tempus project representatives meeting brussels 26-27 november 2012 managing a tempus project:...
TRANSCRIPT
TEMPUS Project Representatives’ MeetingBrussels
26-27 November 2012
Managing a TEMPUS project: Grant-holding in Azerbaijan
Dr. Jala GaribovaAzerbaijan University of Languages
OUTLINE
Azerbaijan University of Languages in TEMPUS Managing RITSA:
o Team structuringo Management challenges and tipso Effective communicationo Planning and reportingo Effective performance
- financial management- document management- assessment, review and analysis
o Dissemination - visibility- resource building and knowledge transferring
Some challenges
Azerbaijan University of Languages
First time coordination
of a TEMPUS project in AzerbaijanEU grant: 1, 076, 258.43 Euros
Duration October 2010-October 2013
Curricular Reforms
________________________________________________
Project granted in 2010
RITSARITSA
5 AZ Universities
AZ Ministry of Education
4 EU Universities
Partner in 3 other TEMPUSprojects
coordinator
Project ObjectivesRITSA JP 511329
(Reforming Interpreting and Translation Studies in Azerbaijan)
Specific goal: Modernizing interpreting and translation (I&T)undergraduate and graduate study programs
by
building capacity and resources (teacher-trainings; development of teaching resources; restructuring curricula; establishing joint study programs);
establishing infrastructure for new study programs (language resource centres, conference interpreting centre)
disseminating good practice (conferences, online resources, student exchange, life-long education programs)
TEAM STRUCTURING• Teams should be established at the
beginning of the project• It is essential to have thematic teams
(academic, research etc.) and technical-administrative teams
• Description of the tasks should be provided from the start
• Representatives from all of the partner institutions are involved in each of the temes
• Some staff may be involved in more than one team
• Overall supervision is essential
Administrative teams
Academic teams
Steering group
Teams should be well informed of the project activities, schedule, budget, partner responsibilities etc.
Often teams are concentrated on limited tasks which brings to lack of links among tasks,
with partners’ mainstream activities, legislation etc.
RITSARITSA
Steering Group
INVOLVEMENT:
strategic planning and overall supervision strategic communication
financial management and budget planning self-audit and evaluation
designing dissemination activities student matters curriculum supervision, partner responsibilities communication with EU, communication with partners planning activities needs assessment communication with authorities
Academic Teams
Strategic and Academic
Coordination
Curriculum team 1(academic staff
involved in language curriculum
and resource development)
Curriculum team 2(academic staff
involved in t&i curriculum
and resource development)
QA team (involved in needs assessment,
surveys, self-assessment, program assessment,
accreditation
LLL team (involved in Developing LLL
curriculum in T&I and organizing LLL
courses)
Strategic Communication Team(Communicating with
authorities, strategic planning,
planning dissemination)
Technical (administrative) Teams
Coordinating overall
management and administrative
issues
Financial administration team
(payments, payment calculations,
communication with banks, budget prognosis, taxes)
General administration team (filing, support documents,Day-to-day communication,
logistics, reporting)
Technical team (IT support, visibility, Publication products,
Website design)
Effective Management Tips
Early planning Regular review of compliance with activities
schedule Effective and timely communication Using effective online tools Clear communication; honest feedback Building teams; training teams for concrete
tasks Effective team-work: delegation and equal
involvement; clear tasks; teams’ interaction Fostering bottom-up approach Regular financial review, review of budget
spending and budget forecasting Regular internal reporting Timely provision of supporting documents Involvement of authorities: planned work for
support and further sustainability Problem-solving approach
INTERACTION OF TEAMS
Better analyzed
goals
More sustainabl
e results
Attitude and responsibility fostered
Integration of tasks
Effective Communication for Smooth Management
Regular communication and feedback from internal actors
Sharing experience from coordinators in neighboring countries
NTO and EU contact pointUsing social networks for faster
communicationPosting events of online calendarCirculating mails
EasierFasterBroader
Effective Communication Tools
Online Calendar
Online Scheduling
Time-saving, easy,
reliable,effective
Participants can indicate
preferred dates and hours
Online tools are not magic;
certain cases requireface-to-face or
telephone contact
Timely Communication
• Timely communication with partners and Agency about possible changes in the schedule/venue of activities with the explanation of the reasons
• Timely communication with partners about concerns and problems
• Explaining to the team and involved partners their duties from the beginning
Planning Activities
• Getting needs assessment and expectations from all of the partners (AZ)
• Planning together (AZ and EU partners plan activities according to the concrete needs of each partner)
• Scheduling• Logistics planning• Financial planning (budget
tables compiled and sent to the partners before the activity)
What?Why?How?Who?When?Where?How much?What if……?
What?Why?How?Who?When?Where?How much?What if……?
Contingency
planning (reserve
staff, insured
costs, visa issues etc.)
Contingency
planning (reserve
staff, insured
costs, visa issues etc.)Plan for (possible)
recovery actions
Smooth Coordination
Before each coordination
meeting, a full description of the purpose, achieved
levels, and recommendations and expectations on the follow-up
steps is posted by coordinator. The
agenda is designed after relevant
feedback
Online posting
enables quicker
feedback and
effective interaction
Detailed Agenda
The deadlineIs establishedby coordinator
If a partner is
unable to perform
the delegated
task, the task
If re-delegated
and the budget
is re-allocated
after notifying
the Agency)
Planning to followproject timetable;the venue can be
agreed on, consideringrelevance to activity,
cost-efficiency,and involvement
of all partners
Reporting on an Activity• Reports obtained
from the partners involved in a concrete activity
• Reports shared and feedback obtained
• Evaluation made and positives and negatives discussed
• Relating to further steps
• Recommendations
Effective Performance: Team preparation
Initial trainings and exposure for the teams• General administrative and project-running matters • Eligible expenses• Tendering procedures• Support documents• Online communication tools• Surveys and questionnaires (QA and LLL)• Web design tips• Reviews and progress report• Employer feedback • Cross-cultural awareness________________________________________Trainings for the Language Resource Center employeesTraining students involved in conducting surveys
QA handbook, project management
manual, brief of statutory
tax norms have Been prepared
for the project teams
Effective Performance: Needs Assessment
Prior needs
assessment
(before activities)
(All parties; QA
centers, employers,
authorities,
businesses, parents
are actively
involved)
Needsassessment report linked to activities
Broad narrative description ofthe needs is
provided after survey,
online discussions,
And feedback
QA Center andstudent
representatives are involved
in surveys
Effective Performance: Review and Analysis
• Statistics• Analysis• Prognosis• Regular reviews and self-audits
(It is helpful to obtain statistics regularly on variouscategories (costs on each activity, costs on each institutionon each activity, involved staff in each activity, involvedinstitutions in activity, active/passive venues and utilizedresources. Helpful for smoother follow-up, better analysisand better prognosis for future activity and sustainability)
Regular self-assessment
is essential(every 6 months)
Financial Management
• Before each activity starts, the payment schedule according to the budget allocated to the relevant activity is made and sent to partners
• The sum/bank transfer is requested from the bank from the relevant account. The request is made on the basis of the document signed by Rector or coordinator.
• A bank statement on each operation is also requested after the operation is completed
Activity budget sample
The budget for each activity (or its segment) is designed and sent to all of the
partners beforehand. The yellow cells indicate estimated amounts, which are
adjusted later after the activity is over. Once the activity is performed and
payments are effected (and figures adjusted), the budget is sent to the
Financial Team for analysis, taxation and further prognosis.
In the process of implementation, it is possible to merge/otherwise alter activities (time, venue) for cost-efficiency as long as
the outcomes are not affected (with the approval of partners and Agency)
Managing travel payments (tips)
Timely obtaining of supporting documentsPayment in 2 installments (where possible):
paying a minor part of the sum after obtaining all necessary documents may be helpful
Insurance on air ticketsProject payment cards (sometimes bank
transfers for hotels etc. are required in some EU countries (establishing a special credit card for TEMPUS purposes may be helpful)
Managing staff cost payments (tips)
Obtaining invoices from the services providers with the indication of hours/days
Having the staff costs signed by the service provider on a timely manner
Deducting the necessary tax and social payments Transferring the relevant sum to the service provider and
obtaining bank statements for the transaction On a regular basis, transferring statutory payments to
the State budget (timely – to avoid sanctions)
Document management• Folders are prepared for each activity according to the work-plan• Preparing each individual staff/mobility convention with all
supporting documents • The supporting documents for staff costs also include bank
statement • The folder contains a list with the following information (this makes it
easy for further transfer of information to an online database, and cross-referencing):– Indicating the number of activity. (e.g.: Activity 3.4) – Indicating time, duration and venue. (e.g.: 6-12 December, Strasbourg)– Indicating purpose: Train-the-trainer (e.g.: language component)– Indicating the number of people involved. (e.g.:15 people involved)– Indicating EU/non-EU origin of participants (e.g.:12 EU, 3 non-EU)– Indicating the overall sum spent on this activity (e.g.:32,000 EUROS) - (For travel documents) Indicating possible lacking documents, which
will be obtained later from the individual (or in the case of loss of that document from a relevant agency (airlines etc.)
Files Online
The data on paper-based documents are further transferred into electronic files:
a) by activities undertaken
b) by partner institutions (on each
segment/work-package separately)This is helpful from the point of view of
cross-referencing, budget follow-up and prognosis and planning.
Sample Travel Costs Table by Partners
Costs for
each
partner is
calculated
upon the
completion
of a trip
Helps in budget
analysis and
timelyfollow-
up
Online File Management
Available for everyone, easy sharing,
less delays in document processing and delivery,
open access,time-saving
Dissemination groups (dissemination groups include LLL teammembers, academic staff members, IT/webmaster, media)Dissemination schedule (conferences, meetings with authorities andstakeholders, workshops with local partner representatives, roundtables for the Ministry, regular media publications)Dissemination systems (creating visibility, resource development andtransfer, capacity building via delegation of resource development andadministration, awareness raising with authorities, students,stakeholders, teaching staff, and higher administration, reachingvarious (disadvantaged etc.) communities outside the project)Optimizing dissemination tools
regular meetings with project partners in AZ to share good experience and analyze shortcomings
delegation by team-mixing (especially for activities where the coordinator’s involvement is heavier – teams of different partners exchange team members for certain tasks)
work with other departments at Universities (transfer of good experience) liaising with other international projects
Largerscope, better quality
Systemic approach,
easy follow-up
Better focus on
content
Sustainabilityvisibility should
not
overshadow
knowledge/skill
s transfer
visibility should
not
overshadow
knowledge/skill
s transfer
Interdepartmental/Inter-institutional transfer of good practice
Project management Skills(skills obtained are used for
implementing other international projects)
Scandinavian Studies
Study program
(reforms of this program
werepartially
based on experience
from the project)
Overall quality control Mechanism
(procedures elaborated within the project were used
for other programs and non-partner Universities)
Language Department
s(language teaching
methodology and
curriculum structuring are used for
other programs)
RITSAReforms at Translation
Departments
Visibility (Webpage)http://www.tempus.adu.edu.az
Visibility (Media)
Project
activities
and outcomes
are
regularly
elucidated
in University
newspapers
The project is also elucidated
in public newspapers in Azerbaijani,
Russian and English
Dissemination (Intra-communication tools)
Dissemination (Resources)
New Syllabi ONLINE
Dissemination in Publications
Guidelines for innovative
language teaching
Dissemination Sustainability
• A new Master degree (Delocalization of the Master degree from ITIRI)
• A double degree program with UE• Student exchange program with SCM• Research collaboration with SCM• Translation network with local partners• Language teachers’ association (local)• Collaboration with NTO on transfer of expertise to other
grant-holders in Azerbaijan• University-Employer collaboration (in needs assessment,
recruitment, professional teaching)• Involvement of students in surveys, needs assessment
and curriculum design
Dissemination to institution, other partners,
other structures, communities, authorities, students, stakeholders:
BROAD SCOPE
Document Sharing
Some Management Challenges
Source Problem Tips
Environment Conflict of laws and legislation (internal and with grant procedures)
Cross-cultural issues
Timely awareness and good knowledge of such conflict
Partners Commitment, time, motivation (partner coordinators busy in other duties)
Budget (some institutions may putpressure on their project representatives if the project does not yield expected funds for them)
The expectations should constantly be communicated to partners
Budget may be revised ifresponsibilities are re-delegated (with thenotification of EU andall of the partners)
Home Institution
Commitment, time, conflict with other duties, (especially if higher administration is involved) Awareness and knowledge of the entire project
Having specially formed teams and involving less busier staff
Ensuring good knowledge of the project
THANK YOU!