From ‘poor parenting’ to micro-management:coalition governance and the sponsorship of arm’s-length bodies in the United Kingdom, 2010–13

The delegation of public tasks to arm’s-length bodies remains a central feature of contemporary reform agendas within both developed and developing countries. The role and capacity of political and administrative principals (i.e. ministers and departments of state) to control the vast network of arm’s-length bodies for which they are formally responsible is therefore a critical issue within and beyond academe. In the run-up to the 2010 General Election in the United Kingdom, the ‘quango conundrum’ emerged as an important theme and all three major parties committed themselves to shift the balance of power back towards ministers and sponsor departments. This article presents the results of the first major research project to track and examine the subsequent reform process. It reveals a stark shift in internal control relationships from the pre-election ‘poor parenting’ model to a far tighter internal situation that is now the focus of complaints by arm’s-length bodies of micro-management. This shift in the balance of power and how it was achieved offers new insights into the interplay between different forms of governance and has significant theoretical and comparative relevance. Points for practitioners: For professionals working in the field of arm’s-length governance, the article offers three key insights. First, that a well-resourced core executive is critical to directing reform given the challenges of implementing reform in a context of austerity. Second, that those implementing reform will also need to take into account the diverse consequences of centrally imposed reform likely to result in different departments with different approaches to arm’s-length governance. Third, that reforming arm’s-length governance can affect the quality of relationships, and those working in the field will need to mitigate these less tangible challenges to ensure success.

Copy from actual survey of the 3 Sisters : [Potomac River, Washington D.C.] /

Cadastral map.

Francisco Pizarro' s banner of arms: an analytical work contributing to latin America's history

The study of textiles is an open area of scientific research, which for its variety of material components and physical chemical diversity of conditions, makes a field of interest for scientific studies in the cultural heritage field. Archaeological/historical textiles offer the possibility to carry out studies on organic materials such as fibers, adhesion elements, dyes, paper, etc., as well as on inorganic compounds for instance metals, alloys, precious stones and other added ornamentation. That variety of composition, allow to use a combination of analytical techniques to solve the questions coming from the object in an archaeometric research. One kind of textile object that provides a valuable cultural information because of its linguistic representation employed by its carrier societies, are the flags/banners/emblems, objects made with a nonverbal communication purpose. As long as depending on the use and/or purpose of each object, varies both the materials/techniques used in its production and its iconography (style, color, emblem, shape), its study gives the possibility to extract information through their materials and manufacturing techniques about a temporal-spatial frame, a particular event or a specific character. The flags/banners have been used since the eleventh century as representative objects of power, hierarchy, social or military organization, or as communicative media. The use of these objects has been spread throughout the world, possibly due to its easy interpretation and/or appropriation by different societies, making it part of their own culture. The flags as symbols of territorial control, using emblems that represent a family, order or army, were introduced to the New World (America) with the arrival of the European conquerors at the end of the fifteenth century. Flags/banners representing the Royal dominion over conquered territories, the Catholic Church and conquistadors’ armies were the first to arrive. One of those flags that have endured over time, that have an invaluable cultural meaning for both American and Iberian societies, is the so-called Francisco Pizarro’s Banner of Arms. It is a textile object with metal threads decoration over a Royal emblem. According to historical sources, this object was used by Francisco Pizarro in 1532 on the conquest process of Peru, after received the permission by King Charles V to on behalf of him, to conquer the lands of the New World today known as Peru. After Pizarro’s control of the Inca territory, it is believed that Pizarro left his banner on top of the Inca’s Sun’s Temple as symbol of his rule. Centuries later, in the America libertarian campaigns, General Sucre, military at charge of the independence army in Peru, reports have found what he considered the Pizarro’s Banner, sending it to Bogotá as a symbol of victory, being kept since that time until today by the National Museum of Colombia. Due to historical discrepancies in the different movements of the so-called Pizarro’s Banner of Arms, its real meaning has been under discussion and because of the passage of time its physical condition has suffer deterioration. That is because its scientific study is now an interesting case study to respond to both historical and conservation questions of it. Through a collaboration with the National Museum of Colombia, a set of 25 samples of so-called Pizarro’s Banner of Arms were collected, covering the various components and areas from the object of study. These samples were subjected to analytical studies for physical and chemical characterization. Microscopic observation, VSEM-EDS analysis, Raman spectroscopy, chromatographic analysis (HPLC-MS, GCMS) and radiocarbon dating were done. Similarly, was sought through a direct in situ physical inspection to the object and through a research into historical sources, adequate information to solve the object’s problems. Results obtained allowed to identify as silk the textile used in the elaboration of the Banner’s fabric, as well as the use of natural dyes for dyeing the fibers used on the emblem: use of cochineal and brazil wood as a source of red, luteolin plant-based for yellow color, indigotine plant-based for blue, and a mixture of yellow and blue dyes for green were identified. Similarly, the use of animal glue in the manufacturing process and the use of rag paper was evident. The metal threads study from the Banner give a confirmation to a silver core wire gilded with a thin gold sheet, being flattened and entwined with silk threads for their use. Finally, using the radiocarbon results, it was possible to postulate with huge accuracy that the Banner date manufacture was between the XV-XVI century and subject to restoration processes with addition of textiles in modern times. Together with, was evident that the state of degradation of the fabric is due to natural degradation in the silk fibers, having that its color has faded and its mechanical properties decreased, leading to loss of rigidity and disappearance of the physical structure. Similarly, it was clear the original colors of the emblem and highlight problems of detachment of paper due to crystallization of the adhesive. In the same way, was found that the metal threads suffer corrosion by sulfur and detachment of its crystals. Finally, combining the analytical results and the historical sources data found from the so-called Francisco Pizarro’s Banner of Arms, allows to postulate that its manufacture process was done in Europe employing precious materials to obtain a long-life object with a deep message for its viewers. Also, the data obtained helps to support the possible idea that the object was employed by Francisco Pizarro in the Peru conquest process. However, by the symbols present in the object, its elaboration date and materials, this object its clearly unique in its kind, and the most important, by its linguistic message, does not represent to Francisco Pizarro or his army, meanwhile, represents the Spanish crown. Therefore, instead to be labeled as Francisco Pizarro’s Banner of Arms, it should be called the Colonial Royal Banner of Charles V in the New World; RESUMEN: El estudio de textiles es un área abierta de investigación científica, la cual por su variedad de componentes materiales y la diversidad de condiciones físico-químicas presentes en estos objetos, lo hace un campo de interés para estudios científicos en el patrimonio cultural. Los textiles arqueológicos/históricos brindan la posibilidad de realizar estudios en materiales orgánicos como fibras, elementos de adhesión, tinturas, papel, etc., e inorgánicos como metales, aleaciones, piedras preciosas y demás materiales decorativos añadidos. Por su variedad de composición, es posible emplear diversas técnicas analíticas para resolver aquellas preguntas propias del objeto en una investigación arqueométrica. Uno de los objetos textiles que brinda gran información cultural debido a su representación lingüística empleada por las sociedades portadoras, son las banderas/estandartes/emblemas. Donde varía dependiendo de su uso y/o propósito, los materiales empleados en su elaboración, al igual que su iconografía (estilo, color, emblema, forma). El estudio de estos objetos construidos con un propósito de comunicación no verbal, da la posibilidad de extraer información a través de sus materiales y técnicas de elaboración sobre un rango temporal-espacial, un evento determinado en la historia o incluso a un personaje en específico. Las banderas han sido empleadas desde el siglo XI como objetos representativos de poder, jerarquía, organización social o militar, o como medio de comunicación. El uso de estos objetos se ha extendido a lo largo del mundo posiblemente debido a su fácil interpretación y/o apropiación por distintas sociedades, haciéndolo parte de su cultura. Las banderas como símbolos de control territorial, empleando símbolos que representan a una familia, orden o armada fueron introducidas a el Nuevo Mundo (América) con la llegada de los conquistadores europeos al final del siglo XV. Las banderas/estandartes que representaban el dominio Real sobre territorios dominados, la iglesia católica y las banderas de ejércitos y/o conquistadores fueron las primeras en llegar al nuevo mundo. Una de aquellas banderas que ha soportado el paso del tiempo, teniendo un gran valor cultural tanto para las sociedades americanas como para las ibéricas, es el denominado Estandarte de armas de Francisco Pizarro. Siendo un objeto textil con decoración en hilos metálicos sobre un emblema Real. De acuerdo a fuentes históricas, este objeto fue usado por Francisco Pizarro en 1532 en el proceso de conquista del Perú, quien recibe por parte del Rey Carlos V el poder para que, en su nombre, Pizarro pueda conquistar las tierras del nuevo mundo hoy conocidas como Perú. Luego del dominio de Pizarro sobre el territorio Inca, se cree que Pizarro dejó su estandarte en la cima del templo Inca del sol como símbolo de su control. Siglos más tarde, en las campañas libertarias de América, el General Sucre, militar encargado de la armada independentista en Perú, reporta haber encontrado lo que él considera como el estandarte de Pizarro, enviándolo a Bogotá como muestra de victoria, siendo custodiada desde ese momento por el Museo Nacional de Colombia hasta la actualidad. Debido a discrepancias históricas, el verdadero significado del llamado estandarte de Pizarro ha sido objeto de discusión y debido del pasar del tiempo su estado de conservación se ha deteriorado. Dejando de este modo, un caso de estudio interesante para que por medio de estudios científicos al objeto se pueda dar respuesta a preguntas tanto históricas como de conservación del mismo. De este modo, por medio de una colaboración con el Museo Nacional de Colombia, se obtuvo un juego de 25 muestras del llamado Estandarte de armas de Francisco Pizarro, abarcando los diferentes componentes y áreas del objeto de estudio. Dichas muestras fueron sometidas a estudios analíticos para su caracterización físico-química. Análisis de observación al microscopio, análisis VSEM-EDS, espectroscopia Raman, análisis cromatográficos (HPLC-MS, GC-MS) y datación por radiocarbono catorce fueron realizados. Del mismo modo, por medio de una inspección física al objeto in situ y una profunda investigación en fuentes históricas del mismo, se buscó la información adecuada para resolver sus problemáticas. Los resultados obtenidos permitieron identificar como seda el textil empleado en la elaboración del estandarte, así como el uso de colorantes naturales para teñir las fibras en el emblema: uso de cochinilla y palo de Brasil como fuente del color rojo, plantas a base de luteolin para el color amarillo, plantas a base de indigotina para el color azul y mezcla de colorantes amarillos y azules para el color verde fueron identificadas. Del mismo modo se evidencio el uso de adhesivos animales y el uso de papel de trapos en el proceso de manufactura. El estudio de los hilos metálicos, permitió evidenciar el uso de alambres con núcleos de plata con un fino recubrimiento de oro en su exterior, siendo aplanados y entrelazados con hilos de seda para su uso. Finalmente usando la datación por radiocarbono, fue posible conocer con alta precisión que el estandarte fue elaborado entre los siglos XV-XVI y sufrió procesos de restauración con añadidura de textiles en tiempos modernos. Junto a lo anterior, es posible postular que el estado de degradación de la tela es debido a degradación natural en las fibras de seda, teniendo así que su color se ha desvanecido y sus propiedades mecánicas disminuidas, conllevando a perdida de rigidez y desaparición de la estructura. Del mismo modo se pudo conocer los colores originales del emblema y evidenciar problemas de desprendimiento del papel debido a cristalización del adhesivo. Asimismo, se comprobó que los hilos metálicos presentan corrosión por azufre y desprendimiento de sus cristales. Finalmente, combinando los resultados analíticos y la información de fuentes históricas encontradas del llamado Estandarte de armas de Francisco Pizarro, se puede postular que su elaboración fue realizada en Europa, usando materiales preciosos para obtener un objeto de larga vida con un profundo mensaje para sus observadores. También, los datos obtenidos ayudan a dar soporte la posible idea de que este objeto fue usado por Francisco Pizarro en el proceso de conquista del Perú. Sin embargo, debido a los símbolos presentes en el objeto, fecha y materiales de elaboración, este objeto es claramente único en su tipo, y lo más importante, por su mensaje lingüístico, este no representa a Francisco Pizarro o su armada, al contrario, representa a la Corona de España. Por ende, en vez de denominarse como Estandarte de armas de Francisco Pizarro, este objeto debería nombrarse como el Estandarte Real de la Colonia de Carlos V en el Nuevo Mundo.

Good practice for safeguarding student learning engagement in higher education institutions : Final Report 2012

The project 'Good practice for safeguarding student learning engagement in higher education institutions' commenced in late 2010 as a Competitive Grant with funding provided by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council. The project is now overseen by the Office for Learning and Teaching within the Australian Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education. The project was completed in December 2012. The project was lead by QUT and comprised of the project team: Professor Karen Nelson, (project leader), Ms Tracy Creagh, (project manager) and Adjunct Professor John Clarke. Commencing in late 2010 the project invited a total of eight institutions across Australia and New Zealand (including QUT) who had either: existing programs and activities that monitored student learning engagement (MSLE); were in the early stages of implementing MSLE programs, or; who were piloting MSLE activities. As well, the project involved an advisory group and project evaluator comprising of academic and professional staff across two additional universities.

Embedding EfS in teacher education : an introductory guide to using the systems change model

Welcome to this introductory guide on using a systems change model to embed Education for Sustainability (EfS) into teacher education. Pressing sustainability issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss and depletion of non-renewable resources pose new challenges for education. The importance of education in preparing future citizens to engage in sustainable living practices and help create a more sustainable world is widely acknowledged. As a result many universities around the world are beginning to recognize the need to integrate EfS into their teacher education programs. However, evidence indicates that there is little or no core EfS knowledge or pedagogy in pre-service teacher courses available to student teachers in a thorough and systematic fashion. Instead efforts are fragmented and individually or, at best, institutionally-based and lacking a systems approach to change, an approach that is seen as essential to achieving a sustainable society (Henderson & Tilbury, 2004). The result is new teachers are graduating without the necessary knowledge or skills to teach in ways that enable them to prepare their students to cope well with the new and emerging challenges their communities face. This guide has been prepared as part of a teaching and learning research project that applied a systems change approach to embedding the learning and teaching of sustainability into pre-service teacher education. The processes, outcomes and lessons learnt from this project are presented here as a guide for navigating pathways to systemic change in the journey of re-orienting teacher education towards sustainability. The guide also highlights how a systems change approach can be used to successfully enact change within a teacher education system. If you are curious about how to introduce and embed EfS into teacher education – or have tried other models and are looking for a more encompassing, transformative approach – this guide is designed to help you. The material presented in this guide is designed to be flexible and adaptive. However you choose to use the content, our aim is to help you and your students develop new perspectives, promote discussion and to engage with a system-wide approach to change.

Establishing a framework for transforming student engagement, success and retention in higher education institutions [Final Report]

The perennial issues of student engagement, success and retention (SESR) in higher education continue to attract attention as key indicators of learning and teaching quality. This project aimed to establish and provide a holistic framework that would allow higher education institutions (HEIs) manage and improve their student engagement and retention strategies and programs. The framework and main project deliverable is a Maturity Model (MM) for Student Engagement, Success and Retention (SESR-MM). The project involved three Australian universities with experience and reputations in SESR activities: Queensland University of Technology (lead institution), the University of Queensland and Griffith University, working cooperatively to develop and trial the project deliverables. Project findings suggest that the SESR-MM has the potential to positively transform the holistic—academic, social and personal—engagement experiences of students in Australian universities, and that the SESR-MM is a useful mechanism for sharing good practice and improving programs designed to enhance the student experience.

Transitioning from vocational education and training to university : strengthening information literacy through collaboration

"Students transitioning from vocational education and training (VET) to university can experience a number of challenges. This small research project explored the information literacy needs of VET and university students and how they differ. Students studying early childhood related VET and university courses reported differences in how and where they searched for information in their studies. These differences reflect the more practical focus of VET compared with the more academic and theoretical approach of university. The author proposes a framework of support that could be provided to transitioning students to enable them to develop the necessary information literacy skills for university study."--publisher website

The QUT innovation space : a trans-disciplinary learning environment for entrepreneurship education : final report

In the current climate of global economic volatility, there are increasing calls for training in enterprising skills and entrepreneurship to underpin the systemic innovation required for even medium-term business sustainability. The skills long-recognised as the essential for entrepreneurship now appear on the list of employability skills demanded by industry. The QUT Innovation Space (QIS) was an experiment aimed at delivering entrepreneurship education (EE), as an extra-curricular platform across the university, to the undergraduate students of an Australian higher education institute. It was an ambitious project that built on overseas models of EE studied during an Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) Teaching Fellowship (Collet, 2011) and implemented those approaches across an institute. Such EE approaches have not been attempted in an Australian university. The project tested resonance not only with the student population, from the perspective of what worked and what didn’t work, but also with every level of university operations. Such information is needed to inform the development of EE in the Australian university landscape. The QIS comprised a physical co-working space, virtual sites (web, Twitter and Facebook) and a network of entrepreneurial mentors, colleagues, and students. All facets of the QIS enabled connection between like-minded individuals that underpins the momentum needed for a project of this nature. The QIS became an innovation community within QUT. This report serves two purposes. First, as an account of the QIS project and its evolution, the report serves to identify the student demand for skills and training as well as barriers and facilitators of the activities that promote EE in an Australian university context. Second, the report serves as a how-to manual, in the tradition of many tomes on EE, outlining the QIS activities that worked as well as those that failed. The activities represent one measure of QIS outcomes and are described herein to facilitate implementation in other institutes. The QIS initially aimed to adopt an incubation model for training in EE. The ‘learning by doing’ model for new venture creation is a highly successful and high profile training approach commonly found in overseas contexts. However, the greatest demand of the QUT student population was not for incubation and progression of a developed entrepreneurial intent, but rather for training that instilled enterprising skills in the individual. These two scenarios require different training approaches (Fayolle and Gailly, 2008). The activities of the QIS evolved to meet that student demand. In addressing enterprising skills, the QIS developed the antecedents of entrepreneurialism (i.e., entrepreneurial attitudes, motivation and behaviours) including high-level skills around risk-taking, effective communication, opportunity recognition and action-orientation. In focusing on the would-be entrepreneur and not on the (initial) idea per se, the QIS also fostered entrepreneurial outcomes that would never have gained entry to the rigid stage-gated incubation model proposed for the original QIS framework. Important lessons learned from the project for development of an innovation community include the need to: 1. Evaluate the context of the type of EE program to be delivered and the student demand for the skills training (as noted above). 2. Create a community that builds on three dimensions: a physical space, a virtual environment and a network of mentors and partners. 3. Supplement the community with external partnerships that aid in delivery of skills training materials. 4. Ensure discovery of the community through the use of external IT services to deliver advertising and networking outlets. 5. Manage unrealistic student expectations of billion dollar products. 6. Continuously renew and rebuild simple activities to maintain student engagement. 7. Accommodate the non-university end-user group within the community. 8. Recognise and address the skills bottlenecks that serve as barriers to concept progression; in this case, externally provided IT and programming skills. 9. Use available on-line and published resources rather than engage in constructing project-specific resources that quickly become obsolete. 10. Avoid perceptions of faculty ownership and operate in an increasingly competitive environment. 11. Recognise that the continuum between creativity/innovation and entrepreneurship is complex, non-linear and requires different training regimes during the different phases of the pipeline. One small entity, such as the QIS, cannot address them all. The QIS successfully designed, implemented and delivered activities that included events, workshops, seminars and services to QUT students in the extra-curricular space. That the QIS project can be considered successful derives directly from the outcomes. First, the QIS project changed the lives of emerging QUT student entrepreneurs. Also, the QIS activities developed enterprising skills in students who did not necessarily have a business proposition, at the time. Second, successful outcomes of the QIS project are evidenced as the embedding of most, perhaps all, of the QIS activities in a new Chancellery-sponsored initiative: the Leadership Development and Innovation Program hosted by QUT Student Support Services. During the course of the QIS project, the Brisbane-based innovation ecosystem underwent substantial change. From a dearth of opportunities for the entrepreneurially inclined, there is now a plethora of entities that cater for a diversity of innovation-related activities. While the QIS evolved with the landscape, the demand endpoint of the QIS activities still highlights a gap in the local and national innovation ecosystems. The freedom to experiment and to fail is not catered for by the many new entities seeking to build viable businesses on the back of the innovation push. The onus of teaching the enterprising skills, which are the employability skills now demanded by industry, remains the domain of the higher education sector.

Mandatory reporting laws

As part of the effort to protect children from significant abuse and neglect, each state and territory in Australia has enacted legislation commonly known as "mandatory reporting laws". There is much confusion about the nature and effects of these laws, both generally and within each jurisdiction. Accordingly, the main aim of this chapter is to review and explain the legislative principles across Australia. In doing so, the chapter will identify differences between the state and territory laws and will situate the laws as part of a system of responses to the whole spectrum of child abuse and neglect. We will also highlight the need for effective reporter training and public awareness, especially given the tension between the widely perceived need for a community response to child abuse and neglect and the simultaneous concern to avoid unnecessary reporting of innocuous events and situations.

Promoting law student well-being through the curriculum

The Australian tertiary sector is becoming increasingly concerned about the psychological well-being of its students.Empirical research in Australia indicates that more than one-third of law students suffer from psychological distress, and the competitive, isolated, adversarial learning environment at law school has been suggested as partly responsible (Brain and Mind Research Institute, 2009). This fellowship program has mobilised strategic change to improve the psychological health of law students. It has lead and stimulated advancement in the legal curriculum, its pedagogy, and assessment practice to better engage, motivate and support student learning of law, focussing on the potential of non-adversarial legal practice. A new conceptual framework for legal education has been developed, demonstrating the pursuit of excellence in the teaching of law, and raising the profile of learning and teaching in Australian law schools. In addition the fellowship has created a national community of practice around this issue through the Wellness Network for Law, and made significant contributions to research and scholarship in the field.

Renewing the Sustainable Energy Curriculum – Providing Internationally Relevant Skills for a Carbon Constrained Economy : Final Report 2014

The aims of the project were to scope and develop sustainable energy curriculum frameworks for Australian higher education Institutions that meet the needs of Australian and international student graduates and employers, both now and into the near future. The focus was on student centred learning and outcomes and to support graduates with the knowledge, skills and generic attributes required to work in the rapidly expanding sustainable energy industry in Australia and globally. The outputs of the project are designed to be relevant to specialist Sustainable Engineering and Energy Studies programs, as well as conventional engineering, science and humanities and social science programs that have a sustainable energy focus or major.

Renewing the Sustainable Energy Curriculum : Curriculum Frameworks and Guidance for Course Delivery

This guide is to support institutions in developing and teaching tertiary level programmes for sustainable energy professionals. Ongoing curriculum renewal is more difficult but vital for multidisciplinary courses preparing graduates to work in a specialised rapidly changing field. After more than 15 years of offering tertiary level “sustainable energy” qualifications in Australian Universities there was a clear need to assess how these courses are taught and develop curriculum frameworks to guide Universities designing/redesigning programs and courses to provide graduates with the relevant skills, knowledge and attributes (capabilities) seen by graduates and employers as required to work in this rapidly changing field. This guide presents the sustainable energy curriculum frameworks developed by the “Renewing the sustainable energy curriculum – providing internationally relevant skills for a carbon constrained economy” project, which was conducted over a two-and-a-quarter year period.

Good Practice Report : Postgraduate Research and Coursework Degrees

Over the past decade, enrolments in postgraduate courses in Australian universities have risen by 34% (or from 258,164 in 2004 to 347,363 in 2013) (uCube, 2014). This substantial growth can be attributed to increased demand for postgraduate coursework as continuing professional education, the expansion of Higher Degrees Research (HDR) intakes, and the development of postgraduate research and coursework degrees in new fields. At the same time, the establishment of the Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) and national Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), as well as the internationalisation of postgraduate education, have brought challenges and opportunities to the sector. During the past five years, the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) and its predecessor bodies have funded a number of projects and Fellowships on postgraduate coursework and research degrees. They span diverse topics–from entry pathways and research training to supporting international and Indigenous students, examination, scoping studies of new and emergent programs, and effective supervision. In 2014 the OLT commissioned this good practice report to review the grants and fellowships conducted between 2009 and 2014. Encompassing twenty-seven learning and teaching projects and fellowships, the aims of this report include providing universities and academics with an overview of the current state of postgraduate study in Australia and the major influences upon it; a coherent overview of funded projects’ findings and outcomes; and a central point to access good practices, resources and tools in summary form. The objectives of this good practice report are to provide: • A literature review, which contextualises the projects within the Australian and international Higher Education environment, emphasises factors that currently influence postgraduate programs, and highlights challenges and opportunities for the sector. It also explains variations in postgraduate course types and definitions within the Australian Qualification Framework (AQF), and identifies key learning and teaching issues as well as good practices identified in scholarly research and position papers. • A collated overview of the twenty-seven national learning and teaching projects and fellowships on postgraduate coursework and research, including a summary of each project’s aims and objectives, methodologies, outcomes and resources. • A summative index of project characteristics (topics, themes and approaches) and inventory of scholarly research outcomes of the completed projects (publications, reports) as well as resources produced (tools, methods, good practice case studies), and their location (URL Links, references, etc.). • A summary of good practices that have been identified from the literature and the findings of completed projects. • A set of recommendations to address remaining gaps in the field and areas in which further work or development are appropriate. Bringing this work together will help enable university course teams to improve the delivery and development of existing postgraduate courses and to develop new ones, and it will provide academics with an overview of good practices and resources for teaching, supervising and supporting postgraduate students.