The Adapt Community Initiative of the European Social Fund

A Guide to Transnationality for ADAPT and EMPLOYMENT projects7. Communication with partners and colleagues

A GUIDE TO TRANSNATIONALITY

FOR

ADAPT AND EMPLOYMENT PROJECTS

1996

THE ADAPT COMMUNITY INITIATIVE OF THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND

ADAPT is designed to help European employers and workers anticipate industrial change and deal with its effects. It will operate until the end of 1999.

Actual and potential promoters of ADAPT projects

• companies, groups of companies, sectoral organisations, chambers of commerce, crafts and agriculture;
• trade unions and other workers’ organisations;
• public and private training organisations and universities;
• local and regional authorities;
• local development agencies;
• non-governmental and voluntary organisations;
• organisations concerned with equal opportunities.

THE EMPLOYMENT COMMUNITY INITIATIVE OF THE EUROPEAN SOCIAL FUND

EMPLOYMENT targets groups which face special difficulties in the employment market through its four strands : women in NOW, young people without qualifications in YOUTHSTART, disabled people in HORIZON and, from 1997, people excluded or at risk of exclusion from the labour market in INTEGRA. It will also operate until the end of 1999.

Actual and potential promoters of EMPLOYMENT projects

General:

• local and regional authorities

• trade unions and other working organisations

• firms and employer’s associations

• technical colleges

• local development agencies

• universities or research centres

• training, guidance and employment centres

FURTHER INFORMATION

The management of the Initiatives is largely decentralised to the European Social Fund (ESF) Missions of the Member States. They have designated National Support Structures (NSSs) to assist them in the implementation of the Initiatives. Further information, application forms and other publications for both Initiatives, are available from the ESF Missions and the ADAPT and EMPLOYMENT Support Structures in your Member State.

A GUIDE TO TRANSNATIONALITY FOR ADAPT AND EMPLOYMENT PROJECTS

SUMMARY

This Guide has been produced for you as an existing or potential promoter of an ADAPT or EMPLOYMENT project. We assume that you are either experienced in one or other of these Community Initiatives or have received background documentation from your National Support Structure which explains how the Initiatives operate. So you will know that transnationality is one of the five guiding principles of both Initiatives along with innovation, the bottom-up approach, complementarity and a multiplier effect. The main objective of the Initiatives is to promote innovation not only in the vast range of other activities financed by the European Social Fund but also in the training and employment policies and practices which are in force at national, regional and local level throughout the European Union (EU). And the basic reason for having transnationality as a guiding principle is simple - the sharing of new ideas and approaches across national boundaries promotes further innovation and increases their impact, as they have the chance of being picked up and used in a number of different countries.

So, the purpose of this Guide is to help projects develop and manage their transnational partnerships as effectively as possible and to help ensure that they will produce outcomes which can be used and exploited by others, than these directly involved in the partnerships.

The Guide is not something which has to be read in one go - it is more of a resource which you can draw on as you prepare or implement the following phases of your partnership.

CONTENTS

CONSIDERING THE POSSIBILITY OF TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION

1. WHAT TRANSNATIONALITY MIGHT MEAN FOR YOUR ORGANISATION

PREPARING AND PLANNING YOUR TRANSNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP

2. ESTABLISHING THE OUTLINES

3. PREPARING FOR THE FIRST CONTACTS

4. SEARCHING FOR PARTNERS

5. GETTING TO KNOW YOUR PARTNERS

6. PLANNING YOUR PARTNERSHIP

MANAGING YOURPARTNERSHIP

7. COMMUNICATION WITH PARTNERS AND COLLEAGUES

8. ARRANGINGTRANSNATIONAL MEETINGS

9. ORGANISING STUDY VISITS

10. RUNNING PLACEMENTS

11. DEVELOPING JOINT PRODUCTS

LOOKING TO THEFUTURE

12. THE POSSIBILITIES OF FURTHER COOPERATION

ANNEXES

LIST OF ORGANISATIONS AND NATIONAL SUPPORT STRUCTURES WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO THE PRODUCTION OF THIS GUIDE

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ESF MISSIONS AND THE ADAPT AND EMPLOYMENT SUPPORT STRUCTURES IN YOUR MEMBER STATE
Each of the sections of the Guide which correspond to these phases contains tips, hints, aide memoires or checklists which you can use either as reference or training material for the development of your project and partnership.

You may be reassured to learn that the Guide has been produced by capitalising on the experiences and knowledge of existing projects and some ADAPT and EMPLOYMENT National Support Structures. It also takes account of a number of other publications on the topic of transnationality which have been directly or indirectly financed by the European Commission. These publications are outlined in the Bibliography and thanks are due to the authors or publishers for allowing extracts to be adapted or used. The text also contains a number of quotations in bold italic type illustrating the views of projects which have transnational partnerships in ADAPT and EMPLOYMENT, or in other Community Programmes.

We hope that you will find it a valuable and practical Guide, and please remember that the ADAPT and EMPLOYMENT National Support Structures (NSSs) are always willing to provide additional advice and assistance to you while you are establishing or running your transnational partnership.

“Transnationality works if you work at it”.

CONSIDERING THE POSSIBILITY OF

TRANSNATIONAL COOPERATION

1.WHAT TRANSNATIONALITY MIGHT MEAN FOR YOUR ORGANISATION

Before deciding to get involved in ADAPT or EMPLOYMENT which will require you to create a transnational partnership you really need to draw up a balance sheet of the pros and cons and to discuss it with those people in your organisation who may have a role to play in such a partnership. The lists in Figures 1 and 2 outline some of the institutional and individual benefits which might result from your participation in a partnership, but these should be weighed against the list of potential challenges indicated in Figure 3.

Figure 1

• gaining access to European networks and markets, and building up contacts in other Member States for future cooperation;
• incorporating a European dimension into the organisation by making transnationality a common aspect of on-going work;
• helping to keep the organisation in tune with the latest developments;
• raising the profile of the organisation at European level : an important asset in an increasingly competitive environment;
• adding status/credibility to the project in the eyes of local decision-makers and local partners;
• being able to contrast approaches in different Member States;
• increasing the organisation’s understanding of relevant policy developments.

• gaining access to new ideas by learning from others, as well as sharing and discussing your own ideas and products with your partners;
• extending and improving existing courses, materials and methods,and also producing new products;
• finding new business partners or collaborators;
• acquiring new skills, in particular in the delivery of services;
• enhancing capacities, through carrying out research into areas of common interest.

“It is important to learn from mistakes, but this learning is not necessarily restricted to one’s own.

It may be much cheaper to learn from the mistakes which others have made”.

Figure 2

• improving their methods;
• acquiring new skills, including language, communication and problem solving skills;
• raising their levels of self-confidence;
• raising their awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of national systems, in general, and their own institution, in particular;
• as a result of this, helping them to re-evaluate their own situation.

• enhancing their vocational skills;
• assisting the growth of their self-esteem and self-confidence;
• developing language and communication skills;
• gaining an understanding of the training and employment situation in other Member States;
• developing a wider, European, perspective and enabling them to learn about other countries;
• as a result of this perspective, helping them to re-evaluate their own situation.

• extending their skills;
• accessing new information and experience;
• developing information and market networks;
• receiving constructive feedback on their ideas and methods.

Figure 3

• take time and dedication to develop;
• use a lot of financial and human resources;
• necessitate a communication infrastructure, i.e. E-mail and/or fax, and where not already available, the installation of photocopiers and computers;
• provide new types of work and different problems for staff;
• require detailed negotiation of a transnational work programme;
• involve the risk or partners being less committed or dropping out;
• require evaluation and monitoring procedures.

Perhaps two remarks should be made at this point. The first is that, in general, these potential challenges often create greater difficulties for smaller organisations. However, these can often be overcome through the development of local partnerships at the project planning stage, and the subsequent pooling of resources during the creation and management of the partnership. Indeed, the “bottom-up” selection criterion suggests that local partnerships should be a feature of all ADAPT and EMPLOYMENT project applications. This is particularly true of the new INTEGRA strand of EMPLOYMENT Initiative, which places a special emphasis on integrated local partnership approaches, especially in disadvantaged urban areas.

The second remark, is simply that it is not organisations which make transnational partnerships work, it is individuals. And to make it work, you must be open to the idea of working with people from other cultures and be prepared to make the kind of continuing commitment you already make to the key areas of your current work.

PREPARING AND PLANNING YOUR TRANSNATIONAL

PARTNERSHIP

2.ESTABLISHING THE OUTLINES

This is the beginning of the creative work for the project team, or the embryonic project team of those members of staff who will have a role to play in the future transnational partnership. Before being able to say which activities you would like to undertake at transnational level, you will first need to define what you would like to achieve with your project at local or regional level. Why do you want to create a project ? What is the issue or need you want to address ? What do you hope to achieve ? It is only when the reasons for your project have been clarified that the you will be able to consider which transnational activities could reinforce its objectives and work.

Obviously, at the very start of a project you cannot be too definitive or prescriptive, but you should develop a structured, coherent notion of what you want to do in the project, of how these actions will relate to the organisation’s normal aims and activities, and what are the expected benefits for the target groups, the staff and the organisation. The questions listed in Figure 4 might be helpful in developing a first outline of the project and its transnational aspects.

Figure 4

The first four questions refer to the main outcomes your project would like to achieve. Often, at the start of a project it is difficult to formulate objectives precisely. That is why an alternative approach is suggested, namely, to describe the tangible, main product(s) of the project, the reasons for developing them and their innovative features. Some examples of this approach are presented below. Though the examples focus on one main product, it is clear that in most projects there will be a series of related outcomes. For example, a project aiming to design a 'course to develop the communication skills of school drop-outs' might also produce training materials for school-based teachers and firm-based trainers and an information package for parents.

Questions 5 and 6 in Figure 4 refer to the transnational aspects of the proposed products and reflect two aspects of the added value of transnational cooperation.

• Transnational activities can be an integral part of the product. This means that every time the product is being used or delivered, it will involve a transnational activity. For example, each time a training course on Integrating Equal Opportunities into the Training Plans of Firms takes place, it will include a visit for course participants to another Member State(s) to study how equal opportunities policies are put into practice.

• Transnational activities can be used to research, design, develop, test and even market a product.

Example of a first outline of an EMPLOYMENT project (See Figure 4)

1. an interactive computer information package about supported employment programmes which promote the integration of people with disabilities into SMEs;

1. for owners of SMEs in all economic sectors and for consultants in employment agencies;
2. as studies show that few SMEs use the financial and support opportunities provided by these programmes and that owners of SMEs know relatively little about these opportunities. The project will enable us to establish closer links with SMEs and employment agencies, which might lead to the provision of continuing training courses;
3. the product is innovative as it aims to provide information about new programmes to a new target group in a new way, which allows users to calculate the potential financial benefits themselves.

1. in the package itself no transnational activities will be included;

1. the package will be developed by a transnational team. The team will exchange information, a comparative study will be conducted, a study visit will be organised and the package will be tested and disseminated in all participating Member States.

Example of a first outline of an ADAPT project (See Figure 4)

1. a course on the impact of re-engineering production processes, in two economic sectors;
2. for training managers in firms in these sectors;
3. because these managers need to be informed about the continuing training implications of the introduction of re-engineering processes;
4. a course about the impact on training of the re-engineering approach in these sectors is as yet not available. Particular attention will be paid to the impact on female staff in firms.

1. as part of the course, study visits to two other Member States will be organised for training managers;
2. the course will be developed by a transnational task team, and be based on information available in the participating Member States.

In your discussions about the outline of the project you need to consider which transnational activities may best assist you to create your product, deliver your product or to achieve the overall objectives of your project. Figure 5 might help you in your decision.

None of the activities listed in Figure 5 is mutually exclusive, as all might take place within a single partnership. There is, however, an increasing intensity in terms of constructive cooperation and specific new outputs as we move down the table. This is an important point to mention in relation to the overall objective of the Initiatives which is to bring about positive changes in existing labour market policies and practice. If partnerships do not produce new outputs which can be disseminated and built into mainstream provision in a number of different countries, then the overall impact of the Initiatives will be weakened. So, even if you are a first-time promoter, think hard about getting involved in jointly planned and implemented activities which will produce something new and useful.

“Whilst at a basic level, the exchange of expertise and experience with transnational partners may be interesting and mutually useful, it is only really at the higher levels of transnational working, such as joint development work that common solutions to common problems may be found”.

Figure 5

Once you have developed an initial outline of the project, and its transnational activities, you will have to decide how you are going to do it ? In other words, you need to look carefully at the human and financial resources and the equipment which might be available to support your proposed transnational partnership. In a sense, we are now taking our discussion at the end of Section 1 a little further, as you need to be absolutely sure that your organisation has, or can obtain, the local means and the support to