Developing and maintaining International Research Collaborations

Antonella Brighi Department of Education

Alma Mater Studiorum Universita’ di Bologna Italy

ALMA MATER STUDIORUM UNIVERSITÀ DI BOLOGNA

Proclamazione dei Dottori di Ricerca, Foto: A. Samaritani

ATENEO

Torre della Specola, Foto: S. Mirabella

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L'Ateneo, in attuazione degli articoli 3 e 34 della Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana, si adopera affinché il pieno esercizio del diritto allo studio non sia impedito da ostacoli di ordine economico e sociale e affinché l'impegno e il merito siano costantemente riconosciuti e premiati. Statuto di Ateneo, Principi di indirizzo, Art. 2 comma 1

MULTICAMPUS since 1989

L'Ateneo, in attuazione degli articoli 3 e 34 della Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana, si adopera affinché il pieno esercizio del diritto allo studio non sia impedito da ostacoli di ordine economico e sociale e affinché l'impegno e il merito siano costantemente riconosciuti e premiati. Statuto di Ateneo, Principi di indirizzo, Art. 2 comma 1

RESEARCH

Laboratorio, Foto: C. Turci

RESEARCH PRODUCTS

RESEARCH PROJECTS FUNDED BY VII FP AND OTHER EU PROGRAMS (2007-2012)

12.000

180

277

97

7

RESEARCH PRODUCTS (YEARLY MEAN)

PATENTS

NATIONAL RESEARCH MINISTRY FUNDED PROJECT (PRIN 2010-2011& FIRB 2012)

INTERDEPARTMENTAL CENTERS FOR INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH AND FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES (CIRI)

RESEARCH FUNDING

1°italian university for capacity to attract european funds for research, 27°in Europe

INTERNATIONALIZATION PARTNERSHIP UNIBO

http://ec.europa.eu/justice/grants/programmes/daphne/.

The DAPHNE II Project

''An investigation into forms of peer-peer bullying at school in pre-adolescent and adolescent groups: new instruments and preventing strategies”

Chief Researchers: Genta, Brighi, Guarini (Unibo)

• Collaboration between four European partners and one non EU: Italy (University of Bologna); UK (Prof. PK. Smith, Goldsmiths College, University of London); Spain (Prof. R. Ortega, University of Cordoba) Finland (prof. C. Salmivalli, University of Turku) Bosnia Herzegovina (University of Tuzla - associate partner) • Duration: February 2007 – February 2009

Questionnaire

CHILD-REPORT SCALES FOR DIRECT AND INDIRECT BULLYING, (Sharp & Smith, 1994)

CHILD-REPORT SCALES FOR CYBERBULLYING (MOBILE AND INTERNET) (Smith et al., 2008).

PERCEPTION OF SCHOOL CLIMATE LONELINESS (Marcoen & Goossens, 1993; Melotti, Corsano,

Majorano, & Secarpuzzi, 2006)

SELF-ESTEEM (Melotti & Passini, 2002; DuBois, Felner, Brand, Phillips and Lease, 1996)

Method: participants DII

13

AGE GENDER

Age levels

N %

12-13 (Y8)

2619 53,3

14-15 (Y10)

2065 31,9

16-17 (Y12)

1855 14,7

% Males 3343 (51,1%)

Females 3196 (48,9%)

N %

SPAIN 1671

UK 2227

ITALY 1964

BOSNIA H. 667

Subjects by Country

N= 6539

14

ECIP- DAPHNE III

CHIEF RESEARCHERS - M.L. Genta, A. Brighi, A. Guarini, University of Bologna (Itay)

PARTNERS - Prof. Smith (UK) - Prof. Ortega (Spain) - Prof. Tsorbatzoudis (Greece) - Prof. Pyżalsky (Poland) - Prof. Scheithauer (Germany)

Cyberbullying in adolescence: investigation and intervention in six European Countries

(2010-2012)

ASSOCIATE PARTNERS - University of Calabria (Itay) - Ministry of Education (Bosnia-Herzegovina)

OTHER PARTNERS - Regional School Office of Emilia Romagna

Duration: April 2010-April 2012

Method: participants DIII

15

AGE GENDER

Age levels

N %

12-14 2891 53,3 14-16 1750 31,9 16-18 803 14,7 18 -19 43 ,09

% Males 48,4 Females 51,6

N %

SPAIN 893 16,2 GREECE 1004 18,2 POLAND 1021 18,5 ITALY 1710 31,0 GERMANY 897 16,2

Subjects by Country

N= 5525

28 Eu Countries

and Australia!

http://www.cost.eu/domains_actions/isch/Actions/IS0801?parties

Get in touch

Get in touch

• Go to conferences and talk to researchers who shares your interests; • Write to the authors of papers you like, and ask. Don’t be shy! • Use dedicated social forum or connection tools (i.e. Research Gate,

Linkedin..) and contact people. • Use the International services of your Uni. • Insert your availability to become a partner of a projects in

Programmes’ websites. • Contact the agencies in your Country which may have established

international collaborative links (ARC? Ministry of Educations? NGO? Parents Associations?)

Where to look for money? Oops! ..for Projects!

European Commission: CORDIS: FP7

Seventh Framework Programme

European Commission: CORDIS: FP7 : Participate in FP7

Once you have found the right call ...

A project is a series of activities aimed at bringing about clearly specified objectives within a defined time-period and with a defined budget. A project should also have: • Clearly identified stakeholders, including the primary target group and the final beneficiaries; • Clearly defined coordination, management and financing arrangements; • A monitoring and evaluation system (to support performance management); • An appropriate level of financial and economic analysis, which indicates that the project’s benefits will exceed its costs.

Relationship between projects, programmes and policies

A well- formulated project should derive from an appropriate balance between the EC’s development policy priorities and the partner’s development priorities.

So: read carefully the priorities of the

programme!

Preparing a project

All projects supported EU Programmes have to comply with the overall objectives of the programme and the annual priorities set each year. Reminding yourselves of these, even if you think you know them, is the very first step you must take. You will find them in the Call for Proposals published each year, and some explanation in the Guide for Applicants that is also updated annually.

Build the project on strong foundations

Match cause and effect

Build a project team

Choose the partners for the projects

Planning for project activites:

Identify target groups List the beneficiaries

Planning for Monitoring and evaluation

Analyze risks and contingencies

Plan the budget

Write your proposal!

Analyze literature, national reports, statistics and find a good supports to your idea. Even a look to previous funded projects in the specific programme may be helpful

The ideal project is one where the problem identified and the solutions proposed are a perfect match. The kinds of actions generally include research and data collection, networking and exchange of information and experience (sometimes called ‘capacity building’), targeted awareness-raising activities, support to victims and actions designed to prevent violence and protect those vulnerable to it. In describing the problem identified and what you propose to do to contribute to solving it, be sure to accurately describe the beneficiaries your project is designed to help

Think to your point of strength and to those of your possible partners. Look for somebody reputable and share the tasks!!!!

You might be an excellent coordinating body, good at motivating partners, keeping them active and in touch with each other, with skills in organizing meetings and drawing up and managing complex budgets; and/or someone else actually does the fieldwork. Ask yourself questions relating to access to the target groups and choose the partners who may help you in reaching the target groups.

Decide the 'geographical shape' of your project thinking on what you hope to achieve and on the nature of the issue you are dealing with. E.g.: your previous research should have shown you the range of countries in which your project is most likely to be valid because the conditions facing victims or vulnerable people are similar or, conversely, different enough to make comparison useful. Your initial ideas about the format the project will take will also indicate the range of skills and experience that you need to make the project work.

• Consider the appropriate methodologies to use depending on the nature of your project (for example, if it is a data collection project, will you do desk research, develop a questionnaire, organise focus group meetings?).

• Make a clear action plan, according to your objectives, target and outcomes and draw a schedule of each activity.

• Don’t underestimate the time it takes to add a European dimension to the project in particular, getting translations done, or maybe waiting for one slower partner to finish a piece of work before the whole team can move ahead.

What may go wrong? • Do an accurate risk analysis. For example, projects that intend to collect data from

victims, should take into account the fact that victims may not wish to provide the data required, and that this is their right.

• Other forms of risk include changes in the political or social climate affecting project activity.

• Yet another form of risk covers implementation of the project itself (i.e. a partner might decide not to continue and drop out before work is completed or that a key staff member in an organization changes jobs and is no longer available to the project).

• Establish as well a clear plan of monitoring activities (i.e. project meetings,

skype conferences, interim reports..)

• Don’t be too “long” It is not going to be an article. Quite likely, a bureaucrat will read it and he/she will want to have the feeling that the benefits of the project will be greater than the cost.

• Write clearly the statements of the problem, the methodology proposed for tackling it and the expected outcomes.

• The proposal should also give practical details of how the project will run. • The partners should be named and their roles clearly described. A workplan

(which might change as the project progresses, if that becomes necessary) that illustrates how the work will be allocated and that sets targets for project activity, should be included.

• Questions relating to ethical issues considered, risks potentially to be met and contingencies being put in place also are asked.

Write your proposal!

More rule of thumbs

• You need to involve partners fully • You must negotiate their participation, making it as active as

possible, including negotiating mechanisms for being in ready communication (ICTs will help a lot!)

• A change in partnership is a serious change to the project. Be prepared for managing conflict in the partnership: this is a strategic skill. Be aware of cultural differences, contexts and resources, and be flexible!

• You cannot just drop partners, because this is a failure of the whole project.

• So: invest your time in creating and maintaining good relationships with your partners. Also collateral activities to project meetings will help.

invest your time in creating and maintaining good relationships with

your partners.