Home Page > Digital libraries > Limerick 2008

6th PASCAL Conference

Learning Regions’ Role in Regional Development and Regeneration

University of Limerick, Ireland, 28th-30th May 2008

Presentation

PENR3L and PASCAL are combining forces to organise one of 2008’s most important conferences covering the issues of Regional Development, Social Capital and Regeneration. The conference will have the twin goals of the dissemination of the findings of the PENR3L project and to showcase the latest research findings of the PASCAL Observatory. The central themes of Regional Development, Learning Regions, Social Capital and Regeneration have been the central areas of investigation for the PENR3L Project and are the pivotal strands of the PASCAL Observatory.

The key focus will not be on regional development or the development of the learning region per se but rather the impact these have in terms of regional regeneration and development that has flowed from the efforts to develop learning regions.

The learning region has now been well defined but for the purpose of this conference it will encompass both urban and rural dimensions and is not confined to administrative or geographical boundaries. In the past much attention has been devoted to issues concerning the ability to mobilise the many and varied players in the region but the focus of this combined conference is outcomes which have been achieved. Not all efforts have been successful and in this regard papers submitted for consideration do not have to be exclusively associated with fruitful initiatives and outcomes.

Parallel sessions of presented papers, demonstration projects which illustrate good practice, and roundtable discussions will allow for debate and discussion on a range of topics associated with the central themes of the conference.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------^^^

Who should attend?

The conference is designed to attract both researchers and practitioners across the many fields of Place Management, Social Capital, Regional Development, Lifelong Learning and Urban and Rural Regeneration. The conference will include keynote addresses, workshops and roundtable debates. It will appeal to the research and academic community working in these fields but will also be of significant interest to practitioners in these areas particularly from regional development agencies, local and national government agencies and regeneration organisations. The structure of the conference will facilitate the sharing of experiences and research findings across a wide range of interests including:

• The role of the Learning Region in developing regional Lifelong Learning strategies
• Learning how to create constructive partnerships at local, regional, national and international level
• Demonstrating the value of policy makers and practitioners from public, private and NGOs working with academic institutions
• Facing the challenges of changing demographics
• Disseminating applied research findings to end users
• Demonstrating engagement with community networks for social change

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------^^^

Conference themes

he central theme of Regional Development and Regeneration has been the central area of investigation for the PENR3L Project and is also one of the pivotal strands of the PASCAL Observatory. It is also been a key area of work for the OECD/IMHE, who are making contributions to this event based on the work of the project: Supporting the Contribution of Higher Education Institutions to Regional Development.

We invite contributions to the conference themes from a range of discipline areas and multi-disciplinary contexts including architecture, planning, urban and rural development, education, community learning and social policy. In addition to the conference proceedings, papers will be considered for a proposed book based on the themes of the conference.

We invite contributions to roundtable discussions with the following three themes:

• The role of Lifelong Learning in the development of the Learning Region
• The role of Education in the Regeneration Process
• The effectiveness of Regional Development in enhancing Social Cohesion

We invite traditional academic papers, policy and practice papers and demonstration projects, which will be grouped into sub-themes as follows:

• Regional Development
• Social Capital
• Regeneration
• Learning Regions

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------^^^

Submitting an abstract

Deadline: Friday 8 February 2008

We welcome submission of abstracts for individual papers and demonstration projects illustrating good practice, which are focused on one or more of the conference themes. They may include reporting on policy development, innovative practice, research in progress or completed research, methodological issues, theoretical issues or conceptual issues. We particularly welcome paper that have an international comparative dimension.

Abstracts should indicate:

The nature of the paper, for example, whether it is a report on completed research, work in progress, an analytical or discussion paper, a demonstration project of practice or a roundtable contribution. A roundtable proposal should consist of between three and five short contributions on one of three key themes listed above, whilst other proposals may be focussed on any of the four sub-themes above.

• The issues the paper raises
• The relationship of the paper to other literature, research, etc.
• The approach to the topic, and where relevant an outline of methodology, sample, etc.
• Conclusions and recommendations

Abstracts should not exceed 500 words. The working language for the conference is English. Abstracts must be submitted electronically (Rich Text Format or Microsoft Word) no later than Friday 8 February 2008.

Please send by e-mail to: pascal@stir.ac.uk

Proposals must clearly state:

• The sub-theme for which the abstract is submitted
• Full name(s), job title(s), place(s) of employment, postal, telephone, fax and e-mail address(es) of proposers

Abstracts will be reviewed and contributors will be notified regarding acceptance of their papers by 28th February 2008.

Each paper will be allocated 35 minutes in duration. Presentations should be no longer than 25 minutes, leaving at least 10 minutes for discussion and questions. Roundtable sessions will be allocated at least 90 minutes. Completed papers should not exceed 4000 words. All published papers will have been subject to an anonymous, full refereeing process. Deadline for submission of full papers is 30th April 2008. Details of submission format will be circulated with acceptance of abstracts.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------^^^

Conference's official web site

Please check the conference's official web site for updates and further details.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------^^^