Final Reporting Project Phase Training, Day 2
29 Mar 2017
06 Apr 2017
Our Trainings have been envisaged as opportunities for the Grantees to either learn something new or reaffirm their knowledge as well as to expand their skills related to general aspects of project cycle management and, more importantly, to specific issues pertaining to EU Grant Management.
Our trainings are specifically designed for the recipients of the Grant Scheme “Fostering Social Inclusion”, and are primarily targeting the people directly involved in the implementation of the Grant Projects. Two persons from each Grant Organization, and in exceptional cases more, are invited to participate in these trainings.
The 2 trainings organized in 2016 have covered the issues relevant for the Interim Phase of the Grant Projects implementation: Grant Contract Management, Secondary Procurement and Communication & Visibility.
The 2 trainings organized in 2017 have covered the issues relevant for the Final Phase of the Grant Projects implementation: Narrative Reporting and Financial Reporting.
The topics that were covered in the 2nd day of the Final Reporting Project Phase Training include:
- Project Impact on Target Groups – Skilling/ Employability/ Employment Indicators: what is employability impact and how to evaluate it; specific types of core outcomes and examples of indicators; SIA – social impact assessment, definition and benefits, how to plan for SIA; types and definitions of skill/attribute indicators; the Work Star – outcome star for work and learning; employability indicators based on best practice; employability triangulated research.
- Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation Methods and Tools: specific examples, best practices, prospects and challenges.
- Visibility of Project Achievements, Final Events and Project Phase-Out: do justice to your work, make yourself and your results visible to your immediate stakeholders, but also to the general public; dissemination, how to define the key messages clearly; media gallery: compilation of photos and videos; stay connected with the audience; use of modern technology; smartphones and other mobile devices; enhance your project’s social reputation: blogs, newsletters, social networks; the use of inforgraphs, animated stories; importance of printed materials: brochures, flyers; be innovative.
- Follow-Up on Impact Prospects: project phase-out and closure; identification of key achievements and milestones; documentation of lessons learned for use in future projects; specific examples, best practices, prospects and challenges.
The participants have also done practical exercises in:
- Indicator Evaluation Report – Measuring Employability Indicators in Specific Contexts: the participants were divided in 4 small work groups and each groups was assigned a brief description of one project (X-Project, W-Project, Y-Project and Z-project); for each project, the corresponding Indicator Evaluation Report was provided, including: programme summary, target group, evaluation aims, evaluation design and samples, measure of employability skills, relevant findings, summary of evaluation methods; next, the participants were asked to identify commonalities with their own projects; finally, they were provided a blank template which they were asked to fill in with specific information relevant for their own Grant Project.
- Soft Skills Training Content: the participants were asked to discuss what aspects of this tools they had already applied in the context of their specific Grant Projects; next, they were asked to identify the correlation between this tool and their specific Grant Project; how can it be helpful in their specific context to evaluate their project’s indicators; how can it help for follow-up and future continuation/sustainability of the action.
- Self-Evaluation Sample related to Employability Indicators: the participants were asked to fill in this tool reflecting the context of their specific Grant Projects; next, they were asked to identify the correlation between this tool and their specific Grant Project; how can it be helpful in their specific context to evaluate their project’s indicators; how can it help for follow-up and future continuation/sustainability of the action.
- Visibility of Project Results: working in small groups, the participants were asked to discuss and define the strategy for the visibility of their project results and the methods they are going to use to implement the strategy; they were further asked to discuss and present how they can ensure that their results are not lost, aspects of sustainability; finally, the participants were inspired to think of and propose innovative ways of sustaining their impact.
The theoretical input was delivered at plenary sessions with the help of Power Point presentations, whereas the exercises were implemented in 4 small working groups with the help of hand-outs and flip-chart presentations.
The training was delivered by our Senior Expert and Team Leader, Ms Maria Marinakou, with the relevant input by our Expert for EU Grants, Ms Andreja Tonč, and the support from our Assistant Team Leader, Mr Radomir Trajković.
The training was delivered to 4 training groups on 29th and 30th of March and 5th and 6th of April 2017, in the Porta Hotel in Skopje.