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29 March 2004
Launch of new Research Centre
Photo opportunity, 2.30pm, Tuesday 30 March, River Room 1, Tower Building, University of Dundee.
The University of Dundee's Department of Community Education has established a new Scottish Centre for
Research in Community Learning and Development.
Established to research the way forward to meet the Scottish Executive's priorities on community
regeneration, social inclusion, lifelong learning and active citizenship, the new centre will hold a one day
workshop for a group of fifteen leading academics and practitioners in this field.
Community learning and development is fundamentally about the revitalisation of the ethos of democracy, the
strength of civil society, public services engaging local people about local issues and the vibrancy of
community life itself.
The aim is to build strong, empowered and active communities in which people increasingly do things for
themselves and lead self-determined fulfilled lives.
Professor Ron Elder, Deputy Principal of the University of Dundee and Dean of the Faculty of Education and
Social Work will launch the new centre with Bernard Davies, a leading academic and practitioner in the field
of youth work.
Ian Ball, Head of the new centre said: "We plan to conduct action research with and alongside communities to
gather evidence to further increase knowledge and understanding of the significance of working with and
supporting communities in this way. This research centre will provide new and exciting avenues of research in
this key areas through the promotion and facilitation of cross disciplinary, inter-university and practitioner
research into local, national and trans-national contexts.
Community Learning & Development is a way of working with communities to increase their skills, confidence
and opportunities to contribute actively in their communities to engage in democratic processes, to be able
to influence the policies and services that affect their lives, and to make the most of their communities'
human, financial and physical assets.
Community learning and development approaches are central to community education, youth services, community
based adult-learning agencies and many voluntary sector organizations. This approach is now bring recognized
as a powerful way of engaging local communities by other public service disciplines, such as health
promotion, environmental protection, further education, culture and leisure, economic development,
regeneration, police, fire services, and now importantly Community Planning Partnerships.
Working across agencies such as education, social work and government we are aiming to provide well
researched and evidence based solutions to improve empowerment in communities.
We are also aiming to develop links with the statutory, voluntary and community sectors in the UK and
international research community and to publish articles in nationally and internationally recognised
journals on our findings."
Contact Ian Ball, Faculty of Education and Social Work 01382 464389
By Jenny Marra, Head of Press 01382 344910, out of hours: 07968298585, j.m.marra@dundee.ac.uk
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