Great ideas have to start somewhere.
So surely Laurieston in Glasgow is as good a place as any for the first meeting of the Civil Service Local Scotland L&D Network? Alan McDonald from DWP gives his account of the inaugural network meeting.
I have a permanent curiosity for how others create and deliver learning. And as a learning design manager within DWP, I have a professional interest as well. So when I got the opportunity, to join the first meeting of the Civil Service Local L&D Network, I didn’t need to be asked twice.
On the day of our first meeting, I was delighted to meet members from across a wide range of Civil Service departments who have staff in Scotland. To name only a few, MOD, DWP, Home Office and Justice. And a Civil Service Learning lead from KMPG is also joining us. That’s quite a cross section of experience!
There was a lot of expertise and enthusiasm evident, and a lot of commitment to:
- Be open, share and trust. Share resources. Work together on common issues
- Pick up best practice. e.g. DWP leadership academies
- Share Lessons Learned
- Find ways to make culture change real
- Identify ways to communicate across departmental boundaries
- Make a difference!
There was loads of sharing and common purpose in our first meeting. We have already identified some areas to focus on. I look forward to working on them within this network. It was one of those meetings which pass really quickly. Soon enough we were returning to our various corners of Scotland. I’m sure I can learn a lot from the Civil Service Local Scotland L&D Network, and hopefully contribute to better learning for Civil Servants across Scotland in the process.
Work in L&D, and motivated by this? Want to get involved? Please contact sonia.preston@cabinetoffice.gov.uk to express your interest,
or Lorna Hay the Network Lead
(Before 26 October - lorna.hay@dwp.gsi.gov.uk, after 29 October lorna.hay@hmpo.gsi.gov.uk)
Alan McDonald - DWP
2 comments
Comment by Anya Francis posted on
Last summer - CS Local North East asked its people about improvements and one of the key topics was deployment of learning and how we share and work together across the Civil Service - I have heard nothing more but it might be worth seeking an update from the NE reps
Comment by Andrew Crich posted on
Thanks Anya - I'll ask the L&D lead to check with colleagues in the North East.
Andrew