The Swedish EU Programme Office              The National Institute for Working Life, 1996

Stronger Partnership

for Learning Regions

The project “Learning Regions” was started within the framework of the European Year of Lifelong Learning. This was a joint initiative undertaken and implemented by The National Institute for Working Life and the Swedish EU Program Office in a project where the specific competencies of both agencies are being utilised.

The National Institute for Working Life contributes its knowledge and experience in the methodology to be used, “Dialogue Conferences”, which have been a fundamental element in the concept of regional development on which the project is based.

The Swedish EU Programme Office through its development program Structural Funds Objective 4 with its close connections to the regions and regional allocation of resources has been in a position to organise the work concerning conferences, take responsibility for bringing together a group of expert participants and for handling the practical details of the conferences

The goal for the series of conferences on Learning Regions has been to initiate and provide the basis for co-operation between enterprises in regions, local public bodies, organisations and other interest groups. By co-operating over the different sectors of society, the resources available for the development of competence and enterprises can be better used and achieve greater results. thereby providing the preconditions for an increase in employment and sustainable development in the regions.

Conditions for regional co-operation

The conditions for joint action and the establishment of co-operating coa-litions are very different in different sectors of society. Often it has turned out to be easiest to establish new patterns and co-operation coalitions in the private sector. Within the public sector, sometimes central steering or rigorous action frameworks have been experienced or perceived as being obstacles to local and regional co-operation with other societal bodies or with private enterprises.

There also numerous obstacles such as ideological views, traditions and often implicit action frameworks which must be bridged before the conditions for effective co-operation and the building of networks can be established.

Just as co-operation requires respect for the obstacles and difficulties that occur in joint development projects, it is essential that work from all sides is permeated by a common will for joint concrete actions. Such a joint will can come into existence through communication which provides the foundation for mutual respect and the insight that the visions of the future and the goals for concrete action are often common and at least not inconsistent with each other.

In the project on ‘Learning Regions” arenas hove been created and effective communication initiated across the boundaries between different sectors of society The form chosen - the “Dialogue Conferences” - has been tested earlier in different contexts

The ‘‘Dialogue Conferences”

“Dialogue Conferences” have inter alia been used for development work in enterprises. The results gained show that the forms used are effective in terms of increasing the preconditions for joint action, which often astonishes participants.

In the dialogue conference, it is the participants themselves who in principle are responsible for the inflow of ideas and knowledge. The aim is to provide a basis for joint concrete actions. Participants should together consider the problem and the various means of solving it. A democracy dialogue lays the foundations for co-operation.

Professor Bjorn Gustavsen has run conferences in the project “Learning Regions”. To quote him on the conferences: “It is assumed that participants are interested in running development work. They should also be representative of important interests and together they should reflect different parts of the decision-making apparatus that decides if something is going to be done. No lectures or “authoritative presentations” start these conferences. The main element during the conference is a series of discussions between participants on different issues. It̓s not necessary to reach agreement, a point which is emphasised by the conference management at the outset of the conference. Reporting takes place on the results of the discussions in the groups, not on the discussions themselves. Group composition is based on the notion that there should be some connection between the issue being discussed and the composition of the group. In addition, the ambition is that all participants should have created a “talking relationship” with all other participants in the conference. When this occurs, the foundations have been laid for future co-operation and building up the network.”

The main aim of the conference is not to develop new ideas, these are not in fact in short supply in development work, but rather to focus energies and resources on the further development and testing of ideas.

The conference staff monitor the groups, make sure they get started, and also that all participate in the discussions, and check that preparations are being made for reporting results achieved.. It puts together a conference report with conclusions from all the discussions.”

During the conferences in the project “Learning Regions”, another task has been to map the conditions for local co-operation as a background to further decisions on co-operation with the National Institute for Working Life and support from the National Institute for local and regional development work. For these reasons documentation for each conference has been supplemented by an overall analysis of the conditions for local cooperation and the building of local/regional development coalitions.

During the “Dialogue Conferences”, there are three group discussions with interim reports and a joint discussion in plenary session following the last group discussion.

Group discussion 1, approx. 1 hour: Visions

Desired characteristics of a future situation/desired position in a few years - i.e. a projection forwards in time, without focusing on the status of the current situation, but not so far ahead that the speculations become non-specific. Discussions take place in homogenous groups with persons who in principle have the same desires and values. The individual becomes a part of a group with the same background and a strong common interest.

In the project “Learning Regions”, this has meant that persons running enterprises have formed one group, municipal representatives another, organisational representatives a third, state regional bodies another, and those representing resources for education and competence development have formed another group.

Group discussion 2, approx. 1 hour: Obstacles

What difficulties are encountered when trying to realise the visions of Task 1? Discussion takes place in “diagonal” or mixed groups. Discussions take place with persons who one would not normally be meeting at the local level. The classic problem of the relationship between sectors and interest groups can then be taken up, but in forms which are less structured than if the discussions were between persons/representatives who usually meet. Discussion in this session emphasises that joint development work is not based on a “merger” of interests. However, if the conflicts are too deep, there will not be enough scope for successful outcomes.

Group discussion 3, at least 1 hour: Co-operation

Since participants should formulate concrete projects and initiatives for future development work, those responsible for implementing this should work together in a group. This means participants submitting proposals for projects or development work in their own activities. Clarifying questions: What are the aims of the possible project/development work? Organisation of the development work-executive and other similar bodies. Need or wish for external support? The conference management without putting undue pressure on the participants tries to encourage them to put forward points that are as concrete as possible and the conference together with individual participants decides which persons or instances could be responsible for a given area and further promotion of the process.

The conference staff compiles a report from the conference that is then distributed to all participants. This is the official outcome of the conference. Here there is a difference between the features of a conference: discussions are closed, but conclusions are public and open. The conclusions should be as binding as possible on future development work. The conference may, for example, lead to joint declarations of intent which are then domestically processed in the light of local and regional realities.

The basic rules for “dialogue conferences.

‒         There are no lectures or persons who are regarded as having superior knowledge.

‒         Participants should carry out the work of the conference -- bring problems to light and draw up an action plan.

‒         Participants themselves possess the relevant competencies.

‒         The effort is collective and the results jointly achieved.

‒         The time available for different discussions and reports at the conference is fight, which demonstrates that time is a central resource in development work.

‒         The task of reporting discussions should be rotated so that a wide number of persons have a specific task.

‒         Participants are responsible for the result of the conference.

‒         Great weight is put on participants synthesising and transforming the results of their discussions into binding commitments.

‒         The conference model demonstrates the importance of exchanging experience with other persons outside their own organisation.

The forms of the dialogue conference is an application of the principles of a democratic dialogue.

Regionally initiated processes

The conferences carried out in the framework of the project “Learning Regions” arise as a result of the initiative from regional co-operation in Structural Funds Objective 4. By virtue of support at the local level, the “Dialogue Conferences” carried out so far have in fact had different starting points and varying compositions of participants This has been positive since it has broadened the range of experiences and has provided arguments for expanding the use of the dialogue conference approach.

Responsibility for invitations, composition of participants and the practical details have largely been borne by the regional partnerships. The conferences have thus been profiled with respect to the situation and the players wishes on development within their respective regions.

Results

Discussions at the conferences have produced concrete results in the form of agreements between participants over co-operation, joint declarations of intent and preparatory actions for co-operation in the future, Even so the most important results are probably connected with the processes that have been initiated or promoted by the conferences:

Focusing the discussion

A conference of the type described above is a single event in a chain of events in a region, where the conditions for current and future co-operation and constellations have been built up over a long period in which traditions and earlier experiences are important. The significance of a single day̓s discussion should thus not be over-estimated.

At the same time, the involvement of participants during the conference and their reactions at the end of the day do demonstrate that something important has been happening. The groups who have participated belong to those who often participate in conferences and meetings, and are thus in a position to assess their value realistically. They often state that this type of conference has been quite different. They refer to genuine achievements during the conference day. The way “Dialogue Conferences” mobilise the knowledge and experience of participants instead of inputting knowledge from above or outside appeals to people, and strengthens their feeling of responsibility for the outcome of the conference. The opinions of the participants at the end of the “Dialogue Conferences” have been similar irrespective of whether they originate from enterprises, the public sector, education or other organisations.

The participants also have the opportunity of getting to know each other better, as a result of efforts to vary the composition of groups so that all participants create a closer “talking relationship” with each other. In this way foundations are established for building possible new coalitions.

Even though many of the participants may have met earlier, the new arena for talking becomes important, since the discussion focuses on conditions which can be influenced at the same time as new more appropriate coalitions are being formed. Experiences shows that such all-embracing discussions do not arise purely spontaneously, at least not to the extent provided by “Dialogue Conferences”.

The conditions for success and achieving results in “Dialogue Conferences” are brought about by a combination of skills and knowledge: the members of the partnerships formed under the Structural Funds Objective 4 in each county together share a deep knowledge and understanding of the players and the situation in their respective regions, whilst the central conference staff possess their experience from “Dialogue Conferences” in terms of theory and practice, and of development processes at local and regional levels, which enables them to make the conference into an effective instrument for starting processes leading to change.

Network and co-operation

In the first place, it can be assumed that the project “Learning Regions” means a reinforcement of existing co-operation in the places and regions where the conference has been carried out. Conference participants have been invited because of the existence of amongst other things earlier constellations. Network contacts from earlier have been stimulated, at the same time as these cores have led to new constellations. In one sense participants in a conference are part of a regional elite and have the task within their respective organisations of disseminating the ideas and initiatives for co-operation that have arisen during the conference day. Past experience shows that conference participants feel a sense of responsibility and that the further dissemination of results achieved really does occur. Documentation on the conferences is disseminated as soon as possible after the conference, and the video which all participants receive a copy of is intended to promote further contacts and discussions that come into existence between and within organisations, authorities and enterprises who have been represented at the conference.

The project “Learning Regions” means that a new temporary arena for meetings in the region has been created. The conference management has also announced that it will be possible to repeat meetings with the same or similar constellations of groups. At the same time the group discussions and the fact that all participants have increased their knowledge and got to know other participants has led to new arenas being created at the regional level to the extent that such needs have been perceived

For the arrangers, the National Institute for Working Life and the Swedish EU Programme Office, the conferences have provided the opportunity for a penetrating analysis of the conditions for regional cooperation and development work in the regions visited. Knowledge becomes important in the ongoing work of supporting regional development which falls within the orbit of the The National Institute for Working Life and the Swedish EU Programme Office

Concrete initiatives and results

In the follow-up carried out barely a year after the conference, it is also easy to differentiate concrete events and processes that were initiated or released in conjunction with the conferences.

In Vastra Smaland shortly after the dialogue conference, activities were developed in newly started Industrial Development Center IUC in Gnosjo AB, which succeeded in developing a highly skilled and interesting approach as a result of contacts and coalitions established at the dialogue conference. Here competence and development activity work has been started in a total of around 30 enterprises in regions together with, amongst others, the two University Colleges of Voxjo and Jonkoping. Contacts were established with other development centres in Europe and the County of Jonkoping will be developing co-operation with Emilia Romagna in North Italy.

In Monsteras, a large number of initiatives and proposals from the conference have been built on by a development group made up of enterprises, municipalities and education players. Amongst the processes that have been initiated are the effort to establish an Industrial Development Centre here as well. Co-operation has been discussed with those already active in Gnosjo. Teachers and students from the upper secondary school in Monsteras have participated in the conference and the school has increasingly become an important and natural meeting place for enterprises and other local players.

In the County of Vasterbotten, a major development work is being started involving enterprises throughout the county. Important assistance will be provided to develop successful models and inspirational examples in the region.