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LEARNing - "Learning in European
Agriculture and Rural Networks: institutions, networks and governance". - is
an interdisciplinary European project designed to develop a research agenda
for the social sciences on European agriculture and rural development. LEARNing arose out of the work of the the LEARN (Learning in Agriculture Research Network) Group, a primarily European network of researchers with an interest in rural change. It is an interdisciplinary project based on interactive approaches and stakeholders' participation, and aims to build a research agenda which addresses the pressing problems in rural Europe today. The purpose is to discover how best to involve diverse stakeholders in new ways of learning in order to tackle important R&D issues such as multifunctionality, food safety, rural development, and the environment. The aim is to hold meaningful conversations, that will help rural stakeholders to learn to move farming and related industries toward a multifunctional agriculture and rural areas towards a sustainable system of livelihoods. Our work has not started from scratch, but draws on a wide range of existing experience and research. LEARNing involves research institutions in eight European countries: (Belgium, Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom) and Australia. LEARNing has a website hosted by INRA. The LEARNing project at the Open UniversityIn the UK, our focus is on how organisations can change and learn so as to effectively manage emerging complexity. Our role in the project is to facilitate a dialogue amongst stakeholders in processes of change in rural areas of the UK. The workshops have been at the centre of this process. Why the Open University?The Open University has long experience of providing learning opportunities through open learning and distance teaching. We are able to draw on the OU Systems Discipline's 30 years of experience of facilitating systemic inquiry. Our work is practical in focus and we are interested in helping people to develop the skills to address the issues they face in their day-to-day work. To date we have helped to apply systems and learning approaches to organisational change, food production, countryside change, environmental decision making, water management and sustainable development. More informationFor further information, please download the project leaflet (pdf, 161K), or contact us. |