Creating synergies: local government facilitating learning and development through partnerships

This report documents the evolution and development of four learning communities in Victoria, which are involved in local government. The authors, Peter Waterhouse, Crina Virgona and Richard Brown, investigate the challenges and complexities involved in getting these communities off the ground and what roles, if any, vocational education and training (VET) institutions have played. Key principles emerging from the study include the importance of recognising different stakeholders' values and perspectives, appreciating multiple outcomes and proactively managing the relationships between various groups of stakeholders. Key findings include that local government has enormous potential and resources to contribute to the community and that VET is a necessary part of the system but has not been particularly proactive in the four cases described in this study.

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