Local 4 Global

Purpose

To create a programme of engagement, to ensure there is continuity within practice and to build a wider learning community for the global dimension.
This is not the strategy on communication and reaching out to more people but is about deepening and sustaining engagement so as to improve practice within London and the South East England regions.

Engagement

As seen below and within the self-assessment form people, organisations and sectors can be engaged with Local 4 Global in a number of ways and levels from the pre-engaged level to an advanced level.

Levels of engagement

This refers to the engagement of people with Local 4 Global, and therefore includes engagement with the whole network or with a project or programme, including management.

1. Pre-engaged - has no contact with Local 4 Global but may receive communication
2. Awareness - has had contact with Local 4 Global through the local4global website or through a consortium organisation or an activity
3. Contributing - working on an initiative e.g. global advocates, strategic partnership, school initiative, ITT project
4. Deciding - contributing to the direction of Local 4 Global
5. Facilitating others - actively facilitating others in the engagement of Local 4 Global and its work e.g. management team, programme and part-time workers.

The purpose of communication is about increasing the number of pre-engaged people within the schools sector and raising their level of contact and awareness about Local 4 Global. The engagement strategy is about taking those contacts and bringing them further up the levels of engagement.

Refer to the ‘Levels of Engagement Self Assessment' form to look at how you might define different stakeholders in each section. The ‘Engagement Strategies' in appendix 2 looks at the tasks and strategies that need to be taken in order to move people through these levels.

Networking and a Learning community

The purpose of a learning network is to support practitioners to learn together. The area covered by this network is London and South East England and within the context of the global dimension.

Learning networks and communities are an approach to document, facilitate and build individual and collective capacity to contribute to the global dimension in schools. The purpose of these networks varies:

• Information exchange
• The advancement and dissemination of best practices
• The development of new knowledge through research.

The level of the collaboration also varies:

• Networks - loose groupings of organisations for information exchange e.g. London Development Education Schools Group
• Alliance - Organisations working together beyond collaboration e.g. WEDG and KWW
• Coalition - Raising the profile of the organisations involved e.g. Jubilee 2000
• Consortia - Increasing access to resources and creating new knowledge e.g. Local 4 Global

(Source: WWF-UK (September 2004) ‘Partnership Toolbox')

Which kind of network are we trying to build in Local 4 Global?
What is the purpose? (some exploration has been done below)
What is our strategy for developing this network?
How is Local 4 Global creating new knowledge? Currently it is not creating new knowledge but just sharing information between people, primarily within the consortium.

See how these are implemented as activities >>