The Random North Development Association is pleased to announce that they just received funding for one year through the National Literacy Secretariat to conduct research that will link individuals with low reading and writing skills to training and possible employment opportunities.

Michelle Brown, the new Literacy Research Worker, will work closely with adult learners in Economic Zone 15 to get their input on such issues as barriers to learning, career interests, personal interests, goals, etc. She will also be working closely with post-secondary institutions, local organizations and with outside agencies to gather research material.

An advisory group will assist Michelle in compiling relevant material and will make recommendations on how to best carry out this research. The goal from the research is to form a workable model that will aid post secondary institutions and groups or organizations to develop short-term training modules that will be flexible and will meet the needs of the adult learner. The adult learner will be more motivated to continue with the learning process when they see how long-term goals can be reached when provided with the opportunities that can help them achieve their overall objectives. Also, pilot training projects will be identified from the research gathered. This research, when completed, will be beneficial, not only to Economic Zone 15, but to the rest of the province.

If you have any questions about this interesting initiative, please contact Michelle Brown at 709-466-1725 or 1-800-228-1995.

Grants Review

There will be a change in format for submitting proposals for funding for the next deadline. Please ensure you receive the new guidelines before submitting a proposal for this competition.

Collaborative literacy projects to be featured in The Notepad

One of the mandates of the Literacy Development Council is to promote cooperation and collaboration among literacy stakeholders. The emphasis is on promoting successful collaborative literacy projects. A collaborative project is one which has benefitted/borrowed from a previous project, extended or supplemented it in some way, and then shares its own data and resources so that other projects can build on it. This is not only cost-effective but leads to a more sound project in terms of knowledge base and practical application.

Beginning in the next issue of The Notepad, literacy projects of a collaborative nature will be profiled. If you are involved in such a project, please submit an account under the following headings.

* Project Title * Project Location and Director(s) * Objective(s) Rationale for the Project * Support from other Projects (theory, resources, consultants, etc.) *Participants/Procedures * Outcomes *Perceived impact of Project Results *Plans for Sharing/Further Collaboration.

The report should not take up more than a page of The Notepad.

From the Editor's desk,

You will notice in this edition of The Notepad that we have provided more information about successful grant applicants. The Council would like to see a greater degree of cooperation among literacy stakeholders. We strongly encourage you to discuss your project ideas with other groups and individuals. Submissions from a consortium of partners are most welcome. Sharing of information and building on successful projects will also help realize greater use of sparse resources.

Recent changes in the administration of the Council necessitated that Wayne Taylor return to the Department of Education. Wayne was Executive Director of the Council since its inception. Wayne's contribution to the Council, and literacy in general throughout this province, is well recognized, Personally, I will miss his guidance and assistance, he was always there when I needed direction. Hopefully, Wayne will not be a stranger to the literacy community. I encourage everyone in the literacy field to keep in contact with him at the Department of Education, P.O. Box 8700, St. John's NF, A1B 4J6. Wayne's interest in literacy is further exemplified in his address in this issue of The Notepad. Good Luck Wayne!