ERASMUS+ Workshop call Key Action 2 (KA2)

"Capacity Building’’ project

Dr. Ahmad Al-OmariPh.D. of Bioinformatics Biomedical informatics Eng. Dept.Yarmouk Univ.

University of Santiago de Compostela

Spain

Mediterranean Universities Union

OUTLINEu Capacity Building and Drafting a successful plan u Project Cycle Management-PCMu Analysis Phase

u Stakeholder Analysisu Problem Analysisu Analysis of Objectivesu Strategy Analysis

u Planning Phaseu Logical framework matrixu Activity schedulingu Resource scheduling

u More important , filling the whole application with each other

What are the European Programs?u European Programs(https://www.welcomeurope.com/list-european-funds.html)

u Examples

u HORIZON 2020(Global Budget ~79 billion euros)

u Erasmus+(Divided from A to H)(Annual budget ~2.7 billion euros)

u A,B,Cè Program Guidelines (Theoretical part)

u D-Hè It is the proposal entity(When you come to write the proposal)

u Erasmus+ Program Guide (http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/sites/erasmusplus2/files/files/resources/erasmus-plus-programme-guide_en.pdf) :Page 156 to 170

u Proposal( https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/funding/capacity-building-higher-education-2019_en)

PART A- GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THEERASMUS+ PROGRAMME

PART B – INFORMATION ABOUT THE ACTIONS COVERED BY THIS GUIDE

PART C - INFORMATION FOR APPLICANTS

WHO IMPLEMENTS THE ERASMUS+ PROGRAMME?

u THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION

u The European Commission is ultimately responsible for the running of theErasmus+ Program. It manages the budget and sets priorities, targets andcriteria for the Program on an on-going basis. Furthermore, it guides andmonitors the general implementation, follow-up and evaluation of theProgram at European level. The European Commission also bears the overallresponsibility for the supervision and coordination of the structures in chargeof implementing the Program at national level.

ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES

u The Erasmus+ Program is open to the following countries:

I. PROGRAMME COUNTRIES: The following countries can fully take part in all the Actions of the Erasmus+ Program:

ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES

II. PARTNER COUNTRIES: The following countries can take part in certain Actions of the Program, subject to specific criteria or conditions

ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES

III. OTHER PARTNER COUNTRIES: Some Actions of the Program are open to any Partner Country of the world(e.g. Afghanistan)

PART B – INFORMATION ABOUT THE ACTIONS

u Educations and Training u Youthu Three key actions

u KA1: LEARNING MOBILITY OF INDIVIDUALS

u KA2: COOPERATION FOR INNOVATION AND THE EXCHANGE OF GOOD

u KA3:Support for policy reform

u Jean Monnet Activities u Sport

KA2: COOPERATION FOR INNOVATION AND THE EXCHANGE OF GOOD

u WHICH ACTIONS ARE SUPPORTED?u This Key Action supports:

uStrategic Partnerships in the field of education, training and youth

uKnowledge AlliancesuSector Skills Alliances (implemented through a

specific call for proposals)uCapacity Building in the field of higher educationuCapacity Building in the field of youth

WHAT IS A CAPACITY-BUILDING PROJECT?

u Capacity-building Projects are transnational cooperation projectsbased on more than one partnership, primarily between highereducation institutions (HEIs) from Program and eligible PartnerCountries financed through defined instruments. They can alsoinvolve non-academic partners to strengthen the links withsociety and business and to reinforce the systemic impact of theprojects. Through structured cooperation, exchange of experienceand good practices and individual mobility

Drafting a successful plan: Main Objective and Specific Objectivesu Wider Objective: what is the overall broader objective, to which the

project will contribute to support eligible partner countries by the previous instruments ?

v Modernization, accessibility and internationalization of higher educationin the eligible Partner Countries;

v Address the challenges facing their higher education institutions systems .

v Increase cooperation with the EU

v Promote voluntary convergence with EU developments in highereducation;

v Promote people-to-people contacts, intercultural awareness andunderstanding.

Drafting a successful plan: Main Objective and Specific Objectivesu Specific Project Objectives: what are the specific objectives,

which the project shall achieve?v Improve the quality of higher education and enhance its relevance

for the labor market and society;v Improve the level of skills in HEIs through new education

programsv Enhance the management, administration and innovation

capacities, as well as the internationalization of HEIs;v Increase the capacities of national authorities to modernize their

higher education systems.v Foster regional integration and cooperation across different

regions of the world.

There are two types of Capacity building projectsA. Joint Projects: aimed at producing outcomes that benefit principally and

directly the organizations from eligible Partner Countries involved in the project.

B. Structural Projects: aimed at producing an impact on higher education systems and promoting reforms at national and/or regional level in the eligible Partner Countries.

Capacity-building projects can be implemented as:u National projects, i.e. projects involving institutions from only one eligible

Partner Country;

u Multi-country projects within one single region, involving at least two countries from this region;

u Multi-country projects involving more than one region, involving at least one country from each region concerned.

CAPACITY BUILDING: Coverage

Proposal Overview

PROJECT APPROACH

Project = a series of activities aimed at bringing about clearly specified objectives within a defined time-period and with a defined budget.

A project should have:

•Clearly identified stakeholders (primary target group & final beneficiaries);

•Clearly defined coordination, management and financing arrangements;

•A monitoring and evaluation system;

•An appropriate level of financial and economic benefits (indicating that the project‘s benefits will exceed its costs).

Project has to be

Project Cycle Management-PCM

The Logical Frame Matrix : is a matrix tool used to support the designing, managing,monitoring and evaluating of international projects. It includes all indicators:Objectives(Wider and Specific), Outputs(tangible) and outcomes(intangible),Activities, Inputs, Indicators of progress, assumptions and risks.

The Logical Frame Matrix

➲ Logical framework matrix -defining the project/ program structure, testing its internal logic, formulating objectives in measurable terms, defining means and cost (overall)

➲ Activity scheduling - determining the sequence and dependency of activities; estimating their duration, setting milestones and assigning responsibility

➲ Resource scheduling - from the activity schedule, developing input schedules and a budget

The Logical Framework Approach

PLANNING PHASEANALYSIS PHASE➲ Stakeholder Analysis - identifying &

characterizing major stakeholders, target groups & beneficiaries, defining whose problems will be addressed by future

➲ Problem analysis - identifying key problems, constraints and opportunities; determining cause and effect relationships

➲ Analysis of objectives - developing objectives from the identified problems; identifying means to end relationships

➲ Strategy analysis - identifying the different strategies to achieve objectives; selecting the most appropriate strategy(ies); determining the major objectives (overall objectives and project purpose)

l Identifying Key Stakeholders (beneficiaries, vulnerable groups, possibly adversely affected groups, socio-economic characteristics, relationships etc.)

l Determining Stakeholder Interests (benefits,expectations, resources they could mobilize etc)

l Determining Stakeholder Power and Influence (powerand dependency relationships, control of decisionmaking, resources etc.)

l Formulating a Stakeholder Participation Strategy in viewof analysis, planning and implementation

Stakeholder Analysis

Problem analysis

uIs a procedure which allows to :

u Analyze an existing situation

u ّIdentify key problems in this context

u Visualize the problems in form of a diagram/tree

(cause-effect relationships)

Problem analysis

Causes

Effects

Destruction of coral & mangrove habitats

Illegal fishing methods applied

Decreasing fish stocks

Low price received by fishermen in the village

Processed fish is of bad

quality

Limited access to markets

Decreasing in-comes of fishermen

Establishing cause-effect relations between problems

Problem analysisu Identify major problems existing within a given situation

(brainstorming)u Select a starter problem

u Look for related problems to the starter problemu Establish hierarchy of cause and effects

u Problems which are directly causing the starter problem are put below (Destruction of coral & mangrove habitats……. Limited access to markets)

u Problems which are direct effects of the starter problem are put above(Decreasing fish stocks, Limited access to markets)

u Complete with all other problems accordingly

u Connect the problems with cause-effect arrowsu Review the diagram and verify its validity and completeness

Analysis of objectives

Means

Ends

Coral & mangroves habitats

conserved

Incidence of illegal fishing

reduced

Quality of fish

processing improved

Access to markets improved

Rate of decline in fish stocks stopped

Price received by fishermen increased

Incomes of fishermen increased

Turning the negative aspects into future desired, but realistic situations

Analysis of Strategies

uThe purpose is:

u To identify possible alternative options or ways to contribute to

the overall objectives

u To agree on priority strategies based on an assessment of the

relevance, the feasibility and the sustainability of each of them

u To concentrate the means of the project on what is really

important, effective and feasible

Analysis of Strategies

RESULTS

OVERALLOBJECTIVE

SPECIFICOBJECTIVE

Coral & man-grove habitats conserved

Incidence of illegal fishing reduced

Quality of fish processing improved

Access to markets improved

Rate of decline in fish stocks arrested

Price received by fishermen increased

Incomes of fishermen increased

OUTIN

Decision based on: budget, priorities, human resources available, social acceptability, urgency, ...

➲ Logframe - defining the project/ program structure, testing its internal logic, formulating objectives in measurable terms, defining means and cost (overall)

➲ Activity scheduling - determining the sequence and dependency of activities; estimating their duration, setting milestones and assigning responsibility

➲ Resource scheduling - from the activity schedule, developing input schedules and a budget

The Logical Framework Approach

PLANNING PHASEANALYSIS PHASE➲ Stakeholder Analysis - identifying &

characterizing major stakeholders, target groups & beneficiaries, defining whose problems will be addressed by future

➲ Problem analysis - identifying key problems, constraints and opportunities; determining cause and effect relationships

➲ Analysis of objectives - developing objectives from the identified problems; identifying means to end relationships

➲ Strategy analysis - identifying the different strategies to achieve objectives; selecting the most appropriate strategy(ies); determining the major objectives (overall objectives and project purpose)

The Logical FrameworkuThe Logical Framework Matrix provides a summary of:

● why a project is carried out(Wider objective)● what the project is expected to achieve(Results and

specific objectives)● how the project is going to achieve it(Activities)● which external factors are crucial for its success(risks

and assumptions)● where to find the information required to assess the

success of the project(Evaluation)● which means are required● what the project will cost

Logical framework

uIntervention Objectively Sources of Assumptions Logic Verifiable Indicators VerificationOverall Objective

Specific

Objective

Results

Activities Means Costs

Pre-conditions

Intervention LogicuOverall objective: the project’s contribution to policy or program objectives (impact)uSpecific objective: direct benefits to the target group(s). S.O. is consequence of results, not the sum of the results.uResults: the services or products to be realized by the project.uActivities: the tasks (work program) that need to be carried out to deliver the planned results.u(detailed activities are often better presented seperatly. e.g. Gantt chart format)

T1.1. To train fish handlersT1.2. To install appropriate Equipment etc.T2.1 connect to the internetBy smart phones

Logical framework

Incomes of fishermen increased

Price received by fishermen increased

Means Costs

Pre-conditions

1.Quality of fish processing improved

2.Access to markets improved

�Intervention Objectively Sources of Logic Verifiable Verification Assumptions

Indicators

‘... IF results are delivered, AND assumptions hold true, THEN the project purpose will be achieved ...’

Assumptions

• Assess the importance of the external factors by using

the assessment algorithm

• Check the intervention logic and assumptions on

completeness

Will it be realised?

Almost certainly

Likely

Unlikely

Do not include in logframe

Include as an assumption

Is it possible to redesign the project in order to influence the

external factor?

Yes No

Do not include in logframe

Is the external factor important?

Redesign the project by adding activities or results;

reformulate the Project Purpose if necessary The project is not feasible

NoYes

Assessment of Assumptions

Indicators

uThe goal of Indicators is To:• Clarify the characteristics of the overall objectives,

specific objectives and results • Manage the project more objectively• Provide a basis for performance measurement,

monitoring and evaluation

Objectives verified indicators describe the project’s objectives in operationally measurable terms (quantity, quality, target group, place, time)

uNote:Often, it is necessary to establish several indicators for one objective. Together, these will provide reliable information on the achievement of objectives.

Indicators: An ExampleMy Objective: to reduce the Pollution load of wastewater

discharged into the Blue river

Select the indicator: Concentration of heavy metal compounds (Pb, Cd, Hg) in the water

Define the targets for my indicator:• Define the quantity(The most important): Concentration

of heavy metal compounds (Pb, Cd, Hg) is reduced by 75% compared to year x levels …(particular attention should be paid to the availability of baseline information)

• Define the quality: . to meet the limits for irrigation water ..

• Define the target group: ... , used by the farmers of Blue village, ...

• Define the place : . in the Blue river section of the District ..

• Determine the time: ... 2 years after the project has started

Objective: Efficiency and effectiveness of the learning and administration processes/practices have been enhanced

Select the indicator: Amount of administrative paperwork…

Define the targets:• Define the quantity: …is reduced by 20% annually

paper work ( particular attention should be paid to the availability of baseline information)

• Define the quality: ... • Define the target group: ... , as used by the YU staff

both academic and administrative ...• Define the place : ... at YU...• Determine the time: ... following full implementation

of e-administration

Indicators: An Example

Some criteria for good indicators

Do partners and stakeholders agree that this indicator makes sense to use?

Owned

Will the data have utility for decision-making and learning?

Useful

Can data be collected easily, on a timely basis at reasonable costs?

Accessible

Are the data consistent or comparable over time?Reliable

Is the definition precise and unambiguous about what is to be measured?

Objective

Does the indicator directly represent the objective it is intended to measure?

Valid

Some criteria for good indicators

SMART CRITERIA

S Specific

M Measurable

A Achievable

R Relevant

T Time-bound

Sources of Verification

• They describe where and how to find theinformation with regard to the indicators

• Issues to be analyzed:u Do external sources of verification exist ?u If so, are they specific enough, reliable and

accessible? If not, how can the information withregard to the indicators be obtained? If we cannot, this is not a good indicator

WP2T2.1 To train fish handlersand to install appropriate Equipment etc.T2.2 connect to the internetBy smart phones

Logical framework Activities

AssumptionsIndicators Verification

AssumptionsIndicators Verification

Indicators Verification

Wider Objective

Incomes of fishermen increased

Specific objectives:Price received by

Fishermen increased

ActivitiesAssumptions, risks and pre-conditions:Means Costs

Results(Outputs (tangible) and Outcomes (intangible): )

WPs (1-6)

WP1:Preperations

WP2 Development: Training Sessions and Practical Placements

1.Quality of fish processing improved

2.Access to markets improved

Activity Levelu What is an activity?u A sequence of actions leading to the achievement

of a resultu Each Result is produced by one or more activities

u In the previous example:

u Result 1: “Quality of fish processing improved”

u Is generated by two activities:

u 1.1. To train fish handlersu 1.2. To install appropriate Equipment