City of Glasgow College’s Merger and Partnership Research Centre

Cabinet Secretary endorses launch

Today sees the official launch of City of Glasgow College’s new Merger and Partnership Research Centre. Michael Russell MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, has lent his support for the college’s latest innovation, acknowledging the pathfinder status of the new merger.

The centre has been created following the resounding success of Scotland’s first ever three-way college merger that formed City of Glasgow College on September 1, 2010.

Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Michael Russell said:‬ ‪“Last year I was delighted to kick off a new dawn for City of Glasgow College with up to £193 million being provided by the Scottish Funding Council to redevelop its campus.”

“However, not content with a physical transformation, the college is continuing to evolve academically and the new Centre will provide a valuable resource to those exploring mergers.‬”

“This is a welcome move, particularly against the backdrop of post-16 reform, and with City of Glasgow already having provided a successful example of institutions coming together, I expect the Centre to be well-used by private and public organisations alike.”‬

Having built up considerable experience and expertise on merger and partnership working, the college was keen to share this with partner colleges and the wider public sector in Scotland.

City of Glasgow College Principal, Paul Little, said, “This is yet another important milestone for us. The creation of the Merger and Partnership Research Centre will allow partners in the public sector to access a wealth of relevant information across the area of merger planning, implementation, interpretation and partnership working.”

“Our experience in this area led to the creation of this centre. In addition to colleges within our sector, the public and private sectors will also benefit from using the centre as the current economic climate is forcing more and more companies to merge and make more efficiencies within their business".

The Merger and Partnership Research Centre  will offer a range of on-line and hard-copy services including:

• Access to merger documentation (some 300 plus documents)
• Access to specialist merger change and partnership books and periodicals,
• Consultancy and mentoring services
• Leadership and change academy.

*Pictured from left to right, Rt Hon Henry McLeish, Principal Paul Little and Michael Russell MSP.