- Marchmont Observatory
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Marchmont Observatory Abbreviation Marchmont/SLIM Formation 1998 Legal status Regional Skills & Employment Intelligence & Statistics Resource - Company Ltd by Guarantee Purpose/focus To provide data and analysis for decision makers Location Exeter, Devon, UK Region served South West (England) Director Chris Evans (University of Exeter) Assistant Director Ben Neild Affiliations South West RDA, Government Office for the South West, Office for National Statistics (ONS), Association for Regional Observatories (ARO) Website Marchmont Website The Marchmont Observatory conducts academic research in support of local government policy formation in the field of skills, employment and lifelong learning through good practice capture and dissemination, networking, the development of learning programmes and action based research.
Established by University of Exeter[1] in 1998 following a £3m bid to the ADAPT Programme of the European Union, the Observatory was established initially as a partnership between the University of Exeter, the Open University, the BBC[2], TUC, IBM, NETg and FT Management and strong links continue. The early focus of the Observatory was the field of ICT and learning and a close collaboration with the University for Industry/learndirect[3].
As part of its commitment to develop regional expertise, the Observatory has established the Skills and Learning Intelligence Module of the Regional Observatory on behalf of partners in the region. Through this, intelligence & statistics on the labour and skills markets, are provided to stakeholders in the South West.
Because of its presence within the University the Observatory staff are able to draw upon the expertise of other parts of the University and work closely with the similar Research Centres often developing joint projects[4].
Core activities
The aim of the Marchmont Observatory is to improve evidence based practice in the field of lifelong learning. This is achieved through: • Supporting the exchange of ideas and good practice between practitioners, policy makers and researchers. This is done through supporting a nationwide and regional learning communities supported by virtual and actual networking arrangements • Providing on-line knowledge management systems, including a good practice database and research databases, for users to access information and intelligence • Stimulating action-based research into key themes emerging from user networks, including production of toolkits and learning programmes • Collecting information on existing practice and relevant research, analysing it and making it intelligent and accessible for users • Disseminating research and practice to practitioners and policy makers through a range of media, including web based and more traditional formats • Demonstrating and developing practitioners' understanding of the benefits of new technologies for knowledge creation and management[5]
South West Observatory - Skills and Learning (SLIM)
'the key co-ordinator, assembler, analyser and disseminator of skills and learning information in the South West' The Skills and Learning Intelligence Module (SLIM) provides a source of robust and accessible evidence on the skills and learning needs of individuals and businesses across the South West to inform policy decisions, funding programmes, organisational and partnership strategies and individual projects[6]. The development of SLIM has been driven by the growing emphasis on the region as a focus for promoting sustainable economic and social development and a national emphasis on evidence based practice.
SLIM offers a range of services, to capture, synthesise and disseminate knowledge on skills and learning. • It develops on-line databases of research and data; • It drives discussion and analysis of this information through e-newsletters; a quarterly Bulletin; on-line discussions; workshops and thematic reports. • It offers individual advice and analysis through a help-desk and through direct working with the RDA and Regional Assembly. • As a key module of the South West Regional Observatory, it will increasingly work with the other modules to contribute to a holistic understanding of the region’s path to sustainable development.
SLIM supports the South West Regional Employment & Skills Board (SWRESB) which is 'the way in which key regional partners led by the RDA develop and deliver agreed plans to address the skills and employment needs of employers and individuals within the region'. It does this in its role as secretariat to the South West Research Forum where it works in partnership to identify gaps in current knowledge, secure resources and commission research to fill these gaps[7].
For further information on the work of SLIM see the website.
References
As of this edit, this article uses content from "About the Marchmont Observatory", which is licensed in a way that permits reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, but not under the GFDL. All relevant terms must be followed.
- ^ Osborne, Rich."Graduate School of Education :: Research :: Marchmont Observatory :: Research for the learning age", University of Exeter, GSE, Exeter, 15 October 2008. Retrieved on 2010-11-08.
- ^ Balfour-Farry, Felicity."ICT coach - the ICT skills for life community", BBC, London, 15 February 2008. Retrieved on 2010-11-08.
- ^ Broadhead, Gillian."Academic e-Learning Organisations", e-Learning Centre, Sheffield, 4 September 2002. Retrieved on 2010-11-08.
- ^ Willis, Richard."What employers want... - good ideas", Dick Sblog, London, 29 August 2006. Retrieved on 2010-11-08.
- ^ Schmoller, Seb."ALT News digest 83", Association for Learning Technology, Oxford, 7 April 2005. Retrieved on 2010-11-08.
- ^ Dunne, Andrew."Thematic Modules", South West Observatory Limited, Taunton, 15 October 2008 Retrieved on 2010-11-08.
- ^ Ovens, David."Marchmont Observatory - Research for the learning age", DoWeb, Flintshire, 8 November 2010. Retrieved on 2010-11-08.
External links
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