.00575.x
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Mark Gaved and Ben Anderson (2006) “The impact of local ICT initiatives on social capital and quality of life”, University of Essex, Chimera Working Paper, No. 2006-06

This paper reviews evidence of the effects of local information and communication technology (ICT) initiatives, or 'community networks', in fostering community social capital through education, job opportunities, encouraging community activities, and increasing general sociability within a local area. The report examines material from a wide range of countries, both inside and outside the European Union, in order to draw a rich picture of the effects of networked community initiatives and to help to ensure more effective application of community ICTs.

http://www.essex.ac.uk/chimera/content/pubs/wps/CWP-2006-06-Local-ICT-Social-Capital.pdf
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* Stephen Machin (2006) “Social Disadvantage and Education Experiences” OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, no. 32.

This paper discusses how social disadvantage affects the learning experiences of households with fewer economic resources, at each stage of the individuals' life-course, and on some of the "social" effects of such learning. It argues that while education can be an escalator out of social disadvantage - leading to better job prospects for youths facing greater risks of poverty and reducing the prevalence of income poverty in adult age - educational failure can reinforce it. Far from "equalising" opportunities, education can be a powerful driver of social selection. When returns to education increase over time, this may lead to greater inter-generational persistence of poverty and less equality of opportunities.

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/13/60/36165298.pdf
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* eGov Monitor (2006) “Shifting Paradigms in the Public Sector”
This eGov monitor special examines many issues surrounding transforming government, offering detailed perspectives from stakeholders representing different levels of politics and public sector, the private sector, thought influencers, academia and others. The core themes explored are: Business Transformation in Government and the wider public sector; Citizen Centric Services and Democratic Renewal; Security, Trust and Information Management; and Opportunities and Challenges of Developing a Sustainable Knowledge Economy.

http://mi.egovmonitor.com/public/
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* H. Peter Oberlander, O.C. (ed.) (2005) “The Planning City”, Vancouver Working Group, Discussion Paper for the World Urban Forum.

This paper is part of Turning Ideas into Action, a themed series created in preparation for the 2006 World Urban Forum. The paper focuses particularly on the role of universities and colleges in the learning city, examining the different dimensions of sustainability education and best practices from British Columbia, across Canada and internationally. Lessons from this are applied to envisioning a new Centre for the Learning City in Vancouver's new Great Northern Way Campus.

http://www.wd.gc.ca/ced/wuf/planning/
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* George Dodds and Kazys Varnelis (eds) (2006) Journal of Architectural Education, Special Edition "1966: Forty Years After", Vol. 59, Issue 3, Blackwell Publishing

This special issue of JAE brings together a core of emerging scholars on 20th-century architecture and urbanism to explore the complex relations among culture, architecture, art, technology, and urban planning that were beginning to take shape in the middle of the most tumultuous post-war decade, the 1960s. The authors in this issue confront a wide range of critical topics that are central to architectural theory and practice circa 1966 and continue to resonate in our larger culture. Guest

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/toc/joae/59/3
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* Tim Campbell (2006) “Learning Cities: Acquiring Knowledge, Intelligence, and Identity in Complex Systems” Urban Age Institute

The problem of achieving sustainable cities is not merely one of technology transfer. Rather, it is a much more involved process of institutional change. A key sequence in city decisions is the process by which city institutional tissue gets formed, achieves a self-conscious identity, is accepted as valuable and endorsed by the broad community, and takes on the policy and practical tasks of achieving sustainable development. A decade of research and analytical work in academic and development agencies has begun to reveal the importance of collective modalities —for university researchers, venture capitalists, innovators, regions, and cities—as a strategy in achieving learning entities. The paper reviews empirical data about city learning drawn from both developed and developing countries and presents a typology to describe common modalities of city learning.

http://www.urbanage.org/usi/docs/USI_Learning_Cities.pdf
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* Geoffrey Booth (ed) (2006) “Five World Cities”, Case studies presented at the Inaugural World Cities Forum in London in June 2005 by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) in co-operation with the World Bank, Urban Age Magazine, Winter 05/06

Amongst 5 world cities, what is each one doing—in terms of new policies, new initiatives, and new approaches—to enhance both the city's prosperity and the community's livability?

http://www.urbanage.org/uai.win06/article_02.html
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* Policy Research Initiative (2006) “The Emergence of Cross-Border Regions”, PRI Briefing Note.

This briefing note provides a concise and accessible executive summary of the PRI's 2005 Interim Report on cross-border regions which discussed the extensive economic and institutional linkages along the Canada-US border and potential policy implications for the Canadian government. This Briefing Note also presents the results of a survey involving leaders from business, various levels of government, academia, think-tanks, cross-border organizations, and associations on the extent and significance of the emergence of these cross-border regions.

http://policyresearch.gc.ca/doclib/XBorder_BN_e.pdf
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For more new research, policy papers and articles visit the PASCAL Library: http://www.obs-pascal.com/library.php

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7. About Observatory PASCAL
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PASCAL is an international research and policy development alliance which aims to develop, communicate and explain new and emerging ideas about place management, social capital and learning regions.

Read more about the Observatory PASCAL project http://www.obs-pascal.com/about.php and our project partners and stakeholders: http://www.obs-pascal.com/alliances.php

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If you have any comments regarding this e-newsletter or you would like to submit an item for publication, please contact Charlotte Scarf at: charlotte.scarf@rmit.edu.au

If you do not wish to receive any further editions of the Observatory PASCAL news, please follow this link to be removed from our mailing list: http://www.obs-pascal.com/subscribe.php?unsub=326&email=charlotte.scarf@rmit.edu.au