ACTION 3
Thematic networking, disseminating good practice and making an impact
on national policy
Networking, disseminating and
mainstreaming activities within Equal are a separate mandatory (compulsory)
action in Action 3. The managing authorities (see page 5) are responsible
for making sure this is organised so there is maximum input into the labour
market and employment policy and the social partners are
involved.
The GB Monitoring Committee has agreed a strategy for
mainstreaming at both the horizontal level (the level of organisations active in
the same or a similar field) and the vertical level (the level of regional and
national policy, including the National Action Plan (NAP) and the Structural
Funds). You can find this strategy on the GB Equal website: www.equal.ecotec.co.uk.
DPs acting either singly or in groups on the basis of their specific
expertise and proven experience and ability, will develop Mainstreaming
Partnership Agreements (MPA) within an overall framework. The Thematic
Networking Groups (see section 5) will work with DPs to develop a structure for
networking, disseminating and mainstreaming activities to be co-ordinated
through Action 3.
Although networking, disseminating and mainstreaming activities are all
different, they are part of a process. It is likely that Mainstreaming
Partnership Agreements will include elements of all these activities if they are
to result in successful mainstreaming. All activities can take place at
all levels - local, regional, national and transnational.
Your early Action 3 work may focus on awareness-raising, publicity,
networking, peer review activities and so on to generate interest in your
activities among other practitioners and policy makers at various levels.
Developing additional research and evaluation studies will also be an important
part of Action 3 activity, particularly where this is linked to the identified
needs of policy makers. You may organise conferences and exhibitions and
produce publications later in the programme, along with more in-depth work with
policy makers to make sure your mainstreaming activities are effective. The TNGs
will help to co-ordinate this work within and across themes to reduce the risk
of other DPs duplicating your activities and to make sure there is a strategic
approach to the main policy makers.
Individual activities funded under Action 3 are likely to
include:
- networking activities, formal and informal;
- awareness raising with potential mainstreaming audiences and match
funders;
- activities to share good practice;
- research studies;
- additional evaluation activities;
- publicity and marketing materials;
- websites;
- newsletters, publications and reports;
- meetings, events, workshops, seminars or conferences or contributing to
those held by others;
- study visits;
- capacity building; and
- producing and maintaining databases and other resources.
Action 3 will begin 1 July 2006 at the latest and can continue until 31
December 2007.
Soft outcomes
Traditionally monitoring of ESF programmes has focussed on quantitative
outcomes such as the numbers of beneficiaries getting jobs or qualifications.
While it is important that these quantitative outcomes are recognised, it is
also important to look at other ways of measuring the success achieved by DPs.
It is important to measure the progress many beneficiaries make which brings
them closer to the labour market, for example improvements in their
self-confidence or motivation. This is particularly relevant for the Equal
programme which is targeting some of the most disadvantaged groups in the labour
market.
Many projects funded under previous ESF programmes developed their own
systems for measuring these ‘soft’ outcomes. The learning outcomes from these
projects have been collected in the DWP publication ‘Measuring Soft Outcomes and
Distance Travelled: A Practical Guide and Existing Models’, available on the ESF
News website: www.esf.gov.uk/evaluation/documents.asp
Given the innovative nature of activities funded under Equal, we would
encourage you to continue to develop systems for measuring soft indicators which
could possibly be used by mainstream projects funded under Objective 3.
If you would like any more information about measuring soft indicators please
contact:
Yvonne Smith
DWP ESF Evaluation Team
Kings Court
80 Hanover Way
Sheffield S3 7UF
Tel: 0114 209 8111
E-mail: Yvonne.Smith3@dwp.gsi.gov.uk
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