Evidence-based policy in Erasmus+
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Measuring Impact: the role of the Impact+ Exercise in changing professional and organisational practice By Kevin Robinson and Steven Murray The Impact+ exercise has been developed by the UK National Agency for Erasmus+. The purpose is to support applicants and projects funded through the Erasmus+ programme to achieve maximum impact for their project and thereby the programme more widely. The Impact+ exercise is part of an on-going Transnational Cooperation Activity (TCA) and has been evaluated alongside its continued evolution.
Kevin Robinson currently works as Team Leader – Stakeholder Engagement for the UK Erasmus+ National Agency, which is a partnership between Ecorys UK and the British Council. For over
Introduction Early in the Erasmus+ programme, the UK National Agency (NA) identified weaknesses in the applications they were receiving. Among Adult Education and VET applications between a quarter and a fifth of applications were failing the minimum assessment criteria (20–25%). As a result, they were ineligible for funding. The UK NA found that in many of these cases, a poor assessment score for “Impact & Dissemination” was often a contributing factor. This was perceived as a problem because (i) it left us with a smaller pool of applications to select from and (ii) it made it more difficult to allocate all the programme funding. This second point would become especially important with the increase in funding scheduled in the 2017 Call. The NA felt that some preventative action was required. Discussions with other NAs indicated that this was a common problem and a common concern. We found that none of the Erasmus+ NAs consulted offered specific, detailed pre-application or post-selection support for impact assessment. A rapid review of materials available showed that while there were lots of materials, these were generally for those with some previous experience of impact or evaluation or they focused on specific techniques or data collection methods (e.g. survey questionnaires). Therefore, we felt that there was a need for some specific entry-level impact materials. The solution of the UK NA was to design the Impact+ Exercise to help applicants and beneficiaries explore their project impact. What is the exercise? It’s a guided workshop exercise designed to help project partners
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20 years he has worked in the field of education and training, with a particular focus on European initiatives and funding programmes that aim to improve the quality of provision through transnational cooperation. He has been with Ecorys UK for 10 years and is an Associate Director within
KEYWORDS Erasmus+, Impact+, Quality
