LEARNING OUTCOMES

Consistently with the educational objectives of the degree course in which it is included, this course contributes to build the skills necessary to design and prepare adequate intervention projects in the field of environmental protection and human rights protection, promoting international cooperation.

Specifically, the first purpose of the course is to introduce both the main European direct and indirect funding programs and the essential aspects of European calls, such as objectives, actions and partnerships.

The course also aims to provide the basic notions for managing the contents and methods of submitting an application for a European project.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide technical-practical content skills aimed at generating the project idea, drafting an application and the first assessment of consistency with the call for projects. Attention will be paid to the following skills:

• project management for the structuring of activities, objectives and results expected from the project;
• basic accounting and finance, useful for setting up the budget, an integral part of the application form;
• management, communication and relationship management for the coordination of partnerships and for the management of relationships with stakeholders.

Due to its professionalizing nature and the constantly evolving European programmes sector, the course also promotes the development of some transversal skills:

• learning to learn, which involves the acquisition, elaboration and assimilation of new knowledge and skills as well as the search for and use of guidance opportunities: the European programmes are always changing. Learning to navigate in a dynamic environment is essential for the design of successful European projects. Starting from the knowledge acquired during course, it becomes easier to move in such a fluid field;
• project creation at a basic level, which implies the ability to develop  imagination and creativity, critical reflection, strategic thinking to identify the project idea linked to the solution of social and environmental problems with a European focus.

PREREQUISITES

Desire to get involved and, if possible, have a laptop.

Basic knowledge of one of the EU working languages: English, French, German.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures and exercitation will alternate constantly. The lectures will provide the necessary theoretical-technical tools; the exercitation, which can be carried out individually or in small groups (max 3 participants), is divided into different phases and will be aimed both at putting knowledge into practice and at finding and solving doubts and problems, so as to also constitute a moment of self-evaluation. The exercitation will start from the third week of the course and will take place over two lessons per week, alternating more independent work with feedback to the group, so to allow sharing of the progress of the work but also of the problems encountered. There will be four phases of the exercitation:

1. identification of social and environmental problems of the territory, but with a European focus;
2. identification of the project idea and of the European added value, which explains why the project, which EU and program objective(s) it intends to achieve, why one organization and not another can carry out this project, who and how the project is aimed at;
3. search for the European programme suitable for the project idea resulting from the previous points;
4. compilation of some parts of the application form:
   1. description of the project idea;
   2. elaboration of the work plan;
   3. structuring of activities (draft);
   4. preparation of the budget on the basis of the proposed activities.

The course will take place face-to-face. Attendance is recommended, especially for the exercitation, which can however also be carried out independently: in this case, the teacher is available via email/Team.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

• The European Union: fundamental principles and evolution (outlines).
• EU founding Programmes: ratio, elements and subdivision.
• European Structural Funds and directly managed programmes: main peculiarities.
• EU founding Programmes 2021-2027.
• Access to European Programmes: criteria and methods.
• The life cycle of the European project: the design phases from the identification to the development of the proposal.
• Elements of the application form: European added value, eligibility criteria, activities, outcomes, outputs, monitoring, quality, dissemination, etc.
• Realization of the budget project (oulines).

UN Sustainable Development Goal: Goal 4: quality education.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Slides and materials of the lectures will be available on Aulaweb.

For those wishing to deepen the theoretical aspects, the following volumes are suggested:

• Guida alla formulazione e gestione dei progetti europei: il modello eU-maps, a cura di Marco Amici e Federico Porcedda, Milano, FrancoAngeli, 2020 (disponibile anche in e-book);
• Luciano Monti, I fondi europei: Guida al Next GenerationEU e al QFP – Quadro finanziario pluriennale 2021-2027, Roma, Luiss University Press, 2021.