European Community of Practice

In this newsletter we have interviews with Steering Group members from Poland and Northern Ireland to try and tease out their vision for the IMCoP, particularly in the context of their own Member State.

In this first interview Anna Zubka asks Piotr Stronkowski, the Deputy Director of the Department for ESF Management in the Ministry of Regional Development about the EQUAL and ESF network in Poland and the Polish perspective of belonging to IMCoP.

Anna (AZ) - Poland is a member of Innovation & Mainstreaming Community of Practice (CoP). This community is a forum which promotes methods, tools and approaches developed by EQUAL Community Initiative. The aim of this Community is to promote these methods, tools and approaches in all Member States. This community looks different in each country. I would like to know what your idea of the Polish network is, Piotr?

Piotr (PS) - We should certainly create a Polish discussion group within Innovation & Mainstreaming CoP and people representing different institutions involved in ESF implementation should join it. It’s the first such forum making it possible to exchange experiences and ideas.

AZ - What will be the aim of this forum?
PS - The aim, I think, is to create a space for discussion for national actors, as well as provide them with an opportunity to join a debate on the European level. It’s also important that it lets people get access to materials and expertise, or generally, the knowledge that was generated within EQUAL, and a chance to network and exchange information. The Polish discussion group should focus on supporting the management of innovation in Operational Programme Human Capital (OP HC). As it’s a new issue for many actors, we would like to provide them with a tool for learning, exchanging experiences, problem solving, etc.

AZ - Who should join this network in Poland?
PS - The network should be relatively open. Representatives of OP HC Intermediate Bodies will be the main users, but we would also like to invite members of the Monitoring Committee (in the future also members of regional Subcommittees) and the Working Group on Horizontal Issues created by the Monitoring Committee, experts and social partners, and of course, bodies involved in EQUAL such as: ministries, central offices, self-government institutions, EQUAL Monitoring Committee members and independent experts, NGOs and social partners. Such wide group of involved users should create a better opportunity for interesting and valuable discussion.

AZ - What should be the main topics of discussion now within this forum?
PS - At present, it’s probably guidelines for innovative projects. Solutions referring to innovative projects management such as selection of themes or subjects, national thematic networks, validation and mainstreaming process, coordination of activities – these are probably the topics for the near future.

AZ - I hope this initiative will be very interesting and attractive for potential Polish participants.
PS - I’m sure it will be.

For information about how to participate in the CoPIM Polish network, contact Anna Zubka at: azubka@copim.eudaimonia.pt

In this second interview Northern Ireland facilitator, Ronan Lawlor, interviews John Neill, Steering Group member who is the Head of the European Unit in the Department for Employment & Learning

Ronan (RL) - What are the aims of the CoP website and what is its purpose?
John (JN) - My view is that primarily the website is a communications tool with the purpose of providing information to interested parties on the activities and outcomes of the Innovation and Mainstreaming Community of Practice. However, it is more than that because it allows a two-way flow of information so that people not directly involved with the CoP can input their own ideas and comments. These are most welcome and invariably extremely important. The ability to receive as well as post information is a very important function of the website.

Another aim I believe is the website should itself be innovative in how it passes on information and stimulates input from others. We know websites are becoming more novel and there are so many relating to EQUAL Exchange Events, Policy Forums, Communities of Practices and other topics. So I think in time this website should be a bit different to encourage its use.

RL - Why should people join it?
JN - Well in common with all the Communities of Practice this one dealing with Innovation and Mainstreaming is potentially very useful to ESF Programme Managing Authorities, Implementing Bodies and Organisations with projects as a means of getting ideas on best practice and developing contacts with likeminded organisations. The interesting thing about the EU is that despite broadly similar aims across the Member States in terms of employment objectives, HR and skills development and education there are varying approaches to opimising all of these. However, there are common issues in different Member States and by joining this website those common issues can be identified. The transnationality element in EQUAL was excellent in identifying common interests and to my mind this CoP is an extension of one aspect of transnationality and should be a tool for the new ESF programmes.

RL - What should the main topics of discussion be?
JN - As this is the Innovation and Mainstreaming CoP that is the general heading for discussion. Innovative ways in delivering ESF in my view from application, through selection, to contracts, payments and evaluation of outcomes are all suitable issues to discuss. The actual innovative projects for example those creating employment or training are topics for discussion and dissemination by the website. Mainstreaming has slightly different definitions across the 27 Member States and the Steering Group thought long and hard about a generic mainstreaming definition for the CoP and it is on the website. Personally I think mainstreaming means whatever a particular Member State thinks it means and on that basis people can input on to the website. So for example mainstreaming can range from how to devise suitable methodologies within Member States to encourage organisations to apply for ESF funding to how successful projects should seek central government funding when the ESF funding ends.

I think it is best not to be too prescriptive and a wide ranging discussion should be encouraged. In fact good and bad ideas should be exchanged. It would be nice if Member States could provide information as well as on ideas that worked well on ideas that did not work. That way we could maybe prevent others from trying something innovative that is not workable.

RL - How will it benefit the members?
JN - As in all things it will benefit members in direct proportion to the effort they put into reading and contributing to the website. We talk a lot about sharing best practice and in many cases we go ahead and do our own thing any way!

In fact I think we have moved from saying "best" practice to "good" practice and that is important. I think on Innovation and Mainstreaming I would like to see people saying "here is an idea we tried to create employment for a particular group of people and this is what we found to work well or badly for us". Others can benefit from saying "yes that would suit us" or "no we will not try that". So it not so much best or good practice but an exchange of options some of which will suit us in Northern Ireland more than colleagues in Poland and vice versa. The main thing is to get the options onto the stage and let others decide what is good or bad for them.

So the key benefit to members is to be able to have a look at what colleagues across Europe are doing in relation to Innovatoion and Mainstreaming and of course to pass on to colleagues what they are doing themselves. From that we can all build on what we like elsewhere and hopefully in this way help us to achieve some of the objectives in our ESF programmes, in particular.

For information about how to participate in the CoPIM Northern Ireland network, contact Ronan at: rlawor@copim.eudaimonia.pt