Nordplus Adult Writing SeminarVilnius, Friday 20 January 2012

Welcome!

Henrik Neiiendam Andersen,The Danish Agency for International Education

Program

9.30 Arrival and registration10.00 Welcome – purpose of the seminar, the program, materials etc.10.15 Tour de table – short presentation of each participant and

project10.45 Nordplus Adult – the core features to aware of preparing an

application11.00 Short break11.15 Application system ARS: login, store/retrieve applications,

navigating11.30 Application form 1: objectives, background, activities and

results 12.15 Lunch13.00 Nordic Network for Adult Learning – reports, networks and

dissemination13.30 Application form 2: registration of partners and signing of

LOIs14.00 Application form 3: dissemination of results, and project

evaluation14.15 Short break14.30 Application form 4: financing, budget and mobility rates15.00 Questions and guidance on individual projects16.00 End of seminar

The Nordplus Adult program- core features to be aware of when preparing an application

• It must be within the field of adult learning (sector)

• It should consider the program objectives

• It must comply with the types of projects defined in the program

• It must be based on eligible costs for the specific type of project

- see the Nordplus Handbook 2012, chapter 4 (page 24 – 33) www.nordplusonline.org

The Nordplus Adult program- program objectives and project types

New objectives• to strengthen adults key competences and recognition of adults

informal and non-formal learning

• to support adult education and learning to meet the challenges of modern citizenship, with special focus on adult teacher education and multiculturalism

• to strengthen the link between adult learning and working life.

Project typesMobility projects:

a.preparatory visits b.exchange of adult learners c.exchange of adult teachers

Collaboration projects: a.thematic networks b.development projects c.mapping projects

Nordplus Application and Reporting System, ARS- Log on, store and retrieve applications, how to navigate in the system.

• Login page: www.nordplusonline.org• New applicants must click ”I am a new user”• Insert name, phone and e-mail• Define your username and password (and do not forget it, ever!)• Enter the system

• Old applicants, use their ”old” log on - or pretend they are new!

The application form - project objectives, background, activities and results

• First impression • Seek for simplicity and clarity

• Introduce:• the target group • the subject or theme (the “problem” or “challenge”)• the type of activity – according to project types and their specific framework • the expected “effect” of this initiative, the results, the product

• Example: ”In the project we want to develope training materials on … (content), to be used for training of … (target group) in … (context). This will improve the quality of our training/the …(target group)´s ability to take part in … (effect)/ increase the …(target group)´s awareness of … (effect)”.

Background- The broader context of the project, the motivation for the project

Describe e.g.:

• Where is the project “located”: which part of society, of adult learning, of …?• What is the need, the problem or the challenge – in society, in adult learning, in the labour market, in your organisations, in …• Refer to - when relevant - reports, analyses, statistics, problems/issues from the public debate (newspapers), policies• The Nordic/Baltic added value – why do you want to do this with foreign partners, what is the specific extra outcome of this?

Project description- the description and activities should be agreed by all partners, so all are committed to and understand the project and their individual tasks and responsibilities

• Make the application of your project plan which you use to”steer” the project from (overview, direction, landmarks, who does what and when?)

• Create a structure for the activities by dividing them into different strands and chronological phases with a progression, e.g.: from collection of data/inf., analysis to developments, to testing and evaluation, to dissemination of results and experiences

• Make project meetings e.g. the termination of phase A and start up of phase B – where you sum up on previous activities and plan forward

• Define specific milestones/landmarks

• Lay down who is responsible for the individual activity, when it isfinalised and what the result/product should be from it

Results- the expected outcomes

What are the outcomes for or effects on e.g.:• The beneficiaries/adult learners• The teachers• The organisations• The sector/adult education• The nation/Nordic/Baltic countries

If you make any products, describe: • What type of product it is (training material, tool box, best

practicecompendium etc.)

• What it contains (e.g. the different tools in the tool box)• Who is it for? Who can make use it, in what context can it be

used?

The Partnership- is the group of organisations committed to the project, to carry out the activities and to achieve the results as described in the application

• Consists of organisations relevant for the project who bring in the necessary expertice, knowledge and experience

• Use of extern experts?• Similar or different type of organisations? Same or different roles?• Organisations you know from before vs. new organisations?

Describe:• Who are the partners, their type of organisation, field of work,

expertise and their relevance to and interest in the project• Distribution of tasks and responsibilities between the partners • The project organisation, responsible persons in each organisation,

the possible work groups (national/transnational) or steering group put up for different parts of the project

• How will the recurrent communication between the organisations take place, when and how? (phone meeting, internet conferences etc.)

The Partnership- The letter of intent, LOI

The LOI documents the organisation´s participation in the project

• The LOI form is automatically sent from ARS to all participating organisations

• The LOI is sent to the e-mails of the organisations put in the application• When the LOI form is received, it must be printed out, duly signed,

scanned and returned (e-mail) to the coordinator of the project

• The coordinator attaches each signed LOI to the application in ARS• All organisations (incl. the coordinating) must sign a LOI and all signed

LOIs must be attached when submitting the application

Dissemination - all projects must tell others about their results and experiences in order to make them aware of your results, to make use of them and to inspire them to engage in Nordic/Baltic collaboration

Make a relevant, realistic plan in proportion with the magnitude of the project!

Target groups you will address:• Others in your own organisation• The local/regional community in general• Similar organisations in your field of work• Teacher or school organisations on national, Nordic or European level

The means you will use - how will you address them:• Project Web site (compulsary)• Articles in regional newspapers• Articles in professional magazines• Own meetings/seminar/conference – national/transnational• Presentations on seminars or conferences for e.g. teacher

and school organisations

Evaluation- all projects must evaluate, to reflect on what was good and not good, in order to learn, to improve and to validate the results.

Make a relevant, realistic plan in proportion with the magnitude of the project!

What do you want to evaluate or who do you want to evaluate:• the beneficiaries or teachers outcome? • the functionality of your product?• how the organisation of the activities functioned• how the transnational cooperation functioned• How the partnership composition worked – lack of specific expertice?

How do you evaluate – what means will you use:• questionnaires, interviews, test?• debate based on a set of questions, themes or issues?• extern evaluator? A student?

- reflections should start from the beginning of the project and not take place just in the end - you must decide what you want to observe - therefore you need “a plan” from the beginning

The grant applied for- Maximum set rates for Mobility Projects and budgets for Collaboration Projects

Mobility• Maximum set rates for travel and set rates for board and lodging• Put in the number of travellers and length of their stays and

ARS calculate the grant• No formal co-financing required, but co-financing can occur

Networks and Projets• The budget is based on actual, expected costs and must costs to be

covered by co-financing, at least 25%

• Also mobility for project meeting is put in the budget (not under mobility)• ARS automatically calculates 75% of the budget as the amount applied

for!

• You can apply for both mobility grant and project grant, when …• Only include costs defined as eligible in the programme• Realistic budget compared to the overall programme budget• Realistic activities and aims in relation to the budget

General advice

Your project is a kind of experiment in a ”controlled” environment

• It goes across cultures, across educational traditions and often across professional fields, drawing on different types of expertice

• Your project should have a well defined start and ending, clear and achievable results and a clear way to achieve them

• Your application should be your project plan and your primary steering instrument

- project applications do not have to be based on a ”brilliant” idea, but are often a well planned initiative based on real needs

General advice II

A good project can be presented in a bad way - and a bad project can be presented in a good way

• imagine you write to someone who has no prior knowledge about the project and the particular field of learning – explain contexts and specific terms and do not take any knowledge for granted

• let the ”neighbour next door” read it!• be specific and concrete• simplify and focus, do not integrate many different initiatives and

types of efforts in one complex structure

• avoid ”… this is to be determined later …”, make a choice and present a qualified plan