C O M P E T E N C I E S T O M A N A G E E U A D U L T E D U C A T I O N A L P R O J E C T S U D I N E 5TH TO 9TH OF J U N E 0 6 A COOPERATION BETWEEN ©

C O M P E T E N C I E S

T O M A N A G E

E U A D U L T E D U C A T I O N A L P R O J E C T S

U D I N E 5TH TO 9TH OF J U N E 0 6

A COOPERATION BETWEEN© UNIVERSITÀ DELLA LIBERETÀ

UDINE ITALYAND

© THE SOCIAL AND HEALTH CARE COLLEGEAARHUS DENMARK

COURSE GUIDE: JAN GEJEL [email protected]

COURSE ADMINISTRATOR: ALESSIA FABBRO [email protected]

COURSE AGENDA AND MATERIALS ONWWW.SOSUAARHUS-INTERNATIONAL.COM/UDINECOURSE2.HTM

http://www.sosuaarhus-international.com/UDINECOURSE2.HTM

C O M P E T E N C I E S T O M A N A G E E U A D U L T E D U C A T I O N A L P R O J E C T S U D I N E J U N E 0 6

FROM PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

TO PROJECT MANAGEMENT

good project management is based on a quality project development and a quality application

the quality of the workplan

partner roles and competencies

the budget supporting the workplan

key partners and learning partners

the first partner meeting: communication, preparation, social relations, explaining the project

different partners: different working styles, different people, different cultures

language?

general understanding of the project + limited and well defined phase activities and goals

The basic logic paper

The workplan paper

Survival Kit


THE PRINCIPLEOF

DOUBLEPROJECTMANAGEMENT

this course is about project managing, not specifically about course administration

why the double managing ?

what competencies ? what tasks ?

the cooperation between the project manager and the project administrator

subcontracting ?

the nature of the two managing profiles

explain the tasks of the project administrator accountance in relation to budget, financial documentation, advisor for the project manager, interim financial reports, financial communication with Bruxelles, administrative and financial communication with the partners, finding creative solutions to problems popping up during the project, understanding of the goals and methods of the project, general responsibility for the budget and the financial documentation - the project administrator often cooperates with a person from the organisation’s administrationn - paper work

Socrates financial handbook

Survival Kit - financial

Appendices to application forms


THEROLESAND

TASKS 1

OF THEPROJECTMANAGER

the project manager is the coherence of the project, the facilitator of all processes THE PRESIDENT OF THE PROJECT

establishing a solid way of communicating between the meetings: maillists / online platform ? PROJECT COMMUNICATION FACILITATOR

planning of and facilitating the project meetings in cooperation with the host partner PROJECT MEETING PLANNING

ongoing cooperation and communication with the project web partner DISSEMINATION FACILITATOR

linking each activity to the project workplan and the final goals of the project RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PROGRESSION OF THE PROJECT

responsible for the contact to the Commission and for reports and deadlines THE LINK BETWEEN THE PROJECT AND THE COMMISSION


The workplan paper

Survival Kit


THEROLESAND

TASKS 2

OF THEPROJECTMANAGER

ongoing cooperation with the project administrator and the administrative staff CO-RESPONSIBLE FOR THE FORMAL ASPECTS OF A EUROPEAN PROJECT

contact to subcontractors and external resources LINK TO EXTERNAL PARTNERS

key social person in the project: the whip, but also the social kit THE MOTHER AND FARTHER OF THE PARTNERSHIP

finding creative solutions to problems in the project THE KEY INNOVATOR IN THE PROJECT

activating the different partners and including them in the work INCLUDER AND MOTIVATOR


The workplan paper

Survival Kit


SCENARIOSANDDILEMMAS

GROUPCHALLENGES…

1

Paula is the project manager of a large Grundtvig project and at the first partner meeting she suggests that the partners should use an online platform, a conferecing system, to be able to communicate effeciently in the 2 year long project.

On the first day of the meeting many partners are very defensive towards this solution and Paula thinks it is based on lack of ICT skills and fear of technology.This is a big problem for Laura, because many of her project plans are based on the existence of an online communication platform…

They agree to discuss the matter on the second day of the meeting.

You are Paula. What kind of solution will you suggest on the second day of the meeting – and what consequences will this solution have for the project ?



GROUPCHALLENGES…

2

Peter is the project manager of a Grundtvig project. The budget was cut dramatically by the Commission as a condition for granting the project.

On the first partner meeting Peter must explain to the 5 partners, that only 2 and not 3 persons from each partner will be allowed to join the project meetings – and there will also be a cut in the number of hours available for the carrying out of the different activities in the project.

You are Peter. How will you explain this to the partners – and do you have creative solutions to the problems, caused by this budget cut ?



GROUPCHALLENGES…

3

Alexandra has just received a message from the Commission, that her application is granted.

Now, there is only 1½ month to the first partner meeting in the project…

You are Alexandra. What kind of information, papers, plans etc. will you send to the partners preparing this first partner meeting ?

The partner meeting will be in Alexandra’s city. She has never been responsible for a large partner meeting with 9 partners from different countries before !

You are Alexandra. What kind of solutions will you find to the meeting problems ? What kind of preparations will you have to make before the meeting ?



GROUPCHALLENGES…

4

Ricardo is managing a Grundtvig project for the first time.The first partner meeting was quite good, but during the second partner meeting Ricardo discovers that there are two partner groups, who are very silent and do not take part in the discussions.

Ricardo finds out, that they have rather serious language problems. None of the people in these partner groups are experienced in speaking English and he finds out that the communication about the application was done by the managers of the institutions, not by the people actually participating in the project.

You are Ricardo. What will you do about this rather serious problem?



GROUPCHALLENGES…

5

Sigrid is managing a project partnership in Grundtvig with 7 partners.

She is doing all right, but in workphase 3 the responsible partner for that workphase is doing nothing. They make excuses and promises, but nothing really happens. In fact this partner is responsible for developing the pedagogical concept of the project’s training course and a lot of resources are linked to this partner institution and their development activities.

You are Sigrid. How will you handle this situation ?Try to present different outcomes of the situation and explain what you will do in relation to the different outcomes…



GROUPCHALLENGES…

6

Günther is the project manager of a large EU project.After 8 months work two of the key partners start to disagree on some rather important issues in the project. The dialogue starts on mail, but the language in the dialogue is getting more and more unpleasant. It affects the other partners – they seem to withdraw from the project discussions.

There is a project partner meeting in month 10.

You are Günther. How will you prepare the partner meeting in month 10 ?How will you manage the problems between these key partners at the meeting ?How will you seperate personal from professional problems in this case ?



GROUPCHALLENGES…

7

Anna manages a project about adult language learning.

She is unexperienced, but the first project phase develops well and the research papers are produced according to the plan.But as the project enters phase two a lot of problems are piling up. The project was supposed to approach different groups of elderly adult learners in Bulgaria and in Portugal, but it becomes clear, that the partners from these countries do not have access to these groups. Furthermore it appears that there is not enough money for translation of the material to these countries – and since these partners represent two out of three pilot partners, the problems are quite serious…

You are Anna. How will you approach these problems, which both concern the progression of the project, the pilot activities and the budget….



GROUPCHALLENGES…

8

Joaquim is the project manager of a large Leonardo project for the first time.The project has a large budget and the very important development of the project’s web environment has been subcontracted to a private partner in one of the key partner countries.The web environment is extremely important to the project, because one of the key aims is to provide a self-study platform for construction students.In the beginning of the project there have been small problems about the basic web design, but everything is progressing all right now – after the first of the three years in the project.

But as soon as the web company starts developing the actual content part of the web environment, it appears that they have very poor skills in producing multimedia content – and their lack of in depth language qualifications make things even worse…

You are Joaquim. How will you approach these rather serious problems – and what kind of solutions would you suggest ?



GROUPCHALLENGES…

9

Sophie is the project manager of a large Leonardo project.The budget of the project is rather complicated and the institution she works for has promised her, that the person in charge of the institutional budget will be at her disposal and will act as project administrator.But already after a few months, this person do not perform. Things are not being done. There is no time for dialogues with this person.Some of the partners are beginning to complain about refunds not being paid etc.etc.

This goes on for several months. Then it is time for the financial interim report.There are no signs of activity from the financial administrator.

You are Sophie. How will you work with this problem ?In your institution, in the partnership ?What different outcomes would you suggest to this situation ?



GROUPCHALLENGES…

10

Attilio is managing a large Lingua project for the first time.The project is based on the cooperation with two very skilled ICT partners. The project will produce a new online system for English learning.

In the first six months the project is progressing well: the development phases have been succesfull.The project will soon be moving into the production phases. But within one week Attiolio receives two messages, one from each of the ICT partners: The first ICT partner is bankrupt and will have to leave the project. And the second ICT partner has serious staff problems, because two of the key persons will be leaving the company and for a well-paid job in a larger ICT company.

You are Attilio. The entire Lingua project depends on these two ICT partners and you are responsible to the Commission.How will you manage this difficult situation ?


GOODPROJECTMANAGEMENT

RECOMMENDATIONS…1

1. Produce a quality and detailed workplan in the project development phase and make sure that the budget supports this workplan

2. Make sure that the partners understand the project and their roles in the project – use the first partner meeting for this

3. Remember you are dealing with people, not with institutions or organisations

4. Make sure you have a very skilled project administrator and establish a very good cooperation with this person

5. Remember that there are very different ways of doing things in the different countries and cultures



RECOMMENDATIONS…2

6. Get the partners to know each other, even before the project (preparatory meeting, mails, photos, small presentations etc.), but watch out for ”too personal” relationships…

7. Try to avoid the development of dominant groups among the partners – include all partners

8. Remember that it is not the coordinating partner’s project – it is a partnership!

9. Give the partners simple and precise information – avoid information overkill!

10. Be very focused on language and cultural problems in the beginning of the project – deal with them at once !



RECOMMENDATIONS…3

11. Try to support the participants’ wish for personal development in the project

12. Be sure to well manage the relations between the specific activities and the overall aims of the project – never loose sight of the final goals

13. Be sure to facilitate an ongoing and fluent communication between the partners – also the partners who haven’t been assigned tasks in some of the work phases

14. Use the project meetings to sum up the project and explain the next phases – the partners need to understand the meaning of the here and now activities in relation to the overall aims

15. Produce and maintain a high quality website, that mirrors the project and can inspire other institutions; let the website be the internal organizer of the activities (the backbone of the project) and involve all the partners in the production of content!



RECOMMENDATIONS…4

16. If you have budget problems, then find creative solutions…! And establish good and freindly contacts in the Commission and in your National Agency !!

17. Be brave enough to change the direction of the project, if their is clear evidens, that this change would be good for the project

18. Establish a nice and friendly and very informal atmosphere at the meetings – no partner should be afraid to speak up or work freely…

19. Remember to be honest with your partners: let them know whether you are satisfied or not with their work, but be sure to speak in a friendly way and avoid personal criticism

20. Use the partnership for other cooperation activities throughout the project and plan your new project well before the termination of the present project !


ADIALOGUEWITH REGINA

REGINA´SRECOMMENDATIONS…

1Summing up as we go…

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x





x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x





x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

C O M P E T E N C I E S T O M A N A G E E U A D U L T E D U C A T I O N A L P R O J E C T S U D I N E 5TH TO 9TH OF J U N E 0 6 A COOPERATION BETWEEN ©

Documents

g e e u

t e d u c

p e t e n c i e s t

t i o n

project workplan

project manager

project managing

project meetings