WP1. Project Management

​and Comunication

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Description
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​WP1 objectives:
1. Monitoring the achievements of the following WPs, PO_21’s timeframe and regular finalisation of the project’s activities and milestones.
2. Continuous and consequent focus on the project plan, the results and objectives in general.

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Activities
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​A1.1. Develop PO_21’s management methodology
A1.2. Develop and manage PO_21’s administrative reporting

• Project management handbook

A1.3. Kick-off meeting (organisation & reporting)
A1.4. Steering Committee meetings (organisation & reporting)
A total of six meetings (KoM + 5 SC meetings) took place. The KoM focused mostly on sharing general management, financial management and communication guidelines, presentation of partners and key staff, and on the definition of the following work plan for the upcoming months.

• Kick-off meeting & steering committee meeting report(s)

Leader: BSAFE/UBI

Timetable: 01/11/2019 to 31/12/2022

WP2. Creation of a Corrections Sector
​
​Skills Advisory Platform

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​Description
​
Aiming a sustainable conceptualisation and development of PO21’s proposed outcomes, this second WP2 intended to set up a panel of experts as an advisory board, which:

1. Advise the project partners, providing inputs to the workplan;
2. Provide feedback about their views about the work being developed in WP3 and WP4;
3. Support the dissemination of results and mainstreaming into national and EU policies and practice (WP5).

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Activities
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​2.1. Corrections sector skills advisory platform

• Platform

Advisory board meeting report & analysis
The advisory board included representatives of the PO21 project partners and representatives of associated partners.
The advisory board met twice a year and a) advised the project partners, providing inputs to the workplan; b) provided feedback about the work being developed in WP3 and WP4; c) supported the dissemination of results and mainstreaming into national and EU policies and practice (WP5).

• Advisory board meeting.

Leader: Bremen MoJ

Timetable: 01/11/2019 to 30/10/2022

WP3. Designing Transnational Vocational
​
Curricula

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​Description
​
​PO_21’s WP3 intended to design and develop an EU-based, integrated twofold approach to effectively address and upscale the professional role of the prison officer. Therefore, it was divided in two different, although complementary, phases:

1. Skills needs assessment: Through the development of a research-based framework, it intended to collect and analyse data, not only through a comprehensive screening of the existing literature, but also by running various DACUM workshops.
2.  Curricula development: Integrated and holistic approach towards a sustained and innovative curriculum for prison officers.

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​Activities
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3.1. Skill needs assessment
Gathering and interpretation of evidence of skills needs for prison officers.
3.1.1. Research framework

• Definition of the current and future prison officer role in partner countries and at European level.
• Identification of the professional profiles based on a common structure.
• Identification of the existing training in different member states.

3.1.2. Desk research

• Gathering information based on literature, national legislation, public policy, etc.
• Filling in the Data Collection and Reporting Tool for Desk Research.
• Mapping the existing training provision in Member States (length, content, teaching methods, etc).

3.1.3. Deliver field research

• Run a series of DACUM workshops and semi-structured interviews;
• Identification of needs in terms of training provision.

3.1.4. Data analysis and report development

• All reports, profiles and interviews are collected and integrated into a common structure.
• Delivery of a country and EU report about the prison officer professional profile, VET offer and learning methods.
• Delivery of a recommendation paper for re-thinking training of prison officers.

3.2. Curricula development                            
3.2.1. Design of VET curricula

• Identification and design of VET curricula or qualification standards to respond to the identified needs in 3.1.

3.2.2. Develop innovative VET programmes

• Translation of skill needs into an innovative, learning outcome-oriented modular VET programme and qualifications both for initial and continuous training of prison officers. Design of VET provision focusing both on job specific skills as well as on key competences, soft skills, while providing effective opportunities to acquire or develop those competences, particularly in work-related training contexts.

3.2.3. Assessment and validation of prior skills and competences

• Adoption of an assessment methodology and procedures to embed in the different forms of learning, including work-based learning

3.2.4. Inclusion of quality assurance principles

• Application of the quality assurance principles of EQAVET.

3.2.5. Work-based learning programme development

• Identification of the most appropriate work-based delivery methodologies for the curricula.
• Integration of work-based learning into the new training content, including opportunities to apply knowledge in workplace situations (prisons).

3.2.6. Development of learning resources

• Identification of existing learning materials that can be shared across member-states
• Development of learning materials for classroom training, distance learning and on-the-job learning support resources.

3.2.7. Development of a common knowledge and learning online resources repository

•  The repository will be available to the different correctional training academies and aims to allow the sharing and knowledge of prison officer’s trainers, as well as to share developed learning materials, and to facilitate inter-generational transfer of knowledge within VET.

3.2.8. Recognition of VET programmes and qualifications

• Development of a common proposal for the recognition of sectoral VET qualifications  (by implementing ECVET principles and referencing qualifications to NQFs and the EQF) .  It includes the development of a specific proposal to support the formal recognition of the new or adapted training curricula and qualifications in participating countries.

Leader: IPS

Timetable: 01/12/2019 to 31/12/2021

WP4. European Prison Officer's Training
​
​Course Piloting and Finetuning

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​Description
​
​Based on the holistic prison officers’ curricula developed in WP3, 4 training course were implemented on-site with participants from partner countries’ prison service, assuring the spread of the training curricula across various professionals in future training activities (to be carried out in their own countries in the near future). This WP4 ensures the replicability and sustainability of the PO_21 project.

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Activities
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​4.1. Implementation of a transnational, multi-site training course

• Development and implementation of a transnational short-term training for prison officers from different European Jurisdictions, developed in different countries, in order to collect feedback about the newly developed or adapted training contents and methods proposed, as well as to gather feedback from the VET providers from different European countries involved as training providers. The selected participants were involved as trainers and facilitators of the new developed training curricula.

4.2. Feedback and finetuning

• Collection of feedback from the prison officers involved in the short-term training (length, content, methods, and training materials).
• Collecting feedback from training academies and sectoral representatives.
• Training programme finetuning.

​Leader: IPS

Timetable: 01/03/2021 to 31/10/2022

WP5. Dissemination and Mainstreaming

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​Description
​
​This WP deals with the sustainability, dissemination and overall mainstreaming of the PO_21’s results and all preparations needed for a successful exploitation of the developed outcomes. During its course, national roundtables took place in each partner country (national level) and in Brussels (transnational level – EC, CoE, EP representatives), not only with the purpose of facilitating a better dissemination of the PO_21 project, but also aiming the discussion of practices and defining recommendations.

​In addition, a meeting with EC and CEDEFOR representatives of ESCO will be organised. Hence it pursues the main goals:

• Develop a joint, consistent and comprehensive sustainability and dissemination strategy;
• Disseminate the ongoing project status and experiences (i.e., presenting PO_21 outcomes, sectoral analysis and plan, products and results at meetings, national  events/workshops/roundtables, transnational meetings and roundtables with policy makers from the EC, EP and CoE, besides international conferences and symposiums attended by the consortium partners);
• Overall dissemination of the project results.

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Activities
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​5.1. Dissemination of project expected results and outputs

• Development of communication materials, participation in sectoral conferences and training events, organisation of national dissemination events as well as an initial and final conference; publication of results in sectoral publications.

5.2. National roundtables with social partners and policy makers

• Development of 2 national roundtable meetings per country;
• Development of 2 roundtable meetings in Brussels.

5.3. Contribution to EU Skills Panorama and ESCO

• An information meeting with the European Commission and CEDEFOP representatives of ESCO will be organised so that the project results can feed the EU Skills Panorama and the multilingual classification of European Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations (ESCO).

Leader: ICPA

Timetable: 01/11/2019 to 31/10/2022

WP6. Monitoring and Evaluation

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Description
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​Design and implementation of continuous internal and external evaluation strategy, tools and activities.

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Activities
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​6.1. Evaluation plan & strategy
6.2. Manage project internal evaluation

• Collection of feedback from the prison officers involved in the short-term training (length, content, methods, and training materials).
• Collecting feedback from training academies and sectoral representatives.
• Training programme finetuning.

6.3. Final evaluation

​Leader: IPS

Timetable: 01/11/2019 to 31/12/2022