The learning practitioner

Abstract

The question of the professional development needs of economic development practitioners, arguing for government, higher education providers and practitioners to work together to effect formal recognition of these needs and to implement academic programs to meet them (Collits 1999). Since then, and only recently, the many barriers to achieving this outcome have finally (and happily) been overcome. Now, RMIT University is currently working towards the introduction of award programs in economic development. While there are already academic programs in regional development, broadly defined, in Australia, the RMIT programs will be the first dedicated specifically to the needs of economic development practitioners. Australia will finally join the United States, Canada and New Zealand in having academic programs available to practitioners. This paper explains the philosophy behind RMIT University’s approach to the development and delivery of the courses and programs, and explores the key issues involved. First, it outlines what I take to be “the great questions of regional development”, an understanding of which is central to any academic program for economic developers; second, it formulates an understanding of the economic development practitioner’s task(s); third, it wrestles with the important issue of determining what it is that practitioners should be learning in an academic program on economic development. In particular, it attempts to resolve – or, at any rate, address – the key issue of getting the correct balance in a learning program between learning that is about 'how to…' as opposed to 'why'. In this way, the paper attempts to come to grips with the notion of the 'learning practitioner'. Finally, the paper makes some points about important questions relating to how much difference practitioners can make to their economic development environments. First, it is important to provide some background on the growth of the economic development profession in Australia.