Comments for Aspire² – Delivering specialist advice and services in information, skills and regulation

Comment on Use of Social Networks in the Workplace by Noeleen

Noeleen — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:02:07 +0000

Thank you for sharing your report – it was very interesting.

I thought the suggestion from some respondents about social network providers improving their security and making the default of their security settings more protective was an interesting one. And also the realisation, how we are all facing the same challenges with regard to how to protect data, and in fact that most of the solution comes from education and behavioural change.

Reading the comments – a gut reaction feels like we are still in our infancy around this area, and a lot more needs to still shake down. I think option 1 of your possible next steps for investigation will be fascinating.

Comment on Changes in the qualifications market by Randall McMullan

Randall McMullan — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 23:08:43 +0000

Nicely put William – and great quote from 1911.
I suspect that the effects of Globalisation will continue to make many matters of education harder to standardise and to regulate. Some private schools here in New Zealand play the game of opting out of the national exams and offering the Int Baccalaureate – or those exams from a UK body which have the impressive sounding ‘Cambridge’ in their names.

Comment on Information skills and digital resources by Stevan Harnad

Stevan Harnad — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 04:14:50 +0000

The primary target content of institutional repositories is the institution’s researchers’ own published peer-reviewed research article output. This content is not searched at the institutional repository but at the level of harvesters of distributed institutional repository content. Hence no classification scheme is needed at the institutional level — and the content already has abstracts and full texts. The problem of institutional repositories is hence not taxonomy or search but capturing their target content. This requires deposit mandates. Adopting one of these is the most important strategic recommendation to be made to institutions. See ROARMAP http://www.eprints.org/openaccess/policysignup/

Comment on Open season for professional bodies by Caroline Hall

Caroline Hall — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:09:26 +0000

hi Susie – where can we find more about the competence framework you are developing? Do you work for an SSC?

Comment on The Qualifications Market by Anne Harper

Anne Harper — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:52:44 +0000

William

thank you for an elegant, insightful and clear analysis of the qualifications market. An absolute pleasure to read. I found myself nodding in agreement at every paragraph. A really valuable analogy helped highlight many of the absurdities of the system we find ourselves in – I will be quoting and crediting you for months to come.

Best of

Anne

Comment on Open season for professional bodies by Susie Kay

Susie Kay — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 10:24:47 +0000

Hi David
These are indeed difficult times for professional associations and there are, as you point out, common themes running through the difficulties some are experiencing. In the main these are trust issues and it is a worrying development that this has been eroded so far in some organisations.

At the heart of these problems are two main issues:
1 – having correct and fully functioning governance and representation structures. I have also worked with organisations where the Senior Management Team and the volunteer Trustees or Boards are virtually at war – this helps no-one and for many organisations there would be little point in continuing with any development work until they resolve these very critical relationship issues. Brute force will never have the desired effect. Conversely in organisations where there is a high level of respect and trust for each other’s abilities it opens up a world of possibilities and smoothes transitions.

2 – having the right people with the right competence set in place within the organisation. It must be said that you do come across individuals who occupy senior positions but who are fundamentally unsuited to the role. Like any other profession, there should be a defined skills and competence set for roles at every level of these organisatons, for both paid staff and volunteers. To his end I am working, with colleagues, to offer a competence framework for these organisations which defines the requirements for each role and how they interact with others within the organisation’s structure.

One final contextual issue to point out is that any perceived need for change or transformation programme never happens in a vacuum. The complex and, in some cases, very long history of these organisations is a powerful force, especially among long standing members and can influence any attempt to move the organisation forward. Listening, actively hearing and acknowledging the concerns of the various stakeholder groups will encourage any issue – whether real or perceived – to be fully understood and dealt with before groups get to loggerheads with each other.

So clarity, trust and goodwill are needed in equal measure but, above all, ensuring that those who run these organisations are fully competent in their roles and have embedded the qualities of professionalism in all of their staff and volunteers will ease discussions and future planning.

The professional associations have an incredibly important role to fulfil in providing skilled and competent individuals into this country’s workforce. They must also ensure that they practice what they preach – professionalism.