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TKIT ProjectManagement PDF
TKIT ProjectManagement PDF
TKIT ProjectManagement PDF
a g ement
M a n
Project
No.3
www.training-youth.net www.training-youth.net
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Project
Management
T-kit
Welcome to the T-Kit series
Some of you may have wondered: what does T-kit mean? We can
offer at least two answers. The first is as simple as the full version in
English: “Training Kit”. The second has more to do with the sound of
the word that may easily recall “Ticket”, one of the travelling documents
we usually need to go on a journey. So, on the cover, the little figure
called “Spiffy” holds a train ticket to go on a journey to discover new
ideas. In our imagination, this T-kit is a tool that each of us can use
in our work. More specifically, we would like to address youth workers
and trainers and offer them theoretical and practical tools to work with
and use when training young people.
The T-kit series has been the result of a one-year collective effort involv-
ing people from different cultural, professional and organisational
backgrounds. Youth trainers, youth leaders in NGOs and professional
writers have worked together in order to create high quality publica-
tions which would address the needs of the target group while recog-
nising the diversity of approaches across Europe to each subject.
This T-kit is part of a series of 4 titles first published in the year 2000,
to be followed by more in subsequent years. It is one of the products
of the Partnership Programme on European Youth Worker Training
run by the European Commission and the Council of Europe. Besides
the T-kits, the partnership between the two institutions has resulted in
other areas of co-operation such as training courses, the magazine
“Coyote” and a dynamic internet site.
This document does not necessarily express the official view of the European Commission or
the Council of Europe, their member states or the organisations co-operating with the institutions.
Project
Management
T-Kit
Council of Europe
DG IV
Directorate of Youth and Sport
European Youth Centre Strasbourg European Youth Centre Budapest
30 Rue Pierre de Coubertin Zivatar ucta 1-3
F-67000 Strasbourg, France H-1024 Budapest, Hungary
Tel: +33-3-8841 2300 – Fax: +33-3-8841 2777 Tel: +36-1-2124078 – Fax: +36-1-2124076
European Commission
DG Education and Culture
Unit D5: Youth Policy and Programmes
Rue de la Loi, 200
B-1049 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32-2-295 1100 – Fax: +32-2-299 4158
Project
Management
T-Kit
Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 7
In the last 20 years projects have taken a cen- • trainers helping participants to develop their
tral role in youth work and can be considered own projects.
today as a tool for social change, a cornerstone
to community development and to internatio- This T-Kit is divided into 4 main chapters mo-
nal youth work or even as a tool to build and/or ving from general reflections on the value of
strengthen civil society. As a consequence, the projects to a very concrete step-by-step deve-
management of projects has become a neces- lopment of a project. The four sections can be
sary skill for youth organisations and a recur- read independently but are of course inter-
rent topic for youth work training. connected.
Project management requires a wide variety Chapter 1 is a general reflection on the role of
of skills from political/social analysis to com- projects in the development of international
munication skills, from people to resources youth work and the evolution of the value of
management skills, from fundraising skills projects.
to evaluation techniques etc… Obviously, this
Chapter 2 provides a clarification of what is
T-Kit could not exhaustively deal with all these
understood by ‘project management’ in a
issues and the authors have chosen to address
youth work context as well as presenting a
the main elements relevant for international
variety of approaches and models of project
youth projects. Written by experienced youth
development.
work trainers at the international level, this T-Kit
is largely inspired from ‘project management’
Chapter 3 proposes a framework to guide the
training events run in the context of interna-
development of youth work projects fol-
tional youth work and draws on concrete lowed by ‘step-by-step’ explanations. This chap-
training examples. ter includes practical advice and concrete
suggestions for trainers using project deve-
This T-Kit should not be seen as a recipe on ‘how lopment as a training tool. In order to help
to run a project’ but rather as a proposal of a you with the transfer to practice, this chapter
framework that provides the project manager includes an example of a project applying the
with a concrete ‘step-by-step’ approach, inclu- step-by-step project development explanations.
ding hints and guidelines for monitoring a project.
Chapter 4 presents some thoughts on the
The T-Kit has been produced for those who European dimension of projects.
want to develop projects and who are able to
refer to their own experiences and own project. We hope you will enjoy reading and applying
It is for: the methods to your own projects. We look
• project managers in charge of developing a forward to receiving feedback from your own
project, experiences of using this T-Kit.
7
1. Projects in youth work
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complementarity between national actions for way possible, with an optimal use of resources,
youth. In some countries, the procedures and with the most visible and sustainable results,
management principles of Youth for Europe and with the best publicity.
were “imported” into other national youth
programmes and policies. Note, for example,
that within the programme there was little
• The import of business ideas
and liberal ideology into the social sector 1
provision to cover the structural costs of
organisations. In fact, organisations were
In addition to, and as a result of the above, there
requested and expected to find matching
is no doubt that the predominance of (neo)lib-
funds (often more than 50%). Especially at
eral ideology and principles and generally the
the beginning of the programme there was
“triumph” of capitalism has resulted in the
also a clear emphasis to attract projects from imposition of business-like criteria within the
formal youth groups in a clear and justified non-market sector, including civil society and
attempt to reach “common” young people. sometimes also state administration. Among
the ones most relevant to our concerns in this
publication are principles such as accountabi-
• the economic and social crisis – affecting lity, profitability and, more generally business
young people – and the attack on, and management applied to the non-governmental
subsequent reforms of, the welfare state and non-profit sector. Project management
has not remained immune to these develop-
This is one of the most common arguments ments. For the sake of the non-conformist,
put forward to explain the withdrawal of the however, we can also say that the profit-mak-
public sector from many associative and socio- ing sector has also adapted many ideas from
political projects. The (financial) crisis of many the non-profit making sector.
European states – together with the efforts for
setting up the single currency project within
the European Union – has resulted in a short-
• the challenges of re-building democracy Factors that encouraged
and civil society in Eastern Europe a shift towards
age of resources to support or follow-up “tra-
ditional” socio-educational projects. Social and project management in
The collapse of the Communist system in Eastern European youth work
youth projects had to become autonomous and Central Europe called on “the West” to
and accountable. Jobs were no longer secure, support the emerging democracies in Eastern
structures were no longer supported. The and Central Europe, a challenge which was
emphasis was now put on results, the support taken up very early by the Council of Europe
was now allocated to projects, not to organi- and by international youth organisations. In
sations. the youth policy field, this meant an immediate
challenge to respond to needs that had more
Some of these arguments may seem very shal- to do with immediate and tangible results than
low, partial and even provocative. But the dif- with principles. Governmental and non-govern-
ference has been visible – if not in results at mental partners in Eastern Europe wanted con-
least in philosophy and principles for youth crete tools and skills to help them develop their
policy. Look for example at the idea that sup- policies or simply survive in an atmosphere
port to youth (or other) organisations never where anything that did not seem business
used to be as generous or careless as some compliant was suspect or at least doomed to
analysis seems to suggest. In most countries, fail sooner or later.
youth organisations – especially international
Regardless of how pertinent the analysis and
ones – have had to fight hard to keep their
the requests are or were, the fact is that project
independence and secure their survival.
management courses supported the drive for a
change and, especially, they opened up further
That might partly explain some of the contra- the demands for “business-like” professional or
dictions around the popularity of project man- professionalised training. The repercussion of
agement: most associations, including youth this is not difficult to imagine: besides the influ-
organisations, are in favour of it, not against ence this has had on those countries’ youth
(naturally, for they also strive for a better and structures and policies, it has also impacted on
more efficient way of doing things). Indeed, the practice and the philosophy of European and
there is no discussion surrounding a stance pro international youth organisations. For some it is
or against project management. Everyone – and like being seduced by the taste of the forbidden
rightly so – wants things to be done in the best fruit.
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• the shifts of emphasis in political Idealism and political engagement have been
and development aid replaced by realism and action, qualities asso-
ciated with small scale community and group
At the same time, there was a serious shift projects. Visible results and experience “now!”
around co-operation and assistance for devel- are more attractive as something new and
opment between the wealthier North and the immediately “socially marketable” by giving
1 needier South. It is very probable that the shift credit to those involved in it – a reflection of
in development co-operation policies occurred consumer habits and the need to get the la-
as a result of general policy changes, mostly test model in clothes, computers or portable
influenced by factors already mentioned above. phones (and notice how quickly things are
Nevertheless, we refer to it because it does out of trend), as well as the development and
illustrate the difference. Due very much to the popularity of new and “radical” sports.
influence of non-governmental development
organisations, “donor countries” started to link Young people are less likely to commit them-
development aid or assistance to results and to selves to an organisation, programme or cause.
democratic conditions. Support is now almost What was before an expression of global con-
exclusively for projects, with an emphasis on cern (eg. racism, poverty, war) seems to have
small scale projects, and not “policies”. been replaced by concerns about globalisation
and how to participate in it through other means
such as the Internet. In this context it is easier
• postmodernism: individualisation to commit and participate in a project than
and fragmentation of young people in any organisation. The project is short or
and youth groups medium-term, is flexible and has concrete
and visible results. Similarly, the young peo-
The erosion of collective models of association
ple can contribute to shaping and managing
Factors that encouraged and social participation by young people, toge-
a shift towards the project without having to “jump” through
ther with the development of their self-aware-
project management in the successive levels of leadership in the organ-
ness and reflection – associated with the rejec-
European youth work isation.
tion of models of reference – has meant, among
many other factors, that long-term commit-
ments are less fashionable and less suitable
to the reality of young people today. In what
is also referred to as the “risk society”, the indivi-
1.4 Management,
dual person has more to decide by him/her Management!
self, more to choose from and bears the
responsibility for shaping his/her own life
and future. It is difficult to see how much these factors have
been a consequence or a cause of the change
The progressive disappearance of some com- of priorities, thinking and language, regarding
mon models of reference – social, cultural or activities and programmes in European youth
political – has also led to social fragmenta- projects. The fact is that when looked at
tion among young people and to multiple together they help to understand why project
identification processes, both synchronic and and project management have become the
diachronic. trendy words and approach in the 1990’s.
In this new environment youth organisations Some of those changes were actually less deep
and institutions are challenged to adapt and – or less radical – than they seemed to be. The
modernise: long-term programmes and com- major differences are not in the nature of what
mitments are much more difficult. The word is being preached, taught or done, but in how
is short-term and if possible “now”. In fact, many seriously it is taken and adopted, and the lan-
youth workers say how difficult it is to keep guage used. The very nature and reality of civil
young people’s interest and commitment in society, which international youth organi-
something as exciting and potentially moti- sations are part of, would suffice to make
vating as a youth exchange, if it implies a anyone aware of the risks of over-hasty ge-
duration of over six months. neralisation.
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The fact that the language and principles of responsible (the elected board), project ma-
project management are popular, does not nagement has put the focus on the project
mean necessarily: leader or team. These people have a high degree
• That projects and project management did of autonomy in how to proceed and manage
not exist before; the project once the objectives have been
• That the quality of the work undertaken clarified and agreed with the political level.
today is higher than before; Consequences of this include the fact that 1
• That there were plenty of resources, which the responsibility for the project is clearer as
were not well used it is easier to identify those in charge of each of
• That everyone is now a great project ma- the steps. It is also more “empowering” as it
nager and that there are no hiccups at dif- gives workers, members or volunteers, a clear
ferent levels. share of responsibility and therefore of power.
Accountability comes also from the extended
Let us not forget that part of the changes men- possibilities for evaluation and assessment –
tioned above have been stimulated because as well as reporting – of the project. Changing values
there are more resources now than before (eg. in project management
for European youth projects), and the num- and youth work
ber of institutions and partners involved has • Equality and independence
also grown exponentially. A drive for efficiency
and accountability – having to do in the first Projects usually must comply to criteria and
place with the quality of projects – was thus priorities, both formal and content-wise. It is
inevitable. the fulfilment of the criteria and the respect
of the pre-defined priorities that determine
the elegibility of projects for funding or for
other forms of support. In this way, all pro-
1.5 Values before jects are “equal”, at least in the sense that they
all must fulfil similar criteria. Nepotism is thus
and values after prevented and the allocation of favours or pri-
vileges to one organisation or the other needs
to be justified. All organisations are thus, a
We can also look into this by recalling and
analysing what values are involved in project priori, on an equal footing, the quality of the
management and in youth work. What are project being the deciding element. And the
they? Have they changed? decision-makers can decide with greater inde-
pendence – less bound to alliances and pres-
sures. In fact, the decisions are often taken by
• Efficiency so-called expert committees that are supposed
to be less subject to political pressure. This
Project planning methodologies allow orga- situation should work to the advantage of
nisations and institutions to be more efficient “political” organisations as they would comply
by placing an emphasis on the concrete needs with the same rules and avoid the need for
of a given situation or group of people. By justification.
limiting the field of intervention and antici-
pating the results as concretely as possible, the
resources will be used in a better way and • Economy and consistency
overall efficiency should improve. By focussing
the scope of intervention there is the guarantee Projects funding allows sponsors to better see
that results will be achieved as there is less the use of their money (ie. to make sure that
dispersion of effort and the contribution and budgets are used for what they were meant). It
involvement from the different actors involved makes seeing deviations in the use of the
is more coherent and better coordinated. money more easy.
By allocating specific resources to the imple-
mentation of objectives and concrete activi-
• Accountability and (shared) responsibility ties, it is also possible to increase the efficient
use of resources or at least limit unreasonable
Whereas in an organisation or group the respon- or uncontrolled spending or inadequate pro-
sibility for activities lies with the politically ducts. The fact that the project has a set time
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frame and possibly includes different check- and, especially, the different components of
points for evaluation and monitoring may ease the project may be adapted and adjusted to
the financial control and management of the unforeseen changes or evolution.
project, namely by speeding up the process of
interventions and corrections.
The need for each activity of the project to be • Transparency and visibility
1 in line with the aims and objectives and to “fit”
within the overall project framework makes Accountability means also transparency and
coherence and consistency easier to follow, in visibility. Transparency because the allocation
the same way as it carries the potential to limit of public (or private) resources and their impact
“deviations” or distortions. on policies and programmes is more clear and
traceable. It is not anymore so much a matter
of who got money or subsidies, and how much,
• Quality but what they got it for – and what was achieved
with it. In addition to promoting transparen-
Quality as a result of project management is cy – and supposedly preventing nepotism or
potentially improved by the extended possi- favouritism – working through projects may
bilities to optimise the identification of skills, increase the visibility of policies and pro-
resources and procedures for a given set of grammes – as there are always results that
objectives. Resources are identified in relation are tangible, that can be shown and grasped
to the specific need and purpose of the project. easily, through the media and through other
Monitoring and evaluation are important tools channels of communication.
to “measure” quality, or at least to check the Visibility is as important for the project team
rate of progress against the objectives or tar- and organisation (mobilisation, public relations,
gets set, both quantitatively and qualitatively. communication, publicity, motivation) as it is
Doing better and doing the best possible is for the sponsors and promoters, who also
made easier by working on a project basis as need to justify, demonstrate, publicise... what
the options are clearer to identify. they do with the funds they administrate.
In other words, an organisation, vision or
priority is marketed better through projects.
• Realism Transparency serves also as a “guarantee” of
honesty and integrity, values which are crucial
The essence of projects is that they must be to any non-profit making organisation.
Changing values realistic, just as the objectives must be achie-
in project management vable. Realism is an important value in so far as
and youth work it helps to eliminate projects whose aims are • Creativity and innovation
inadequate or inconsistent with the size,
capacity or scope of the promoting organisa- Creative and innovative projects have found
tions. Realism means the prevalence of the new ways of doing things, new methods to
mind and reason over the heart or the soul. achieve aims and objectives. Working through
Realism is also a motivation in the sense that projects forces every new project to be diffe-
realism makes achievement more likely and rent and unique – the principle of innovation.
thus the project potentially more visible. In doing so, it stimulates the creativity in peo-
Turning great ideas into visible practice and ple and organisations. The search for better
results could be a motto for projects. performance and for appraisals or evaluation
is a stimulus to non-conformism and uncon-
ventionalism, themselves also important
• Flexibility motivation factors in organisations. Creativity
and innovation embody the need to be closer
The project needs to be planned, implemented to the reality of the young people or of the
and evaluated. Sound project management community, and to interact with other peo-
allows for – and calls for – changes to be intro- ple, organisations and trend-setters. Creativity
duced as a result of on-going progress and and innovation also rhyme very well with
regular evaluations. Dysfunctions and distor- modernity and modernisation – crucial con-
tions in the planning stages can thus be corrected cepts of our time.
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decision on the European Voluntary Service to create a new identity to replace national
programme (EVS) – because Europe should not (or other identities) but rather to develop an
be seen only as a space to develop a free mar- understanding of the role of the European
ket, including freedom of movement. The Union – and the European integration process
European integration process can only be – as part of the present and future. This
successful on the political, social and cultural includes a call/need to connect the European
1 levels if there is also an understanding of the dimension to the local and national levels.
need for solidarity and, thus, perceiving Europe At the same time, those involved in defining
as a space for solidarity instead of a ground this policy took care to make sure that the
for competition. European dimension was not exclusive to
European Union member states. Hence the
• Self-reliance and creativity of young people two programmes (Youth for Europe, EVS) are
European youth projects must be planned and open to other countries (either as programme
run in a way that stimulates autonomy, self- countries or as third countries), although to
reliance and creativity. These values have major different degrees and in different ways (it
seems to work easier on a reciprocal basis for
Important elements implications in the way the project is pre-
youth exchanges).
in running European pared and run, on the role that young people
youth projects have in it (owners/participants and not con-
sumers) and, of course, on the objectives pur- • Active participation of young people
sued and in the attitudes promoted. It is also in society and institutions
interesting how self-reliance and creativity are “Encouraging young people to take an active
put together as values. part in society via non-profit-making associa-
tions and organisations”, means a recognition
• Understanding cultural diversity of the crucial role of civil society, associations
Cultural diversity is obvious when one looks and organisations in developing participation
at the European continent (and most continents, and citizenship. This simultaneously, implies the
for that matter). The recognition of cultural importance of the non-profit sector in gener-
diversity as a normal situation and the positive al (as European youth programmes are most-
value and understanding given to it are part ly educational and run on a non-profit basis).
The Youth programmes refer to “enabling
of the cornerstones of building Europe while
young people to become aware of the impor-
respecting cultural difference. It is also a pre-
tance of democracy in the organisation of
condition for intercultural learning.
society and thus encourage them to play an
active part in its institutions”. Further down,
• Combating racism, xenophobia
reference is made to the need for “allowing
and anti-semitism
young people to express their opinions on the
Together with valuing and understanding cul-
organisation of society and encourage the vari-
tural diversity, raising awareness about the
ous public authorities involved to take heed
dangers of racism, xenophobia and anti-semitism
thereof” an explicit reference to the need of
is one of the main themes of European pro-
public institutions to open up and sustain the
grammes. Without awareness raising there
desire for youth participation.
can hardly be respect for and understanding
of cultural diversity and, ultimately, of other
• Participation of disadvantaged
Europeans and non-Europeans alike. young people
Both programmes give priority to the participa-
• Developing a European dimension tion of disadvantaged young people, in a recog-
or identity nition of the importance of social cohesion and
The Youth for Europe programme talks of of the accessibility to European programmes
“enabling young people to view the European to all young people. This is translated practi-
Union as an integral part of their historical, cally through several measures, including
political, cultural and social environment”, added possibilities for financial support. The
which is possibly the most explicit reference objective includes also a call for the young
to what is referred in other instances of the people (presumably “non-excluded”) to be made
programme as the “European dimension or aware of the risks of social exclusion. The same
identity”. In line with other texts of this and spirit is to be found in EVS: “(...) to facilitate
other programmes, the explicit purpose is not access to the programme for all young people”.
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• Equal participation of men and women Finally, values related to intercultural learning
Both programmes stress the importance of safe- can be found in the renewed objectives for
guarding, pursuing and raising awareness of promoting the respect for “cultural diversity
equality between men and women. The Youth and its fundamental common values” with-
for Europe programme talks also of encou- in the context of “responsible citizenship”.
raging women’s participation: “making young
people sensitive to the need to ensure equal 1
• Recognition and promotion of informal
opportunities for men and women and to education
encourage women to lead an active life in all The role of informal education in pursuing
sectors of society.” In the European Voluntary social and educational objectives is visible
Service, this appears also as a general condition throughout the existing youth programmes,
under which the programme is run: “(...) It is
not least because they are programmes with
intended [EVS programme], while respecting
an educational purpose outside formal edu-
equal opportunities for men and women, to
cation.
encourage mobility and solidarity (...)”, itself a
reflection of general policy principles of the Informal education is also placed in the con-
European Union as it can be read in the pre- text of pursuing life-long learning and trai-
ambles of the decisions. ning, for which it has “a fundamental role to
play to enhance employability, adaptability
• Independence, initiative and creativity and the culture of entrepreneurship and to
“Encouraging independence, creativity and an promote equal opportunities.”1 Similarly, the
entrepreneurial spirit among young people, new programme aims also “To stimulate recog-
in particular at the social, civic, cultural and nition of informal education acquired within
environmental levels” is one of the objectives a European context”.
of the Youth for Europe programme, in its
concerns with the need to boost the employ-
ability of young people. In this sense, EVS At the level of the Council of Europe
goes further: “encourage a spirit of initiative,
creativity and solidarity among young peo-
The main values and orientations of the Council
ple so as to enable them to become actively
of Europe youth policy were formally adopted
integrated into society (...)”. These values go
by its Committee of Ministers in Resolution
beyond the social and political into educa-
tional and training objectives: the involvement (98) 6 of 16 April 1998, themselves the poli-
in a European project, mostly through a stay tical affirmation of the priorities and practices
abroad, opens young people’s mind and devel- of the Council’s Youth Directorate.
ops their autonomy, independence and cre-
ativity. The role of non-formal education to • Help young people to meet challenges
achieve this seems to be further acknowledged and their own aspirations
in the new Youth programme. Youth policy is placed under the priority and
perspectives of the young people themselves,
• Intercultural learning rather than the institutions’, in the spirit of
Intercultural learning is a theme that can be disseminating the values of peace, freedom Important elements
found throughout the whole of the youth and solidarity. in running European
programme, either as an objective, as a con- youth projects
dition or as a need. In the Youth for Europe • Particular attention to disadvantaged
programme, intercultural learning is both part young people
of the social objectives (solidarity, human
In view of “contributing to social cohesion,
rights, awareness of cultural diversity) and of
especially by combatting exclusion”, the spe-
the educational objectives too (see applica-
tion and report forms, or the guide for appli- cial concern for disadvantaged young people
cants). is a guiding principle of the objectives of the
Intercultural learning should also be consi- youth policy of the Council of Europe.
dered together with the other aspects of the
European dimension and openness to third 1
Common Position (EC) No 22/1999 of the Council of
countries (including that of young people of Ministers adopted on 28 June 1999 with a view to adop-
immigrant origin getting to know their original ting a decision establishing the “Youth” Community action
culture). programme (Official Journal, 22/07/99).
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In the case of European projects, to be clear To be able to translate and to adapt those
about the reasons for engaging in European values to young people
cooperation. The role of the youth worker, leader or edu-
Europe is more than the possibility to get fund- cator (who may be different from the project
ing for an exchange project or for a trip abroad. manager) will be to adapt and to translate those
For young people, the value and impact of an values and educational principles into a pro-
experience abroad can be very important. It gramme suitable to the young people. It is also
is thus crucial that the project leadership is to be able to understand and communicate with
clear about what drives them so that young young people in order to understand their
values and to incorporate them into the pro-
people also benefit from the experience – not
ject and its methodology.
to say that the objectives of European institu-
tions should be embraced as a new religion
or as an imposed programme element
OBJECTIVES
To be able to stay in control
Possibly the most important skill and attitude
of the project leadership is to be able to stay
in control of the project, to steer the project
instead of being steered by events and by Values
third parties. To do so, it is necessary to have ORGANISATION and LEADERSHIP
clear priorities, objectives and also key values Principles
and principles, including those having a par-
ticular impact on the educational process.
THE YOUNG
To be aware of limits
PEOPLE
A project can be a very unique and enriching
experience, but a project is just a project, just
like a person is just a person. Both have limits
in terms of objectives, scope, time, etc. A pro-
ject alone can not change society. But it may
contribute to addressing or solving a particu-
lar issue or problem. Working by projects is
1.7 The limits
to prioritise and to exclude that which is not of project-oriented
a priority. Establishing priorities implies estab- policies
lishing criteria according to... values, objectives
or needs. Being aware of the limits is also impor-
tant in order to give adequate value to changes Projects also have limits
and to results – not everything can be changed
at once; not everything can be solved through The project is first and foremost a tool for social
education change, or at least that is the way that we
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would like to see it understood in youth and makes difficult – a medium-term approach to
social work. Projects are rarely an end in them- work with some groups of young people. In
selves, they are just a different way to plan, itself, this approach is partly the cause of the
organise, mobilise and achieve. Of course, their disengagement of young people – a phenom-
potential for optimising resources and invol- enon that it is also a consequence of.
ving people makes them perhaps an exceptio-
1 nally well suited tool, particularly for European
youth programmes. However, on top of the Many and small projects
advantages of project management listed above,
we should also be able to identify and be aware The general development of youth policy at
of its risks and limitations. European level has also meant that the states
Important elements
have new or at least different possibilities to
in running European
youth projects influence young people and youth partners,
Increased control and vulnerability not always driven by noble principles alone.
The search for media attention and “marketable
Reduced support for programmes and organisa- results” is sometimes translated into a prefe-
tions to the benefit of projects makes the orga- rence for quantity over quality. There are many
nisations more vulnerable to funding for specific examples of projects getting insufficient fund-
projects – which often have restrictive or spe- ing or coverage to be run with a minimum of
cific objectives and form. It is also easier to quality, but enough to create “clientele” effects
control the organisation’s development by or to allow the politician in charge to present
the number and size of projects supported. large figures to the press before the next elec-
Limiting support for project may prevent the tions.
development of programmes and, in any
case, limit the possibilities of expansion of an
organisation. As many projects are decided Extra pressure on youth workers
on a regular basis (annually or bi-annually)
the independence and freedom of movement The past years have seen increased pressure
of the organisation may be constrained as de being put on professional youth workers to
develop and to manage projects. In some cases
facto the sponsors (often public institutions)
this has gone as far as “transforming” the whole
have more ways of control, possibly under
assignments into projects (with certain posi-
the disguise of equality or quality of the pro-
tive results as well), but even when it has not
jects. Finally, the emphasis on projects allows
gone this far, youth workers may be put under
governments to easily shape the scope of
pressure to “think differently and do diffe-
activities by NGOs, by deciding what is fund-
rently”. Youth workers are asked to be pro-
able and what is not. An alternative could be ject managers, administrators and fundraising
to start from the youth organisations’ needs experts. Notwithstanding the often necessary
and perspectives. reasons for that, the fact is that youth wor-
kers are increasingly given responsibilities for
which they are not necessarily competent. Of
Short-term perspectives course the professional “market” value of youth
of youth policy and programmes workers will come out increased, but there is
a risk that this is done at the expense of a
While we all agree that it is important for closer relationship to young people, and of the
youth work institutions to remain in tune with stability and security which are traditionally
young people – and thus be able to act and low in this area of work. The risks of demoti-
react by permanent adaptation – the empha- vation and disengagement should thus not
sis on projects as tools for policies should not be underestimated. Part of the impact of such
hinder medium and long-term policy goals. policies may also be visible in the progressive
Pursuing deeper and on-going changes in numbers of youth workers that are “requested”
society can not be done only through short- to work on a consultancy or freelance basis.
term projects. Many projects are, unfortu-
nately, run under the pressure of: involving
many people (visible, presentable, big num- True projects with false needs
bers) and involving different young people all
the time (avoidance of cliques, demonstrate The priority given to project support as a form
openness, etc.), which does prevent – or at least of youth policy may have the perverse effect
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of generating unnecessary projects or rather, It is also true that other ways of developing
projects whose needs are not obvious. This youth policies and supporting youth pro-
may be especially true when organisations rely grammes have similar risks, sometimes on a
on project money to survive or to keep some greater scale, while presenting less advan-
essential services or posts that would not be tages compared with project management.
possible otherwise. Although the project qua-
lity might not be at stake, there may be an It should also be argued that the implementa- 1
artificial priority for the projects – sometimes tion of youth policies and programmes requires
visible in organisations that are involved in professionals who are aware of their role, power
all kinds of projects. and influence, and who need to be adequately
trained and monitored.
Same but not equal It remains true that projects and programmes
are the reflection of political values and prior-
The democracy of support through projects – ities and that these include, in many countries,
by putting emphasis on each project’s quality the possibility for the decision-maker or politi-
and less on the status of the project carrier cian to influence projects and to have a say
(although probably that always plays a role, on the allocation of public resources (namely
at least in terms of previous records) – may in through projects). Projects are always, at the
some cases lead to a similar treatment of very end of the day, an expression of a policy which,
different realities. The conditions for carrying in a representative democracy, always includes
out a project successfully depend on many striking a balance between different vested
aspects: previous experience, dimension and interests.
funding of the organisation, its structural capa-
city to manage delays in payments, its capacity It is thus important to recall what has been said
to generate internal synergies and mobilise earlier: project management is essentially a
different levels of expertise, etc. This is often tool with many functions and attributes. What
highlighted by the growing tendency to request youth policy makers and practitioners make
organisations to fundraise or find matching of it depends on their capacities and skills, on
funds for substantial parts of the budget. It is their values and on their interests, and on
clear that some organisations are better sui- their capacity to learn.
ted to this than others (including being able to
formally fit into criteria), the latter having to
run a project on a very high risk and questio- The intercultural dimension of projects
nable quality or be forced to drop the project.
It would be interesting, for example, to research Whether the project to be undertaken is run
the number of small organisations which were within the framework of the Council of Europe
financially “burned” in Youth for Europe action or the European Union programmes or at a
D projects, to name only one of the most well purely national level, there is one dimension
known cases. This is where the principle of that is becoming increasingly present at all
equality may clash with the proclaimed value levels of youth work, and that is intercultural
of accessibility of (European) youth pro- learning.
grammes to all young people. Paraphrasing
Orwell “All projects are equal but some may Intercultural learning has become over the Important elements
in running European
be more equal than others”. years a criterion and a dimension that has
youth projects
acquired growing importance. It is found as
part of the objectives of programmes, the pri-
Distortions in youth policy orities of youth policies, concrete objectives
and project management of projects and also as a methodology. It can
be found in many books, in the legal texts
Of course all the risks – some very real – of about youth policies in Europe, in the appli-
youth policies based on project management cation forms and report forms for projects. It
are, at the end of the day, distortions either in can also be found in the programme of activ-
project management or simply distortions in ities of many youth projects.
the definition and steering of youth policies
and programmes. They are not intrinsic to We have already seen the extent to which it is
project management and can be prevented or a value, priority and a methodology in the pro-
corrected. grammes of the Council of Europe and of the
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European Union. We have also explored briefly no creo en las brujas, pero que las hay, las
its double role in promoting a better under- hay” 2 . Cultural difference seems to be respon-
standing of the differences between countries sible for many funny and less funny situa-
and within the same country (e.g. between the tions occurring in multicultural projects. While
majority and minorities, immigrants, etc.). not attempting to be innovative, nor even
complete, we would still like to mention
1 Intercultural learning as such is the object of some of the areas where conflicts, confusion,
another training kit being produced in this frustration or excitement are likely to occur in
series. We shall thus refrain from expanding on relation to project management.
a theme that is developed elsewhere and about
which there is an extensive methodological, prac-
tical and theoretical literature. At this stage Culture and power
we would like to draw attention to the inter-
All cultures are equal in value, but we do not
cultural interferences that are likely to occur
always perceive it that way. We tend to establish
in the management of a project, whether they
hierarchies between cultures, usually starting
result from European partnerships or from from our own (“better or worse”, more or less
involving several cultures in a project “at “developed”, “stronger or weaker”, etc.).
home”.
Planning and managing projects involves always
a more or less explicit negotiation and harmo-
nisation of different but usually compatible
interests. The perception of oneself and the
1.8 Culture and project perception of the other influence the way in
which the partners will negotiate and find solu-
managament tions to their challenges.
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same time. The role of improvisation – which process and what is the role of communica-
in different circumstances would sometimes tion for the sake of... communication? Why do
be called creativity – is one of the most con- partnerships that seem to start so well, carried
flictual ones; in fact it is the meeting (or not) out by the best of friends in a training course
of expectations and confrontation of ways of or study visit, sometimes get stuck because of
doing that is often at stake. lack of communication? How far is it possible
to attempt to understand another culture? 1
Communication
Culture and youth work ethics
Money
Professional ethics and principles are also ano-
ther easy ground for astonishment and conflict
The interference and interaction
among colleagues and partners, and one that
of different factors influencing the process
most often remains unspoken. As usual, the
of intercultural cooperation may make the differences are noticed when they have already
process of understanding it – and managing made a negative impression.
it successfully – more difficult.
Who is to take the involvement of participants
“seriously”? What is the role and behaviour of
Culture and communication the youth leader and youth worker towards
the young people? Is it acceptable to drink
Communication is itself a source of conflict, alcohol? Who is to exercise responsibility and
especially in situations of conflict or tension. to act in a responsible way? To what extent do
What to communicate, how to communicate it youth workers know the restrictions and obli-
and when? What is important to tell a partner gations imposed on their collegaues abroad?
and what should be left implicit? What is Who is a good and modern youth worker and
the level of commitment to a communication who is not?
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24
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mother tongue. Remember: only you know the richness of the experience, and the rich-
what you actually mean! We can expect that ness of culture, is based on the impossibility
our partners hear and understand exactly that to predict everything. So, some trust in the
most of the time, but be ready for it not to be partners, in the young people, ought always
that way. And even when you understand and to be there. Without this trust and the corres-
are understood, the practical consequences of ponding recognition of equality of dignity
that are very different (people have different (and of cultural competence) the risk is that
1
ways of interpreting things and doing things). the attitudes reflect the biases and insecuri-
ties there at the start and that the spiral of
self-fulfilling prophecies is engaged. When in
There is more than one way doubt, do consider that hospitality is one of
of doing things! the most commonly spread and important
values of human communities (Europe inclu-
There are always different ways to pursue the ded!); therefore the chances that your hosts
same objectives, just as there is not one method are doing their best and that your guests
for doing things. Of course, “our” way is still the understand your efforts are very high.
best and most normal (for us), but others will
probably disagree (they also have their best
and normal way). Consider your own ethno- Tolerance!...
centrism when implicitly or explictly evalua-
ting other peoples attitudes and work In the absence of a better expression, we have
to use tolerance to mean the need to some-
times accept things as they come. See first, try
Discuss/negotiate ground rules... to understand, and only after react. Not every-
and evaluate them thing is foreseeable and, on the other hand, it
is legtimate to expect that partners are doing
Especially if you have had previous experiences their best. Even when that best is not good
with intercultural projects, it may prove use- enough for our own standards. As a friend of
ful to discuss and possibly agree among the ours put it 3, tolerance only makes sense if it
partners on basic ground rules for communi- is painful, if it is hard – otherwise, what’s the
cation or for dealing with the programme or value in being tolerant? Intercultural learning
the young people. The actual rules defined is a very rewarding process and experience, but Recommendations
may actually not be very important, but the it can also be hard. for intercultural
discussion provides a golden opportunity to co-operation
bring into the open possible different approa-
ches and sensitivities to certain issues. The exis- ... and frankness.
tence of some rules also provides an opportu-
nity to address sensitive issues through the Intercultural learning has to be based on the
evaluation of their implementation, with part- ability of those participating in the process to
ners and with participants. But one should avoid analyse it and to discuss it, including the con-
becoming a slave of the rules; as suggested, flictual issues, in a meta-communication or
the rules are a medium – for communication evaluation process. Apart from the obvious
and negotiation – and not just a set of norms learning process that this entails, this con-
to be applied blindly. frontation of feelings and experiences is ne-
cessary to clarify the atmosphere and to get rid
of mutual frustrations and resentments that
Trust! may have accumulated. Without moments like
this, very common in conflict management
Especially when engaging in international or situations, there are chances that the co-opera-
European co-operation projects, a high degree tion will not continue or that the assumptions
of trust and confidence between the partners and misunderstandings will prevail in the
is essential. This must be differentiated from future.
candid or romantic attitudes of naïvety: one
also has to have a minimum of assertiveness
to understand what might go wrong and to
discuss it with the partners and colleagues. But 3
BERGERET, Jean-Marie, quoted in “Navigare Necesse est”.
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Despite everything that has been said, inter- One thing that is very true regarding intercul-
cultural learning is a lot of fun! Although it can tural learning experiences is that, especially
Recommendations and must also be pursued at home – where when abroad, youth workers often go through
for intercultural multicultural settings also exist and are pro- the same experience as the participants. But
1 co-operation bably as interesting as any group of young youth workers and project managers in par-
people abroad – the fact is that both for the ticular also have the possibility of being trained
young people and for the youth worker very for it. In fact one of the main objectives of the
few things can replace the excitment of tra- European youth programmes and policies is to
velling and being faced with difference, novel- provide training on intercultural learning to
ty, sometimes the exotic, and in some ways youth workers and to young people in gene-
the feeling of being a foreigner, a visitor or a ral. The knowledge, skills and attitudes for
tourist (anonymous, free, etc). So instead of intercultural work can be learnt, developed
facing it as a headache or as a problem, change and improved. In order to get the best out of
attitude and take it with ease and with fun! our efforts – because no-one is born know-
Not everything can be settled in advance and, ing everything – and in order to make better
frankly, it is sometimes the small incidents projects.
that make the experience a memorable one, So remember, a European Youth project is more
for leaders and for project participants alike. than just a successful application form…
26
2. What is a project?
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T-Kit
• Contingency planning: measures and The Oxford English Dictionary defines “project”
actions taken or foreseen to respond to as “An individual or collaborative enterprise
unforeseen situations, if and when they that is carefully planned and designed to
occur. achieve a particular aim: [e.g.] a research project
/a nationwide project to encourage business
• MBO – Management By Objectives: an development”.
approach to management of tasks and
teams consisting in focussing on objec- Youth workers who are asked this question at
tives to be reached, often leaving room the beginning of project management training
for the teams to decide on the best way courses come up with a broad range of answers.
to achieve them (but sometimes leaving Here are some of them:
also too little room for flexibility and
adaptation!). It is referred to in contexts • “promoting an idea, structuring a series
of a relatively high degree of autonomy of ideas, reconciling various action pro-
of employees, workers or volunteers and posals”;
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Characteristics of projects
Projects have a purpose: projects have clearly-defined aims and set out to produce
clearly-defined results. Their purpose is to solve a “problem”, and this involves analysing
needs beforehand. Suggesting one or more solutions, it aims at lasting social change.
Projects are realistic: their aims must be achievable, and this means taking
account both of requirements and of the financial and human resources
available.
Projects are limited in time and space: they have a beginning and an end,
and are implemented in a specific place and context.
Projects are complex: projects call on various planning and implementation skills, and
involve various partners and players.
2
Projects are collective: projects are the product of collective endeavour. They are run by
teams, involve various partners and cater for the needs of others.
Projects are unique: all projects stem from new ideas. They provide a specific response
to a need (problem) in a specific context. They are innovative.
Projects are an adventure: every project is different and ground-breaking; they always
involve some uncertainty and risk.
Projects can be assessed: projects are planned and broken down into measurable aims,
which must be open to evaluation.
Projects are made up of stages: projects have distinct, identifiable stages (see Chapter 3:
The project: step by step).
The following, on the other hand, are not pro- • activities with no clearly defined goals;
jects (in the youth work sense of the term):
• activities which can be repeated or trans-
planted anywhere at any moment;
• past activities which are repeated in exact-
ly the same way on a regular basis; • ongoing activities.
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To embark upon a project is to opt for action, The project method is the frame within which
for controlled change over time. “A project is the dream can take shape and become rea-
not a dream … but a dream that comes true lity.
can be a project”.
2 Watch it closely.
Do the same. Have a goal in your life and don’t let anything distract you from it.
The chameleon’s head never moves, but its eyes are moving all the time. They miss
nothing. That means: find out all you can. Never think you’re the only person in the
world.
Wherever it is, the chameleon adopts the colour of its surroundings. This is not hypocrisy.
It means being tolerant and it also means having social skills. Confrontation gets you
nowhere. Nothing constructive ever comes out of a fight. We must always try to under-
stand others. We exist – and we must accept that others do too.
There you have it. When you’re in the bush, ask the
ones who know what the chameleon can teach you.
AMADOU HAMPATÉ BÂ
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There are various project models, reflecting resources, etc. Nevertheless, all projects fol-
different definitions and developments in low a similar pattern. This section proposes
methodology over time and in different fields a number of models; we shall try to identify
of application. Each model is also tailored to recurrent features and use them as a basis for
certain factors – context, target-group, available our own project implementation plan.
Defining aims, objectives, In what context will the project take place?
context and target group What changes will it entail?
Why carry out this project?
What is the expected result? 2
Who is the project designed for?
What are the issues at stake?
Content of the project What is the theme and content of the project?
What is the chosen approach (methodology)?
What activities are involved?
What is needed for the project to go ahead?
Means of action Does the project qualify for any financial assistance?
Can it use existing facilities?(conditions?)
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Use questions to identify individual elements of the project and how they
interrelate. Your answers will give you an overview of the project and let you
see how its constituent parts are linked.
WHAT?
– the main project activities – spontaneous, organised and institutional
– social, economic, cultural, political and educational dimensions
– the project’s impact on these dimensions
WHY?
– needs and wishes satisfied by the project
– motivation and interests of participants
– main objectives of the project
– project funding options
– relationship between participants’ objectives and institutional objectives
WHERE?
– social context of the project and situation of participants
WHEN?
– what period is being focused on (past, present, future)?
– short, medium or long-term?
– background of participants as it affects the project
HOW?
– how was it done? Organisation and participation process
– techniques and instruments used
– input of participants’ experience, theories, other projects, etc
32
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Planning AIMS
OBJECTIVES
Implementing
Monitoring Fine-tuning
Organisation
Evaluating
Capitalising History
Spiral model
Spiral model (from Institut National de la Jeunesse et de l’Education Populaire (INJEP), Elaboration
d’un projet d’établisssement – démarche générale en spirale /Document 47/MAFPEN, Rennes 1988)
Analysing
Analysing
Choosing Contractualising
Programing
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Assessment of a situation
Which can be improved
Gathering people
Deciding to work together
2 Project is still vague
Analysis of the situation
Formulating
aims and objectives
Implementation
Monitoring
Evaluation
Reporting
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Project
Evaluation Implementation
Developing
Result Interpreting
solutions
35
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Receptiveness
to youth initiatives
(rural environment, Genesis
disadvantaged neighbourhoods) of the idea
Reports from voluntary advisers
(approach, experience, contacts)
36
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The above models have been used as training • management, monitoring, regulating,
instruments for future project leaders in a vari- fine-tuning,
ety of contexts – amenities projects, youth work • management of resources
projects and school projects. Some are more
detailed and complex than others, and termi- 3) “Evaluation”:
nology may differ, but in general they have the • evaluation,
same structure, and each comprises the follow- • analysis-evaluation
ing stages: • assessing the results
• capitalisation-evaluation,
1) “Genesis of the project” and definition”: • reporting
• definition and background, environment, • development prospects.
• organisation, aims of the organisation,
• target groups
• perception – analysis, assessment of the
situation, social aims The dividing lines between the various stages
• project gestation, genesis and endorse- are not absolute, and may vary in practice,
ment of the idea depending on type of project, context, target
• developing, choosing,defining aims and group, etc.
objectives,
2
• formulating practical and measurable
objectives, formulating activities, evalu- Managing a project means conducting it from
ating the resources, formulating actions, the initial idea to final completion, adapting
planning to reality, managing resources and people
• evaluation plan. throughout the different project phases. This
is not an easy process requiring concentration
2) “Implementation”: and a certain amount of endurance through-
• carrying out, implementation, out the life of the project … see the graphic
• planning, assigning tasks, taking action, below!
Source: from Els van Mourik and Danny Hearty Knowing me knowing you: an intercultural training resource pack, Léargas, 1999
37
3. The Project: step by step
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3.1 Introduction
3.1.1 About management for the same things. Even if the vocabulary
seems to be the same, the meaning and impli-
Management is defined, in simple terms as the cations are often very different.
skill or practice of controlling, directing or
planning something; “The act of directing, or
This is not to say that NGOs must not be effi-
managing for a purpose”. In other words, it is
ciently and professionally managed. They
the effort of planning, organising and mobi-
should, and not least because they often use
lising people and resources for a given pur-
public money which should be optimised.
pose. In the case of project management, we
There are indeed many areas in NGO manage-
are talking about the capacities and skills that
ment which require the same and sometimes
make the project feasible and real.
higher level of specialisation and expertise
than in the business field. However, when we
Project management is a tool for better work
speak about training and preparing project
to bring about change, especially in voluntary
organisations and youth associations. The shift managers, we are talking about more than
of accent from political education to training technical management skills. Remember, the
has been accompanied by a proliferation of project is first of all to carry out change, to make
offers and requests for training around manage- a difference. And this implies project leader-
ment: time management, project management, ship that is able to lead and follow according
organisational management, team management, to what is most pertinent in the light of the
conflict management, financial management, project needs.
etc. The growing symbiosis between the busi- In youth and social work, the project manager
ness and the non-governmental and non-profit is responsible for managing the material and
oriented sectors of the last decade has indeed human resources and for leading the project
put pressure on NGOs to be performing, effi- to the expected result.
cient and professionally managed. Similarly,
business management has “imported” words Project managers are centipedes - they have
and concepts that have first appeared in the to be good team workers, good communicators,
third sector, the most obvious being ‘empower- good time-mangers, good fund raisers, good 3
ment’. This should not mislead us into thin- motivators, negotiators … But first of all they
king that the two sectors are using these terms have to remain human beings.
39
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40
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Management
T-Kit
GIC MANAGEMENT
ST R A T E
cle En
at MANAGE THE PEOPLE
ar sur
pr r
t
op
&
r
ch
em
ion
ev om hese
iev
ia
t Recruitment & selection
pl
al
te
vis
en
m
ab
Encourage teamworking
at
c
i
de
pm
ain
le, te res
re
e
in
Appropriate information & consultation
& d as
qu again
elo
u
mu
sha
all
ust
ide
s
a
en
ev
nic
&s
red
Ensure appropriate skills & knowledge
w
s&
at
ne
Training • Supervision
elop
co r e
licie
o
ing
pro
MANAGE MANAGE
lop
Monitor performance
u r ce
st o
Dev
ann
l po
ces
Acknowledgement / praise
e
THE INFORMATION
o b je
Dev
d e ci
s
b je c
Personal support
se s
ic pl
veral
ctives
sion-
t iv e s
Set clear, realistic targets Evaluate ideas & information
Strateg
Develop o
m a kin g
Planning DO THE WORK Evaluate ideas & information
Good systems & procedures In small organisations from inside
Time management Organise information
managers may also do the
Clear standards & expectations Communicate appropriately
Monitor quality & quantity of work work of the organisation. Store information
Improvement & change All workers are
responsible for
self-management MANAGE
MANAGE EXTERNAL RELATIONS
MATERIAL RESOURCES Liaison with other
Manage premises organisations / teams
Manage equipment Liaison with funders / donors
Manage materials Represent organisation / team
Manage stock Publicity
MANAGE Public relations
FINANCE
Financial planning (budgets)
Financial monitoring
Financial control
DO
Manage fundraising
HA
T M S
ANAGER
Source: from page 3, Sandy Adirondak ‘Just about managing? Effective management for voluntary organisations and community
groups’, 3rd ed., 1998, ISBN 1-872582-17-6 © Sandy Adirondak and London Voluntary Service Council.
1. Inadequate authority.
2. Lack of project team participation and planning.
3. Lack of project team participation in problem solving.
4. Inadequate communication skills.
5. Inadequate technical skills.
6. Inadequate administrative skills.
7. Unrealistic project schedules.
8. Unclear project goals.
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Projects work best when the people Projects need a vision to unite all their
developing them understand and activities and efforts. It is from the vision
appreciate the needs and problems that strategies, objectives and work
they have to tackle. It is important to plans flow. The big idea behind the
properly evaluate the need or prob- project should be clear enough to
lem. What is its root causes? What are show how the project will make a sig-
the symptoms? What is the scale of it? nificant and sustainable difference to
For whom it is a problem? the needs or the problems
All of these factors need to be looked at and now in different training activities and cer-
evaluated equally in the design of the project. tainly in running many projects. The actual
Too much focus on one or two factors can scheme still builds on one adopted by the
3
lead to others being ignored. team of the first LTTC of the European Youth
Centre back in 1990 and adapted as a result of
3.1.2 Proposing a Model various contributions. We have chosen it after
comparing it with others (see Chapter 2.3)
There are many ways to plan and manage a and having concluded that it is both under-
project, probably as many as there are project standable, logical (to us) and flexible. You
managers. There are also many more schemes should use it and read it exactly as said above:
to explain the different steps in project plan- as a tool to help you plan and understand your
ning than the ones presented in the previous project at each step and to help you get the
chapter. All of them are valid and have their most out of your efforts and of your colleagues
pros and cons. After all, the purpose of devel- or young people involved. If you’d rather
oping project planning skills and attitudes change the scheme, please feel free to do so,
can be simply expressed as: skipping some parts or adding others, accord-
ing to your needs.
Allowing those in charge of the project, project
manager or the managing team, to be in con-
trol of the project. This will enable them to change Below, you will find the proposed scheme and
a step by step explanation of each graphic ele-
plans, to adapt to unexpected situations, to take
ment, some indications on how to proceed with
advantage of new opportunities. And, above all,
a training on project management (“Suggestions
to know why they do what they do. This way, they
for training”), how to formulate an application
control, master and steer the project instead of
form (“Putting it down in the application form”)
being lead by the project, by deadlines and by and a concrete example of an international
requests from different directions. youth project (“Let’s go to Ban Uppa!”). To help
The scheme we are going to follow in this your reading, the Coyote in the margin will
chapter is not better and is not worse than any show you where in the chapter to find the
of the others. We have used it for some years different graphic elements.
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Follow-up
Consolidation
Through what ?
By whom ?
How ?
Implementation
Through
what ?
Strategy or
How ?
Methodology When ?
3
Concrete
What ?
OBJECTIVES
Institutional Personal
By whom ?
priorities motivations
By whom ?
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The people, the community, are the ‘raison d’être’ 3.2.2 Needs analysis Why?
of the project. How to involve them from the Why is the project necessary?
start is probably the most important question Why is it relevant?
in the definition phase. It will determine not Why should everybody be interested in it?
just the success or failure, but also its general
social value.
3.2.2.1 Social analysis
Whether we call it social reality or the com-
munity – or society at large 4 – the project we
Let’s go to Ban Uppa! … embark on should reflect the needs, condi-
and look at a concrete tions and specificities of the target group(s)
example of a youth it addresses and should be coherent with it.
project:
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Truly speaking, most of the time we have the • Is it wanted by the community and the young
idea and afterwards the project appears (it is people?...
our idea). “God wants; Man dreams; the pro-
ject is born...” paraphrasing Fernando Pessoa. • Is it different from what is already being
On a less poetical note, we often seem to done?
anticipate the needs and – by connecting odd • Does it make sense within its own context?
factors – see the opportunity and need for a
project. • What change may be pursued by the pro-
ject?
Very often it is good like that. Still, many ideas
and dreams remain just that because some- In order to get positive answers to these ques-
how they did not find the right echo in the tions – or at least to know how to handle them
reality they intended to address. However, the – the following questions and clues may be
worse cases are when ill-conceived ideas, end of help:
up being implemented, sometimes against the
interests of the people whom they are sup-
• Who identified those needs as being a prior-
posed to serve, and often with their apathy, if
ity? People from the outside or people from
not alienation, simply by not reflecting the
inside the community?
needs of the community. The difference is how
much they reflect the needs of the society or • Has the same thing been done before in the
the group the project seeks to address. same community or in the neighbourhood?
What difference would a new project make?
Needs analysis reminds us that no matter How would it not fall into the same pitfalls
how wonderful our idea may be, how impor- of previous projects?
tant and crucial our role may seem, nothing
makes sense if it is not needed. In market • Who has been consulted about the oppor-
terms: don‘t bother generating a supply if tunity of such a project? How does it fit with
there is no demand for it. The approach of ge- the public authorities and private initiatives
nerating first a need so that there is demand in the area?
is, in the social field, too risky to be taken as a
valid principle. We are talking of committing • To which extent does it take into account the
3 limited resources, we are talking of people, we aspirations, needs and wishes of the people
are talking of participation, citizenship and that it seeks to help? How have we involved
autonomy of young people. them or consulted them in our needs analy-
sis?
Needs analysis includes the social, political
and economic conditions existing in the area
of the project that make the project necessary. It
can be linked to the situation of a target group DON’T:
or to the general social situation of a commu-
Needs nity. The social analysis is crucial because it
should determine the social aims and objec-
• Start your project against influ-
analysis tives of the project as well as the programme of
ential people in the community!
(You may be sabotaged)
action adopted. On the other hand, a project,
especially when dealing with social exclusion,
should be anchored in a local context and aim
• Think that you know everything!
to bring about change or improvement of the
situation. The social analysis will contribute
• Do it for young people, do it with
them!
also to the identification of the target group.
• Do it only because it is fashion-
The needs analysis involves checking:
able!
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Let’s go to
Ban Uppa! …
DO:
We have been asked by the board
• Ask the opinion of those involved to start identifying a project that
in the project! will be our flagship project and
that brings something new to the organisation
• Ask several people’s opinion includ- and to the town. Since there are many young
ing potential partners, sponsors, or people and delinquency is talked about all
simply those whose support you over, the board would be happy if the project
may need (at least you will not would somehow address the issue.
have them against you)! Delinquency is indeed a serious problem, and
is also damaging for the image of the young
• Think about the social dynamics people. But we wonder whether it is really a
the project could kick off (negative problem of sociability and education of the
and positive)! youngsters (mostly boys) or whether it is a symp- Needs
tom resulting from other problems, namely
• Look for results of similar projects unemployment, poverty and the presence of analysis
elsewhere (did it work?) drugs.
We decide:
• Remember that there is no objec-
tive analysis – To go out to where young people meet
and listen to what they say about it;
• Do it when it needs to be done! – To organise an informal meeting to dis-
cuss that with the young people;
• Dare to go against the tide! – To talk with the school staff and the local
police;
– To talk with the Parents Association;
– To have a meeting with other local (youth)
associations.
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The following questions have been used for individual and group work
at several courses with a strong project management dimension.
3
Personal motivations and competence
a) Why are you undertaking the project?
What do you expect to gain/learn/get out of the project?
b) What competence or expertise do you have for it?
What are the values that drive you to do that?
Needs
c) Are your interests and values compatible with the project’s aims and public?
analysis With those of your organisation?
As you progress through the questions, do take written notes of what answers you found
and of questions that you don’t yet know how to answer.
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3.2.2.2 Institutional priorities abuse (people steal to buy drugs) and a ge-
and values By Whom? neral social degradation that leads to a careless
attitude towards others. We think that whatever
A single individual rarely carries a project. In
project we come up with, it should address
European youth work practice, the projects are
the question of self-esteem and of drugs. It
usually run in the framework of an organisation
should, we feel, give young people opportu- Institutional
or institution. Each organisation has its own
nities to experience and do positive things.
aims and objectives, its own values and its own
Somehow, to break the circle of violence, exclu-
priorities
experience. The project ought to fit somehow
sion and bad image and to offer motivating
those aims and values and reflect them,
alternatives (for example travelling abroad).
otherwise the organisation might see no rea-
son to invest in the project and a conflict is like-
This happens to be very much in line with the
ly to arise sooner or later between the institu-
experiences at Ban Uppa!, whose board has
tion, the project worker and the project itself.
been looking for ways to address those issues.
When meeting with colleagues and the board,
Finding the right organisation for the project is
we have received a lot of support and advice.
also important. Bear in mind that not all orga-
We were also told, however, that the organi-
nisations can deal with everything; there are also
sation existed for the whole community and
local institutions which have particular tasks
therefore it would be important for the pro-
(e.g. school or police). Interfering in their field of
ject to help restore the image and relation-
competence may not bring positive changes.
ship between the youngsters and the rest of
The values, practice and experience of the orga-
nisation are naturally going to condition the type the community. And in no way should the pro-
of project to be undertaken and the metho- ject be moralising or stigmatising: too many
dology to be adopted. It will also influence its young people have problems, there was no
scale: a small organisation is more likely to point in pointing the finger at anyone. We
support a small project than a very large one. were given the green light to proceed and
submit a project idea.
Even if the project idea comes from the orga-
nisation, there is always an implicit or explic-
it negotiation process between the organisa-
tion’s interests, values and priorities and the DO: 3
needs expressed by the community. They
have to meet in some way. • Ask your organisation’s board what
they think about the idea! Listen
For example, the organisation aims at educat- to their suggestions!
ing young people to adopt a healthy lifestyle.
The experience of the organisation is likely also • Talk with other workers or volun-
to influence the shaping of the programme teers in the organisation (they may
and the working methods adopted as well as have similar projects, you may need
the choice of a target group (for whom). The their help)!
values of the organisation should also be taken • Respect and value what the organ-
into account, not least because there is an isation will gain from it!
expectation for it (previous experience, image
in the community, coherence, etc.). • Seek commitments from the insti-
tution, not just words!
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DO: DON’T:
• Follow extra training if needed (a • Pretend you know more than you
good opportunity for self-deve- do!
lopment)
• Discuss your professional objectives • Be embarrassed to pursue your
with the organisation! personal or professional aims.
• Admit that you and your colleagues
also have egos and needs. • Lie to yourself about why you are
• Identify what makes you happy in doing the project.
the project (that is what you will
want to safeguard)! • Be afraid to ask for help.
• Use the project as an opportunity
for professional development and • Use people or an organisation for
innovation. purely personal objectives.
Personal
motivations
In Ban Uppa!…: Matto that if the project works he could possibly
and Dali’s motivations work there on a regular basis. Dali comes from
not very far away, but she does not feel Banville
Both of us are finishing our youth is her home. Mostly she wants to acquire com-
and community worker studies. petence and experience in a ‘tough area’ which,
We want to have a good result as a woman, is even more important if she is
from the experience because we confronted with male colleagues.
believe it will be easier for us to get a job.
Matto was actually born in Banville and has
always lived here. He feels it is time some- Both of us are young people and, like our col-
thing useful is done with young people in his leagues in Ban Uppa!, we feel that nobody
community and he feels proud to work there. really cares for the young people because no-
He knows the people at Ban Uppa! and thinks one is ready to take them seriously.
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3.2.3 Defining the aims What for? other words, what will the young people learn,
how will they be empowered and what for
From the needs analysis we now know why (e.g. learn about the risks of drugs or HIV...).
the project is important.
The organisation has also chosen, within the
whole complex reality of Banville, to give pri- Suggestions for training
ority to a certain type of project having to do The following questions have been used for
with self-esteem and healthy life-styles. individual and group work at several course
with a strong project management dimen-
We now know what Matto and Dali are look-
sion
ing for and what drives them.
– What is your project for?
This should lead us to identify what we are – What changes does the project pursue in
going to make the project for – what its aims the social/political environment (country,
are, what it sets out to achieve in the long term. region, community, target group, organisa-
Defining the aims is the first effort of rationa- tion) concerned by the project?
lisation and concentration of efforts, because – How does it intend to respond to the
by reading them one should get a general pic- global objectives of the youth programme
ture of: the issues addressed, the target group(s), or organisation that it is part of?
the methodology, the promoter, the geogra- – What would it seek to achieve if it were
phical scope, the change that the project 100% successful?
intends bring about. The aims should be condensed and expressed
in one or very few sentences that contain the
The aims reflect the first priority of the pro-
essence of the project and can be read almost
ject. Aims are often defined as overall objectives
independently from the rest of the project.
or goals: what the project or organisation would
achieve if it was 100% successful. It defines
why the project exists, its purpose and reason
for being. The aims are similar to the mission
statement (for those familiar with Anglo-Saxon In Ban Uppa!…:
terminology). The Aims for Matto and Dali
The aims provide also the educational, ideo- We are now in the final stage of our
3 logical and operational framework of the project research. We have consult-
whole project. Whatever activities we decide ed, we have checked, and we have
to undertake, whatever methodologies we opt discussed with each other. The
for, they should be compatible with the aims. impression that we have is that young people
The aims should not change during the pro- in Banville are indeed de-motivated and some
ject: a change of aims would mean a change tend to fall easily into the trap of delinquency
of project altogether! and violence, probably because the future
It is common for some people and within some seems grim to them. The presence of drugs
contexts to distinguish between social aims makes the whole problem much bigger.
and educational aims. The distinction is not Besides a very acute health problem, it stig-
Defining always useful or necessary. Nevertheless, to matises the whole neighbourhood and con-
aims define them may help us to better understand tributes to the rise in delinquency. And it has
what we are talking about. also brought about conflict in the families.
Social aims
We think that they should focus on raising
The changes in the social environment or
young people’s self-esteem, offering them
situation of the target group concerned
healthier alternatives and being clear about
that the project intends to promote (e.g.
drugs. This is what we think that we can do best.
take young people in Banville out of social
exclusion or combat delinquency). When making our presentation to the board of
Ban Uppa!, we defined the aims of our project
Educational aims as To provide young people from Banville
While the social aims aim to bring changes in with healthy alternatives for their leisure
the social environment, the educational objec- time and to prevent drug addiction in the
tives aim at promoting changes in the indivi- neighbourhood by raising their self-esteem
dual people or target group concerned. In their social participation and mental mobility.
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3.2.4 The concrete objectives What? – Multiple. One project must and can be
broken down into several objectives. This
has several advantages: it allows easier
Law of project management No.1 planning and control of each objective
and of all the potential that the project has
“One advantage of fuzzy project objectives
to offer. Furthermore, during the evalua-
is that they avoid the embarrassment 3
tions, it easier to evaluate the results if the
of estimating the corresponding costs.”
objectives are broken down. It helps to
A project is defined in the first place by the think in terms of what will be achieved as
time (projects have a beginning and an end) direct results and indirect results; of educa-
and by the objectives: by what is set to be tional and social objectives; of objectives
achieved or done through the project in that for the institutions and for the participants;
time frame. etc.
Defining the objectives is crucial to making
the project realistic and achievable. By read- – Assessable. The more concrete the projects
ing the project’s objectives one should have a are, the easier it is to evaluate them. If the
fairly clear idea of what will be concretely objective was to reach 500 people, I can
done or achieved by the project. have an estimate of how many people have Concrete
been reached, and to which extent I suc-
The objectives are a translation into practice of
objectives
ceeded or not. If I just wanted ’to reach as
the project’s aims. While the aims are general many people as possible’, the evaluation
and far reaching, the objectives are concrete will be much harder and vague, because
and if possible precise. Objectives should be (hopefully) I will always manage to reach
defined so that they are: someone. At least some objectives should
be defined so that they can be measurable.
– Concrete. What exactly are you going to
try to achieve? How many people will be
involved or concerned? How many activi- – Timed. The objectives may be distributed in
ties? What specific issues are going to be time: short-term, medium-term and long-
addressed? What competencies will people term, depending on the project. But in any
acquire? What will be changed after the pro- case all objectives must be set against an
ject as a result of it? What will be produced? expected time for achievement.
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Objectives are not an end in themselves; the • Define objectives that you do not
project is the end goal. Between the arguments plan to achieve.
among those favouring objectives (results) and
• Define only ideal, un-measurable
those favouring process (quality of human
objectives.
and social relations) we would stress the fact
that the improvement or development in the • Become a slave of project for-
quality of human relations – including social malism! A project should live,
relations and attitudes to learning, for exam-
and ultimately die. So, you may
ple – can and should themselves be translated
and even must introduce changes
into objectives. Objectives are not only things
(make sure you are aware of it!).
to be produced, they are first of all targets to
be reached. Material and immaterial.
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• Most forms would ask you simply what the objectives of the
project are. Others will ask you what you expect to achieve
and others, sometimes cumulatively, will ask you what results
you expect as a result of the project.
• Once you have identified the objectives it should not be difficult to transcribe
them into any application form. If they are SMART, they will suffice to give the
reader/evaluator a clear picture of what you want to do and what it entails.
• The objectives should be simple and clear to understand. Don’t drown them in
paragraphs of literature. If there are explanations to be made they should come
in the needs analysis or else they should be kept short.
• Avoid repetition.
• Don’t expect the reader to know and guess what you want to do. Be clear. If you
want to produce a book and teach people to read it, say so!
• If you have the feeling that forms are repetitive (e.g. asking aims, objectives,
programme, results expected...), make sure that you fill them all in, even if you have
the feeling of repeating yourself. If needed seek clarification from the institution.
• Make sure it makes sense with the analysis you made, with the organisation
that carries the project and the aims; that it is coherent.
• Bear in mind that the people evaluating project applications are normally expe-
rienced in projects themselves. And therefore they would know that often
what counts most as the real impression is the objectives. Their formulation often
reflects everything else. So, do take your time to define them appropriately.
3
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So, concretely, what exactly are you going – How/when do you think you can evalu-
to try to achieve with your project... ate them?
– To respond to the needs identified? – Which objectives can be changed?
Which ones should not?
– To stay within the aims?
– Can you relate your objectives to diffe-
– To educate your target group? rent (alternative) activities?
– To make the project realistic? – How and when will you be able to check
if the objectives have been reached?
– What are the core objectives?
– Is it clear, by reading your aims and objec-
– Can you identify objectives in the long, tives... That there is a coherence between
medium and short-term? aims and objectives?
• The means available (instead of a TV cam- • Coherence. The different components of our
paign, we can only afford a poster campaign); programme have to make sense as a whole,
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and to respect the framework provided by • Effectiveness. Whatever you decide to under-
the aims and objectives. They also have to take in the form of concrete activities must
be coherent in their timing (for example, strive for effectiveness. Not only to make
Strategy and
first information, then training). the best out of usually scarce resources, methodology
but also to actually get the best out of the
• Consistency. Despite the flexibility that makes potential generated by the project. The
the project a “living” entity, what we do methodology should secure for example
has to be consistent with what we stand for
that synergies are pursued, that results are
or what we state as being our values. For
available at the best moment, that the eva-
example, my project of running a campaign
luations are made in a way and at a time
against tax evasion will be in serious trouble
where the results can still be used, etc.
if people find out that we are evading taxes
ourselves... In the educational field – even if
non-formal education – consistency between
speech and practice are extremely important.
In Ban Uppa!…:
Matto and Dali...
DO:
• Consider alternatives to the plan – So, how are we going to go about this?...
and process of the activities pro- – Well, we have to:
posed. – Organise activities for their spare time,
• Try to anticipate side effects or like sports or a youth café...maybe cam-
reactions to the sequence of ping out one week-end...
events. – We have to ask the young people what
they want, but first we must show them
• Think if your participants or target
that we are ready to offer something... to
group understand the process you
give a good example.
propose them.
– We also have to address the issue of drugs
• Think about the approaches and in a very clear manner...
values that should be visible in the 3
– But if we want to raise their self-esteem
way the project is planned and
and social participation... we need to involve
organised.
them and support them. Maybe they can
actually do the work on drugs themselves.
We can form a group...
– But this means that we need to train and
support them!
DON’T: – I think I have got it:
• Just put activities together ho- • We can organise some social activities
ping that they will build on each like the camping and we open the youth
other by accident. café. This will get us to know more young
people and to identify those that are
• Get confused if it seems too com- most interested in working with us.
plicated. But make sure that your • We can also organise informal discus-
plan makes sense and that you can sions about Banville and violence. Just to
explain it. get a feeling of what kind of solutions
young people envisage.
• Confuse methodology and me-
thods. Some people use the terms • We can organise some leadership cour-
alternatively, but that should not ses for those that are most interested in
be the case if you know what is working with us – some kind of peer
meant by them. group education stuff... in those course
they should design what activities they
want to carry out.
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• We can have a group preparing a cam- The plan of activities is the part that is the
paign about drugs... for the schools and most visible to the public at large. It is also
for the families... what we will think of the most when we
think of what the project consists of. The acti-
• And we can then start organising a pro-
gramme of activities for the summer vities are the means through which we will
holidays. I don’t know what they may try to get results for our project.
be interested in, but probably a youth
exchange is a good idea for some. The Of course each single activity may have its
sports festival interested quite a few. specific function and value. But what gives it
a special relevance is that it is part of a pro-
• This is good because it brings in the ject. Because it is a project, the activities need
media and for once there may be posi- to be thought out and planned in relation to
tive reports about these youngsters
each other. Similarly, the results of the previ-
• We must look for ways to support the ous ones will influence the subsequent ones.
peer group leaders, both financial and The activities are the ways to carry out the pro-
motivational. Need to see what Ban ject, to pursue the objectives, there are always
Uppa can do! different and alternative activities imaginable
for each objective (whose choice may be funda-
• We must contact the city about twin cities
abroad. This could be a good start to mentally determined by the methodology).
establishing contacts with similar projects
and, possibly, start enquiring about the
feasibility of youth exchanges. 3.2.6.1 Planning and timing
• Yes, that can be important in motivating
the peers! I am sure that they would
really like to travel! All young people Law of project management No.2
do!…
“A carelessly planned project
• So, first we get them interested. Then we will take three times longer to complete
consult them. We train the peer leaders. than expected. A carefully planned project
3 We do the campaign. By then we should will take twice as long”
have enough contacts and gained their
confidence to engage on the youth
exchange and on the sports festival. We The most important and delicate issue in the
get them in the media. We involve them planning of the activities is time. Of course
in Ban Uppa. the financial, material and human resources
• This may be a great project! We need to are equally determining, but the most com-
foresee some kind of youth party or fes- mon problem of the project planner and
tival towards the end. It would be good manager is time. Because the activities are
to have their opinion on our work. usually connected in some way, a delay in
one may cause delays in all of them or may
Plan of • Sorry, Dali. This is not our project. This is hinder the synergies between them.
their project!
activities When drawing up your plan of activities,
consider:
• A starting date and a closing date for the
project (a project has a beginning and an end).
3.2.6 Planning an activity What? • That preparatory activities are also part of
When? the project, and therefore part of the calen-
Where? dar of activities. You must at least put them
Through what? in your schedule.
All that has been mentioned above in the • Checking that each objective defined is
project must now be practically put together defined and can be effectively pursued in
in a plan, with a calendar, assignment of acti- some activity. Check also if each activity
vities to place, etc. corresponds to an objective.
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• Interaction between activities. How are the in your actual project. You can also put the
results of one activity going to be used in the different activities into perspective by writing
following? Which activities depend on others? the different activities and under each month
what needs to be done for each of them.
• What does each activity need as preparation?
That may have to be taken up separately as
There is often a myriad of small tasks and
an activity of its own.
jobs to do beforehand, which are usually not
• Does the plan and calendar correspond to taken into account (e.g. applying for funds,
the reality around you? Does it take into contacting partners, checking the interest of
account institutional schedules (e.g. school young people, informing the media about it,
holidays)? Does it fit with imposed dead- booking places, etc.)
lines (for applying, for finishing reports...)?
• Is it manageable? Is it feasible? Similarly, even after everything has been closed,
there are many tasks remaining: doing the
• Are you taking into account any previous
accounts, thanking people, writing reports,
evaluation of similar projects or activities to
doing the evaluation, producing the docu-
know what may work better?
mentation, planning the follow-up etc.
• What is the margin left for contingencies?
Which alternatives have you considered? In a project’s plan of activities you should ima-
What will happen if an activity is cancelled? gine a succession of parabolic curves (activities)
that partly overlap. This represents better the
Time plans and calendars tasks-in-time dimension of a project. Failure
to realise that usually leads to cancelled acti-
You can use a calendar for planning your pro- vities, postponed projects or... never ending
ject. It should have as many months as those projects.
DO: DON’T: 3
• Check what may already be • Make your project dependent on
planned in the community for the one single activity.
same period.
• Consider what public and private
institutions may be eager to fund • Overestimate time! Most likely
or support. you will miss it!
• Do put all the activities together
in one calendar or plan and check • Put too many activities in one
if it is realistic. single period! Plan of
• Consider time for planning, prepa- activities
ration, implementation and evalua-
tion! And for writing the reports, • Overestimate your capacities. You
too! also need energy and periods to
recover!
• Think of time for regular evalua-
tions and check-points.
• Do a complete work timetable for • Stay forever at the level of plan-
yourself, even if the public will ning! You also need to start
need to see the activities timetable organising and implementing.
only.
• A check list of objectives vs. acti-
vities. You may need to review one • Forget the perfect plan does not
or the other exist.
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In Ban Uppa!…:
With what? With whom? But if we take the project as being what is
When? Where? How? described in the plan of activities, then it is
clear that some day those activities will have
The project is more than a simple idea that
aspires to become true. The project is an idea to be prepared and run.
that has been transformed and made feasible
by a careful planning process and that will be We will address only two aspects of the imple-
implemented. mentation because they seem to us those most
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Evaluating the resources available will allow Some realistic thoughts of time
the project leaders to identify what additional
resources they need (and look for sources for • time cannot be saved
funding or support), which staff (and volun- • time cannot be exchanged
teers) are needed and what kind of training • time cannot be bought
3 they must get.
• time cannot be sold
But it can also determine the need to estab- • time can only be used
lish partnerships with other institutions (the
schools, other youth projects, etc). Identifica-
tion of the resources is naturally made easier
once the programme of action has been con-
cretely defined.
Some hints in controlling
our time more effectively
The resources might, in this respect, deter-
mine changes in the programme which may To manage our time and our lives more effec-
not be dramatic if the overall methodology tively we should:
and objectives are respected. In the drugs • act, rather than react,
project, a TV campaign is too expensive, we do • avoid floundering in every direction or
not have the necessary expertise to run it, so doing nothing,
we’ll do it in the schools and youth centres.
• plan our activities,
• vary our activities through our time table
In reality, the resources are considered already
during the first planning stages. The obliga-
• find a balance between work and pleasure,
tion of realism in the project’s objectives forces • find a balance between professional, family
those in charge to at least mentally take into and personal activities,
account the scale of their own resources and • plan space in our daily time schedules for read-
of those available in principle (i.e. those that ing, dreaming, playing, laughing, thinking,
can be applied for). being sociable, being alone, being happy,.....
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Organising and planning Manage your time and don’t let time manage
our day you!
And remember: the golden rule of managing
Some hints: time is: “Effort not made is opportunity lost”
• list your aims, set priorities
• make use of planners (weekly,
monthly, yearly) A guide to setting priorities
• make use of a diary or personal organiser For many people setting priorities is a complex
• make a daily plan task which they try to avoid at all costs. Unfor-
• make a TO DO LIST, prioritise and act on the tunately, instead of trying to identify that which
priorities needs to be done and doing it, they compound
the problem by refusing to come to terms with
• when doing paperwork handle each piece of what can be a straight forward task if approached
paper only once! in a systematic way.
• at different times during the day we should When setting priorities we have to take account
ask ourselves; “What’s the best use of my time the complexity of balancing:
– right now?” • that which is urgent with that which is impor-
• Learn to say NO tant
• the interrelationship between all the things
• Keep your desk clear – get rid of all the that are waiting to be done
objects /files not connected with the task in • the amount of time needed to carry out and
hand finish the task.
• Difficulties first – tackle the most difficult The following chart can help to make decisions
jobs first not last especially when urgency and importance are
the primary considerations.
• What is the point? Why are you having a
This chart shows how different types of tasks,
certain meeting or discussion, ask yourself
assignments, meetings, commitments etc can
this question and try to stick to the point be handled, depending on their urgency and
• Delegate where possible importance.
3
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• Relatives that have been dead for years come Every project must have a budget. A budget is
visit you and suggest that you should get a calculated estimation of the value or price
some rest of the project and is always composed of the
• You say the same sentence over and over expenses – the costs of the project – and the
again, not realising that you have said it income – the resources brought into the pro-
before ject to cover the expenses. Budgets must be
• The sun is too loud balanced. They can not be negative (where
• Trees begin chasing you would the money come from, then?). They can
• You can see individual air molecules vibrating not be positive (the projects we are talking
• You can hear mimes about are non-profit-making).
• You believe that if you think hard enough,
you can fly Depending on the scale of the project, a global
• Things become very clear budget may prove difficult to establish at the
• You say the same sentence over and over beginning, and often in medium and long-term
again, not realising that you have said it before projects, revised budgets are regularly produced.
Managing time • You can skip without a rope Nevertheless, even with difficulty, a budget is
• Your heart beat in 7/8 time important because it provides an idea about
• You and reality file for divorce the realism and dimension of the project.
• It appears to you that people speak to you Without a budget it is impossible to control the
in binary code project, and it is impossible to know if it is fea-
• You have great revelations concerning: Life, sible. If you don’t know how much it costs you
the Universe and everything else, but can’t don’t know how much you need. Quite simple.
quite find the words for them before the white
glow disappears, leaving you more confused In addition to this global budget, you will most
than before likely need to make a specific budget for each
• You can travel without moving of the activities, or at least for the most impor-
• Antacid tablets become your sole source of tant (e.g. the youth exchange, the poster cam-
nutrition paign, etc.). This is so for two main reasons:
• You have an irresistible urge to bite the noses
of people you are talking to • Often the sums involved (e.g. in an interna-
3 • You say the same sentence over and over tional seminar) are so large that they
again, not realising that you have said it before require specific accounting and funding.
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• Make sure that the commitments of your everyone will want to contribute to the results
organisation are real commitments and put of your work but not to pay your work!
Managing money…
those “up front” to start the fundraising.
• Bear in mind that you have to account for and fundraising!
• Ask for advice and opinions. Funders may all the sums you receive.
have a particular interest in your project.
They’ll become more committed if they are • No matter how painful, the financial report
given the impression that their opinion counts. is still part of the project. Yes, it is also your
responsibility!
• Try to spread the staff costs and other over-
head costs throughout the budget of all the • Don’t accept no for an answer. Try somewhere
activities (unless you apply for everything!). else. Try other activities. Keep contact with
Otherwise you may find yourself in deficit as the sponsor you approached.
Remember to:
• Keep your budget balanced (expenses are exactly the same as the income);
• Check how much the sponsor can sponsor (some funding institutions do have
limits by project or receiving organisation). Asking for more than they can give
reveals bad financial planning. 3
• Get information about the funders’ criteria for selection, priorities, rules of
calculation, etc. Follow them.
• Tell yourself that the purpose is not to get the money but to achieve the project’s
objectives.
• Follow the rules about how to fill in the application form, even if they seem silly
to you. Not following them is the shortest way to be rejected.
• Present a realistic budget! People usually know what things cost! Too low prices
indicates lack of seriousness or knowledge. Too high prices usually indicate risk of
bad management.
• Count all costs and contributions, including contributions in kind. If needed, check
if the sponsor has limits or regulations on how to count voluntary contributions
or in-kind income.
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DO: DON’T:
• Keep the contacts with the spon- • Be discouraged by a no.
sor, even if you did not get fund-
ing. • Do it if you don’t have the money.
• Ask for directions if you intend or
need to use the money for other • Assume you have a natural right
activities than those asked for. to funding!
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• It is conducted by a single person working certain areas of civil society. They are admi-
in liaison with the entire project team and by nistered through programmes by govern-
agreement with the directors of the organi- mental bodies (local or regional authorities,
sation. national ministries or international organi-
• It must be planned, budgeted for and calcu- sations);
Managing money…
lated within a set timespan. During the pro- • private funds, which are maintained by firms
ject it must be regularly re-evaluated in order or individuals wishing to “invest” in the and fundraising!
to ascertain that all the necessary conditions development of civil society and adminis-
are being met. tered by foundations (see also Sponsorship).
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b – Making an application
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Application
2 – What do you hope to achieve through the project? (aims and objectives)
– What are the anticipated results?
– How will the project affect those around you?
– How will it affect the community?
– How do the project goals reflect those of your organisation?
NB: Project aims must be sufficiently clear and specific and capable of being
assessed.
(see also chapter 3 – Aims and objectives)
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8 – Budget
Be aware that funding organisations will treat the budget as the most important
Managing money…
part of your application.
and fundraising!
You must include the following information:
Expenditure
– List all expenses connected with the project.
– Estimate the cost of all outgoings (in the currency specified on the form).
Your estimate must be realistic (show how you have arrived at the final sum).
– Expenditure must correspond to the anticipated programme of activities as
described earlier.
– Estimate the rental cost of any material loaned by the private sector and
include it under expenditure (and receipts).
– Calculate your total expenditure.
Receipts
– Include all sources of funds necessary for the project (your organisation’s own
resources, participants’ contributions, grants, materials and services donated
or loaned and amounts requested from backers).
– Estimate the rental cost of material loaned or donated by sponsors.
3
– The total amount requested must be made clear (and must not exceed the
maximum usually granted).
– Calculate total receipts. This figure must equal total expenditure (otherwise
you will be indicating that you do not have all the necessary resources – and
that the project will therefore be impossible to carry out).
NB: Be aware that the budget is one of the first things that funding organisations
will look at. Therefore:
– your budget must inspire confidence and show your project to be both realistic
and trustworthy;
– it must match your project description;
– although provisional, it must be as close to final figures as possible;
– draw up a fair and realistic budget (check your calculations and ask someone
unconnected with the project to do the same);
– round up/down your figures (no decimal points);
– do calculations in the currency specified;
– diversify your sources of funding (do not approach a single
source for all your needs);
– indicate whether the amounts included under receipts have
already been allocated (confirmed) or whether confirmation
is still pending.
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Some advice on making an application Make contact with the funding organisation
• The application must be clear, expressed in
terms which are easy to understand and • Do not be shy of making contact with those
legible (type or print it, and avoid using a responsible for running funding programmes
small typeface simply in order to fit more in order to drum up support. The more infor-
information on the form!) mation they have, the better equipped they
• It must be accompanied by a covering letter will be to argue your case.
explaining why the application is being made
and indicating the project title, how much is • Do not hesitate to publicise your organisa-
Managing money… being requested and any further information tion (especially to foundations).
(newspaper articles, statutes of the organi-
and fundraising! • Do not hesitate to enquire by telephone
sation, etc). However, all information on the
how your application is proceeding, whether
project must be included in the application
all selection criteria have been met and when
itself or on the appropriate form;
a decision will be taken.
• Have someone unconnected with the pro-
ject re-read the application to check that it • Finally, invite the funding organisation to
is clear what you are asking for. inspect your project at first-hand.
Briefly
To be avoided:
– Do not systematically send an identical project presentation to a large number of foundations,
institutions or companies.
– Where there is a person responsible for dealing with applications, do not write direct to
the programme/foundation director.
– Do not send a copy of your application.
– Do not request unreasonable amounts.
– Do not send your application after the closing date.
– Do not assume that the funding organisation is familiar with the circumstances in which
3 your project will be run or the needs which it is designed to meet.
– Do not request funding for operational costs or the purchase of material for your organisation.
– Do not beg.
Practical advice
– Target and select institutions/foundations/companies which are likely to provide funding
for your project or organisation because their aims are similar.
– Make sure your projects are believable (unrealistic applications could damage your orga-
nisation’s chances in the future).
– Do not forget to include your organisation’s full address and the name of the contact person.
– Believe in your project.
– Adapt your application to the priorities of the funding organisation.
– Use personal contacts.
– If you give the names of any experts consulted in connection with the project, remember
to inform the people concerned.
– Draw up a detailed, realistic budget which is balanced and accurate.
– Make your project presentation clear and concise.
– Avoid abbreviations.
– Keep records of all action taken. An activity report will be requested (so keep newspaper
articles, records of input by participants, etc), as will final accounts (keep all invoices).
– Try to develop a long-term partnership with backers, especially those whose aims are similar
to those of your organisation.
– Do not forget to thank backers for their support.
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Sponsorship
An application for funding through sponsor- information about your project as other foun-
ship will not be significantly different. People dations and institutions. However, you will
controlling company funds need the same need to adopt a more “commercial” approach.
Practical advice
– Put yourself in the company’s shoes: why should put money into your project rather than
invest on the stock market? Why your project and not another? What advantages can they
obtain from identification with your project? Consider these crucial questions when making
your application.
– Think of your project from the company’s point of view.
– Use all contacts which you have with the company.
– Think of different kinds of support which the company could give you. Rather than give
money, it would pay the company better to loan you a vehicle, equipment or even a member
of staff for a couple of weeks.
– Even gifts in kind should be given an estimated value and included in the budget.
– Do not deviate from the principle that you will receive the funding that you require, and
think of alternative sources.
– Consider carefully whose signature it would be strategically best to put on the application
covering letter (yours/the chairman of your organisation, etc).
– Stress the benefit which funding your project will bring to the company (especially in terms
of publicity).
During the project If for some reason you need to alter the run-
ning of the project in such a way as to signi-
Publicise the project – and don’t forget to ficantly affect project activities, it is vital to
mention where the money came from! inform the backers. Remember that they will
request a final activity and financial report
As mentioned above, financing a project is a and that they will check whether the report
means for funding organisations to achieve 3
matches the initial project description for which
publicity. Accordingly, during the project all they contributed their money.
public activities must draw attention to the
source of funding in one way or another (use
of the logo, stickers, or simply the names of
After completion: project report
the backers).
In some cases funding organisations have Backers will request a report in two parts – one
precise requirements regarding the publicity part on the running of the project and the other
they want from your project. Check therefore a financial report. Although this is not an inte- Managing money…
gral part of fundraising for your project, it is
what expectations they have and that these and fundraising!
part of your long-term fundraising strategy. The
correspond to those of your project or orga-
activity report must be concise but the expen-
nisation. But you must remain in charge – do
diture report must be detailed and comprehen-
not allow backers to dictate your priorities!
sive. It must be possible to justify all outgoings.
Remember to invite your backers to certain
stages of the project – especially the final stage. The report will reflect your organisation’s seri-
ousness in bringing the project to a success-
Think about your report: during implementa- ful conclusion. Your accounts will be indis-
tion of the project, remember to keep every- pensable to the backers, so make them clear
thing which can be used as a record of the and complete, and remember to attach copies
project and for preparing the report: of invoices for all expenditure.
– for the activity report, keep newspaper arti- Check with your backers whether any money
cles, posters, videos, participants’ reports, left over after the project’s completion can be
photos, etc; reallocated to follow-up. Otherwise, offer to pay
– for the financial report, keep all invoices. it back.
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The report plays a part in generally publici- people. But you as a project manager may also
sing your organisation among funding orga- need to develop your technical competencies
Managing money… nisations. in some areas (or the young people, for that
and fundraising! matter). Make sure that the effort that the
Maintaining good relations with backers will organisation or project puts on one person
stand you in good stead when it comes to is justified – in which cases it is justifiable –
future fundraising. namely by the probability of repetition of
future actions.
3.3.1.4 Material
and technical resources
Putting it down
In many ways, material resources and financial in the application
resources are one and the same. If you have form
the money, you can rent or buy equipment,
products and expertise. All of these have an
economic value that must be stated. • Make sure that contributions in kind
and loans of material can be pro-
The material resources include things as dif- perly accounted for in the budget
ferent as meeting rooms, copy machines or and in the financial report.
computers, vehicles for transportation, or food • Don’t give the impression that the
and refreshments. What is interesting, espe- whole project is about buying the
cially if you work at national or local level, is to latest state-of-the-art computer with
find partnerships and cooperation with other incorporated micro-oven and a 3D
similar organisations. Some type of equipment video system.
tends to be under-used or used very irregularly
(e.g., a recording studio, video equipment, sports
• Consider (budgeting the costs of)
leasing instead of buying.
facilities). In some cases it should be possible
to explore what you can use free of charge or • Ask volunteers/technical experts how
at ‘friendly’ prices. This may be also a good much their services are valued.
3
opportunity to establish useful alliances with
• Remember that “there are no free
other organisations and institutions.These are lunches”. Somebody has to pay for it
represented in the budget as an income. at the end of the day. That is income.
And it is an expense if you have to
The purchase of technical equipment is made pay the lunch
difficult by some programmes and sponsors,
afraid that their money will end up in the
structure and not in the activities. Apart from
the hypocrisy of such policies (including those
that don’t accept buying but accept leasing), 3.3.1.5 Managing people
the fact remains that it usually gives a bad Success raises admiration. Success also stirs
image if part of the project / activity’s budget jealousy. Managing people (often called “human
is too large in comparison with the other parts. resource management”) in project management
Should that be the case (and in some cases it is, in first place, to manage the team in charge
can be justifiable), make sure that you have of the project (see next chapter, for that). In
really exhausted all possibilities for hiring, bor- addition to that, managing people is very much
rowing and leasing. If not for anything else, being able to get the best out of people and the
simply because a project may never be repea- best in people for the benefit of other people
ted again, and some equipment may just be (and of themselves, of course). Among many
left to rot afterwards. other people, the following are likely to influ-
ence the implementation and outcome of your
Technical expertise is also a resource. Just like project:
material equipment, always check for possibi- – Your colleagues
lities to use volunteers or people who might – Volunteers or activists in your organisation
be eager to share their knowledge with other – The young people in your project.
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For a team to be successful and efficient these procedures and will have an effect on the
four poles have to be in balance. Not easy in people side ( there is less time to listen to each
a team with different people with different others ideas, to evaluate the work and the
needs, expectations, capacities, social skills and process)
sometimes with a different background and cul-
ture. It helps to be aware of these differences
Many teams are strongly focused on the prod-
and to discuss them. It takes time but in the
uct (result). They don’t take the time to get to
long term it will help the team more forwards.
know each other, to think about procedures
on how to work together, to evaluate how
people feel in the team mostly because a lack
A model for effective teamwork
of time. “We only have two days for this prep-
meeting…”
The product-procedure-people triangle –
the 3’Ps’
At the first sight it looks of course more effi-
cient to put all the attention on the task, the
“The project must make progress, it has dead-
product; if you don’t have to take the time to
lines to reach and work to be done. The people
listen to different ideas you have more time to
steering the project need to become an effec-
execute the task. But in the longer term lis-
tive team......” (Lawrie, 1996 )
tening to each other, taking time for each other
will be much more efficient. For example, the
The 3’Ps’ triangle symbolises the fact that for
real cause of a problem can become clear or
a team to become effective, there has to be a
really listening to each other can help to moti-
balance between the product, the procedure
vate that person ( listening = giving attention
and the people in the team.
= recognise the person, you are important for
this team = motivation to work better )
A dynamic balance between product – proce-
dure – people will help a team function much
Product
better in the longer term.
(the objective, the task)
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This model shows the process through which every team has to go.
Emotions
Managing people… Process / People Skilful
and team work Behaviour
Structure
Procedure Formal
Roles
In the beginning most teams are almost exclu- Again this doesn’t mean that the other ele-
sively focused on the task, the result or the ments of the pyramid are not important but
goal. Everyone wants to have their input with teams who can give feedback to each other
their ideas and very soon co-operation becomes and are able to discuss emotions and feelings
very chaotic. Team members are willing to let are, in the longer term, much more effective.
this chaos exist for a while but soon there
3 will be a need to bring order. The team will Effective team work does not just happen.
need to bring more structure to the co-ope- The development of good team work needs to
ration process, to look for role clarity: ‘Who will be encouraged. The following points are key
try to co-ordinate the meetings? Who will be elements for high performance teams.
the time manager? The orientation of the team
will be much more towards procedures to bring A few rules can help
structure to the chaos: How do we channel all In youth work, some people are allergic to strict
these ideas, inputs, etc?. Co-operation becomes rules and want to work flexibly and informally,
much more formal, people only speak when it is good to have some clear rules. Without
given permission from the co-ordinator, deci- some rules things fall apart and become chaotic.
sion making procedures are strictly followed, At the start of the teamwork it is important to
etc. Once the team members have the feeling think about some commonly agreed rules on
that they are able to work flexibly with these decision making, responsibilities, communi-
procedures, the team can proceed to the next cation and time. Of course, if necessary rules
phase: to give feedback on each other’s beha- can be changed according to the needs of the
viour and to talk about emotions and feelings. group.
The co-ordinator can step back. People are not
listening anymore because they have to, but A framework for decisions
because they trust and respect each other’s In project teams many decisions have to be made.
ideas, capacities, strengths and weaknesses. The following “DECIDE” framework may make
The focus of the team is now much more ori- it easier to approach problems or difficult sit-
entated on the people in the team. uations. (it is taken from pages 36 and 37 in
The fact that feedback on behaviour and talk- Sandy Adirondak ‘Just about managing, effective
ing about emotions is situated on the top of the managing for voluntary organisations and commu-
pyramid doesn’t mean that this has to be the nity groups’, 3rd ed., 1998, ISBN 1-872582-17-6
ultimate goal of every team. Many teams, how- © Sandy Adirondack and London Voluntary
ever, are not able to get to this phase. Service Council).
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procedures; how the task is structured, roles or those, however, that risk identifying their dif-
who does what and when and how decisions ferences to create more intricate and colourful
will be made. Expectations are also related to patterns of interaction.... The promise of multi-
the people (process) side of the team work – cultural teams lies in using differences, not just
team building, language, participation, ways living with them” (Schneider and Barsoux, 1997).
of managing conflicts, how do we feel in the
team. These expectations have to be negoti- It is obvious that a starting team can not fulfil
ated before the team can jump into the task.
Managing people…
from the beginning all these requirements, but
This does not mean that a team has to find it is important that from the beginning a team and team work
answers for all these questions, but that some tries to create an open and respectful atmos-
of these different expectations are spoken, that phere where differences can be discussed.
team members know them from each other Here are some suggestions to help work with
and that team members are aware that they cross – cultural issues in teams:
have different expectations.
The purpose of this ongoing discussion is to Create a sense of purpose: before jump-
develop a shared strategy on how the team will ing into the task, take time to discuss
work together. It provides the opportunity to some elementary issues on different
name the cultural differences and to allow levels:
them to be discussed, rather than ignored, in • Task result: What are our objectives?
the hope that they will go away. “By putting Do we agree on these objectives?
cultural differences on the table rather than How clear do the objectives have to
pushing them under the table, the potential prob- be?
lems can be anticipated and addressed and the • Procedures: Do we need clear pro-
potential opportunities can be brought to light.” cedures to organise our team work?
(Schneider and Barsoux, 1997). Which procedures do we need?
Should a co-ordinator be assigned?
How will work be divided? What can
Important for a multicultural team is: be done together? apart? How do
• creating a common objective we make decisions? How should time
be managed? Do we need an agen-
• setting specific goals on how to da? Who does what? Who is in
work together
charge of what? 3
• establishing task and • Process (people): How can we ensure
process strategies participation of all members? How
• evaluating and can we ensure that everybody feels
providing feedback good in the team? Is this an impor-
on the way the team tant item for the team? How do we
performs deal with conflicts? How do we
organise continuous evaluation?
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Monitoring
Law of project management No.4
“When things are going well, something will
go wrong. When things can’t get any worse,
they will. When things appear to be going
Law of project management No.5
better, you have overlooked something … “Project teams detest progress reporting because
Murphy was an optimist!” it so vividly manifests the lack of progress.”
The project plan is an estimation. It is like a To monitor means to ’check, record, track or
route that you trace in a map to go from control something on a regular basis’5. Applied
point A to point C, not forgetting to pass by to project management, monitoring means to
stop B. Once you start the journey, you may keep track of the progress of the project, of the
have to make changes, extra stops, take alter- implementation of the plan, of the manage-
native roads. However, your destination is the ment of the resources, of checking whether
same. Project management is very similar. what is being done is within the framework
With your objectives in mind you will have to of the aims and objectives.
steer your project past obstacles, shortages,
ambitions, offers, changes etc. 3
Monitoring is done throughout the project,
The importance of project planning is to allow when it is still possible to introduce changes,
you to understand what you may need to change course and adapt better to reality.
change and why. It is to allow you to be in
charge. But the plan is not a scripture to be
followed line by line. 5
American Heritage Dictionary
Evaluating,
monitoring,
finishing
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Evaluation means (1) ‘to determine or fix the you secure a probably more objective basis of
value of something’ or (2) ‘to determine the information, you also involve and motivate
significance, worth, or condition of – usually people to stay committed to the project.
by careful appraisal and study 6 ’. In project
management, evaluation means also to take Involve colleagues in defining objectives and
Evaluating, note of what is happening and why it is hap- procedures. Each activity may have its own
monitoring, pening. It is not looking only at results but specific objectives, and you may set specific pro-
finishing also at the process leading to those results. cedures (for recruitment, information, financial
management, etc.), in order to evaluate them;
At this stage we are interested in regular or they should be clear or understood by everyone.
intermediate evaluations. Final evaluation will
be the subject of our next chapter. Adapt objectives and activities. If the plan does
not correspond to the reality, change the plan,
To use the full potential of monitoring and eva- don’t expect reality to change by itself. Often
luation you should consider: this is a matter of reorganising the time sche-
dule or changing activities. But in some cases
Checkpoints in your project plan. Monitoring you may have to review objectives, too.
also needs to be planned. Foresee moments
when you will review the progress accom- Change only what needs to be changed. Do not
plished and how it scores against your targets. hesitate to adjust and change what needs to be
You can do this on a regular basis (e.g. every changed. But don’t rush to change everything
month), but you can also have monitoring just because some things are working diffe-
points after each major activity (to take on rently from expected. Too much change at
board the impact of the activities). once may be de-motivating and spread confu-
sion.
Have a monitoring team. You should not mo-
nitor the project alone, namely because you
will not be able to have a perspective from
outside or above. Of course you must involve Law of project management No.6
your team in the monitoring, but consider
involving other people from the organisation “No system is ever completely debugged.
3 Attempts to debug a system inevitably introduce
not working directly on the project. In some
new bugs that are even harder to find.”
cases, it may be wise to involve people hav-
ing nothing to do with the management of
the project: sponsors, users, experts.
Look for reasons and patterns. Try to find out
Keep track of results. The best way to secure a what may have produced the changes. What is
regular and useful evaluation is to take time bad planning altogether? Was it inadequacy
to take note and record what you achieve. It of means, of approaches or...? Finding out these
means also writing your objectives down for will help you in focussing the areas of change
each activity. It means asking people’s opi- and improvement.
nion about what has been achieved.
Setbacks are normal. Especially if the project is
Diversify sources of information. Just as it is
a starter in a given area or domain of work, it
useful to involve external people in the mo-
is normal that time is needed for things to start
nitoring of the project, it is also useful to asso-
functioning. Do check whether the changes
ciate other people with providing information
are to be done in the procedures, methods,
and opinions about the course of the project.
organisation or in the project as a whole!
To start with, the users and young people them-
selves. But also each activity’s public and part-
ners should participate in the evaluation (this Appreciate and motivate. Monitoring and eval-
does not need huge paper work). Not only do uation are not only about what is going wrong.
It is also about taking note of progress. And
acknowledging it. This way you can keep your
colleagues and partners motivated and recep-
6
Webster English Dictionary tive to changes or adjustments.
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Law of project management No.7 Especially for larger sums, the spon-
“If project content is allowed sors will want to monitor the evolu-
to change freely, the rate of change tion of the project, hence demanding
will exceed the rate of progress” interim reports before releasing fur-
ther payments.
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To: Robert P., Markka Z., Rosita L (Ban Uppa!); John A. (Banville city council
youth department); Fabbio K. (school events coordinator); Mario P. and Raïsa X.
(group leaders).
Dear friends,
Please find enclosed the agenda for our next meeting on Saturday afternoon. You may know
that we have encountered problems in organising the sports festival. We need to decide whether
to cancel or postpone it. On the positive side, the activities have picked up very well since the
youth exchange became feasible. The young people are now very active in preparing it. There is
some jealousy from other young people (of course those that did not find it interesting at the
beginning), but we may use this as a factor for developing other activities with them. We need
to recruit a project assistant to deal with the finances and help in the secretariat. Interesting as
it may seem, we have received a phone call and a letter from the police office inviting us for a
meeting to study ways in which ‘we can cooperate, for each other’s sake’. This is getting really
interesting!
Many things to decide and discuss. We are busy preparing brief reports and trying to finish the
provisional accounts.
Anyway, have a nice day. Please don’t show up late. We may have Lunch together, if no-one
objects.
See you!
3
Dali and Matto.
Agenda
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assess. Hence the importance of defining at imply that the project has to be stopped, but
least some measurable objectives at the time that “stop and look back” points have to be
of elaborating the project. When presenting established. This applies as much to final eva-
the evaluation you will have then some figures, luations as it does to intermediate evaluations.
some quantitative aspects, to back up your Inadequate time management will lead to the
qualitative evaluation. impossibility of introducing changes in the
project at the relevant moments or to a loss of
Evaluating financial management control of the evaluation process and purpose.
Time is also important to take into account so
The evaluation of the financial management that the evaluation is prepared in time to get
is important in any project, not least because hold of important information or data.
usually you will need to provide a financial
report to your sponsors, organisation, etc. A good definition of objectives
More than just finding out the extent of the
deficit (if there was one), the report is also Defining concrete objectives (and being able to
good to check whether there are now new differentiate them from the general aims) is one
sources of funding for the organisation, where of the most crucial steps in defining a project
did most money go, etc. And it is of course and in implementing evaluation. Lack of clari-
useful to check how some money or resources ty about the objectives always implies a loss of
could have been used differently. control of the project in its educational and prac-
tical dimension as the end result will be the
confusion between the results achieved and the
Evaluating the impact on the organisation
objectives intended. The objectives can (and
should) be changed, namely as a result of inter-
It is interesting to evaluate the impact on the
mediate evaluations. They should, however,
organisation for projects which represent a
always be as clear as possible, be written down
significant innovation. The impact on the orga-
and made explicit to all those involved in the
nisation may come through new experience
project.
and expertise, new members, new partnerships,
accrued reputation, additional resources, abi-
A good planning of the evaluation
lity to reach new people, etc.
3 Evaluating is easy but it can be made easier and
Evaluating the process
more effective if planned from the beginning.
Planning may not mean actually preparing it,
Then results are not only tangible aspects.
but at least being aware that evaluations will be
They may also be learning results, experience
needed and that information for it needs to
acquired in a certain field or area. In order to
be secured. Indeed, some of this information
take note of them and to understand them it
might only be possible to get at the beginning
is necessary that the process that people went
of the project (if I am carrying out a project on
through in the planning and management of
literacy, it is useful/necessary to know at the
the project is evaluated. What would have been
beginning of the project the literacy levels of
Evaluating, done differently? What could be learned about
the target group).
monitoring, project planning and management? What could
people learn through the process of running
finishing The conclusions of the evaluation should be
the project?
used to decide on the follow-up or continua-
tion of the project, by looking again into the
social conditions and what needs to be done
3.4.1 Preparing and conducting
further. To finish with our example, the drugs
an evaluation awareness project has been very successful
The success of the evaluation, in any of its forms, (drug use by youngsters has been cut down
depends of three fundamental conditions: by half) but now we realise that the need
exists to provide young people with opportu-
Time nities to spend their leisure time differently,
that the peer-group leaders need assistance
Every project must have a starting and an end for their projects, or that action needs being
point to allow for an evaluation. This does not continued in a particular district of the town.
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Collecting
Preparing
information Assessing and conclusions
The assessment is actually the process of draw-
The ing the relevant conclusions out of the infor-
evaluation mation acquired. It is looking for the reasons
process for what happened, highlighting the results
Assessment
and conclusions and putting them into perspective with the
Interpreting
original aims and objectives of the project.
Implementing
Implementing results
results (follow-up) All the information and the conclusions drawn
from it are, in a way, meaningless if nothing is
done with them. The function of evaluation
Preparing towards social change is lost if there is no
Preparing the evaluation is first of all setting desire to change, to admit the results of an
its aims and purpose: why is the evaluation evaluation, etc. The sources of resistance to
necessary? Who needs it? Who should be change are many (institutional, personal, poli-
involved in doing it? tical, etc.). They can be limited by the objec-
tivity of the evaluation as well as dependent
8
Inspired from Warren Feek, Working effectively, 1988 on who has been involved in. carrying it out.
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DO: DON’T:
• Involve different people in the eva- • Get stuck in the negativity of some
luation, and take them seriously evaluations. Do bear in mind that
• Look at results of similar projects. many people still believe that
Are there any trends or things that evaluating is stating what did
Evaluating, can be compared? not work or what went wrong.
monitoring, • Recall the original needs analysis, Honesty does not mean not
finishing aims and objectives. highlighting the positive aspects
• Remember that there is no such (especially to sponsors)
thing as an ‘objective’ evaluation. • Use the evaluation as a way to
But you may limit the level of sub-
sort out conflicts (although it can
jectivity (by diversifying sources
be a starting point...).
and methods).
• Run through the results and impact • Feel attacked if some things did
of the project with the young peo- not go exactly as you planned or
ple. This way you will help them felt. Respect the other people’s
understand the change in them. evaluation.
• Think about the evaluation while • Keep the results for yourself!
planning and running the project
(not only towards the end!) • Focus on what can not be changed;
focus on areas where change is
• Show possible discrepancies or
differences of opinion in matters possible.
where there is no clear conclusion • Run an evaluation without plan-
or data. ning it first.
• Expect to be misunderstood!
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My motivations
– Have they been fulfilled? Notes:
– Have I found new ones?
– What have I gained?
– Would I do it again?...
3
The concretes objectives
– Were they concrete? Notes:
– Did they change, and why?
– What was actually achieved through
the project that would not have been done otherwise?
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Team management
– Who else did I involve in the project Notes:
management? Who else got involved?
– Did they have clear roles?
– Did I check their motivations
and expectations?
– How were they supported?
– How were they selected or trained?
– How were they rewarded?
Other resources…
– Which other resources, other than money, Notes:
could I generate for my project?
– Which skills have I gained from the project?
– Did I manage to involve the community
3 and other organisations around me?
– Could anybody else contribute to the project?
3. Evaluation
– Which evaluations have I conducted Notes:
during the project?
– Who was involved or took part in them?
– What conclusions were drawn from that?
Who drew them?
– What changes were implemented as
Evaluating, a result in the project?
monitoring, – Did I evaluate the project with my colleagues?
finishing With my organisation leaders? With the participants? With my partners?
4. More…
–
–
–
–
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3.4.4 Finishing and Reporting are also financial reports to finish. And in many
Evaluating, cases there are also other types of reports and
monitoring, documentation to be secured.
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DO: DON’T:
• Consult the young people – and • Be discouraged by initial reactions.
your partners – about the changes
• Stay stuck in your proposals. Be ready
you propose in the follow-up.
to listen and to improve.
• Consider different alternatives when • Bet everything on a single horse!
drafting your conclusions and pro- (Keep different alternatives).
posals for follow-up.
• Ignore the alliances you have created.
• Try to secure continuity in processes
initiated by the same people. • Expect everyone to be as enthusias-
tic as yourself!
• Stay realistic but not fatalist.
• Give the impression that you are
• Dare! doing it for your personal benefit.
Use the interim or progress reports to prepare your sponsors for the
possible follow-up. Involve them in the evaluation so that they can
also give their opinion and at the same time feel the reality of the
project a bit better.
Evaluating,
Even if at the moment of applying you do not know yet what the monitoring,
follow-up could consist of, you can at least provide a good picture finishing
of the changes that the project will bring, and how that may influ-
ence the follow-up. Avoid giving the impression that you will think
about that only later. Sponsors are usually not eager to fund one-off
activities or even projects. They like to know that it can be pursued
after (even if without their support). They like to make a difference...
and to be visible in their effort.
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– Keeping the youth café open after – Provide meeting facilities and
school hours as it has proven to educational assistance to the
keep young people away from peer-.group leaders.
bad influence and gives them a – Extend the peer-group training
place to play and socialise. programme to the other sec-
ondary schools in Banville.
– Developing a youth exchange
programme with the three cities – Research ways to introduce voca-
twin of ours in Uzbekistan, Malta tional training and apprentice-
and Finland. ship into schools system.
Page 60 Page 61
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4. What makes
a project European Project
Management
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European
The first answer that comes to mind is that In the context of European Voluntary Service,
those who want to think from a European this amounts to: dimension
standpoint no longer only see things from a 1. Offering young people a new type of expe-
national point of view. This implies an obli- rience of intercultural learning;
gation to approach matters from a broad per- 2. Contributing to the development of local
spective, or at least lean in this direction, and authorities;
above all to refuse to submit to dogmatic and 3. Encouraging active citizenship among young
narrow thinking. people…, it also means that volunteers’ own
culture and their allegiance to particular
According to Article 128 of the Maastricht countries must give added value to a pro-
Treaty, “the Community shall contribute to the ject’s activities.
flowering of the cultures of the Member States,
while respecting their national and regional
Example taken from the EVS user
diversity and at the same time bringing the
guide: Two volunteers, one from
common cultural heritage to the fore”. The France and the other from Belgium,
establishment of co-operation, leading to bet- visited the small Swedish town of
ter communication, highlights the importance Lidköping to undertake their volun-
of cultural enrichment based on diversity and tary service in a youth centre offering
exchanges of experience. Initially, this could many activities, including training
mean identifying our shared cultural heritage, workshops. The centre also tries to
and then fostering and strengthening among find places where local groups can
all Europeans the idea that they share common put on plays and where young peo-
values. ple can produce videos. The two vol-
unteers took part in some of these
Our altered perceptions and values are clear activities but also carried out their own
signs of the cultural changes that we are cur- project, which was to design, in con-
rently experiencing; they affect the ethnocen- junction with a local junior secondary
tric image of so-called developed societies and school, an exhibition on combating
are slowly but surely leading them towards a racism, entitled “I had a dream”. They
more polycentric vision – the discovery of diver- later plan to mount this exhibition
sity and otherness – which possibly indicates in their home towns, and to create a
the search for another identity – perhaps a CD-ROM and an Internet page.
European one.
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Example: A project which uses dance and Seventy young people will take part in
music to bring together young people regular dance workshops and in the pro-
from different social backgrounds and duction itself. There will be a photogra-
produce a mix of cultures. The aim is to phic exhibition of the production by three
produce a dance show which will be per- young photographers and the sets will be
formed in a variety of locations. The pro- produced by students from the Perpignan
duction is based on the links between school of fine arts.
African and contemporary dance.
But where is the European dimension in
The project is entirely initiated, designed what is a “traditional” project?
and implemented by the young people
The takings from the performances will
themselves. It originated in a meeting
be donated to a humanitarian organisa-
between young musicians and dancers,
tion working in the countries of eastern
and in a shared commitment to give fresh
Europe. The dance troupe already work
impetus to local cultural life by creating in collaboration with a theatre and dance
links between Montpellier and Marseille. association in Girona in Spain. A Spanish
Each young person in the group will have choreographer will be involved in the
a specific task, such as communication, project, as well as students from Barcelona
publicity, choreography, costume design, University, particularly in the video pro-
creating sets, financial management and duction. A member of the group took part
so on, for which they will be responsible. in a study visit to Finland on the subject
Professionals from the dance field will of dance, music and production with young
oversee the operation to offer an outside people. A number of Finnish organisations
view. A certain number of contacts have have since proposed exchanges. The group
been established with local authority bod- of young people has also had contact with
ies and festivals, such as Art fantaisie, the a Slovakian organisation working in the
Eus festival and les jeudis de Perpignan, same field. A network may also be esta-
where the production can be presented. blished at some time in the future.
4 At the seminar for national agencies in Vienna contexts. This means integrating European
in April 1999, it was established that given programmes into participants’ daily activities,
the context and objectives of the european thus strengthening the development of youth
youth programmes, strategies and training projects.
activities needed to be developed in a broader The general principles of the European dimen-
framework. sion are to:
The objectives should therefore be directly • enable young people to see the European
linked to the work of the organisers, having Union as an integral part of their historical,
regard to the development and use of euro- social, cultural and political environment;
pean youth programmes. • develop awareness of the dangers associated
with exclusion, including racism and xeno-
The aim of the training strategy is to incorporate phobia, through educational measures for
a European dimension into local or national and involving young people;
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• encourage autonomy, creativity and a spirit of all european youth programmes is to facilitate
enterprise among young people, particularly contacts and as such the active involvement European
in the social, civic, cultural and environmen- and participation of young Europeans will be dimension
tal contexts. a fundamental aspect of projects’ European
How far is it possible to measure the European dimension. However, what about activities
added value in a European project? Is it the where there is no obligation to undertake
result simply of adding partners or does it entail exchanges or automatic physical mobility?
the development of a joint project?
The answers are not simple. Account may have On the principle that if you can do the more
to be taken of the young people’ characteris- difficult things you can manage the easier ones,
tics, such as their social and cultural origins, if it is possible to produce the outline of a de-
the partner countries and the topics covered, finition of the European dimension for such
as many factors that influence youth partici- projects, it should be possible to apply it to
pation in European construction.The aim of other projects.
The following table attempts to assess the European dimension of projects according to eight
key criteria:
European dimension
European What has been done The project focuses on education for local, regional,
citizenship to foster young national and European citizenship, particularly
people’ sense of their through the establishment of an Internet site to
European citizenship? inform other European countries of the project’s
creation so that they can develop it in their own
towns and cities and communicate with other
young Europeans. There should eventually be an
exchange with young Germans.
Partnerships Does the project The collaboration with Italy should be strength-
have the potential to ened by an exchange of young people, leading
establish partnerships to the establishment of a youth council in the
with or networks of municipalities of Grugliasco and Collegno. An
similar activities in Internet-based network could be set up with
various European Germany, Finland and the Netherlands, which
countries? have already undertaken experiments in this field.
Transferability Is the project’s The objective of the project “workshops and fa-
approach applicable shion parades in a rural setting” is to enable young
to similar contexts in people from immigrant backgrounds experiencing
other countries? labour market difficulties to become practically 4
involved in garment making workshops (ma-
nagement, organisation and the design of clothes)
and meet local, regional, national and international
fashion industry specialists – designers, hairdressers,
make-up artists, photographers and models – at
an international fashion fair. The project will pro-
vide impetus to the locality concerned, with the
involvement of traders, elected representatives and
other interested young people. The project, which
involves young people from immigrant backgrounds
in a rural setting, could be transposed to other
European Union countries.
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European Does the project’s The central theme of the theatrical production
theme European theme is Europe: from mythology to the Euro, drawing
reflect topics of on historical figures, the testimony of men and
current European women talking about their work today in Europe,
interest, such as the wars and acronyms such as GATT, CAP, OPEC, PESC
Euro, Europe and and Schengen. The young people hope, at some
employment or the stage, to put on their show in Romania, to com-
European elections? pare their vision with another European country.
Intercultural What has been done This is a project on the situation of young Roma
learning to provide space for women in society in Europe run by a network of
European mutual understanding Roma young people. It is planned to share expe-
dimension and co-operation? riences and different realities of the situation of
young Roma women in Europe, confront men
and women’s opinions on the role of women in
roma and non-roma communities, to realise that
traditions differ from country to country and to
help women become active in the development
of different projects in order to open the Roma
communities to the majority society.
Problem of Does the project The creation of the Internet site will be a means
common concern a problem of disseminating information on the history of
concern shared by most gypsy communities in France and communicating
European countries, with other communities in France and Europe.
such as combating Visits to three cities in Catalonia will be necessary
exclusion, drug abuse to collect material for the CD-ROM.
and alcoholism or
crime?
Project Is the project itinerant This is an itinerant project covering seven European
mobility and does it cover countries, the purpose being to exchange experi-
various European ence and information on theatrical practices in
countries? Europe.
Links with Do links exist or could For three years, the association has been organis-
other they be established ing, in co-operation with the Franco-German Youth
European with other European Office, exchanges with Berlin. Recently, it orga-
activities or activities or nised a Youth for Europe multilateral exchange with
4 programmes. programmes? the countries of the east. The project is modelled
on existing centres in Berlin and Cologne, with
which it is planned to collaborate. Links have been
established with other European associations with
similar objectives in Berlin, Cologne, Bologna and
Amsterdam.
Involvement Is there active Hip-hop is currently the in-music for all young
of young participation by Europeans. It is planned to organise a meeting
Europeans young people in with European rappers, who might take part in
different European the workshops. However, the relationship between
countries? the partners and European networks is still not clear
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In 1953, Mary McCarthy said that Europe was elected president of France and one might
the uncompleted negative of which America simply add “yes, but everyone needs Europe
was the test. Things now appear in a more to exist”. Naturally, the levels of necessity and
positive light. The path is long and difficult, the areas of involvement are very varied, but
but what makes Europe distinctive is the fact on the day when all Europeans, irrespective
that it is under permanent construction, both of the continent’s geographical dimensions,
figuratively and in reality. accept and recognise the twelve stars of the
flag, not as the number of member countries
In “l’abeille et l’architecte” (1978), François but as the symbol of harmony and perfec-
Mitterrand said that Europe did not need any- tion, we will have crossed the threshold that
one in order to be nothing, but it should be separates a geographical dimension to a real
borne in mind that this was before he was European one.
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Appendix 1: Glossary of terms
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Management
T-Kit
Depending on the professional area or environment in which the project is managed, the
terminology may change. Here are some of the terms used in this publication. Most of them are
defined in more detail in chapter 3.
• Emergence, genesis of the project: the initial idea, generally in response to the identification
of a specific problem or need. This idea is the starting point for the design and drawing up
of the project.
• Implementation: this is the “doing” part of the project, involving all the practical aspects:
material and technical arrangements, organising human and financial resources, prepar-
ing the persons who will be conducting the project, ensuring the right material conditions
for the smooth running of activities and so on.
• Assessment: final phase of the project. The assessment makes it possible to measure its
impact on the environment, what has been achieved and how, and to plan any follow-up.
The results of the assessment are generally documented and contribute to the project
report.
• Consolidation: final project activities, publicising and exploiting the results, recognising
and securing recognition for the value of the project, thanking the partners and celebrating.
• Context: social and geographical environment in which the project will take place. The
context is one of the main parameters in drawing up the project.
• Aims: the final goal of the project. Aims are defined according to an analysis of needs or
the identification of a set of problems in a particular environment.
• Objectives: these are a project’s goal or goals put into operational form. Projects always
have several objectives which must be practical, measurable, limited in time, realistic and
flexible. A distinction may be drawn between:
• Activities: the different stages associated with a specific objective which help to achieve
the aim.
• Action plan: plan of the various activities that make up the project, with a precise indication
of what those activities are, their location and timing and the resources involved.
Such plans need to be modified to take account of the situation on the ground and the
intermediate assessments. *
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• Monitoring: this takes place throughout the project’s life and consists of checking whether
the action plan still reflects reality and whether the planned activities, objectives and aims are
still consistent with the needs, context, target group and available resources, with a view
to modifying them where necessary.
• Partners: the persons or institutions collaborating in the project. They may offer financial,
material, technical or political support.
• Project members: all those involved in carrying out the project.
• Project carrier: the individual(s) or organisation initiating the project.
• Project manager: person(s) responsible for managing the material and human resources
involved in the project.
• Project sponsors: individuals, institutions or companies financing the project.
• Resources: all the available and necessary means for completing the project (equipment,
finance, staffing and so on).
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Appendix 2
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How far did this T-kit help you to find theoretical foundations and practical advice to run your
project(s)?
You are…
(You may tick more than one option)
■ A project manager
● Local level ● National level ● International level ● Other
Did you use the T-kit help in stucturing your project? Yes ■ No ■
If yes…
In what context or situation? .................................................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
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..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
■ A Trainer
● Local level ● National level ● International level ● Other
Did you use the T-kit for any of your training activities? Yes ■ No ■
If yes…
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
*
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Where did you obtain your copy of this Project Management T-kit? .....................................................................
..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
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..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Name: ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Title: ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
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E-mail: ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
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Appendix 3
Bibliography Project
Management
T-Kit
Managing Projects
Adirondack, Sandy (1992) Feek, Warren (1988)
Just about managing : effective management Working effectively: a guide to evaluation
for voluntary organisations and community techniques, London: Bedford Square Press
groups, London: London Voluntary Service
Council Feld, Kristen et al. (1991)
Training courses resource file. Vol. 11, Pro-
Adams, Scott (1996) ject steering, Strasbourg: European Youth
Fugitive from the cubicle police, (A Dilbert Centre
book), Kansas City: Andrews and McMeel
Gomes, Rui (ed.) (1997)
Alonso Oritz, Nieves (1996) Navigare necesse est, Luxembourg: Service
‘El trabajo social en los procesos de inte- National de la Jeunesse
gración y de exclusión’ Actas del Congreso
Gomes, Rui (1998)
de Animación Socio-Cultural, Sevilla
Mudança d’Aires, Coimbra: Movimento
Cristao para a Paz (YAP Portugal)
Angst, Doris et al. (eds.) (1995)
Domino: a manuel to use peer group Lauritzen, Peter (1998)
education as a means to fight racism, ‘Intercultural learning: one big bluff or a
xenophobia, anti-semitism and intolerance, learning strategy for the future’ European
Strasbourg: Council of Europe Youth Journal of Intercultural Studies Vol.9
Directorate supplement
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Management
T-Kit
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T-Kit
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Management
T-Kit
T-Kit 1:
Organisational Management
T-Kit 2:
Methodology in Language Learning
T-Kit 3:
Intercultural Learning
T-Kit 4:
Project Management
T-Kit 5:
How to Organise a Training Course
T-Kit 6:
Voluntary Service
T-Kit 7:
Citizenship Education
www.training-youth.net
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Project Management Project Management
In 1998, The Council of Europe and the European Commission decided to No.3 No.3
take common action in the field of European Youth Worker Training, and
therefore initiated a Partnership Agreement. The aim of the Agreement,
which is laid down in several covenants, is “to promote active European
citizenship and civil society by giving impetus to the training of youth
leaders and youth workers working within a European dimension”.
The co-operation between the two institutions covers a wide spectrum
of activities and publications, as well as developing tools for further
networking.
Three main components govern the partnership: a training offer (long term
training for trainers and training on European Citizenship), publications
(both paper and electronic versions of training materials and magazine)
and networking tools (trainers pool and exchange possibilities). The
ultimate goal is to raise standards in youth worker training at a
European level and define quality criteria for such training.
a g ement
M a n
Project
No.3
www.training-youth.net www.training-youth.net