September 2015 ESN Network Committee Section Guide team PR team
index 1.1. Section Structure 1.2. Section office management 1.3. Section meetings 1.4. Administrative works and issues 1.5. Knowledge management 2.1. HR planning 2.2. Recruitment 2.3. Selection 2.4. Integration 2.5. Feedback Evaluation 2.6. Motivation/Compensation 2.7. Good and positive work environment 3.1. Project Management benefits 3.2. The role of a Project Manager 3.3. Project phases 3.4. Event Management 4.1. Section Communication 4.2. Network communication 4.3. External communication 5.1. Easy accounting and budget management 5.2. Sponsoring 5.3. Funding and grants
Organisational management is the basis of everything in your section. First you have to deal with it when you start up a new section and then you have to deal with it on an everyday basis. Even for experienced sections it is recommended to evaluate the current systems and procedures every once in a while and determine the fields where improvements are needed. However, the management of a section is not only about small organisational issues, but also other fields like human resources, financial management, communication and more, which are all covered in this guidebook. In this chapter we will focus on general organisational management issues like section structure, office management, meetings and other administrative issues.
Organisational Management
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1.1. Section Structure The structure of your section is very important. If you manage to establish a functional structure you will be able to manage your sections and the work of its members in a much more efficient way! Let’s take into consideration a typical structure of an ESN section.
1.1.1. Section members
- International students are the foreign students who study in your university following a degree course or an exchange programme. In some countries they have to be considered by law as section members in order to participate actively in the events organised by the section. They become members once they buy an ESNcard but each section, can in their statutes, restrict their rights.
Many sections are composed of their board (Local Board – LB), their section members and their international students. Before focusing on each part of the section, we will give you some useful definitions. - Local Board members are active ESN members who are in charge of running the section for a certain period. They are usually elected from the general assembly of your section and have the power to take decisions, but have also many responsibilities. - Section members are defined as members who organise some activities and take part in the meetings of your section or a regular basis. Some of them can be really active, participate in all the meetings, take a lot of responsibilities and one day they might become board members. You can count honorary members and alumni as section members as well. Even though they are not actively involved in the section, they can still be very helpful and valuable. - Buddies/mentors are assigned as contact people to one or a small number of international students to help them integrate in the new society and learn about the study system and city (so-called buddy or mentor programme). In some sections they are considered as the external part of the section since they do not help the section with any other work and therefore do not have the same rights as active section members.
So... Section is: Local board + Section members + Buddies/mentors
Section members are: Active members + Honorary members/ alumni + International students
1.1.2. Local board After understanding the structure of your local section, let’s go deeper into the structure of your local board. Usually when a new section wants to join the Network, they need to complete an application form stating the structure of their local board. The recommended structure of the board consists of five crucial positions: the president, the vice-president, the Local Representative (LR), the secretary (or treasurer), and the PR (Public Relations). Later you may add the IT (Information Technology) responsible if needed. Here you can see what the main responsibilities of these board members are: - President: head of the section and of the board; representation of the section to stakeholders and local authorities; communication with the university; strategic planning and task coordination. - Vice-president: support to the president; coordinator of human resources and/or event management. - Local Representative (LR) is the link between the section and the National/International level of ESN AISBL (other sections, the NR or the NB of the country where the section is active). In some sections, the LR is not a separate position and simply an additional title, e.g. president, is taking care of LR’s tasks. - Secretary (treasurer): finances, paperwork, sponsoring and fundraising - PR: public relations and communication management. This could mean: creation of PR material, taking care of website content, Facebook page, and management of the information flow within the section - IT responsible: website maintenance and management of event registration systems. The structure described above is rather indicative. Some sections have divided the positions and assigned a responsible person for HR or a pro-
gramme manager for events. This means that the structure of your board is your choice and should be the one that serves the needs of your section best.
1.1.3. Coordination of the section – coordinators, working groups, committees Time runs very fast and your section grow as well. At first you understand that there are many wonderful projects in ESN and you want to join them all. In this case you need a have coordinators who are willing to take responsibilities to develop projects in the section. A coordinator is a person who takes responsibility for the development of the project or area in the section. This person is usually a part of the local board or they are a board supporter (a person, who has responsibilities, supports the board, but does not make decisions in the board). Moreover, it is not enough to have only coordinators. If you have any specific work that needs to be completed in a short deadline (e.g. writing statutes of local section) or requires very specific knowledge that not every volunteer can have, you need to form a working group. - Working group usually works to create and write the standards. Working Groups are open to everyone to participate, especially if you have specific knowledge (e.g. European Law, Human resources, etc.). Often working groups consists of 3-7 people because it is the best number of people to work with. - Committee is an internal working organ composed by a group of people in charge of a field inside the section (communication, human resources, legal, accounting…). The Committee is coordinated by a Head or directly the Local Board.
1.2. Section office management Your ESN office is, or will probably become, your second home! But why is it important to have an office for your section? Your office serves as a meeting point and as place where your international students can get their ESNcard or register for an event. It is a point of reference. Moreover, you also need a postal address. Therefore it is advisable to find a central and easily accessible location for your office. If you still don’t have an office, ask for some help from your university. They will help you to find a solution and maybe it can be even located on the university premises, which is easily accessible for the international students.
Once you get an office you must be able to manage it properly. Maybe it’s a good idea to designate a member as office manager. The office manager should be responsible for keeping the office in a decent situation and for making sure the office related activities (e.g. office hours, managing ESNcard stocks) are carried out in the right way.
A disorderly office or an office closed during office hours can have a negative impact on your section.
1.3. Section meetings Regular section meetings are the meetings you hold in order to manage the current affairs of your section better. Many sections hold this meeting once a week, but the frequency of such meetings depend on the needs of your section and the availability of your section members. During the section meetings, important activities can be coordinated. This means that during your regular meeting you can distribute tasks, discuss and plan the future activities of your section, evaluate the outcome of past events, have general discussions, different teambuilding activities or some fun.
Section meetings are important because they improve the binding and the communication between the section members (incl. local board members) as well as to help the integration and the training of your new members.
1.4. Administrative works and issues Everybody tries to avoid or reduce bureaucracy. However if you organise a functional form of bureaucracy, this will definitely have a positive impact on the procedures and activities of your section. It is advisable to create statutes and register with the local authorities as a non-profit organisation or NGO. The creation of statutes can be time consuming, but it is crucial for the sustainability of your section since you would have defined goals, voting procedures, the board structure and other issues. As said above, the creation of statutes can be a long lasting procedure. So if you want to save some time, ask other sections for their statutes and adjust them according to your particular conditions or form a working group inside your section.
When you manage to establish a legal entity for your section you will be able open a bank account and manage your finances better. Your partners will take you more seriously. You will also have higher chances to apply for grants since legally registered organisations can only usually receive funding.
1.5. Knowledge management The last but very important thing sections usually miss is knowledge management. After the elections of new local board it is urgent to share the knowledge of previous board. Only then can the new board work fluently and continue the job done before.
There are many strategies on how to keep and share knowledge. Here are some of them:
Knowledge management is the process of capturing, developing, sharing, and effectively using organisational knowledge. It refers to a multi-disciplined approach to achieving organisational objectives by making the best use of knowledge.
- Insight weekend: organise a meeting for everybody who is interested on what it is like to be in the Board. You can have few different places for different board positions or to have a general discussion about the duties of the Board. It is rec-
- Storytelling: invite a previous board member for a cup of tea and ask them to tell you everything you need to know;
ommended to have such a meeting a few weeks before the elections of local board. - Guidelines: ask the previous board to prepare guidelines for the new board. It should include everything they should now know – best practises, “know-how” practises, what not to do and so on. These guidelines can be transferred from generation to generation and every generation can add something new to the guideline. - Social software(wikis, databases, Dropbox, Google docs, etc.): you can put all the important documents (such as patterns of documents, gratitude, certificates, cover of events, etc.) in one place where all board members can find them. - Alumni contacts: one of the most important strategies is the connection between your members. If you don’t know something, you can always ask your section’s alumni members. We recommend you create a Facebook group for your former Local Board members who still want to keep contact with the section news. It is a perfect chance for them to share the knowledge with the working local board and still try to help the section as much as possible. The way you transfer your knowledge is not that relevant. The most essential thing is sharing the knowledge.
Best practice example: Organisational management tips In order to avoid double work we are trying to keep the knowledge management of the previous years’ active. We have a database with tips, emails and useful material from the events we ran during the previous years and we use it to make our life easier and to get the same event one step further! For example, we have held the City Race of Athens for the past 3 years. We always look at the previous year’s questionnaire and we see which questions we can change to make it more interesting. On our weekly meetings we also have a feedback round from the events that we already had
People are the most important resource of ESN, especially because our work is based in the knowledge transference process. ESN sections have to manage not only activities but also people and knowledge in order to be more successful. It is important to understand that they face two challenges: create stimulating and creative work environments and control/neutralise undesirable behaviours. Thus, we can say that Human Resources management refers to the definition of the organisational strategy (policies, practices and systems involving all its members) in order to influence the behaviour, attitudes and performance of volunteers so they can increase competitiveness and the organisation’s learning capacity. The Human Resources cycle or processes include: -Determination of HR needs (HR planning) -Attraction of potential new members (Recruitment) -Their selection (Selection) -Their integration (Integration) -Training regarding the procedures and development of future skills (Training and development) -Evaluation of their work (Performance evaluation/Feedback) -Benefits and motivation (Compensation) -Positive organisational climates, constructive work relations, organisational and personal problems (Creation of a good and positive work environment)
Human Resources
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2.1. HR planning The backbone of all the Human Resources Management is the Function Analysis. Even though this step is considered by many people as boring, its importance is related to the analysis and optimisation of workflows, the teamwork structure and the support to achieve the objectives defined under the mission and vision of ESN. The Function Analysis is as simple as a study of the ESN roles, which means collect information about the work, responsibilities and tasks about all the ESN positions (ex. President, Team Coordinator, etc.). This information will be extremely helpful in the next HR steps:
- Recruitment and Selection: to understand the skills and profiles sought after for the new members; - Performance Evaluation: to identify the duties and responsibilities that each ESNer has and accomplished or not; - Training and Development: with the function analysis it is possible to understand the training needs of each ESNer; - Compensation: the differences between each role will be much more easily discovered, facilitating the performance evaluation and definition of benefits to each ESNer.
2.2. Recruitment Recruitment is a fundamental aspect of the HR cycle. It refers to the overall process of attracting suitable new members or a specific person for a specific role within the section. It is very important to have a structure: recruiting can’t be done without a plan. They are different approaches that can be useful, from doing an interview to having a selected event where candidates can have the chance to show their skills. It is very important to spread the news about the recruitment event or interviews on every social media and media platform. Here are the three essential phases for recruitment that you can find in the Human Resources Game - Level 1. - Job Analysis: as previously said, the first thing to do is a function analysis - document the knowledge, skill, ability, and other personal characteristics required for the role
- Sourcing: advertising and finding a way to spread news on every media outlet you can reach (university website, ESN section Facebook, twitter, Instagram and website). You can give flyers out at the university or during student organisations trades (if your university organises such an event). If you want your team to be refreshed - search for new people in student newbies camps. If you ask for “experienced” students - write a letter for people who just came back after their Erasmus studies or internship. This step must be done really well, because you can only select people when you have enough choices. - Prepare for Selection: it is important to prepare for the next phase of the HR cycle. Recruitment without a goal is useless. Think about people you need to have in your team and about questions you would like to ask. It would be helpful for you if you asked candidates to send you their CV or motivational letter.
2.3. Selection Selection is the part of HR management where you finally have the opportunity to meet the candidates and to choose the perfect applicant(s) for the vacant position(s). However, before reaching the hiring moment you have to prepare and go through different steps: - define people who will be responsible for the selection - it can be just one person but it is recommended to have a team of three people - define your job-related rating criteria, which will facilitate the process of assessing and selecting candidates to be interviewed. They can be: education; relevant or equivalent work experience; ESN knowledge; technical/financial/IT/event/PR skills and abilities; problem-solving abilities; communication skills; supervision and delegation experience, management skills, etc. When you have defined the job-related criteria, be sure that the behaviour of the candidate will follow the ESN values.
- do the pre-selection right after the deadline for receiving all the applications, based on the pre-determined criteria. Immediately after that, inform all the candidates about your decisions and the follow-up. - schedule an interview day or a selected day and promote it as much as possible through all social media and university channels. Choose an interview location, which is accessible to everyone, including people who have physical disabilities. Tips on “How to approach institutions” can be found here - conduct the interviews. It is recommended to prepare a list of questions in advance to ask /have a look at Interview guidelines/ - Do the final evaluation based on your previous selection rating criteria - inform everybody individually (by sending an e-mail for example) about your (positive/negative) decision /have a look at “Acceptance/Rejection/Confirmation Emails” .
2.4. Integration Integration is one of the most important components in teamwork. Why? Because it creates a team! It brings people together to one place in mind, it gives one point of view, and it makes the group of people become a unity! Integration means collaboration among team members, acceptance of single thought in group’s mind, acquisition of common values and priorities. To obtain significant results in teamwork, it is essential to be integrated, to understand others, to know their strengths and to trust them because each individual creates an entirety. As ESNers we understand what this means. Right now we have to transfer this knowledge for new generation, new members, new teams.
How do you integrate people? How do you help them be part of the team? Use imagination, create problems to solve, let them work together to achieve common goals! Let them find their way of thinking, weirdness, creativity and collaboration. Let them be a team. Here you have some ideas: -Organise Team Building Days with the old members and new members -Implement Buddy system between old members and new members that follow the initial work -Assign tasks to group of people, not only one person -Organise integration trips connected with trainings
2.5. Feedback Evaluation Feedback is another aspect of the HR cycle that cannot be ignored and is as important as the other parts, such as selection or integration. Feedback is a method of sharing information and perspectives about the performance of the members of a section. Giving feedback is a great opportunity to discuss with the members their overall performance. Feedback should be on going and given to all the members on a regular basis. Also, it should be focused on facts and actions and not on attitudes. It aims to identify where a performance is effective and where a performance needs improvement. It should be applied as a method to help members identify their needs and motivate them to become better, not as a punishment.
Evaluating and giving feedback about the performance is a difficult task that’s why the purpose and the importance of the feedback should be clear to the members of the section. A point that should not be missed is that feedback is a twoway street, where giving and receiving feedback takes place for both sides. The person responsible for the evaluation should avoid being prejudiced. The ability to give constructive feedback is an important communication skill, which can be developed through practice. The more is it practiced, the greater the result.
2.6. Motivation/Compensation As we’ve already said, people are the most precious resource of ESN. Thanks to our work, our passion and our commitment, we are able to achieve great things and great results. We are all volunteers and each of us have different reasons to work. It is extremely important to understand the role of motivation and a need to build motivational system in our sections. Motivation is an internal mechanism which actives and leads our behaviours until we achieve our goals. Motivation is a state - not the specific feature of a person! It changes and it’s essential to keep it up! Demotivated ESNers start to take up responsibilities unwillingly, they do not take part in events, they do not care about social bounds and ESN, for them, seems be a horrible duty. It’s easier to keep the level of motivation high than it is to motivate an unwilling person. The Human Resources Manager has to pay attention to the motivation of individual ESNer. You have to follow very simple steps to make your motivational strategies work for every ESNer. First of all, do not hesitate to ask each person what they want out of work - it can be difficult to get an accurate answer to this question but let the ESNer consider this and let them change their opinion. We are not a company, we are student organisation, we are the team, we are the unity money cannot be used as a motivational factor! According to the researchers, most of the volunteers want to be praised for their achievements, want to hear ‘thank you’ publicly, want to know they work and effort is needed and appreciated. Rewards like diplomas, gadgets, tickets or sweets can be included but try not to exaggerate in this direction. Remember to keep the balance! Always
give a feedback during and after each activity people need to have clear information about their work and improvement. Take care of knowledge management in the section - organise workshops and invite trainers to develop your section member’s skills. Always give a dose of freedom to your section members when they work on something. There are three intangible motivators you can follow to empower your team: - Interesting work. People will find their job more interesting if they have more responsibility for their own work. - Appreciation. Empowerment proves to a person that you appreciate them because you are placing trust in them and showing them that you think they are competent and capable. - Engagement. Empowerment enables a person to be engaged with their work, the other ESN members and you work better with initiative rather then when they are simply told what to do. Motivation not only comes from nice words of acknowledgement, but also from actions or tangible things. - How fair would it be to ask a volunteer to pay for the work that they are doing? Maybe your section is rich enough and could pay for travel or accommodation expenses when your section delegate is representing your section. This can be really useful for both of sides - a section and a person. - Do you have a great opportunity from a third party? A travel opportunity, an ESN event spot, or other things? Consider rewarding the best volunteers of your sections with these possibilities. They will thank you; they will be happy; they will be motivated. Keep doing this :)
- Little presents or souvenirs from national and international events can also be a perfect motivator - a box of candies from a country you’ve never been, a pin from another section, a magnet from a city you’re falling in love with. Maybe one of your section members collects stickers. These opportunities allow you to get to know your members better. The art of motivation sometimes is difficult to lead.
2.7. Good and positive work environment A happy ESNer will be more efficient and productive; there is no doubt about this. All you need is to build and keep trust in your team. Try to get friends in ESN; this is one of the possibilities ESN gives us! The following examples can help you a lot: - Get to know your team members. Arranging occasional video conference calls is essential. One of the best team building games “Speed friending” can help you in many various situations. Here are rules of this game: Ask people to get up, pair up, and chat for 2 minutes with each other about whatever interests them. You’ll be the timer. When the 2 minutes are up, you’ll blow your whistle or make some other sound loud enough for everyone to hear. When they hear your signal, everyone is to find a new partner and chat for the next 2 minutes. If you have flexibility, allow enough time for everyone to have 2 minutes with every other person. If you are using this at the beginning of a course or meeting, combine it with introductions. After the mixer, ask each person to give his or her name, and share something interesting that they have learned from someone else during the mixer.
- High information level. Share knowledge openly and freely. Do this verbally and in person rather than sending emails and proving documents. Share your opinions and humanity (if your team does not know anything about your personal life, be open-minded as you can). Keep these people informed about what is going on elsewhere in the team. - Stay in touch. The contact people shouldn’t just say hi and how’s it going?. Ask what support people want. This means you need to be accessible: give people your mobile phone number, your e-mail address, eat with them, have coffee with them. Make it clear that any means of communication is acceptable. - Maximise meetings. When you hold a meeting make it as valuable as you can. Set an agenda and stick to it, but socialise as well. - Use all technology available to you. Shaking someone’s hand is better than seeing their face. Seeing someone’s face is better than hearing a voice. Hearing a voice is better than just reading words. Reading words is better than just knowing that a team member or leader exists.
Best practices: How do you accompany your section members throughout the year(s) in order to keep them motivated? -Apart from the weekly meetings we organise one bonding trip, lasting 2-3 days, once a year only for ESN members of our section with low participation fee in order to get a stronger connection within the team. -We have casual meetings every week and we keep constant communication with them... giving reports of what happened but also waiting for feedback and report of what has been done. By having close contact all the time and by giving them the chance to join conferences and seminars, they get more and more motivated.
Which self-development opportunities do you offer your section members? The best self-development opportunity is to give them a chance to prove themselves. Creating some workshops like project management or something similar. If you need, force them to join these things and try to teach them the knowledge you possess with the proven incidents. Give them the chance to attend National Platforms or send them to trainings so that they may transfer these experiences from one to another.
Project management has become the cornerstone of ESN section development. It is one of the tools for organising tasks and pursuing concrete objectives. A project is a temporary process, which has a clear and well defined: -Time frame: the project has a specific start date and end date (and sometimes even a clock time for the start and the end). -Aims/Targets: provide answers to the questions, allows the design/development of products/services, improves the experience of a specific target group etc. -Budget: limits all resources other than time, and, when well planned, considers and balances the rest of the project resources.
Project & Event Management
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3.1. Project Management benefits Project Management ensures that the available resources are used in the most effective and efficient way to reach the set goals. Even when the outcome of a project is not the expected, it provides valuable information for development and growth.
3.2. The role of a Project Manager The project manager is also referred to as the leader because his main role is leadership. The role of the project manager is to: - provide direction to the project team; - lead the project team through the project management process (creating and executing the project plan); - issue status reports on the progress of the project versus the plan; - facilitate the team process which is the interpersonal process by which team members become a team; - assist the team members to solve possible problems the team may encounter; - act as the key interface with the project stakeholders and partners; - call and run team meetings. A successful project manager has at least the following skills: - Leadership: inspires the rest of the team to create a vision and strive to achieve the common goal. - Good communication: has the ability to provide valuable information related to the project status in a timely and effective manner.
- Conflict resolution skills: assists in the resolution of any project conflicts so that all the project team members feel part of the process and want to remain involved in the project. - Negotiation skills: maintains a good work relationships with people who are involved in the project. - Team building: assists the team members in understanding their roles and responsibilities for the project and work together. - Listening skills: has good listening skills to truly hear and try to understand what others are trying to say. - Relationship management: is capable of working with anyone by building relationships with people.
3.3. Project phases A project is basically composed of three parts: - Definition - Implementation - Finalisation Each phase builds on the phases that preceded it. Each phase ends with an approval process that must be completed before moving on to the next phase. This keeps you from skipping ahead to the next phase prematurely. By making sure you have covered all the bases before you move to the next phase, you do not only minimise costs, but avoid wasting time as well. Whenever you are spending significant resources, be that in actual money or in the form of people’s time, it is helpful to have go/no-go decision gates. It is a decision based on the quality of previous work saying that you are allowed/not-allowed to proceed with the project. If you have a medium or a long-term project (over six months in duration) you will also want to include some go/no-go decision gates throughout the execution phase.
3.3.1. Definition The definition contains all the early planning and preparatory work – from the needs analysis, to the definition of objectives and the identification of activities and necessary resources. It is all the “invisible” work that is carried out even before the project preparation starts. This is where the project takes shape and where its fate is decided. The work in this phase should include: - the needs analysis of the social reality; - the analysis of the organisation’s or promoters’ capacities and interests; - the pre-definition of aims and concrete objectives;
- the identification of possible/probable activities; - the calendar of the project; - the potential resources; - the people in charge of the project; - the partners; - the outline of the project; - the possibility to apply for funds. A clear and accurate project definition is one of the most important actions you can take to ensure the project’s success. The clearer the target, the more likely you are to hit it. Defining a project contains two parts: the goal definition and the evaluation of risks as well as a process of selection and reduction of the ideas and perspectives of those involved into a set of clearly defined objectives. The purpose of this step is to define your goal and it has to contain the solution of the problem without getting into details. It has to be a realistic vision of what the project is going to change. It is usually a rather short sentence, which states the purpose of the project. Why do we have to define the goal of the project? - Everyone who is involved needs to know why and for what purpose they do it. - A clearly defined goal helps creating the list of exact objectives that have to be done and, thus, it helps defining the scope. - With clarity, at the end, we will be able to evaluate it with accuracy.
3.3.1.1. Establishing the concept Usually, there are several objectives depending on the size of the project. There are five important questions you should ask yourselves before setting the objectives: - Why are we doing this project? The answer will give meaning to the project and this helps motivate people to work on it. - What exactly are we going to do? This will help you understand what skills and materials you need to get the job done. - When is it going to happen? If you set a schedule, you are more likely to follow it than if you do not have one. Additionally, people need to know it in order to plan their involvement in the project. - Who works on the project? It is important to know who you can count on so as to estimate the amount of work and the time it will take. - Where will the work take place? This will help to give an answer to questions like “Do we need extra facilities? Do we have to think about transporting people?� In the project definition stage, you should also conduct the detailed planning and put together a time plan.
3.3.1.2. Time management The most important and delicate issue in the planning of the activities is time. Of course, financial, material and human resources are equally determining. However, the most common problem of the project planner and manager is time. Because the activities are usually connected, a delay in one may cause delays in all of them or may hinder the synergies between them. When drawing up your plan of activities, consider: - A starting and a closing date for the project (a project has a beginning and an end).
- Those preparatory activities are also part of the project and should, therefore, appear in the calendar of activities. You should, at least, put them into your schedule. - Checking that each of the defined objectives is clearly defined and can be effectively pursued in some activity. Check also if each activity corresponds to an objective. - Interaction between activities. How are the results of one activity going to be used in the future? Which activities depend on others? - What does each activity need as preparation? It is possible that the preparation part itself constitutes an additional activity. - Do the plan and calendar correspond to the reality? Do they take institutional schedules (e.g. school holidays) into account? Do they fit with imposed deadlines (for applying, for finishing reports...)? - Is the whole project feasible as it is planned? - Are you taking previous evaluations of similar projects or activities into account to know what may work better? - What is the margin left for contingencies? Which alternatives have you considered? What happens if an activity is cancelled?
3.3.2. Implementation The implementation phase often overlaps with the definition because many tasks that are already part of the project take place while some definition work is still going on. The implementation phase should include: - the actual activities and how they interconnect; - the management of the resources: human, financial and technical; - the communication and public relations strategy; - the process for evaluation, feedback and regulation; - accounting and record keeping.
We will elaborate on three aspects of the implementation because they seem to be the most pertinent and relevant ones in general (of course, each project has specific aspects and needs regarding its implementation): - the management of the resources involved in the project - the PDCA cycle of project management - the monitoring of the project implementation
3.3.2.1. Managing resources Knowing what we intend to do as well as when and where we plan to do it, will help us determine what we need (and check what we have) in order to start preparing and putting the programme into practice. The resources can be financial, material or technical, human or time-based. In reality, the resources are already considered during the first planning stages. Time is a key resource – and the best way to get the most out of your time is to manage it! In order to manage your time and your section more effectively, you should act rather than react! Try to make better use of your available time. Everyone could do this for himself or herself on a regular basis with planning activities on an agenda. To make the best use of available time is a challenge for everyone and one of the few ways of improving efficiency.
is to manage the team in charge of the project. In addition, managing people is very much being able to get the best out of people for the benefit of others (and themselves, of course). Working together with different people, with different ideas and personalities, different backgrounds and cultures, different skills, sometimes even different languages sounds challenging. Therefore, teamwork is important for the development of a project. The team at the centre of the project needs to be able to juggle many different activities. It must be capable of making decisions on organisational and financial issues and, at the same time, creating a feeling of energy and excitement around the project. In other words, teams have to work effectively. For a team to be successful and efficient, the four poles shown in table 6 have to be in balance. That is not easy in a team with different people with different needs, expectations, capacities, social skills and, sometimes, with a different background and culture. It takes time but, in the long term, it will help the team move forward.
Every project must have a budget. A budget is a calculated estimation of the value or price of the project and it is always composed of the expenses – the costs of the project – and the income – the resources brought into the project to cover the expenses. We will focus a little more on how to compose the project budget in the last part of this chapter.
Here you can find some suggestions on how to manage multicultural teams: Take time to get to know each other. Especially in multicultural teams it is essential to take time to get to know each other better before jumping into the task. Accept differences. Working effectively in a team does not mean that we always have to agree. Meaningful participation. It does not mean that everyone has to speak the same amount. A person may speak occasionally and yet regularly come up with a crucial input. Meaningful participation means that everyone has helped to move the team forward in their own way.
Success raises admiration. Success also stirs jealousy. Managing people in project management
For further tips on team management visit the chapter on human resources in this guidebook.
TABLE 6. Problems of co-operation
Together problems
Task problems
Problems at individual level
Objectives
These problems have to do with the three basic social needs: - involvement in the team - influence on the teamwork - affection. Their importance for individuals depends on the time the team has to co-operate and how profound the co-operation is. If the teamwork is very important for the team members, they will try to fulfil more of these basic needs. Being aware of these needs and having the openness to discuss these topics can reduce the tension between individuals and the team.
Problems or conflicts appear when the objectives of the team are not well defined. Clear objectives make it possible to measure and evaluate the progress of the teamwork. If the objectives are too vague or not clear anymore, stop the work and re-discuss the objectives. Co-operation gets stronger if team members have to work together to reach the objective
Problems at team level
Structure
The fact that a team is not able to create certain team cohesion can be the result of too great a heterogeneity, a lack of contact between team members, opposite ideas on objectives, a too task-oriented leadership etc. An open and honest discussion can help to resolve these problems on team level.
To reach the objectives, a team needs a certain task structure. This is about the rules, methods, strategies, division of tasks and power and so on. For a team to work effectively, this structure has to be accepted by all team members. Again this needs discussion and open communication.
3.3.2.2. Monitoring To monitor means to check, record, track or control something on a regular basis. Applied to project management, monitoring means to keep track of the progress of the project, of the implementation of the plan, of the management of the resources, of checking whether what is being done is within the framework of the aims and objectives. Monitoring is done throughout the project, when it is still possible to introduce changes and adapt better to reality. It is a routine process, which starts when the planning phase of the project has ended and ends after the project has ended. It actually keeps track of project problems in order to: - anticipate problems - detect current problems - correct problems and/or redesign certain activities - get feedback - encourage progress - provide motivation The specific items to monitor will vary among projects but they usually include a range of performance, technical and cost factors. Some types of information, which are part of a good monitoring plan, are: - Project activities and progress toward objectives: each activity and task must be monitored in order to be aware of the project progress status. - Project “delivery�: if the project has more stages with interaction between your team and other external entities, check if these communication tasks are done and check the opinion of the other parties involved. - Resource availability and utilisation:check the planned resources and reassign them, if possible, in order to make savings. - Realistic schedule and changes: it is usually done for projects, which involve changes in the
schedule before the project takes place (e.g. job fairs – monitoring of rooms available for company presentations). This is done to avoid overlapping of activities during the event itself. - Administrative issues: any organisation has to exist in a legal frame in order to avoid possible problems because of government checks (financial area especially). Usually, there are financial reports, which are asked and must be given to the state. - Team process: from time to time sit together with your team and look at the way you are working together, the way you take decisions and other team process aspects. Do not forget to spend some time on team-building activities and check afterwards if they are welcomed, if they have to be changed or if your team needs more or less activities of this kind.
3.3.3. Finalisation Finalisation is part of the project plan and comes mostly at the end of the project. However, we also consider the need for intermediate evaluations. In fact, the project is not finished with the end of the activities. The final part of the project is divided into three main areas: - Project documentation and evaluation: it is very important to write down a report at the end and evaluate the entire process. - Project calculation: includes the comparison between the planned budget and the real balance of costs and incomes. It is useful to have a look forward and provide prospective teams with information. - Party: Do not forget to thank the team and to party all night long!
Evaluation Evaluation is a powerful tool for planning and, especially, for improving your abilities, your projects
and your activities. It should also be understood as a fundamental tool in project management because it helps us make things better than we have previously done them. Generally, you should conduct evaluations because you want to see how effective your section was and where you can improve. Planning an evaluation can be done the same way as planning a project: determining the objectives, the working methods, the action plan and so on. It is very important that the evaluation meetings are very well prepared, as there is no point in doing it if you are not doing it right. In the evaluation process you can choose between an evaluation meeting, feedback forms or running through the whole project (or all of them). In the evaluation process, both the project team and your section members should be involved, both the target group and the supporters. You can have a survey questionnaire among your target group so that you can see their opinion on the project. This can be online or on paper, as well as during the event or afterwards (but not too late). Moreover, ask your partners and collaborators about their opinion on the success of the project. After you acquire all the information through the evaluation process it is important to do the assessment and to draw all the relevant conclusions. This means looking for the reasons for what happened, highlighting the results and putting them into perspective with the original aims and objectives of the project. All the information and the conclusions drawn are, in a way, meaningless if nothing is done with them. Even if you are just doing a small local project and do not expect too many outcomes for the society, the evaluation and follow-up should also help to improve your own organisational process or to strengthen the relations with your partners.
Work breakdown structure For planning the more concrete activities, you can also use the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). In this working method, goals are divided into objectives that are divided into tasks. Tasks are concrete, clearly defined activities, which are necessary to perform in order to achieve the project objective. Once you have good and clear objectives set, it is time to break your project into little pieces – that should be doable by one person (or, at least, one person can easily have all the information of that little piece of work). The idea is to clearly divide your projects into “topics” which are, in turn, broken down to smaller parts. If well done, this structure can be used by the project manager to keep an overview of the status of the project. Benefits of the WBS are: - Graphic illustration of the project hierarchy. - Project team understands how their tasks fit into the overall project and their impact upon the project. - Facilitates communication and cooperation between project team and stakeholders. - Helps preventing changes. - Focuses team experience on what needs to be done – results in higher quality. - Basis and proof for estimating staff, cost and time. - Gets team buy-in, role identification. Identifies all tasks, project foundation.
3.4. Event Management An event can be part of a project, or it can constitute the entire project. Thus, it builds upon the principles mentioned in the project management section. It is a time-limited occasion with a distinct purpose, for example trying to achieve higher visibility, celebration, raising awareness, etc. Essentially, an event is a way to deliver a certain kind of emotion and experience to the participant. It is more than simply another option to spread information; the participants will always remember a good event, based on the emotions they felt at that time. Hence, it is your job to combine the “educational” aspect you might have with entertainment and a positive atmosphere. Moreover, you should be aware of the fact that a badly organised event can leave a big negative imprint on the participant’s memory with possibly long-lasting detrimental effects to the organising section and ESN itself. A failed event might actually throw you back to the start or even further and become an additional obstacle on your way to achieve your overall goals. Keep asking yourself if the kind of event you would like to organise and/or you are capable of organising is the optimal choice for achieving your short- and long-term goals as a section. In some cases, a different format might be preferable. If you just think that it is a good idea “or a fun thing to do”, reconsider it immediately and evaluate if there is a real need and audience for what you are trying to do. Take your time, deliberate upon it, weigh your options and stay focused on what you are trying to and what you are able to achieve. Furthermore, be confident about what you are doing and show it. You, your team and your staff represent the event and everything it stands for
in person. However, try to be your own worst critic and keep a healthy amount of “paranoia”. Always calculate and work towards a solution for the worst case scenario as something can always go wrong, regardless of how well you’ve planned it. Nevertheless, don’t lose your confidence and spirit if some parts of the event don’t work out according to plan – this is what plan B, C ... or K are for. As long as you are flexible and stay focused on finding a solution to a concrete problem without getting lost in irrelevant issues along the way, you have the best chance of succeeding.
CHECK LIST: It is always good to prepare a list of tasks you should do to ensure you don’t miss anything and you are in schedule with all the arrangements. Below you can find a generic task list for medium and big events. It can be used for smaller events, as well as with different time periods.
High Level Planning: 4 – 6 Months Ahead of Event - Establish event goals and objectives - Select date - Identify venue and negotiate details - Develop Event Master Plan - Get cost estimates (e.g., room rental, food & beverages, equipment, speaker fees, travel, etc.) and create a budget - Recruit event committee, event manager or chair and do a task division. The task division should be done during the first meeting after recruiting the team, where everyone is present. - Create and launch publicity plan & brand your event (ensure staff and/or volunteers are identified to manage specific tasks – e.g., media relations, VIP coordination, printed material design &
printing coordination, signage, online /social media, etc.) - Identify and confirm speakers/presenters/entertainers - Identify and contact sponsors/partners
3 – 4 Months Ahead of Event Speaker/presenter/entertainer liaison: e.g.: - finalise presentation/speech topics - transport & accommodation arrangements - contracts signed (if applicable) Financial/Administration: - Registration fees - Create the registration forms and send them out - Sponsor levels/amounts - Identify items to be underwritten and accounting tracking details Venue/logistics planning: - Investigate need for any special permits, licenses, insurance, etc. - Determine and arrange all details like the menu, - A/V equipment, registration set-up, parking, sign-ups, etc. - Review security needs/plan for the event with venue manager(s) Publicity: Follow publicity plan: - Develop draft program - Create draft event script (MC, speaker introductions, thanks, closing, etc.) - Develop publicity pieces – e.g., newsletter articles, ads, radio spots, print blog posts articles for submission to other publications, etc. - Request logos from all corporate contributors (sponsors, partners and other stakeholders) for online and printed materials - Develop and produce invitations, programs, posters, tickets, etc. - Develop media list & prepare News Release, Me-
dia Advisory, Backgrounder and all media kit materials (e.g., speaker info, photos, etc.) - Create event page on your website or a complete website for the event - Enable/create email event notifications - Create a Facebook event page - Develop a promo video to be published online - Register your event on a variety of online event calendars - Create some buzz on your blog or member forums - Determine VIPs and create invitation & tracking document (e.g., spread sheet)
2 months prior to event Send reminders to contact list registration/participation Presenters/Speakers: e.g.: - Confirm travel/accommodation details - Request copy of speeches and/or presentations Sponsorship: Follow up to confirm sponsorships and underwriting Publicity: - Release press announcements about keynote speakers, celebrities, VIPs attending, honourees, etc. - Post your initial event news release on your website and circulate to all partners, affiliated organizations, etc.
1 week ahead - Have a meeting with the team members to confirm all details against Master Plan – and ensure back – up plans are developed for any situation (e.g., back-up volunteers as VIP greeters, additional volunteers for registration or set-up, etc.) - Finalize event script - Brief hosts, greeters, volunteers about their event duties and timelines - Final seating plan, place cards, etc. - Provide final registration numbers to caterer
- Make print and online copies of any speeches, videos, presentations, etc. - Final registration check, name badges & registration list
1 day ahead - Confirm media attending - Ensure all signage is in place - Ensure registration and media tables are prepared and stocked with necessary items (e.g., blank name badges, paper, pens, tape, stapler, etc.) - Ensure all promo items, gifts, plaques, trophies, etc. are on-site
Event day - Ensure you have copies of all instructions, directions, phone numbers, keys, extra parking permits for VIP guests, seating charts and guest lists with you - Check-in with key staff members to ensure their volunteers are on track
Immediately following event While you need to conduct a thorough evaluation and update your budget, there are post-event publicity, fundraising and member development opportunities that you can take advantage of with just a little pre-event planning. Here are some of the activities you might consider once the event is over: Financial status: gather all receipts, documentation, final registration data, etc. and update budget Send thank-you and acknowledgement letters to: - Sponsors - Volunteers - Speakers/presenters
- Donors - the Media In your thank-you notes, be sure to remind the recipients of the event’s success – and how they contributed. Post-event publicity – see publicity section that follows Conduct a Post-Event Survey – to learn what people enjoyed about your event, and where you have room to improve. Conduct a thorough internal evaluation where you analyse the feedback received from participants. Remember to also reward all volunteers and staff members with for example a private event only for them This list is very generic, and you may need to adapt it by adding/removing certain points to fit the needs of your event. All events have one thing in common: having a strong and supportive team around you (regardless the hierarchy) is the key to success as event management is not a one-person show. You cannot be physically present in five different places as well as online and on the phone, which might be necessary during the event. Good internal as well as external communication will spare you a lot of work, hassle, drama and disappointment. A solid financial foundation might save you from a heart attack. So will a fair amount of common sense, scepticism and self-criticism. Determination and dedication will be the most important ingredients in creating an event of positive memorable value for you, your section and the participants. Last but not least, remember that the most important part is to enjoy, learn and have some fun too!
Communication
4
4.1. Section Communication 4.1.1. Communication basics Section Communication is about contact and information flow that, ultimately, brings a team together. Please, follow these tips for successful communication within your section: - Listen (carefully) before speaking. - Think about what is important to say and what not, avoiding digressions. - Adapt the speech according to the person or the group. - Follow a thread and keep the consistency of your message. - Focus on the core message: what do you want to communicate? What is your aim? - Manage the timing. Moreover, you can choose a Moderator in physical meetings, maybe external to the Board or the people chairing the session, so turns of questions and comments are well monitored.
4.1.2 Channels & Tools There is a huge amount of tools, which you can use in order to communicate within your section. Some of them can be useful for your section. We encourage you to choose carefully which ones fit to your section style! E-mail There are free providers (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo) and also software to check it without using a browser (Outlook, Thunderbird, Opera Mail...). Use it when contacting someone for formal purposes, either giving information or looking for an answer. By creating a mailing list (Google Groups, Yahoo Groups, Mailman) you do not need to put every single e-mail in copy, therefore saving time.
(+) It allows you to follow and track many conversations separately, as well as to attach files or share links. The receiver will be able to keep the message and answer when time permits. Mailing lists are recommended for delivering information to many people at the same time, as well as discussions with five to thirty participants. (-) It is maybe too formal for some conversations, such as motivational messages, quick questions or doubts within the local level. If people do not know the rules of correct usage –relevance, length, exposure, etc.-, it can easily turns into disturbing spam. Phones and Instant messaging Phones are easy to carry everywhere. In addition, smartphones can be used for calling, but also messaging through free Apps. Use it when needing instant communication. (+) Phone calls can be used to save time which would otherwise be spent on typing. Furthermore, hearing the tone of voice helps avoid misunderstandings. (-) Massive use of instant messaging Apps for off topic reasons can be annoying. Important information is easily lost. Videoconferences Videoconferences are very useful either to have a meeting from long distances or in case of urgent need. There are free providers to host group meetings, such as Skype, Google Hangouts, Oovoo or TinyChat. Ask one of the people present to take notes during the meeting and note down all decisions or important points, so absent people can be informed afterwards.
Online voting systems There are different online tools to schedule meetings or even to make decisions online, though the use of public and anonymous voting (Doodle, Adoodle, Helios). Another way to use public voting is, for example, to present candidacies or just to inform who is attending a meeting. Online working Apps Working online allows members to schedule their work according to their free time. Moreover, there is instant access to online information from every computer and information is usually automatically saved. Trello is an App, which allows tracking the status of an on-going project. It has the appearance of a wall, in which you can put memo stickers, give tasks to your members and also select them as done.
Online storage Keeping online your documents will allow your section member to access to them from any computer or even smartphones or other devices. There are tools for online storage of files (Google Drive, Dropbox) and online storage of information (Google Site, Wiki). Google Drive is completely online, while Dropbox creates a folder on your computer, in which you can then place the files you would like to share. A good choice could be to use Google Drive in combination with the Google Docs tool for online work, and Dropbox for documents you just want to keep, but not necessarily edit. A Google Site is an online knowledge base. You can find inspiration by taking a look at an existing section wiki at following the address (http://sites. google.com/site/sectionwiki). A wiki stores important information, helps with knowledge transfer and the information management in your section.
Google Apps is a free service, which can give your section the opportunity to integrate all the Google services in the same system (Gmail, Gdocs, Gcalendar, Ggroups, Gsites...). It provides many Gmail accounts with your domain in the address. Finally, Google Docs is an online office suite, which allows many users to work on the document at the same time, saving the changes instantly and keeping a revision history. Also, they can be shared by e-mail through the link or be added to Gmail accounts, as well as downloaded in a variety of formats.
Please, take a look at the following table in order to optimise the use of Google Docs
Google Doc Tool
Where to use
Spread sheet
Section or event budget
Document
Article about your event
Form
Registration for events or your buddies
Presentation
To work jointly on presentation slides
4.2. Network communication ESN Galaxy
Galaxy is your online way of connecting to the ESN network, an internal information tool for ESNers around Europe. It is the main gateway for the sections of ESN, which allows you to login to other ESN websites as well. Visit http://galaxy.esn.org and register, and within just a few minutes you will be a part of the online network. Ask your NR or Section President to assign you the role you currently possess in ESN in order to have access to all the services!
Sections mailing list
The sections mailing list contains all the sections email addresses. Important communication from the Board, open calls and information and also the newsletter are sent. The sections are subscribed automatically when they are added to the database of ESN International. Changing the section’s email address on Galaxy can alter the email that is linked to the subscription list. If there is any problem, contact your National Representative.
Social Media
ESN International is also present in the social media, spreading news and information about ESN and international mobility. You can follow our work via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Flickr. ESN is also present on LinkedIn and has a group where international ESNers are present. Join the community and start creating your network of young professionals! We also have a channel. If you have a cool video you want to share on our YouTube page, write to video@esn.org and in the mean time check out our videos on the ESN channel.
Newsletter
The ESN Newsletter is released once a month. It is a summary of the main news that ESN had within the last month. The latest issue of the Newsletter can be found here: http://esn.org/newsletter/. Not subscribed yet? Subscribe here!
4.3. External communication 4.3.1. ESN Satellite It is essential to have a good website, where your current students can find information about your activities. It also gives you a good and professional presence towards partners and stakeholders. Satellite is an easy-to-use website template that can be used by ESN sections so they do not require the help of members with IT skills. Sections can easily update the website with their events and activities. ESN Satellite can be downloaded from the Download Area of ESN Galaxy or the link
http://satellite.esn.org/node. You need an ESN Galaxy account and a Webmaster or president role. ESN Satellite is maintained by the IT Committee, which also provides technical support for sections. In addition to that, technical support can be found in the form of tutorials at the ESN Helpcenter http://helpcenter.esn.org. For further information about the ESN Satellite visit http://wiki.esn.org/it-services/satellite.
4.3.2. Communication with international students Social Networks
Social Media can be a powerful tool if used correctly, as they give a lot of publicity and interaction to your activities. However, having a profile on many different social networks is not always the best option. It is advised to have a plan and choose smartly which social networks fit best to your section, as well as to have a communication strategy. We provide you some tips on which social network should be used, according to the content you want to share: Facebook: events, links, news and images. Use the events App to give specific and detailed information about them, as the date in the calendar. Another useful tool are Facebook pages and Facebook groups. Twitter: updating information about events taking place at the moment. Use hashtags to increase the visibility of your tweets. Instagram and Pinterest: images. Use tags to increase the visibility of your images. YouTube and Vimeo: videos. Try to keep them short, so people will be more likely to watch them till the end.
Newsletters
Sending a new e-mail for every single news story you have in your section may be seen as spam. So, newsletters might be the way to give regular announcements (weekly, monthly...) and updates about activities, partners, projects and other news. There are online tools that help you send a newsletter, such as Mailman or Mailchimp. (+) It allows you to inform your members regularly about your activities and news through e-mails that are send to a huge number of people
(-) Please, be sure you have enough topics to cover regular sending. A good choice is always to inform about discounts and partners, so they have extra advertisement and you fill space in your newsletter.
4.3.3. Communication with stakeholders Media relations Mass media can increase your social reputation and make society aware of your work. However, bad strategy may destroy your relations with the media. This would mean losing a good ally who can potentially showcase your achievements, and therefore play an important role in attracting new partners. The first step you need to take while dealing with mass media is compiling a list of contacts, preferably including e-mails and phone numbers. Once you have this list of contacts, the main form of communication will be press releases. It is advisable to include all main information in a comprehensive layout. A good press release always answers to the 6 W’s questions: Who did that? What happened? When did it take place? Where did it take place? Why did it happen? How did it happen? Please, remember to provide good quality pictures with footnotes, so the mass media can choose which one they are interested in. A video or links are also good choices. When writing, it is recommended to include a catchy headline and a short briefing composed of two or three phrases in which you sum up the main part of your news. Finally, some authors recommend following a 3-12 structure, starting out with the most important information, followed by the less striking and concluded with a good ending. As not everybody know ESN, please remember to put a paragraph that explains what ESN is and what our aims are.
Relations with Higher Education Institutions (HEI) - University ESN would not be the same without its relationship with the University. In the local level, your HEI can help offer you contacts, materials, places, communication channels and so on. The person in contact with ESN, inside the HEI, can vary a lot from one to another. However, you can start with the IRO (International Relation Office) or the Students Office. Typically, there will be a person in charge with whom you can keep in contact. Your section should be organized in a similar manner, with one person in charge of being in contact with the HEI. Thus, you will be able to remain consistent in your messages and also maintain a formal appearance. When reporting about your achievements and work during a certain period of time - maybe a year - please remember to add the research projects of ESN, even if you did not participate, as the HEI is usually are very interested in them.
Financial Management
5
5.1. Easy accounting and budget management 5.1.1. Money and Finances ESN International is a big organisation, but no matter if you are a small section or a large one, there are some basic financial principles that need to be followed in order to sustain a prosperous environment for your section: - a good treasurer, - accurate accounting records, - basic financial control, - effective management and financial transparency, - auditors. In this part of the Section Guide we have put together some basic guidelines that will help you through the primary stages of financial management: getting money, using money and accounting money. Effective management is a tool to achieve section aims, and transparency is a good indicator of measuring whether a section follows ESN values and objectives. The way a section uses its money and is able to present it makes it more reliable to potential partners and easier to manage for every new board elected. Please keep in mind that although these guidelines might seem time consuming, when applied correctly and simultaneously you as a section will immediately reap the benefits.
Getting money
Whether you are starting a section, or you simply wish to get more money in order to fund your activities, there are various ways to do so.
Self-financing - Profit from ESN events: parties, trips. - Sale of ESNcards: depending on the price, these can be a good source of income. All you need to do is set up agreements with various companies so your exchange students can benefit as well. Another possibility is to include price differentiation. This means that you offer tickets to your (popular) events at a discounted price. Please bear in mind that for some sections, universities will oblige you to keep your events open for all students, so this should be well communicated. - Membership fees: some ESN sections use a membership fee (e.g. ₏5 for one year) to build a solid financial basis for the upcoming year. Not to be mistaken with the sale of ESNcards. - Section gadgets: produce your own gadgets and sell them at a reasonable price to gain money for your section. The newly opened webshop also offers each section a chance to buy ESN styled gadgets in bulk and sell them to your students. - Grants: these are usually available when you want to finance a project such as a conference. Keep in mind that you need to act in advance in order to get a grant when planning a project. It needs to be an activity that will have a broader impact, e.g. not just a party or a trip. Chapter 1.5.3 is dedicated to different funding opportunities including grants. Take a look! Sponsors and partners A section can form partnerships either through using ESNcards as a bargaining tool or independently, for example through distributing a specific brand’s products, providing discounts for
international students or advertising. By forming a partnership you could receive in-kind or in money, but in either case make sure you have a solid agreement and always in written format! See more on how to manage partnerships in Chapter 1.5.2 on sponsoring. Universities Apart from helping the incoming international students, ESN plays an important role in promoting mobility within universities, and as such it is a valuable part of a university. It is in interest of universities to support ESN sections, and there are various ways for sections to gain support from universities. As a section, it is vital to have good relations with the body to which you belong since it is most likely to support you financially. As trust is the basis of such a relationship, gaining trust should be your first priority. The importance of sound finances again comes into play here, as this is one way a university can establish trust. Always keep in mind that if you don’t ask, you won’t receive, so just ask. While doing this, it is important to know what you will spend the money on; therefore you should make a plan in advance.
5.1.2. The budget The annual budget is essential for planning and, therefore, funding of your section. It is used to forecast incomes and expenditures. A budget is composed of two parts: Incomes and Expenditures, and in addition, of two columns: Actual Statement and Provisional Budget. Systematically monitoring the section’s actual statements in relation to the budget is necessary in order to keep control of the money, and to ensure that the money is well managed. If you put together a budget without reviewing it regularly, it loses its purpose!
Budgets are tools for planning and can be put together for different purposes, either for a project or a semester, and are especially important when carrying out a more complicated project or when there are many sources and outputs for money. For fundraising purposes, a budget can be presented to potential sponsors or partners for funding and for grant applications (e.g. a budget would be handy before going to the university and asking for money). When putting together a budget, you should be as realistic as possible. Making notes to the budget to show how calculations were made and whether income is “guaranteed” or “not yet confirmed” is also useful. When reviewing the budget or writing a report, major differences between the budget and actual income and expenditure (the one you end up having) should be explained. In order for your budget to be a good one, it should be balanced– the income should equal the expenditure. Sample budget and the monitoring actions are shown in table 7 below.
TABLE 7: ESN Atlantis Budget and Actual Statement from 1 January to 1 July (Atlantis Dollars). Budget items
Semester budget
Actual Statement
Difference
Notes
INCOME ESNcard
7.000
7.500
500
1
Sponsorship fee from Club Atlantis
2.000
2.500
500
3
500
500
0
University A
3.000
3.000
0
University B
5.000
2.500
-2.500
Total income
17.500
15.500
-2.000
1.500
1.500
0
500
650
150
Miscellaneous expenditures
2.500
2.400
-100
Atlantis culture days
7.500
6.000
-1.500
Language course culture programme
3.500
3.500
0
500
550
50
Welcome Party
1.500
1.500
0
Total expenditure
17.500
16.100
1.800
Miscellaneous income (budgets, fundraising activities, etc.)
3
EXPENDITURE Welcome bag ESN member motivation events
Excursion to museum
Total income – expenditure difference
-600
4
5
Explanations to the notes in table 7: 1. Due to successful events, more students and other foreigners than expected wished to buy an ESNcard. 2. 25% of the fee is in relation to the number of students using ESNcards during the semester. 3. In the beginning of the semester it appeared that the university had some financial problems and support to ESN Atlantis was cut by 50%. 4. The section supported the section presidents’ participation at the AGM. 5. One day of the event was cancelled due to heavy rain, and thus costs were lowered due to not being able to go through with the event. As you can see, this budget shows a difference between the actual and the planned income and expenditures. Such imbalances occur quite often and should be expected. Adjustments in the budget should be done regularly (frequency depends on how active the section is) in order to avoid such loss of money. This is why an accounting system must be in place and should be updated regularly, so that at any given moment the section knows where it stands financially.
5.1.3. Accounting Each section of ESN should manage their finances properly. In short, that means a treasury statement and management of incomes and expenditures. Financial management includes a system of accounting and at least one person in charge of the treasury and fundraising. Two persons, one for the treasury and one for fundraising, are highly recommended. The president should work hand in hand with the treasurer, as he or she is ultimately responsible for the functioning of the board and thus also responsible for the budget.
There are two systems of accounting: the simple one called accounting of treasury and the second one, which is more complicated, but at the same time more transparent, called the double-entry system. The simple system is quite easy, as you only have to manage the incomes and expenditures in a book. The double-system requires software where (1) all received and emitted invoices will be recorded and (2) all the money statements - bank and cash - will be recorded. It has, of course, a simple explanation: the double-system takes many other settings in consideration. The accounting system is essentially an account of all the financial actions of your section. Having an accounting system in place helps you manage your money more efficiently and helps the section plan events and increases the transparency and sustainability of its funds. The easiest way to track such changes in the balance is by writing them down, which means having an income-expenditure book. This can, of course, be for example an Excel sheet or anything that works for the treasurer of your section, as long as it is kept in an organised and detailed manner. We will use an example to show you how to keep an income-expenditure book. We advise you to use one Excel file with many sheets to manage the annual budget. The basic ones are Incomes, Expenditures, Bank Statement and Cash Money Statement, and the rest to manage the budget of the various projects, actions etc.‌ You can create a new file to manage a project, but at the end you should include a copy in the annual budget. That way, it will be easier for you to avoid mistakes due to manual copying, to find the mistakes in the calculation and to include the changes directly in your annual budget.
An example of accounting (table 8): Action 1. Selling ESNcards A treasurer controls the cards ordered for the section. During office hours, cards are sold and the number of cards is registered. At the end of the day, the amount of cash in the office/in the hands of the person responsible for the selling of cards is reported to the treasurer (INCOME: 100 ESNcards * €5/card = €500). Action 2. Cash in the hands of a person responsible for an event An ESN member goes to an excursion with a bus full of international students. If the hotel reservation, the bus driver and the entrance fees are paid via a bank transfer, the group leader is just provided with enough cash for other expenses that have to be paid for in cash (e.g. dinners, drinks, small gifts, unexpected fees). If the group leader uses the money, he or she MUST bring receipts back showing where, when and for what an expense was made. (EXPENDITURE: €500) ****These two steps can be avoided if the treasurer refunds the person responsible after the event. This means the responsible person does not get a budget, but instead spends his or her own money and is reimbursed afterwards by the treasurer. In this case, the entry in the income-expenditure book would look as follows: EXPENDITURE for event = €300. !!! REMEMBER! Any refunds must always have receipts. Action 3. Refund for member expenses A treasurer does not have time to pass by the supermarket to buy snacks and drinks for a section
meeting and asks for another member to buy the necessary things for the meeting. Later on, at the meeting, the member hands in the receipt with the shopping expenses and the treasurer makes a transfer/pays the member ASAP. Again, receipts are expected and a refund cannot be granted without them. (EXPENDITURE: €10) Action 4. Received a grant The section receives a grant from the university in support of its projects. (Income: €1000)
TABLE 8. Balance sheet.
INCOME
EXPENDITURE Date/ SEPTEMBER
Description
500
13/9/2010
Event various
300
1.000
15/9/2010
Confectionary ESN office
10
Total inc.
1.500
Total Exp.
Overall Income
2.500
Date/ SEPTEMBER
Description
10/9/2010
ESNcards sale
20/9/2010
Grant from University
Amount
Amount
310
Overall Money in Section: 2500-310=2190 euros**
* The income from September is €1,500 (Total Inc.). The section had €1,000 from before, so the overall sum is €2,500 (Overall Income). ** With this method all you need to do now is to simply deduct your expenses and you can see how much money your section has. * The income from September is €1,500 (Total Inc.). The section had €1,000 from before, so the overall sum is €2,500 (Overall Income). ** With this method all you need to do now is to simply deduct your expenses and you can see how much money your section has. Overview This is a basic routine the treasurer of the section should get accustomed to. If the section has to plan a large-scale event (e.g. a CNR, CND, Regional Platform etc.), this should be done individually for the event and then integrated to the section’s
accounting sheets. There are also other routines that should be embodied in the section’s financial management if they are considered necessary (table 9).
TABLE 9. Section’s financial management actions.
ACTION
DESCRIPTION
Update the cash/bank book.
- Check that all transactions have supporting documents (e.g. invoices or receipts). - Count the cash and check that it matches the cash balance in the cash/bank book. All cash operations must be written and the amount calculated to control that nothing is missing.
Update details of cash advances and loans
Evaluate the reasons for money being with-held; send out reminders to debtors.
Compare actual income and expenditure with the budget from the start of the year up to the current date.
Focus on large differences and take necessary actions. (In case of annual budgeting, also applicable for projects.)
List incomes/expenditures committed, but not yet received/paid.
Check if the commitments change any of the “actual” figures in the budget and actual statement. If any funds have not been received, investigate the reasons.
Calculate current cash-flow position.
Identify any shortages over the next few months and decide what to do.
TIP: For tips and tricks for finding small accounting mistakes check: http://www.essortment.com/accounting-finding-errors-24198.html
Whenever there is a change in the board of the section, or the section holds its annual general meeting, there should be a yearly overview/account of financial actions (table 10)
TABLE10. Annual account.
ESN ATLANTIS ECONOMIC OVERVIEW AC.YEAR 2009-2010 INCOME Description
EXPENDITURE Amount
Description
Money transferred from last year
2.000
Office expenses (printer inks etc.)
ESNcards (500*5)
2.500
ESNcards (bought 1000*2)
500 2.000
AGM Eurodinner
100
1.000
Donation (e.g. Give 20)
100
2.000
Trip 1 exp.
100
Trip 2 exp.
300
Various exp. (with receipts)
400
Trip 1
500
Trip 2 Fundraising activity
Total
Amount
8.000
Total
3.500
TOTAL MONEY IN SECTION: 4,500
The annual overview is a summary of all the actions that took place over the course of the year when one treasurer was responsible for the section’s finances.
5.1.4. Auditing People are likely to make at least one mistake while reporting their budget, be it on purpose or due to oversight. Often, both the treasurer and the president are so focused on the budget that they might oversee mishaps. Another thing that may occur is that even though the presented material is complete, without proper explanation it might seem off to third parties. Performing an audit can
point you to these “mistakes” in the budget and might save you a lot of time in the end. It also creates more transparency not only for you and your members, but for external parties as well. Having your auditor(s) look over the budget and ask critical questions might prepare you for the questions that these third parties will also want to have answered.
5.2. Sponsoring 5.2.1. Basics Sponsoring is essentially the exchange of services or goods between parties, just like any other business deal. The main difference is that the effects of sponsorships are rarely measurable by regular monitoring procedures, which makes it difficult to evaluate whether or not all involved parties received their “fair share” of the deal. At the end of the day, everyone involved needs to be content and feel that the deal was to their own advantage. These parties usually are: - the sponsor – the company, - the one that is being sponsored – ESN, - the target audience – the exchange students. If one of these three groups feels as if it is investing more in this deal than it receives in return, or if the deal itself is simply of no value to the group, the agreement will eventually lose its value for the initiator as well. Sponsoring cannot deliver content. When you imagine a bowl with content, sponsoring is the bowl. Thus, it enables the creator of the content (=ESN) to have it delivered to the target group.
This means that sponsoring is part of the service features of the project. Sponsorship works best if the service provided is presented in a likable, discrete way that directly connects to the event/ project/etc. ESN is getting the sponsorship for. If you use logos for co-branding, make sure that the ESN (event) logo is the basic feature and then add the company logo in an unobtrusive way. Whilst advertising generally tries to be loud and attract attention, sponsoring needs much more subtlety and requires a congenial connection between the project and the sponsor’s service/goods. Reasons for sponsoring from the perspective of companies are manifold, but most of them derive from an attempt to attract new audiences/customers from the sales/marketing department or an image transfer in regard to corporate social responsibility. It is vital to find out what the sponsor is looking for in particular in order to come up with a custom-made offer. It is essential to remind yourself of the fact that sponsoring can and should only be supplementary/additional to the basic funds of the section, project or event. Basing the realisation of a project solely on sponsorship is unprofessional and
sometimes very risky (e.g. if the sponsor has to cancel the support last minute before signing the contract while you have already initiated everything on your expense). Therefore, secure the basic funding of your project first (grants, university support, participation fees, etc.) before asking sponsors to provide attractive additional services that otherwise would not be realisable.
5.2.2. Before approaching potential sponsors Questions you should ask yourself before approaching any potential sponsor: 1) Will we go through with the project even without sponsoring/are we able to cover the absolute essentials by other, secure financial means? 2) What do we want from the sponsor (money, contacts, services, and goods)? 3) What are we able to provide in exchange that could be of (about equal) value for the sponsor? 4) Will the exchange students benefit from the partnership and, if so, in what way? 1) Will we be able to provide the resources for the realisation of the sponsorship (manpower, communication tools, time, preliminary expenses, expertise, etc.)? 2) Are we trying to establish a long-term business relationship and, if so, do we have the human and organisational resources to do it? Timing Budgets in companies that have a regular financial year are often made around September, so if you are planning something for the following year, this would be a good moment to initiate contact. In general, try to start negotiating around six months prior to the project start / day of the event or simply the time when you will need the funds. The sooner you start the search, the higher are your chances of success. If you approach poten-
tial sponsors only a few weeks in advance, especially for bigger projects, you might come across as unprofessional or badly prepared and therefore you may disqualify yourself immediately. Again, this is subject to change in different cultures and business scenarios.
5.2.3. First steps Do extensive research upfront. Before you write a single word or make your first call, know exactly what the company is about. Most companies have a clear focus on sports, culture and arts, children, civil society or luxury lifestyles. Their preference depends on the message they want to convey to their target audience. TIP: More often than not you will hear “NO”, but don’t be discouraged! By going through this process, you also gain experience that you can use later on. Think about what that sponsor is able to offer to you as an ESN section and to your international students. Put yourself in the shoes of all three parties involved (sponsor, ESNer, international student). If everyone can benefit, proceed with creating a solid offer for them. Approach them with a ready-made idea of how they can be involved in your project. Being well prepared is crucial! Prepare a draft contract for the meeting and show them how can they benefit from your cooperation. The company is more likely to sign the contract if they see a real benefit for themselves. Use the all help you can get to find out to whom you need to speak in the company. You are showing respect by knowing the name of the person in charge when they answer the phone. When on the phone, try to keep it short and simple and try to arrange a meeting during which you’ll have chance to present your offer in person. After the conversation and arranging a meeting, always write a
short email confirming everything that has been arranged during the conversation. It is important to have everything in writing. Always keep in mind that you are not asking for free money or goods/services; you are also offering something in exchange, so stay confident and don’t act submissively. Still, especially in the beginning, you are the one asking for something and you will need to gain their trust in order to sign the deal. A happy sponsor is obviously more inclined to renew a contract or extend the partnership. Sponsors, on average, have an infallible memory. This goes for favours, but especially for mistakes. Make sure that you compensate every mistake they notice generously. If an agreement is reached, set up a final contract that clearly states what each party is obliged to do. This includes the entire legal framework of the company and the ESN section/project. If possible, add this severability clause as well: “If any provision(-s) of these official rules are held to be invalid or unenforceable, all remaining provisions hereof will remain in full force and effect.” Stick to the contract 100% whilst being flexible on the execution if needed, and be aware of the boundaries the sponsor will accept. Often enough, you can find standard contracts online that can be used for reference.
5.2.4. Simple rules along the way There is one cardinal rule in sponsoring - no pressure! Do not try to push your sponsor to anything, and don’t be too assertive. If they don’t enjoy the partnership, they will not proceed with it. Be patient - don’t call or write emails too often. If they don’t react to your email, give them some time and send a very polite and brief reminder email no sooner than four to seven days. If this doesn’t work, give them a call a couple of days later. You have to stay likable and must not come off as
impatient or annoying. Another important thing is that you don’t take things personally. This is business, no matter how fun or idealistic the project might be and regardless of whether or not you and the sponsors have a good personal relation. Don’t make promises you cannot keep. For instance, promising media coverage is highly unprofessional, as usually you cannot guarantee that a newspaper will mention the sponsorship in a positive way or even cover the project at all. Do not lie and be careful of your words! If you don’t know the answer to a question posed, or if you are unsure if it is a good idea to answer at all, just tell them that you will get back to them – and remember to do so in due time! Be discrete and do not spread the details of the sponsorship to anyone but the bare minimum of people (you and the project leader, for example). Keeping a low profile and being discreet is the safest way to secure trust for a continuation of the partnership. Lastly, be dedicated and passionate about what you do; be professional and reliable, and make the sponsor see that.
Tips and tricks for the language used during the negotiations: 1) “I”, “me”, “myself”: it’s always “us”, “we”, “our”, even if only one did the job! This is not just for underlining the team efforts, but also a safety measure for potential defence. “We” is “everyone”, and everyone is practically “no-one”. So if a mistake happens, it cannot be pinpointed to a single person, but gets diluted in the group. 2) “Should”, “have to”, “must” and suchlike: these words are too strong and directly linked with pressure. It is sometimes challenging to work your way around those words, but it’s never impossible to master! 3) “Unfortunately”, “regret”: they all have a negative connotation and imply that something went
wrong. Maybe explain that things went “differently” instead. Whenever you have to confess that something did not go according to plan, always offer an immediate solution (or a whole set to choose from) with it. This shows that you make sure to keep your end of the bargain and the sponsor is treated well, respectfully and as an important part of the project. 4) “Forgot”: you NEVER admit you forgot to do something for the sponsor on your task list. It will disclose you as unprofessional, careless and not trustworthy. Find a good and solid excuse and offer concrete compensation immediately. 5) “No” or any negative formulations: always stick with the grammatically positive forms (e.g. “we were content” instead of “we were not unhappy”). Whatever they want that is within the means of the sponsorship, make it happen. And even if you can’t, offer them an alternative instead. At the end of the day, the attempts to find solutions will be valued in the vast majority of cases, but saying “no” without a set of aces up your sleeves will jeopardise the sponsorship in the long or even short run.
5.2.5. During and after the contract period Show gratitude for their involvement in your project. Use “thank you” throughout the process and, particularly, at the end of the project/event/contract period. Document your project. You can use the photos made during the event as proof for your contact person so they can show their superiors in an attempt to secure the support for the next edition. Make sure that these pictures show the item or service provided, as well as your logos, people and venues. If, for example, you include a SIM-
card from a telecommunication sponsor in your welcome package, have a picture taken where an ESNer hands the package to an exchange student. If you manage to include an ESN logo or someone wearing an ESN T-shirt in the background, you have taken the perfect picture. And don’t forget: smile! If feasible, arrange a follow-up meeting(-s) to say thank you in a more relaxed atmosphere. Use this opportunity to talk about the possibilities for future partnership. In case you would like to work again with this sponsor in the future this information might come in handy.
5.3. Funding and grants Funding provides resources, usually in form of money or other values. From the funds you can apply for a grant. Grants are subsidies. The grant-giving body (or „funder“) offers funding for specified activities, usually following an application process. The recipient is obliged to use the grant for the purposes specified. Grants offer an opportunity to kick-start a new project or activity which otherwise might not be able to happen. But grants also present a number of challenges: - Grant funding tends to be short-term. If an activity is to continue after the funding ends, activity funded through grants needs to have a plan for how it will be funded longer-term. - Many funders have specific priorities for types of activities they want to fund – and this doesn’t always correspond with what you want to do! - Grant funding is often oversubscribed. There are also more organisations and groups looking for funding which means greater competition. - Funders may have terms and conditions that require you to manage your organisation in a particular way. For example, you may need to introduce additional financial procedures and systems. Applying for funding takes time – each funder has its own criteria, priorities and processes, which means every application has to be tailored. And even once you’ve managed to post off your application, it takes time to get a decision – on average from two to six months, depending on the individual funder and scale of grant requested. To help your ESN section find its way in the world of grants, we will first introduce to you different funding sources and then have a closer look at the process of applying for a grant.
5.3.1. Funding sources In this chapter, we will have a closer look on different funding opportunities on the local, regional, national and European level. On the European level, we will focus mainly on the grants and programmes where ESN sections can apply for funding. By far, the largest amount of funding from government comes from the local or regional level. Funds from both national governments and the European level are mostly devolved to a more local level, with the intention that they should be used to meet specific needs as identified by local people. Public funds are provided to meet specific agendas and priorities, and they cover a wide range of activities. They are often time-limited and strictly constrained by deadlines and spending periods. A common feature is also the collection of data to prove that the money was spent as agreed, and that it has contributed to a particular social or economic objective. Evaluation of work done with public funds is particularly important, as use of public money is subject to public inspection. The EU has a large number of funding “programmes” which are managed by the European Commission through its different directorates, or by the Council of Europe. Many funding programmes are applicable to European Union countries and a selection of other European countries. These are known together as “programme countries”. Pre-accession countries are also often included in the list of programme countries, as well as “third countries”, which are not programme countries, but can take indirect advantage of the funding. For the last two country groups, special rules are applied.
Funding programmes are often managed at national level by a national agency. Such national agencies sometimes operate at regional level through committees or other bodies. National agencies can be NGOs. IMPORTANT! Before searching for European Union funding opportunities, please consider the following, as these are generally applicable rules. Firstly, only legally registered organisations are eligible. Answer critically the following questions: - Does my ESN section meet all the legal conditions? - Is the board of my ESN section functional? - Does my ESN section have an accountant? - Has my ESN section produced annual reports (financial as well as activity reports)? - Has my ESN section run a project with a budget close to the amount that is requested for this project? If not, can I prove that my ESN section has the ability to administer large amounts of money? - Has my ESN section relevant experience in the area the project is concerned with? If not, do any of the people involved in the project have specific expertise in that field? - What kind of links do we have with public authorities and institutions (local and national)?
5.3.1.1. European funding programmes Erasmus+
In order to achieve its objectives, the Erasmus+ Programme implements the following Actions: KEY ACTION 1 – MOBILITY OF INDIVIDUALS - Mobility of learners and staff: opportunities for students, trainees, young people and volunteers, as well as for professors, teachers, trainers, youth workers, staff of education institutions and civil society organisations to undertake a learning and/
or professional experience in another country; - Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees: high-level integrated international study programmes delivered by consortia of higher education institutions that award full degree scholarships to the best master students worldwide; - Erasmus+ Master Degree Loans: higher education students from Programme Countries can get a loan backed up by the Programme to go abroad for a full Master Degree. Students should address themselves to national banks or student loan agencies. KEY ACTION 2 – COOPERATION FOR INNOVATION AND THE EXCHANGE OF GOOD PRACTICES - Transnational Strategic Partnerships aimed to develop initiatives addressing one or more fields of education training and youth and promote innovation, exchange of experience and know-how between different types of organisations involved in education, training and youth, or in other relevant fields. Certain mobility activities are supported, as long as they contribute to the objectives of the project; - Knowledge Alliances between higher education institutions and enterprises which aim to foster innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity, employability, knowledge exchange and/or multidisciplinary teaching and learning; - Sector Skills Alliances supporting the design and delivery of joint vocational training curricula, programmes and teaching and training methodologies, drawing on evidence of trends in a specific economic sector and skills needed in order to perform in one or more professional fields; - Capacity Building projects supporting cooperation with Partner Countries in the fields of higher education and youth. It aims to support organisations/institutions and systems in their modernisation and internationalisation process. - IT support platforms, such as eTwinning, the European Platform for Adult Learning (EPALE) and
the European Youth Portal, offering virtual collaboration spaces, databases of opportunities, communities of practice and other online services for teachers, trainers and practitioners in the field of school and adult education as well as for young people, volunteers and youth workers across Europe and beyond. KEY ACTION 3 – SUPPORT FOR POLICY REFORM - Knowledge in the fields of education, training and youth for evidence-based policy making and monitoring in the framework of Europe 2020 - Initiatives for policy innovation to stimulate innovative policy development among stakeholders and to enable public authorities to test the effectiveness of innovative policies through field trials based on sound evaluation methodologies; - Support to European policy tools to facilitate transparency and recognition of skills and qualifications, as well as the transfer of credits, to foster quality assurance, support validation of non-formal and informal learning, skills management and guidance. - Cooperation with international organisations with highly recognised expertise and analytical capacity, to strengthen the impact and added value of policies in the fields of education, training and youth; - Stakeholder dialogue, policy and programme promotion with public authorities, providers and stakeholders in the fields of education, training and youth are necessary for raising awareness about Europe 2020, Education and Training 2020, the European Youth Strategy and other European sector-specific policy agendas, as well as the external dimension of EU education, training and youth policies. JEAN MONNET ACTIVITIES - Academic Modules, Chairs, Centres of Excellence in order to deepen teaching in European integration studies embodied in an official curricu-
lum of a higher education institution - Policy debate with academic world, supported through a) networks to enhance cooperation between different universities throughout Europe and around the world; b) projects for innovation and cross-fertilisation and spread of EU content. - Support to institutions and associations, to organise and carry out statutory activities of associations dealing with EU studies and EU issues, - Studies and conferences with the purpose of providing policy-makers with new insights and concrete suggestions via critical independent academic views SPORT - Collaborative Partnerships, aimed at promoting the integrity of Sport, supporting innovative approaches to implement EU principles on good governance in sport, EU strategies in the area of social inclusion and equal opportunities, encouraging participation in sport and physical activity... - Not-for-profit European sport events, granting individual organisations in charge of the preparation, organisation and follow-up to a given event. - Strengthening of the evidence base for policy making through studies; data gathering, surveys; networks; conferences and seminars which spread good practices from Programme Countries and sport organisations. - Dialogue with relevant European stakeholders, being mainly the annual EU Sport Forum and support to Sport Presidency events organised by the EU Member States holding the Presidency of the EU. Full details are contained in a programme guide for users, which can be downloaded from the European Commission website. The website is updated regularly, and you should consult it before you plan to apply for any kind of grant. The application criteria for all the different activities can vary, and you can find more detailed information
in the programme guide. You have to be ready to follow all the requirements and rules stated in the grant agreements that you are supposed to sign after a positive answer to your grant application.
that have already received support for at least three international activities during past three years - Pilot activity: a so-called “intervention”. It needs to respond to a challenge in the society
Statutory meetings like AGM, CND Meetings, CNR Meetings and NPs are not eligible according to the rules. Thus, you cannot use the grants to organise such events
Statutory meetings like AGM, CND Meetings, CNR Meetings and NPs are not eligible according to the rules of the EYF. Thus, you cannot use the grant to organise such events.
European Youth Foundation
Institution: Council of Europe - European Youth Foundation http://www.coe.int/hr/web/european-youth-foundation/grants
In order to support youth work at the European level, the Council of Europe has set the European Youth Foundation (EYF). They support projects involving young people in all member states. The Council of Europe’s main goal in youth and sport is to work out common European youth and sports policies promoting youth participation, responsible citizenship, better educational and employment opportunities, democratisation of sport and the spirit of fair play. The financial resources available to the Council of Europe are significantly smaller than those available to the European Union. The EYF provides financial support to the following types of activity: - International activity - Work plan: it is made up of several international or local activities part of an organisation’s strategy/action plan for the following year/s - Structural grant: given every two years for a two-year period. This is only available for NGO-s
Only youth organizations that have registered and are approved in the European Youth Foundation database can apply for a grant. Usually, international non-governmental youth organisations or networks can apply for a grant. National or local non-governmental youth organisation can apply as well, but only in cooperation with an international non-governmental organisation or with at least six other NGOs from different Council of Europe countries. For more info please check the given link
5.3.1.2. Independent funders There are three different types of independent funders: - Foundations - Corporate citizenship programmes - Individual philanthropists Each type has its own characteristics, and the way to approach them varies. There are many differences between independent funders, including the distinction between organised funders and “non-organised” ones. Foundations and corporate funders are mostly professionally staffed, while individual philanthropists rely not on staff, but on volunteers. In addition, it is important to keep in
mind that some foundations only employ a small staff in order to concentrate their resources on their funding activities.
Foundations
Foundations are an important part of the independent funding community. They represent a valuable source of income for non-profit organisations. Along with the various terms for “foundation” that exist across Europe, there are a number of different foundation types. Four major types of them that exist in Europe are: - independent foundations, - corporate foundations, - governmentally-supported foundations, - fundraising foundations. Best practice example: Using funding institutions financial support for ESN events The Northern European Platform (NEP) in Tartu, Estonia was organized in 2008. The OC received a grant from the national funding institution called The Gambling Tax Council (Hasartmängumaksu Nõukogu), which also supports cultural and international youth events. So, before you start searching for funding from European Institutions, you should first check your national and regional funding institutions. On the webpage of the European Foundation Centre (http://www.efc.be/about/Pages/Members.aspx), you can find a list of their member associations. There, you can search per country for different funding institutions and get access to their websites.
Corporate citizenship programmes
A corporate citizenship programme (also called a corporate giving programme or corporate social responsibility) is a grant-making programme ad-
ministered within a profit-making company. Some companies make charitable contributions through both corporate giving and a company-sponsored foundation. For example, the Responsible Party programme is a part of Pernod Ricard’s corporate social responsibility. Corporate funders are fast becoming a more noticeable and accessible source of support for citizens’ associations. Corporate funders offer more varied forms of support than are traditionally provided by foundations. Organisations that can define their needs in terms other than mere financial support can tap into a rich vein of valuable aid. When considering approaching a corporation for support, it is important for an association to look at what it can offer in return. High-profile projects in which the name of the corporation can be prominently displayed are often the ones that corporations support. An opportunity to both “do good” and to promote the corporation’s image is the sort of project that is attractive to such corporations.
Individual philanthropists
Just like foundations and corporate funders, many private individuals give to their communities simply because they consider it to be the right thing to do. Deciding how to give is the hard part. Philanthropists are wealthy individuals with general philanthropic concerns or interested in particular causes. The major difference between the philanthropic individual and other independent funders is that they do not operate within an organisation or company. Not having a particular mission or goal, they are very flexible in their giving policy. You are advised not to beg, and you need to be enthusiastic. You are not asking for money, you are selling a project, an idea. In any case you, will have to establish personal contact and be persuasive
and persistent. Individual philanthropists support people as well as good ideas. If they feel that you have the people to make a project happen then they are likelier to support your organisation through a particular project. This might then be the beginning of a long-term relationship with the funder for your organisation.
5.3.2. Applying for funding Applying for a grant means investing in the organisation’s future and is the first step in building a relationship with a funder. To become a successful grant-seeker takes time. No organisation receives funding for every proposal it submits, though with experience the success rate will improve. Learning from failed proposals is also vital. There is a first time for everything, and we hope to provide you some useful information that will lead you through the process of applying for a grant. As an organisation, you need to be clear about your structure, ethos, mission, purpose and strategies. As an ESN section, you have the benefit of belonging to a large pan-European network, and you can always refer to the vision, mission and values of ESN International and its activities. The mission, strategy and sustainability of your project or ESN section must be the starting point of your fundraising efforts. Having a strong sense of purpose and mission - plus a well-researched and structured strategic plan - will make the job of raising funds much easier. It will impress funders and is essential to winning their financial support. Always keep in mind the following simple rule:
Mission + strategic plan + sustainability = key concepts of a successful fundraiser
Mission= the broad purpose and direction of your organisation or project. Strategic plan= the bigger steps you need to achieve your purpose. Sustainability= the ability to keep your project going for the whole of its intended life.
5.3.2.1. The application General tips and tricks Before you start filling in the application, make sure you read the guidelines first. Even if they seem long-winded, boring, redundant or familiar, you will always find useful and crucial information there, such as: - aims, objectives and priorities of the funding programme; - application procedures and deadlines; - eligibility criteria concerning the applicant organisation – what kind of organisations, with or without partners (and what sort of partners) are desired; - minimum and maximum amounts of funding to be requested; - minimum level of own contribution. IMPORTANT! 10 questions to ask before applying We all need funding at some point but do not chase every opportunity there is because it takes a huge amount of resources to apply for grants. If we chased every opportunity, we would waste time and money we could better spend elsewhere. Only you can make the decision of which opportunity to go for. We have outlined 10 questions that might help you reach a decision. 1. Are we eligible to apply? 2. Do we meet the criteria and/or priorities? 3. What is this funder really looking for?
4. Do we have enough time to apply for this grant and do the funded work properly? 5. Would this project be the best use of this funding opportunity? 6. What terms and conditions might be attached to any offer? 7. Have we included the full costs of this project in our application? 8. Aside from this grant, are there any other ways we could fund this activity? 9. If we get this grant, what will happen when the grant ends? 10. If we are successful, could we meet the terms and conditions of the grant?
There are additionally some simple “Be-rules”, which you should respect: - Be coherent: needs-aim-objectives-methods/ activities-resources should logically flow one from another. Give all the information necessary to show the importance of the proposed aim, but do not fill up pages with information that has no relevance to the project. - Be specific: say what you intend to do. Avoid vague statements and foggy descriptions. - Be brief: use the space provided by the application form and try to use the right/minimum number of words. Get the message across, but be reasonably concise. - Be yourself: do not pretend that you have expertise you do not possess. Submit a project that fits the ESN profile and explain why your ESN section is the right organisation to carry it out. - Be informed: convince your funder that you know what you are talking about, that your needs analysis is sound, that you have studied your target group and identified and understood all the stakeholders. - Be ready: it is never too early to start writing a proposal. Completing an application form is like
gas: it takes all the space given. It is important to actually read over the proposal before presenting it. Getting a few nights’ sleep after writing the proposal will clear your head and give you the necessary distance to really read what you have written, as opposed to simply assuming that what you wrote was what you meant.
Preparing the content It is a good idea to prepare your project proposal in advance and tailor it at a later stage for the specific requirements of the funders you finally decide to approach. A professionally prepared proposal is the cornerstone of successful grant seeking. The heart and aims of a proposal will emerge naturally from the strategic planning process. There are many ways to present a project proposal. However, eight main components can be identified to make up a complete funding proposal. These are: - Introduction. Provide a short summary of your ESN section’s mission and history. The introduction can also be used to restate the qualifications of your section members who will be responsible for the project. - Needs statement. The needs statement should be a concise, but at the same time convincing overview of the needs your ESN section wants to address with the project. Briefly describe the overall context to help the reader get a more complete picture of the problem. Use relevant facts or statistics to underpin your statement and make sure the data is accurate. - Goals and activities. The needs statement outlines the issues you are concerned with. You have to explain your goals and the activities you plan for addressing the needs. Goals are concepts or ideal situations that are not necessarily measur-
able, but are the main aims of your project and organisation. Activities are the specific, tangible and measurable outcomes that should be achieved in a specific time to fulfil your goals. - Methodology and timetable. The methodology is the specific action you will take to carry out the activities you have listed. This part should include the proposed start and finishing dates in which you will implement your project. - Evaluation. To increase the funder’s confidence in your application, explain the criteria you will use to evaluate the success of your project. This way you, will show that you have carefully planned all stages of the project, so it’s much more likely to achieve its goals. - Budget summary. Provide a summary of the total costs of the project and any other funding the project is likely to receive. If there are other sources of income that are relevant, include them here as well. - Future funding plans. Grants are for a fixed duration. However, funders will want to know how you plan on maintaining the project once the period of funding is over, should your goals call for it to continue. Make sure your plans are realistic. You need to tell them the concrete steps you will be taking and what sources of funding you will be exploring. - Detailed budget. Lay out a detailed and accurate budget that details the project expenses. Most funders, including public ones and European programmes, have their own application forms. These are designed to allow consistent, equitable evaluation of applications vis-à-vis the objectives of the respective budget line or programme.
Read the grant agreement before you sign it – including the annexes!
ESN Network Committee, 2015