PARTICIPATORY SESSION 1: 3 topics
• Each table chooses its topic:
o
Managing reality (Blue)
o
Assessing performance (Yellow)
o
Monitoring & reporting (Green)


Table facilitator: show the colour card of the topic
chosen by your table
We will try to keep a balanced number of tables by
topic
EuropeAid
1st question
EuropeAid
• Topic 1: how do we deal with reality in our projects?
« What are the main issues you encounter due to the gap
between what was planned and the actual situation
• Topic 2: how do we assess the quality of our projects?
• « When asked to assess the performance of your
activities/implementation, what are the main problems you
encounter »
• Topic 3: how do we monitor and report?
• « What are the key challenges for designing and
implementing a good monitoring system in your projects »
Round table...
• Take 5’ to reflect individually and note down your 2 or 3
answers related to question 1 for your topic (one
idea/post-it)

Use worksheet #3 Part 1 to take some notes
• Round table brainstorming 20’: share your ideas/place
post-its on flip chart
• Round table discussion 20’: check if something is missing
and organise ideas on the flipchart

Use worksheet #3 Part 2 to take some notes
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2nd question
• For Topic 1, Topic 2, Topic 3:
“Choose collectively 2 of the issues identified for question 1:
what tips & tricks, solutions, good practices, resources can
you share to help address these questions? How did you
manage in your projects to solve these problems?”
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Round table...
• Take 5’ to reflect individually and note down your 2 or 3
answers related to question 2 for your topic (one
idea/post-it)
• Use worksheet 3 to take some notes
• round table brainstorming 20’: share your ideas/place
post-its on flip chart
• round table discussion 20’: check if something is missing
and organise ideas on the flipchart. Choose 5 cards
solutions/tips that will be reported in plenary.
EuropeAid
LUNCH
at the 26th floor of “The Hotel”
• Do no forget:
 The Question Box
 The game: Let’s work together…
 The time: please, be back to seminar
on time
EuropeAid
Reporting Topic 1 – managing reality
General: Put less details in project proposal and more vision
Conflict resolution:
- Communicate on changes and issues early with EC
- Have a EC database of case studies
- Specify How to deal with conflict in partnership agreement
- Build Lots of Sharing expertise and community building into project
meetings
Sustainability/Strategic Issues/ Question of Reduced buy-in due to
current economic crisis
- Adapt the teaching approaches to suit education priorities
- Revise activities in the annual planning meetings/ adjust accordingly
EuropeAid
Reporting Topic 1 – managing reality
Partnership issues:
- Improved communication between EC and project partners
- More coordination meetings +trainings
- Identification upstream of the most motivated partners
- Leadership from lead partner
- Clear schedule and timetable coordination by coordinator
- Communication between partners
- Develop interactive forum operated by the commission/ Social
media/web tools
Budget issues/How to deal with changes in Budget
- Find other sources of Funding/Fund raising strategies
- Shift parts of the budget
EuropeAid
Reporting Topic 1 – managing reality
EuropeAid
Changes in Activities/implementation
- Use partners’ feedback as resources/ Steering Committee of partners to
monitor activities
- Develop/use implementation guidelines for partners
- The EC has to inform more and better on what is a substantial change from
the proposal: more transparency in the selection process/Report on why a
proposal is selected
Reporting Topic 2 – Assessing performance
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What are suitable Tools for assessing quality and long-term effects
- Ask participants to report after meetings, take further actions and verify
compliance
- Focus on close cooperation not big numbers (of beneficiaries)
- Evaluation Ex-Post:
-
Follow up surveys of participants reached/beneficiaries
-
Measure impacts after a certain number of year
What indicators for Project management performance
- Revision of proposal documents to adapt:
-
involve recognized expertise, review indicators with EUROPAID or with
task managers, discussion during contract negotiation
- External evaluation on project outputs (participatory methodologies, in
depth interviews)
Reporting Topic 2 – Assessing performance
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Partnerships
- Mutual evaluation/ Constant sharing with local partners and more
responsibilities given to local partners
- Reducing the number of partners
- Looking for similar partners
- Work directly in countries
Evaluation
- KPIs: Key Performance Indicators/Differences between Outputs/ Outcomes and
how to collect Feedback
-
Using a monitoring framework: expected outputs, outcomes,
responsibilities
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Sharing assessment values and indicators with partners
-
External Intermediate evaluations
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Starting from personal experience of the target group to reach ownership
- Inception, mid-term and final evaluation
- Networks for expertise and solutions
Reporting Topic 2 – Assessing performance
Assessing Results: Quality versus quantity
- Addressing elected political representatives in medias
- Adapt to target groups for activities and evaluation tools: medias
involvement, communication means young people, contest as involvement
indicator
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COFFEE BREAK 15’
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Reporting Topic 3 – Monitoring & reporting
Monitoring and Complex Partnership
- Regular communication (mail out between meetings, internal mailing lists,
event publishing) between partners
- Regular reporting (quaterly basis on finances, link with accounting software,
shared online documents like google docs
- Argumented request to EC to exclude a partner
- Monitoring in multi-country context: prior information to EC before outsourcing too many activities and be aware of specific constraints (e.g.
distance, culture…)
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Reporting Topic 3 - Monitoring & reporting
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Realistic and Efficient Monitoring systems (for EU, Partners and beneficiaries)
- Team meetings (face to face, democratic discussion, quality of processes)
- Good practices for partnership agreements: EC recommendations and templates
- Guidance to partners on procedures and EC requirements (internal monitoring guideline
to all partners)
Lack of Indicators in the project
- Agreement between partners and EC on indicators
- Rely on log-frame matrix to design indicators