Plans for higher education institutions in the UK to provide high quality virtual learning via the Internet are starting to take shape. PricewaterhouseCoopers prepared a model for the Higher Education Funding Council for England, which envisages the e-University drawing on content and services from the UK higher education sector working in partnership with the private sector. About a quarter of higher education institutions have concerns about the venture.There will be a holding company owned by the higher education sector and the appointment of twelve academics to its board has just been announced.

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The move to give greater freedom to public service providers to respond to needs at the community level has been taken forward with publication of details of how local strategic partnerships will work. Many parts of the public, private voluntary and community sectors are already working together to tackle complex social, economic and environmental issues. The new strategic partnerships will provide an umbrella to bring together public bodies, voluntary and community groups and businesses into a coherent whole with greater freedom to tackle local issues, particularly social exclusion and neighbourhood renewal.The partnerships will operate as non-statutory, non-executive organisations. Their responsibilities will include preparing a communitystrategy for the area and co-ordinating local plans, partnerships and initiatives and providing a forum for local councils, the police, health services, central government and other agencies to work to meet community needs. They will also work with councils to develop local public service agreements.

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Smith K D, Taylor W G KThe Learning Organization, (UK), 2000 Vol 7 No 4

Start page: 194. No of pages: 12

Reports the proposition, made in recent UK government documents on the public services, that the Civil Service (and other public services) should become learning organizations. Reviews the literature on the learning organization ideal in the public sector and finds a number of constraints identified within it, particularly the role of public accountability. Draws up a conceptual model for the learning organization ideal which identifies the main elements – top management behaviour, relationship with external environment, conductive structures, fitness of work processes, managers’ roles, information use, and learning climate. Uses this to assess how far the learning organization ideal has been applied to the Civil Service. Studies four Civil Service departments and agencies and compares the extent to which their cultures and structures support the learning organization ideal or inhibit it. Within the research, assesses the impact of Investors in People, the UK training standard, in supporting the development of learning organizations within the Civil Service but finds no link.

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