After having introduced the good reasons for doing networking in the field of EU projects, we’d like to get more into the specifics of a networking initiative which nowadays (especially between December and January of each year) is quite popular among EU project managers. We refer to the networking events for the submission of the project for the Erasmus + program deadline that falls usually around the end of March, every year.
In recent years these networking one-day gatherings have multiplied themselves, and now that the Covid era seems to allow mobility, many of these encounters take place “live”, i.e., on-site. If in the past these network meetings involved very few partners, now they have become big and extended.
How do these networking meetings work?
In general, one organisation shall take the lead. It is normally an organisation with a long-lasting experience in EU project design and management that, throughout the years, has created strong relationships with the companies that were partners of past proposals, with whom the working relationship has shown good collaboration, fruitfulness, and synergy.
The coordinating organisation creates the environment for a networking meeting and invites to the latter all relevant, transnational, partners. Possibly, and this is quite a desirable element, the network topic, along with the invited organisation shall focus on a common thematic area, possibly in line with the program where project proposals shall be submitted. In the case of the Erasmus + program, the thematic areas of the networks can be “social entrepreneurship”, “social impact”, “green economy”, “sustainability”, “inclusion”, digital innovation”, etc. all applied to different targets and to specific pioneering trends in education (this, as it applies to the Erasmus + program).
The purpose is to present project ideas that will be submitted on the foreseen deadline, to gather around the available concept notes of several strategic partners, and thus finalise the partnerships of each project. Every partner presenting an idea will make sure to draft the application form and take care of the submission. It is not said that whoever writes the project will also be the leading partner, but to some extent partners who carry an idea forward are also the ones who want to make sure it shall be properly delivered.
What happens during the network meetings?
Either online or on-site, the request to each participating entity is to prepare and present up to two concept notes which the companies aim at exploding, writing, and submitting in the upcoming deadlines. A template is shared before the meeting to have similar templates for the project presentations and allow synoptic visions of the different ideas.
In general, the templates include the following items:
- Program and subprogram of reference
- The provisional title of the idea
- Possible duration of the project
- Objectives, goals, and priorities addressed
- Needs addressed by the project
- Summary of the activities and the results to be achieved
- The number and typology of the partners searched for completing the consortium
At the time of the meeting, the structure of the event might provide the following steps:
- Introduction about the aim and the working frame of the network (thematic areas, functioning of the group of organisations)
- Presentation of each organisation attending the meeting
- Presentation of the concept notes
- Networking time to achieve an initial matching between ideas and potential participating organisations
The meeting however represents the initial phase of the networking for project submission since time is left for further exploration of the project ideas, negotiations, and verification of intentions on behalf of partners to join partnerships or invite partners, refinement of the project ideas according to the upcoming working meetings over the specific project. This usually happens for some weeks after the networking event and enough time before the submission of the proposal so to allow the design and drafting of the idea in the application form and the collection of administrative documents required.
Some functional rules
Being the gathering of several potential partners (in our experience these working groups can even reach up to 30 participating organisations) some gentlemen’s agreements need to be put in place in order to make the work smooth and fair enough for all. Here we have collected the ones we have experienced:
- Payment of a participation fee: the organising and management of the entire initiative might require the working effort of staff which needs to be covered by all who benefit from the networking meeting and the aftermath services (if any). Irrespective of the onsite or online participation the fee also functions as an element that defines belonging to a specific network, the commitment towards the activities of the group, and the boundaries between who is in and who is out.
- On-site or online participation? Given the purpose of the network meeting, it is useless to say that physical presence brings different results than just online, home, and participation. Some network coordinators make it mandatory to be personally present at the event (which will also imply further accommodation and travelling costs) because networking is not just “being part” but “participating”, doing encounters, discussing in couples, exchanging views in the discussion, making new acquaintances all of which would not be easily possible comfortably seated in front of a pc. Some network activities work exclusively online, some accept both ways.
- Mutuality of engagement: it can be guessed that also the matching activity for a project might follow some gentlemen’s agreements. On a very basic level if one entity joins the project of another it is expected that the latter joins a project of the former. As the Latins used to say: “do ut des”. However, such an approach might not be always practical or functional. Therefore, some networks consider the expected mutuality on a larger scale: I involve 10 partners in my projects, I expect my organisation to join 10 projects of entities of the network. And sometimes even this mathematical approach can not be followed 100% because complexity in these matters has the upper hand.
- Project drafting and partnership coordination do not have to be the same thing. It is conceivable that the organisation writing the project and leading the proposal, including the building of the consortium, is not going to be the project coordinator at due time. It will be the leader’s responsibility to find, among potential partners, the one who will take the role of coordinator when the project is approved.