Polo Poschiavo

Best Practice

Topics

• Governance capacity
• Regional value added, Policies and instruments

Short description

Polo Poschiavo (PP) is a competence centre for continuous education and support for development projects with an established reputation at the cantonal and national levels in Switzerland. Polo Poschiavo’s field of competence is e-learning and blended learning. In that field the centre offers the general public access to new technologies and thus helps improve the competitive position of the region as a whole. In addition, the competence centre is especially active in cross-border co-operation (Interreg IIIA).

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Project executive

PP is a public law organisation involving the following actors: the Grisons cantonal authority, the Puschlavtal/Valposchiavo regional authority, the Bergell/Bregaglia regional authority, the Puschlav/Poschiavo local authority, the Brusio local authority, the Valposchiavo Association of Trade and Commerce (Associazione Artigiani e Commercianti della Valposchiavo), and the Valposchiavo Working Group for Regional and Economic Development (Gruppo per la Promozione Economica e Regionale Valposchiavo). Polo Poschiavo co-operates closely with the Italian-language department of the Swiss Teacher Training Institute in Lugano (Istituto Svizzero di Pedagogia per la Formazione Professionale Lugano). Responsible Person: Luminati Cassiano Polo Poschiavo Via da Melga, 63, 7742, Poschiavo, Svizzera cassiano.luminati@polo-poschiavo.ch +41 78 6731253 +41 91 8346092

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Participants

In addition to the above actors, Polo Poschiavo’s activities involve the participation of large numbers of residents and business people in the region (women wishing to return to work, owners of small trade and commercial businesses, farmers, senior citizens). In the framework of Interreg IIIA, significant forms of collaboration have been established with public bodies in Italy (local authorities, foundations, universities). Talks are currently being held on the subject of collaboration on individual projects with the University of Italian Switzerland (Università della Svizzera Italiana).

Objectives

Polo Poschiavo retains the project-specific objectives of Progetto Poschiavo (1995-2000) and thus ensures continuation of the latter, especially with regard to the continuous education and retraining programmes. IT offers remote regions a link to the globalised world. All the activities of Polo Poschiavo are targeted at the overriding goal of creating the conditions for human and ecological development in harmony with social, cultural and economic conditions in the region involved. The centre sees itself as an enabler whose task is to communicate and promote the potential of computer-mediated communication. With this facilitator role in mind, PP operates with the potential available in the region. It is currently working on a project to establish a research centre for renewable energy with a focus on hydrogen.

Activities

Development and organisation of IT training courses as both traditional and blended-learning courses, development and organisation of continuous education courses as traditional and blended-learning courses, video conferences with knowledge centres on a variety of subjects, co-ordination of projects in the field of cross-border co-operation, organisation and co-ordination of a Centre for Energy Studies with a view to establishing a research centre.

Results

Polo Poschiavo is now recognized at the supra-regional level as a competence centre for e-learning, blended learning, IT communication and IT marketing. Polo Poschiavo and the knowledge taught there have direct and indirect effects in the creation of new jobs. The innovative education offering at Polo Poschiavo has increased awareness in the region for supra-regional stimuli. Co-operation with surrounding regions has been strengthened by the project. At the same time, a process of structural change has been initiated; new opportunities for economic development have been identified and implemented within the region. Polo Poschiavo has enhanced awareness in the region for its strengths and weaknesses. Since 2002 Polo Poschiavo has held 82 courses, and a total of 855 students (415 female, 440 male) have completed those courses. At present Polo Poschiavo is participating in seven Interreg projects with a total budget of EUR 1,790,500.

Evaluation

Polo Poschiavo’s activities involve the participation of large numbers of residents and business people in the region (women who wish to return to work, owners of small trade and commercial businesses, farmers, senior citizens). In the framework of Interreg IIIA, significant forms of collaboration have been established with public bodies in Italy. All the activities of Polo Poschiavo are targeted at the overriding goal of creating the conditions for human and ecological development in harmony with the social, cultural and economic conditions in the region involved. The Centre is an important instrument for communicating and promoting the potential of computer-mediated communication. Polo Poschiavo and the knowledge taught there have direct and indirect effects in the creation of new jobs. The innovative education offering at Polo Poschiavo has increased awareness in the region for supra-regional stimuli. Co-operation with surrounding regions has been strengthened by the project. At the same time, a process of structural change has been initiated; new opportunities for economic development have been identified and implemented within the region. Polo Poschiavo has enhanced awareness in the region of its strengths and weaknesses. The work of the Polo Poschiavo has a strong relation to recommendations 4, 5, 6 and 8 of QT2. This Project is relevant also for QT6.

Difficulties

The complexity and the variety of the activities of the PP can generate confusion among the population and political decision makers. It is often difficult to make tangible the results of the work done to enhancing a region’s awareness. A remedy to this situation is a continuous information to the media and for political decision-makers.

Budget

Yearly, about 200’000 EUR for didactical activities (Euro)

Financial backer

Financed partly by ordinary contributions from the Professional Education Office of the Canton of Grison and from the Federal Office for Education and Technology, by private contributions and sponsorships.

Source of information

Competition

Participant at the 2005 Future in the Alps competition

Homepage

http://www.polo-poschiavo.ch

Comments

Impact on nature and environment

Even if this is not the sector of activity of the PP, there is a big commitment towards issues regarding the conservation of the environment. Three projects have indirect effects on this context: the Center of Studies for Energy deals with the production and the distribution of renewable energy; the projects capr@ and carn@lpina have the objective to promote, certify and commercialize dairy products and meat produced in alpine regions.

Economic value added

The PP employs 2 persons part time (for a total of 105%). For the realization of didactic activities it employs about 10 external collaborators on single projects. For the activities of the Center of Studies for Energy there are 2 external collaborators. The yearly budget of the PP (about 200’000 EUR) is spent almost entirely in Valposchiavo and in Bregaglia. The added value generated trough the teaching activities in favor of the small local businesses is difficult to assess, but is visible.

Socio-cultural value added

The blended teaching activities are usable at the same time for different sections of the local population, thanks to their flexibility from the point of view of contents, time and ways of learning. The ratio between men and women participating to the courses is very balanced. The activities of the PP contribute to provide new economic perspectives and to take awareness of the potentials linked to Computer mediated Communication, even to individuals living in a peripheral region.

Innovative content

An innovative aspect of this project is certainly the use of new technologies as an instrument to forge a new territorial identity, transfor the disadvantages of periphery in advantages from the point of view of quality of life and of social relationships. Significant know-how in blended learning and technology has been developed.

Good governance

The strategies of PP are shared with the public bodies connected to it. Activities proposed emerge from the needs which are signaled by the people that require specific trainings or from the periodical surveys the PP carry out. In some cases the PP offers its know-how for projects of third parties, for which didactical aspects are integrated.

PR impact

The PP regularly issues press releases for the media of the interested area. They contain information about teaching activities and the state of the projects in which the PP is involved. In the last years the PP obtained different national acknowledgements (Communication Knight 2003 and 2004, First Prize at a e-learning contest 2002) that raised its prestige. Interreg contributed very much to that.

Multiplier effect / networking

In order to carry out its activities the PP has the need to make use of external competences that are purchased mainly in the Valposchiavo from a private company specialized in e-learning and communication. This company is a result of the Progetto Poschiavo and it can now continue to exist thanks to the PP. The competences transmitted trough the educational courses enable participants to improve significantly their competitiveness, e.g. by creating their own website.

Transferability

The experience of the PP, with specific reference to blended learning, is easily transferable because its flexibility permits to operate in very different geographical situations, as those that can be found in the Alpine Space, respecting in any situation the local, strong identities. The many projects the PP follows in different valleys can be taken as a demonstration of this point. The same can be said for all sectors of social and economical life, as demonstrated in the projects connected e.g. to agriculture.

Further information