Introduction

For project Applications, the European Union advocates Project Cycle Management (PCM) and the Logical Framework Analysis paradigm. Projects in Europe are anticipated to work in partnership, which implies that they will be managed in collaboration with other businesses that perform different functions on the same project. This method is used to guide organisations through all phases of a project, from the conception of the idea to the evaluation of the outcomes, and it explains how the partners should manage it.

In this section, we outline the basic elements of PCM and briefly describe the many procedures you should take to complete successful projects that satisfy your expectations and effectively respond to your demands.

According to the PCM, a company that wishes to develop a project must keep in mind the following:

• In your sphere of activity, your projects should be in line with the EU’s policy objectives: relevancy
• Projects should address the real difficulties that the beneficiaries face, and it is preferable to locate an appropriate partner to help them reach their goals: internal coherence
• The project’s goals should be achievable and genuinely achievable with the tools available; The benefits of the project to the recipients should persist long after the project is completed: sustainability.

The PCM model’s main components

A project’s “life” is defined by its points of departure and arrival. As the project progresses, it will go through various phases.

Programming is a preparatory stage in which the situation at the national and sector levels is assessed in order to identify issues that the project might address. No project can be produced unless we understand the true challenges and demands, particularly in the social sector; therefore, an analysis of sectoral policies and priorities is essential. Organizations should also be aware about all financing sources available at the local, national, and European levels in order to find appropriate funding.

Identification: During this phase, the partners look for common difficulties and problems to tackle in their own fields of interest and activity, such as social and care services, volunteering, and civil protection. The partners meet to discuss and define their project and its actions because the initial project idea has not yet been fleshed out in depth.

Formulation: This is the stage where the project takes on a more defined shape and becomes more detailed. Partners share the project’s scope and cost, as well as the projected duration of each work, activity scheduling, and role and duties for each partner, according to the application form and call for proposals they choose.

Implementation: This is the stage in which all of the activities, such as project meetings, exercises, and events, are carried out. The partners are involved in the project’s evaluation, and it’s critical to report on all progress activities at this point.

The strategic phase of the project is evaluation. It can aid an organisation in determining the degree of success in terms of project objectives and outcomes. Its purpose is to examine the project’s results and impacts in order to conduct a review of the project and the opportunity to make changes, as well as to assess a possible follow-up.

There are two types of evaluations: qualitative and quantitative.

Midterm evaluations (MTEs) are used to determine whether a project is still relevant and how far it has progressed toward its goals. Because this evaluation is so closely related to the project, it can be completed by the project management team.

Final assessment to determine the extent to which objectives were met and to contribute to future project programming in the project sectors. Independent evaluators are normally in charge of this process, which is overseen by evaluation officials.

This is one of the most crucial phases for social initiatives since it allows us to determine whether social needs have been addressed and how we can enhance our intervention in the future.

Logical Framework Analysis

The Logical Framework Analysis is a matrix that summarises a project’s most important features. It is critical to construct the matrix during the planning phase of activities (proposal stage) and throughout the changes that occur during the activities themselves, as part of the project implementation process. It helps you to double-check that the activities are well-designed and serves as a great tool for ongoing monitoring and assessment. It’s very useful for determining a project’s consistency, and it’s also a tool for identifying relevant indicators for monitoring and evaluating a program’s results.

In the table below, all significant aspects and components necessary for the fulfilment of the project and its correspondence with the attained objectives are presented. You should follow this strategy to manage a successful project, and it should answer the fundamental questions in the table.

Info Pack

A great way to welcome participants and help them ‘find their way’, while visiting your organisation is by creating them an info pack. An info pack, is essentially a small bundle of information about the mobility and the hosting country.

The info pack should have two main sections, one about the mobility and one about practical issues (i.e accommodation, transportation etc)

Info packs may consist of the following (indicative):

SECTION 1

• A welcoming message
• A short summary of the project
• The target group
• Aims of the project
• An agenda of the activities that will take place (this could include also tasks for the participants)
• Financial Participation
• What to bring

SECTION 2

• Nearest airport information
• Transportation (Bus schedules, trains, taxis or any other means of transport in your area)
• Accommodation 
• Information about your country (Currency, Local time, weather conditions, emergency numbers etc)
• Day trips and cultural activities
• Recommendations for where to eat

Other

• Contact details – one idea could be to create an online group (i.e Facebook Group/messenger group or Viber/WhatsApp/Telegram, if this is a big mobility for participants to join)
• In some cases, (not all) a good idea would be send a needs assessment questionnaire, to the participants, to see if they have previous knowledge on these topics, or to see their expectations on the mobility experience.

Program Planning (only for follow up)

Youth Exchanges, Youth Initiative projects, and European Voluntary Service projects are not one-time activities. They should be a component of a bigger picture. One of the most distinguishing features of these programmes is that they provide an intense and powerful experience for the young people involved. This necessitates thorough planning as well as a well-executed follow-up. 

When the young people come home following their trip abroad, the follow-up phase begins. Because a young person must process their learning and take their next steps along their unique road, this phase might be the most difficult of the entire overseas experience.

Although the act of evaluating is relatively quick, the wider process of digesting and absorbing overseas experience can be lengthy. This is especially true for young (ex-) criminals and those who are at danger of committing a crime. They frequently require assistance from their youth worker (or another professional) in recognising the learning that has occurred and guiding their next steps.

Closure

Spending time abroad can be a life-changing experience. Rounding off or closing the international experience is an excellent first step in the evaluation/follow-up phase. This can be accomplished at the conclusion of the multinational project by throwing a closing party.

Present the young person with a certificate called “Youthpass” to mark their achievement in the project during the final party or during a small ceremony. For instance, all EVS volunteers obtain a Youthpass credential that defines and confirms the non-formal and informal learning experiences gained during the project.

Youthpass

The European Commission ensures that the experience with the Program is recognised as an educational experience as well as a period of non-formal and informal learning through the Youthpass. This paper may be extremely useful in the participant’s future educational or professional endeavours.

A certificate like this can be requested by any young person. The young person and his or her mentor from the host organisation should agree on the content of the certificate.

Link to the YouthPass portal: https://www.youthpass.eu/ 

Evaluation and reflection
Evaluation is a procedure that must begin at the outset of each project. Here are some pointers and ways for getting the process started:

• Have some of the young people start a daily notebook if they enjoy writing. Ask them to evaluate what they’ve written at the end of the project to see whether they’ve noticed any changes in their behaviour, beliefs, attitudes, or skills. If the young person has trouble writing, they can sketch a daily picture or build a weekly collage out of magazine photos to represent events and emotions if they have trouble writing.
• At all stages of the international project, encourage young people to consider their future. The future isn’t something that should be saved until the very last moment. Informally, you can achieve this by asking them what they’re thinking and where their ideas are headed. They should reflect on the plans they had at the start and analyse how much those plans have changed or not altered during the evaluation stage. 
• Practical components of the international experience (daily activities, lodging, acquired skills, and so on) are easier to assess than others (for example, the intercultural experience). However, a picture is worth a thousand words… Give the youth a disposable camera to evaluate their multicultural experience. Allow them to photograph people, places, and objects in their project that are meaningful to them or have left a lasting impression. Start a debate about the differences and similarities between countries and cultures using the photographs.
• Assist the young people in creating an inventory (list) of the abilities they learnt at the end of the project. Assist them in determining how that knowledge can assist them in taking their next steps along the route (in terms of finding a career, obtaining a qualification, dealing with their family circumstances, and so on.)
• It might be quite good to organise a group evaluation after a group exchange or if numerous volunteers are returning at the same time. It is really beneficial for these young people to be surrounded by peers who have gone through comparable situations.

Tools that can be used for follow-up

1. After the mobility experience, the coordinator is the point of contact for the participant, evaluating their skill improvement, language competencies, and satisfaction. One option is to utilise free online survey tools like Google forms, Survey Monkey, SoGoSurvey etc. Send an email with a template for expressing ideas and impact, as well as directions for promoting the mobility experience on social media channels, to aid the participant in self-reflection.

Certification options are provided on the Erasmus+ website for proving the skills and certifications obtained by the participant while abroad, through the Europass mobility: https://europa.eu/europass/en/europass-mobility-0 

1. In an email report, the receiving organisation will report on the participant’s participation to given tasks as well as comment on the mobility experience. This data is required for talent recognition, as well as for preparing and providing certification.

Promote the mobility experience on social media and share the documented mobility experience with your own networks, such as through a newsletter or website. Mailchimp, could be an option for mailing newsletters.

1. When the participant returns from the mobility experience, he or she will write a report using a template provided by the coordinator. Unless the mobility actors – meaning the coordinator, and receiving organisation – select a cloud sharing solution, this reciprocal interchange of information should be continued via email. Some cloud options are the Google Drive, Dropbox, Admin Tool etc.

It is recommended that those who have shared their mobility experience online (on social media or in a blog) continue to do so in order to share sentiments and possible advice to future mobility participants. Begin writing a blog or educating the public about the experience at any time, as what you write will serve as a reference for individuals considering a mobility.

Engaging with participants during the Activity: 

1. Methods and strategies to support the participants during the activity
   1. What works and what does not? Challenges, difficulties, and triumphs
2. Specific examples: 
   1. Communication, constant evaluations, reflection(s), etc. 

“ During mobility 

• Follow-up timeline 

– First day (partner) 

– First monitoring questionnaire (participant) 

– Middle monitoring questionnaire (participant) 

– Europass information e-mail (participant) 

– Final documents e-mail (partner) 

– Final monitoring questionnaire (participant) 

– Final documents/ Mtool / final meeting e-mail (participant) 

• Every week (contact with partner) 
• Emergency contact (participant/partner)”

• http://www.spread-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/S.P.R.E.A.D._Outgoing-Follow-up-and-Tools.pdf 

Strategies for better follow up and improvement: 

• Organizing teams’ support to participants after the activity, specifically to those interested in contributing more to their communities. Provide network, research support, guidance and training.  (CGE) (MRL)
• Participants reflect on their experiences and learning: writing a blog, making a visual or audio podcasts, etc. (CGE)
• Infrastructural and/or financial support. (CGE)
• Follow-up Project (“try to make the new project better than the first one”): discussion, experience sharing, (CGE) (Emphasys) (MRL)

• Provide participants space to create follow-up activities themselves. (CGE)

• use of new platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams among participants for follow up activities. (Emphasys)
  • Use more interactive tools such as videos or broadcastings, PowerPoint presentations, animated videos etc. (Emphasys)
• Have an active stakeholder list and send current topics related to the project: articles, invitation to an event, recommendation of tools. (Emphasys)
• A project follow-up ensures that the project reached its desired end with set objectives achieved. These activities could range from sharing of experiences, workshops, campaigns, etc. to comparatively affordable bigger events. (MRL)
• Continue disseminating the projects (especially on Info days or EU Weeks/World days related to the project’s topic) and have active social media which is really important for young people (out target group). (Emphasys) (MRL)
• Utilizing available tool kits for improvement, follow up and impact assessment. (MRL)
• Use some kind of recognition to your target group e.g., a certificate or a letter of recommendation in order for the target group to have a motivation to participate in the project. (Emphasys)
• Attempt to involve local media, admirative authorities and other relevant stakeholders for greater outreach. (MRL)