SPRINT hosts visitors from Brazil
The success of SPRINT was further evidenced this week, when we hosted two visitors from Brazil. Mr. Rubens Pereira (social scientist and team leader) and Professor José Lasmar Director General of the Agência Metropolitana of Minas Gerais, visited the Civic Centre on Tuesday 24th November as part of a European trip that saw them visit CLG and LGA in London and the Andalucian provincial government in Seville, Spain. The visit was organized by Mr Rogerio Pereira (Secretaria de Estado de Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior – SECTES) who said in his initial communication,
“I read many articles and information about SPRINT on your website and the Internet and was very impressed with the actions and progress made in the United Kingdom. I think we have much to learn from the successful experiences of SPRINT. There is concern in Minas Gerais's government to seek and build international cooperation agreements with organizations in the greater reference in the best practices for public administration such as SPRINT.”
Minas Gerais is the fourth largest region in Brazil with a population of nearly 20 million. It is in the south east of the country, north of Rio and Sao Paulo. It has an industrial base in steel, mining and car manufacturing and its capital city is Belo Horizonte. The visitors outlined the project that they are currently working on -
“In Minas Gerais, we are working on a project to create a model of Centres of Excellence and Capacity Building Program for Municipal Management. This project has the participation of researchers, Colleges, Research Institutes and the Minas Gerais government. The goal is to create efficiency in public services for social promotion”
In a series of meetings, the visitors discussed their intentions with Ewen Locke (BPR Manager, Salford City Council), Barrie McKinnon (SPRINT Development Officer, Salford City Council) and Professor David Wastell (Nottingham University Business School, SPRINT co-Founder). The meetings were supported by David McIlroy (Assistant Director Programme and Project Management) who welcomed the visitors to Salford’s new conference facility.
The meetings concluded with an expression of intent for further cooperation between the Minas Gerais government and Salford’s SPRINT team.
Left to right: Rubens Pereira, José Lasmar and Ewen Locke.
Ewen explains the structure of Salford City Council to the delegates from Brazil.
Left to right Barrie McKinnon, José Lasmar, Ewen Locke, Rubens Pereira and David Wastell.
Pictured outside the Salford Suite on Tuesday 24th Nov 2009
