PLG Spring Conference 2004
Friday 2 April - Sunday 4 April
Kents Hill Park Training Centre, Milton Keynes

Speakers

Shiraz Durrani

Biography

Shiraz, a Kenyan in exile, is a Fellow of CILIP. He has written over 80 journal articles on politics of information. He initiated the Quality Leaders Project in 1998 in partnership with London Metropolitan University. Shiraz's forthcoming book is entitled Never Be Silent: Publishing and Imperialism in Kenya, 1886 - 1963.

The Quality Leaders Initiative: an innovative model to develop managers to deliver modern public service

Abstract

Shiraz will start with a brief look at theoretical aspects of QLP and explain its aim of "management development through service development". He will explain how the Project provides new skills to staff so that they can develop and deliver new and innovative services. A brief history of the Project from its inception in 1998 and its early phases (funded by Resource) will then follow. The focus will then be on the current strand: QLP-Youth explaining the two phases of the project: work based learning phase (funded by the National Youth Agency) which lasts 6 months. The Management Research Centre of the London Metropolitan University will provide support and new skills to the Quality Leaders and their teams to produce a plan to develop library service which young people need, approve of, and help develop. This is followed by a 2 year implementation phase which is funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. A participation Quality Leader (QL) from the QLP-Youth strand will then give a QL perspective on the on-going first phase of the programme. The session will end with a brief discussion on flexibility of the project which can be used in different service areas (libraries, youth service, museums, archives). It can also be targeted to develop services for groups and communities whose needs may not have been met fully in the past - e.g. Black and Ethnic Minority communities, youth, refugees and asylum seekers. This will be followed by a brief evaluation of the Project to date and a look at the future of the QLP model. There will then be time for a discussion on the QLP approach and its practical application in the public sector. It is expected that those attending will have some information about the project (available at http://www.seapn.or.uk/qlp.html) so that more time can be spent on discussion and in answering questions.