Pathfinder Learning Collaborative

Developing new approaches through knowledge sharing

1. The Cultural Pathfinder Learning Collaborative

The Cultural Pathfinders are 13 distinct projects which are exploring Cultural Entitlements in action.

"Learning is an active process of grafting and transplanting ideas, not a passive copying of best practice." [1]

To ensure the success of this Learning Collaborative between the Pathfinders, all participants must commit to contributing actively. This approach, based on knowledge creation and sharing, is underpinned by acknowledging and understanding diversity and a range of needs, and learning from what works well and what doesn't.

1.1 Aims

The overall aim of the Pathfinder Learning Collaborative is to grow the operational knowledge and skills of the local authorities delivering the projects, and to help ensure that cultural planning and entitlements' activity in Scotland benefits the well-being of the communities who experience them.

Specific aims are:

• to support successful delivery of the outcomes of the Pathfinder projects through mutual support, ongoing monitoring, learning, advice and applied experience,
• to support the consistent implementation of an evaluation and evidence-based approach to delivering the Cultural Pathfinders and keeping them on track,
• to help develop the leadership, commitment and partnership working methods which are necessary for successful and sustainable cultural planning activity,
• to provide a platform for the collection, accurate understanding and sharing of knowledge derived between local authority staff - both explicit knowledge learned from experience in delivering the Pathfinders and tacit knowledge, perhaps unrelated to this programme.

1.2 Inputs (resources needed for the Collaborative - money, people, time, premises, equipment)

In addition to resources committed to activities of the Collaborative by the Pathfinder projects themselves, the Scottish Executive's Pathfinder Project Team - which includes Cultural Policy officials and a Principal Researcher - will input the resources listed below. Guidance will be sought from national bodies as required; Voluntary Arts Scotland has agreed to lend support and advice on ways to work with the voluntary sector.

The Project Team undertakes to provide the following:

• operate grant agreements, pay grants, organise events, request evaluation/interim reports,
• an email network and web-based notice board to convey/'post' information about events, news and programme requirements,
• 'post' information on progress on the Cultural Pathfinders' section of the Executive's website (as appropriate), such as interim/evaluation reports, best practice, and records of events,
• advice, on request, on cultural entitlements/cultural planning policy and guidance on evaluation processes, undertaking visits/'phone calls throughout the year to discuss individual projects, as time and resources allow.

1.3 Outputs

The activities or services needed to deliver the Collaborative, provided and participated in by Project Team and/or Cultural Pathfinders:

• Project Team to provide an evaluation toolkit as a consistent method of recording and measuring the information collected from the projects (this is being developed by the Executive's Project Team, to be used as a resource, alongside any supplementary evaluation models which the Pathfinders have developed for their specific use. See Section 8 of Pathfinders' Grant Offer Letters.)
• Project Team to provide and Pathfinders to participate in 'knowledge sharing' and peer learning events, including an expert speaker and evaluation surgeries for participants - the Executive will provide these and all Pathfinders should attend at least one event. (Two events have been held in 2007 - one in Edinburgh in April, the second in Glasgow in July, for Pathfinders to meet and share information. A further event is planned for December 2007, and details of this will appear on these pages in due course.)
• Each Pathfinder to submit:

1. Good Practice Template - completed for their Pathfinder project, the template is available on http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/ArtsCulture/CulturalPolicy/Webguidance/goodpracticetemplate

2. Evaluation Plan to be completed (template will be made available with the Evaluation Toolkit) in time for the 1st 'Knowledge Sharing' event (April 2007).

3. Interim Evaluation Report will be completed mid year, in time for 2nd event. Using the completed Evaluation Plan, this will record how well projects achieve progress towards their outcomes.

4. Either update of Interim Evaluation Report or final report (update plus reflection) at the end of 2007.

All of the above documents will be put on Pathfinders' pages on the SE website.

• All Pathfinders to deliver final evaluation report to record and measure how well projects deliver on their outcomes, what lessons have been learnt and what other information may be of interest. (The final report will be submitted by each project, including a completed evaluation plan using the evaluation toolkit, with achievements and final data clearly shown, and feedback from any other project specific methods they have developed.)
• Project Team to compile full report of the Pathfinder programme, to share learning with all Scotland's local authorities and Community Planning Partnerships. (This will be provided and disseminated by the Executive's Project Team.)

1.4 Outcomes

When the Collaborative has done its job, this should be its legacy (changes and impacts):

• Scottish local authorities involved in the programme will have contributed actively to the Collaborative, cooperating and sharing experience, expertise and resources,
• The local authorities involved in the Collaborative (and relevant Community Planning Partnerships) will have used it to help develop their practice in cultural planning and/or delivering cultural entitlements using/sharing some new approaches,
• The local authorities involved will have discussed and exchanged learning in consulting with their target communities, including effective engagement with relevant minority and under-represented groups,
• The local authorities will have discussed/developed the best ways to plan and deliver for culture across all service departments, and with other authorities and external bodies,
• The Collaborative will have helped develop the final versions of the Statutory Guidance on Cultural Planning and Cultural Entitlements (to accompany the Culture (Scotland) Bill).

2. Who will be involved in the Pathfinder Learning Collaborative?

2.1 Pathfinder project teams

In the first instance, the Collaborative is provided for the local authorities who are involved in delivering the 13 Pathfinder projects. We hope they will take full advantage of it, and expect all Pathfinders to attend at least one of the events provided.

2.2 All local authorities

Although it is not appropriate to have all local authorities and Community Planning Partnerships represented on the Collaborative, or at the main Pathfinder events, it will be important for the final evaluation report compiled to cover the entire programme to be shared with them, and other interested parties from the public and cultural sectors.

[1] Hartley and Benington. Copy and Paste, or Graft and Transplant? Knowledge Sharing Through Inter-Organisations Networks. Public Money and Management, April 2006.