DUNDEE PARTNERSHIP LEARNING & CULTURE STRATEGIC GROUP
Minute of Meeting held on Thursday, 20 September in the Meeting Room, The McManus:
Dundee’s Art Gallery and Museum
Present:
Stewart Murdoch, DCC – Director, Leisure & Communities (chair)
Leslie Dick, Assistant Principal Dundee College
Clive Gillman, Director DCA
Georgina Follett, Duncan of Jordanstone/University of Dundee
Billy Gartley, Chair of Cultural Partners Group/Head of Cultural Services
Michael Wood, Director Education Department
Gregor White, University of Abertay
Jemima Levick, Dundee Rep
Ciaran McDonald, PhD Student
Lorenzo Pergola, PhD Student
Neil Gunn, Head of Communities, Chief Executive’s Department
Peter Noad, Scottish Enterprise Tayside
Apologies:
Gill Poulter, Dundee Heritage Trust
Marie Dailly, Discover Learning Partnership/Adult Learning Manager
No
Item
Action
1.
Note of Meeting held on 26 April 2012 at Dundee College
This note was agreed as an accurate record.
2.
Matters Arising
2.1
Doctoral Research Seminar
Arrangements have been put in place for a seminar on the evening of 9
October. Ten creative sector based PhD students, their supervisors, project
sponsors and other interested parties would be invited to this event which
would take place at The McManus. It was envisaged that there would be an
informal gathering from 5.00 pm onwards with presentations commencing at
6.00 pm.
2.2
BG/CMcD/
LP
Shared Services Project
Clive gave an update on the Shared Services Project which had four distinct
strands:
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The operations strand looked at collaboration on training/transports/
storage.
The marketing strand looked at integrated marketing/Visit Scotland
support and development of capacity for marketing.
Programming had focused on the Blue Skies Festival.
Education had been based on joint CPD for specific primary school
clusters and would be repeated on 13 November 2012. There had also
been joint education work taken forward in partnership with Prince’s
Trust.
Clive described in more detail the Blue Skies Festival which had secured
£90k funding from Creative Scotland and which would run again in 2013
(provisionally 12/13 August).
The event would continue to provide a unique opportunity to promote and
celebrate blue skies thinking in relation to the arts, communities and the
creative sector and involved a wide range of partners within the sector.
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CG
No
Item
2.3
Turning Talent into Jobs
Action
Georgina advised that there had been no response from Dundee University
Students’ Union over the summer. However, she felt that with a refreshed
Management Group at DUSA there was still an opportunity for an event run
by DUSA, but engaging other institutions, to take place within the current
academic year, i.e. in the spring of 2013.
2.4
GF
City of Culture Bid
In response to questions from local press it was noted that the City Council
had indicated that it would be considering a UK City of Culture Bid.
Partners, particularly the University who were strongly in favour of this, were
looking to announce the intention to bid at the earliest opportunity.
The Chief Executive has been in discussion with the Council’s Administration
and work is progressing with a view to coming to a firm position in relation to
Dundee’s bid in the very near future.
3.
SM
Dundee Partnership Festival and Events Strategy
The version of the Festival and Events Strategy approved by Dundee City
Council and the Dundee Partnership Management Group earlier in the year
had been circulated prior to the meeting. A number of minor changes had
been made in response to consultation on the final draft.
The main outstanding task was to replace Appendix 2 (Year of Creative
Dundee 2012) with an updated version. This would be finalised as soon as
possible.
SM
The Festival and Events Implementation Group is to meet on 26 October at
2.00 pm.
Most agencies are represented on this group (see Appendix 3). Stewart
asked, however, that anyone who wished to be represented and wasn’t
communicate with his as soon as possible.
All
One of the main challenges to be discussed on 26 October was the views
expressed by Judith Barnard, Director of External Relations at the University
felt that there needed to be a clear evidence that the partnership or partner
agencies were ‘putting their money where their mouth was’. She felt that
approving a strategy without putting resource behind its implementation
would not deliver the desired outcomes.
There was sympathy for this view but none of the partners were in a position
to resource its implementation other than by releasing staff and by making
available help in kind.
There was an interesting exchange of views about how this might be
achieved and it was noted that this was something that might require further
discussion at a Dundee Partnership level.
4.
Strategic Guidance for Community Planning Partnerships – Community
Learning and Development
Neil spoke to the report which had been approved by the Dundee
Partnership at its meeting in August and referred to the Scottish
Government’s new priorities for Community Planning Partnerships in relation
to Community Learning and Development.
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Implementation
Group
No
Item
A new Community Learning and Development Strategy will be produced for
the period 2013-17 with the involvement of partners through stakeholder
events and the support of the Dundee Partnership Theme Groups.
The Community Learning and Development Strategy will be produced in line
with the Strategic CLD Guidance with a strong focus on the development of
CLD as a model of early intervention and prevention.
In discussion, Michael advised that Education Scotland were likely to only
complete eight full inspections during 2012/13 and it was not yet clear
whether one of these would be within Dundee. These inspections cover a
secondary school catchment area and include the learning community along
with delivery by the school as a key institution within the community.
Stewart noted that in previous inspections the learning outcomes achieved
by cultural partners had provided an important opportunity for adding value to
the inspection and profiling good work being done by partner agencies.
5.
Dundee Partnership Community Awards 2012
Lesley gave a brief verbal update on the outcome of the thirteen applications
which had been assessed by a subcommittee on behalf of the Dundee
Partnership.
The subcommittee had been impressed by the quality and range of work
being done under the guise of learning and culture. They had found it difficult
to come to a conclusion but had agreed on the nominee. This will be made
public at the Dundee Partnership Awards Ceremony in October.
The group felt that there was a need to review the focus of the awards in
order that small scale community organisations could continue to compete
and have their work valued against larger culture and learning organisations.
Jemima drew the group’s attention to the Creative Scotland Awards which
were to be sponsored by the Daily Record http://www.quaydigitalscotland.co.uk/sites/events/creative-scot/awardcategories.html .
6.
Information Exchange
6.1
DCA
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6.2
Discovery Film Festival will commence on 20 October and run for two
weeks.
The current gallery exhibition ‘From the Edge’ has received good critical
acclaim and there is interesting video documentary produced by
marginalised young people from France.
The exhibition ‘Imagine Being A World Leader’ has also attracted good
feedback.
Scottish Enterprise Tayside
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The Dundee Renewables Strategy has been approved.
Planning permission has been formally secured for the V&A Dundee.
The partnership have commissioned a perceptions study to establish
whether the waterfront is changing external perceptions of the city.
There has been active engagement with developers.
Critical decisions are to be made in relation to the future of the Unicorn.
The Olympia is on schedule for demolition during 2013.
Demolition work has already commenced on Tayside House.
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Action
No
Item
 Work to prepare for the redevelopment of the station site is onsite.
6.3
Abertay University
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6.4
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The number of student productions has been reduced as a result of
budget cuts. 57 students from the art and design programme have
progressed to university places – very high return.
Philip Long is to talk to heads of centres in the College.
A decision on the merger discussions between Angus and Dundee
Colleges is expected next week.
The new Perth Road entrance for Duncan of Jordanstone is nearing
completion.
There are three new lectureships filled for the current academic year and
five further lectureships still going through the selection process.
The Martin Kemp lecture had been highly successful.
‘Design An Action’ commenced in September with 25 of the 27 posts
filled. It was confirmed that these are four year appointments to develop
a knowledge exchange for Scotland.
The Steering Group is chaired by Sebastian Conrad.
Professor Stephen Decent has been appointed as Head of School from
Birmingham.
It was agreed that a launch event for the knowledge exchange should, if
possible, take place in the City Chambers later in the year.
GF/SM
PhD Students

6.8
The 2012/13 programme has recently been published and had met with
an excellent response.
Duncan of Jordanstone

6.7
Dare Plus, a four week project for new start up companies, had been
highly successful and will be repeated.
‘Imagination Will Get You Everywhere’ – the current exhibition at the
Hannah Maclure Centre.
4 Talent – A one day event will take place on 17 October.
Dundee College

6.6
Protoplay had attracted 10,000+ visitors.
The indie festival for start up companies that ran in conjunction with
Protoplay had been well supported by media partners.
Gardyne Theatre

6.5
Action
There was a brief update on the progress being made by Lorenzo and
Ciaran in relation to their postgraduate research. Both felt that they now
clear about where they were going and were actively engaged in field
work.
Education Department


A discussion on how to get the V&A brand into schools and the benefit of
the V&A development embedded in the curriculum was currently being
taken forward.
An IT project with Morgan and Glebelands was referred to and it was
suggested that a presentation on this should form part of the agenda for
the next meeting.
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MW/SM
No
6.9
Item
Leisure & Culture Dundee – Cultural Services
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6.10
Action
The Leonardo da Vinci exhibition has doubled the normally busy
throughput at McManus. The galleries have been open for extended
hours and this will continue through the V&A Selling Dreams exhibition
which opens next week.
The school and community programme is at capacity.
Creative Scotland have released funding for a grant fund which will be
locally managed for the benefit of enabling community groups to promote
cultural events. This will allow small grants to be made from a £14k
budget over the next 12 months.
A Music Development Strategy is currently under discussion and the
RSNO partnership will focus on the catchments of Grove, Menzieshill
and Baldragon for three years.
Dundee Rep
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‘She Town’ is fully sold out.
‘Mill Lavvies’ is 90% full.
‘This Town’, and offshoot from ‘She Town’ is to focus on Whitfield.
‘Whisky Galore’ will be the next community tour which will go to ten
venues, starting on 24 October.
The pilot MLitt in Theatre Studies has recruited four students and has
started.
There had been great feedback from the Blue Skies event.
SDT are touring internationally (in India).
Fleur Darkin will start at the Director for SDT in mid October.
7.
AOCB
7.1
Attention was drawn to the Dundee University Review of the Arts which is
now available online at http://www.dura-dundee.org.uk .
7.2
Hospitalfield House
It was noted that Lucy Byatt has been appointed as the new Director for
Hospitalfield House.
7.3
Creative Dundee
The group discussed whether there was any way in which institutional
support or financial support could be offered to Creative Dundee. All
partners have appreciated the voluntary effort which had gone onto the
development of the site and recognised that its sustainability required some
form of support.
There was no easy way of delivering this and it was suggested that the
business model for the site perhaps needed to be reviewed.
Georgina suggested that, through expert mentoring via the knowledge
exchange, there may be ways of coming up with a more sustainable
business model.
It was remitted to partners to consider how they could assist the site’s
development and sustainability.
8.
Date of Next Meeting
Thursday, 15 November 2012 at 2.00 pm at Duncan of Jordanstone.
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All