European Commission

 

Dissemination and exploitation
of results of our programmes

Exploitation mechanisms

Making a difference

The results of a project can bring about real change at both micro level – in the lives of individuals and groups – and at macro level by influencing systems and policy. But such change is only possible if the results are adopted. The means of exploiting results so that they are taken up are varied and differ in complexity, tending to be simpler at end-user level and more complicated at policy level.

The right mechanisms

The key to success in choosing exploitation mechanisms is to select those that are appropriate to the type of result and the end users envisaged. Where the project culminates in a new method or a new product, for example, then transfer, commercialisation and sustainability (see below) could be appropriate mechanisms. If the project involves less tangible results as, for example, experience gained through mobility, then accreditation of the experience is more appropriate.

Transfer

Transfer enhances good practice by spreading results. The transfer can take place at all levels and the results can be used into new contexts or other organisations can customise the results to suit their conditions. Thus, for example, a project that takes place in a university context in one country could yield results that would benefit a rural community in another.

Commercialisation

Commercialisation is especially appropriate to tangible products and is suitable for the end users. Project managers will need an entrepreneurial streak to persuade manufacturers, publishers or other commercial concerns to take up the product. But beware! There can be complications for results that involve complex intellectual property rights or where a lack of clarity in product ownership exists.

Sustainability

Just because a project is completed does not mean its results disappear. It is important to keep them visible and available, especially through websites, so that target audiences can access them, learn from them, adapt them to their own needs and even build on them and take them to the next level. And of course both transfer and commercialisation aid sustainability.

Accreditation of mobility and qualifications

The experience people gain through mobility is often the result of informal learning and can be difficult to quantify. Accreditation of such experience is increasingly being incorporated into programmes – notably Grundtvig (adult education), Leonardo da Vinci (vocational education and training), and Erasmus (higher education) – using tools such as Europass (for the transparency of qualifications), the European Credits Transfer System and the validation of informal and non-formal learning.

Change is in the air

Influencing high-level change in policy and systems is a real possibility if project managers learn how to co-operate effectively and at the right levels. This is essentially a process of networking with all relevant stakeholders, so building contacts and attending meetings is vital – which is hard work but the only way. The European Commission, National Agencies, National Committees and Programme Committees organise events to facilitate such co-operation.

Attending events, such as conferences, seminars and debates, provides an ideal opportunity to showcase your results and also leads to fruitful contacts to enhance networking.
And don’t forget, responding to a callfor an exploitation project in its own right is a clever way of attracting more funding and a wider audience for your efforts.