European Community of Practice

The Czech MA adapted fully the Portuguese methodology of validation for validation of the Czech products and it did so with only one significant difference in relation to the validation as practiced in Portugal. This difference is linked to the compulsoriness of the process of validation.  Czech DPs are not obliged to validate their products if they want to implement their dissemination and mainstreaming activities in so called Action 3 of CIP EQUAL as their Portugal counterparts, which must successfully validate their products if they want to pass from Action 2 (development and testing of products) to Action 3 (dissemination and mainstreaming of products). The reason is the simple fact that in the Czech Republic Action 2 and Action 3 is running not subsequently (as in Portugal) but simultaneously at one and the same time. They are thus considered to be rather the two different aspects of the project development rather than (in time and content) separated phases of project implementation. Therefore Czech DPs do not validate their products in order to move from Action 2 to Action 3 as compared to the EQUAL projects in Portugal. But on the other hand, DPs, which want to gain the official support and assistance from the Czech MA for the vertical mainstreaming of their products, must have their products validated (or must prove their quality and added valued by other means). So, in regard to vertical mainstreaming with the aid of MA the validation in the Czech Republic is mandatory and not far from the original Portuguese model of validation.  There is also possibility for DPs, which successfully validated their products, to require the official certificate from MA. This will help DPs with the mainstreaming of their products as they can prove to the potential users or policy makers the quality of their products.