To these ends, the academic partners have spent the first year developing and testing a new learning needs audit tool (available on http://www.lilaraproject.com/homepage.asp) with local authority staff in selected councils across Europe. These are based in Stirling (Scotland), Akershus (Norway), Pecs (Hungary), Catania (Sicily, Italy), Limerick (Ireland) and Toulouse (France).

Plans are now also well underway to roll out the audit in the second year to other key stakeholders in the local and regional context, namely schools, universities, adult vocational colleges, business and industry, museums and libraries. The audit is in two parts: the first part is designed to engage staff in thinking about the concept of a Learning City and for the researchers to gain some insight into their understanding of it; the second is to ask staff what training they think they need as an individual.

Dual commitment: development and research
LILARA is a good example of PASCAL's dual commitment to community and regional development on the one hand, and to new research and theoretical approaches on the other. With careful planning and thoughtful sampling, we find that these two can complement each other well.

Data from the learning needs audit tool, which is interactive and written with the close co-operation of council staff, are informing the structure, method and content of training days to meet staff learning needs, as identified by them. In addition to this function, the data has also offered a valuable insight into staff perceptions of their council through the (anonymised) responses, and into their own learning and training requirements for the future of their authorities as learning cities and regions. The councils will be asked to evaluate the LILARA project for delivery, content and effectiveness in achieving the aim of the project for them.

The learning materials for the training days are designed using, as well as the learners' responses, materials developed from another European Commission project, Lilliput (Lifelong Learning Leadership for Inspiring People Undergoing Transformation) with downloadable modules on many aspects of Learning City principle and practice. The book Learning Cities, Learning Regions, Learning Communities (Longworth 2006) also has accompanying downloadable sessions with assignments and exercises to match the topics in the book.

Also very helpful are the excellent guidelines for learning communities in Australia produced under the Department of Victorian Communities Best Value approach, which enable councils to determine the most effective means of providing a service to the community. Where relevant training materials are not available from any one of these sources, the LILARA partners will create them.

At the same time as the developmental work continues with all staffs across the councils, research data are being gathered from the top four levels of management. This smaller and discrete sample set will make it possible to analyse the data to provide some in-depth understanding of the respondents' perspectives on the Learning City . As with the developmental part of the project, the qualitative data are being analysed thematically - for example, where respondents have been asked to explain their reasoning for the answer they gave to a question.

In addition, for the management groups, we are also gathering new data for analysis and the development of a theoretical model to help us understand how managers identify their own learning needs for fuller and more effective participation in a learning organisation. The application of the audit at all levels and stages of the project is respectful of the anonymity of the respondents and this is aided by the inclusion of non-respondents in the invitation to attend the training day.

Initial data collection
By way of example, the data gathered in one city provides a flavour of the richness of response to, and engagement in, both parts of the audit tool and its offer to explore both what a learning region is and the potential involvement in it for every employee. The analysis presented here comes from the development (rather than the research) function of the project. Since this analysis, the audit has been sent out again twice (via the council website) and each time significant numbers of council staff respond, suggesting that interest in the audit and in the staff's own assessment of their individual learning needs is growing. At the beginning, only a small number of staff (75) considered it to be relevant. To date, beyond an encouraging letter from the Chief Executive, there has been no 'hard sell' and it has been entirely voluntary as to whether staff completed the audit or not.

Engagement
The data analysis has been encouraging as it indicates an engagement in the concept from individuals in a wide range of council work areas (30) largely from those in non-managerial, often professional rather than managerial grades (73.3% compared to 21.3%). Clearly, the level of response and the data on the characteristics of the respondents with respect to for example age, gender and job characteristics are best considered in the context of the characteristics of the workforce as a whole.

This also provides a means to present the audit again to any under represented groups and to make a focused enquiry as to the cause of the under representation. For example, so far there have been few responses from those in jobs, which are based outside of the office environment. This could be indicative of a lack of interest in, or even hostility to, the concept or it may simply be that they may not have had access to the audit and need to be provided with hard copies instead, and this is being done.

Although the main function of the audit is for the respondents to identify their own learning needs, the responses they give to the questions in the first part of the audit are instructive and provide valuable insight into a local focus for the Lilliput learning materials. For example, respondents are invited to give their own definition of a Learning City (1.2) . 84% of the respondents took the trouble to do this. One respondent suggested that a Learning City was:

"…..where all citizens could access learning opportunities at any age." The city would provide not only the physical resources but adequate support for learning if required.

Another suggested that a Learning City was:
"A city in which all citizens are encouraged to participate in decision making and contribute to its future vision and to the improvement of services."

And others took exception to the question:
"Cities do not and cannot learn! People can learn ...I am beginning to question the validity of this survey."

Identifying learning needs
For staff to identify their learning needs, the second part of the audit provides a list of training categories. In addition to choosing the categories by indicating in the boxes, there is also a space for comment. So for example, in the 'Basic Knowledge' category, one respondent wrote that he or she welcomed the training as an opportunity for personal development – though some also saw the training as separate from work. Others wrote about the value of training on the learning city as an aid to helping clients.

There was a desire to understand the concept of a 'learning city' and one respondent wanted simply to be 'in the know'. Other examples of training categories are Wealth Creation, Education and Social Issues. From the responses it was clear that wealth creation is not an area which staff see as relevant to their work, despite the increased involvement of councils. The other two categories were clearly of great interest and relevance.

In the table below is a representation of the initial responses across all the categories from the council staff on their training needs. The table, best understood with reference to the on-line audit (see above for web address), is coded as follows:

The full training category names are:

• Basic knowledge, understanding and awareness
• Organisational and planning
• Wealth creation
• Social issues
• Education
• Resource and finance
• Contribution and participation
• Politics and democracy
• Technology
• Stakeholder issues
• Environment and culture.

Decisions
For the training providers, decisions have to be made on which categories to cover. Whether, for example, wealth creation should be included in the programme, precisely because staff did not identify it, will need to be resolved in discussion with council officers.

Certainly the data suggested some themes which it is clear staff will welcome – discussions around what is meant by 'learning city' using some of their own definitions; an exchange of respondents' opinions of the council as a learning city and ensuring that time is spent on the respondents' examples of the local authority as an integrated learning organisation.

In summary
The audit has revealed a commitment from staff to find out more about the concept of a learning city and how it can benefit them, the people they serve and the council as an organisation. It is clear that council staffs are a rich source of ideas – and criticism - for both elected representatives and officials to draw on and involve in the learning city.

For the research part of the project, the sample target of 50% is still some way off but there is every indication that it will be met and that the data will provide some useful insights into how senior and middle management identify their own learning needs to facilitate fuller and more effective participation in a learning organisation.

AUTHORS: Dr. Lesley Doyle, Pascal Research Fellow and Norman Longworth, Honorary Professor of Lifelong Learning at the University of Stirling , Scotland

References

Department of Victorian Communities (2006) Best Value http://www.localgovernment.vic.gov.au/web20/dvclgv.nsf/headingpagesdisplay/partnerships+and+projectsbest+value

Longworth, N. (2006) Learning Cities, Learning Regions, Learning Communities– Lifelong Learning and Local Government London: Taylor and Francis

Longworth, N. and Allwinkle, S. (2005), 'The LILLIPUT Project: developing learning materials on learning cities and regions. Final Report to the European Commission', Edinburgh : Napier University . For the on-line materials go to http://www.appui.esc-toulouse.fr and login: EUROPEAN / Password: COMMISSION; choose MES ESPACES).

The numbers in brackets refer to the audit questions