The Lifelong Learning Programme 2007-2013 - Glossary
 

The Process seeks to help European citizens meet the demands of the European labour market by allowing them to pursue their training needs between different levels of education, and different occupations, sectors and countries. It will also play a key role in achieving the Lisbon Strategy goal of making the EU the world’s most dynamic, knowledge-based economy by 2010.

The work of the Bruges-Copenhagen Process is currently focusing on areas relating to quality assurance and the transparency and recognition of qualifications. Cooperation has begun on a number of practical projects:

• The development of a single framework for transparency of competences and qualifications - Europass
• A system of credit transfer for vocational education and training, similar to the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) in higher education.
• Common criteria and principles for quality in VET to serve as a basis for European-level initiatives in quality assurance.
• Common principles for the validation of non-formal and informal learning to ensure greater compatibility between approaches in different countries.
• Providing lifelong guidance with a European dimension.

The DS is produced by national institutions according to a template that has been developed by a Joint European Commission - Council of Europe - UNESCO working party that tested and refined it.

The DS is composed of eight sections (information identifying the holder of the qualification, information identifying the qualification, information on the level of the qualification, information on the contents and results gained, information on the function of the qualification, additional information, certification of the Supplement, information on the national higher education system). Information in all eight sections should be provided. Where information is not provided, an explanation should give the reason why.

A description of the national higher education system within which the individual named on the original qualification graduated has to be attached to the DS. This description is provided by the National Academic Recognition Information Centres (NARICs) and is available on the website: www.enic-naric.net.
 

• Promotion and awareness-raising is used primarily in the context of publicising the existence of programmes and initiatives, their aims, objectives and activities and the availability of funding for given purposes. This definition excludes the publicising of results. As such, promotion and raising awareness occurs primarily before and during the actual implementation of the programmes or initiatives
• Dissemination is defined as a planned process of providing information on the quality, relevance and effectiveness of the results of programmes and initiatives to key actors. It occurs as and when the results of programmes and initiatives become available
• Exploitation consists of ‘mainstreaming’ and ‘multiplication’. Mainstreaming is the planned process of transferring the successful results of programmes and initiatives to appropriate decision-makers in regulated local, regional, national and European systems. Multiplication is the planned process of convincing individual end-users to adopt and/or apply the results of programmes and initiatives.

Dissemination and exploitation are therefore distinct but closely related to one another. The keys to a successful exploitation of results are:

• producing relevant results from projects ad programmes/initiatives to satisfy the demands of providers, policy-makers and ultimately society more generally, and
• ensuring, through the use of effective dissemination and exploitation, that such results reach the right target audiences in a format and at a time which enables them to benefit from them

The Education Council agreed for the first time in 2001 on common concrete future objectives to be achieved by 2010 for quality, access and opening up of the education and training systems. In June 2002 it also passed a resolution committing Member States and the Community to developing national strategies for lifelong learning.

The Copenhagen process was launched in November 2002 by the Ministers responsible for vocational education and training in cooperation with the social partners and the Commission in order to enhance European cooperation in vocational education and training.

The Education and Training 2010 work programme integrates these different policy strands, setting up cooperation between 32 countries and involving different stakeholders including civil society, social partners and international organisations. It covers all systems (formal, non-formal) and levels of education (pre-school, primary, secondary, tertiary, adult, continuing) and training in the context of lifelong learning.
 

The NRCVG, which exist in all EU and EEA Member States and many Central and Eastern European Countries, act as a link between the guidance services of each country, exchanging information about work, study and training opportunities throughout Europe.

Individual NRCVG represent the various Ministries of Education, Training, Labour and Youth across their respective countries
 

Evaluation (at project level) is a crucial phase for projects since it allows a review and qualitative and quantitative assessment of: 1) the results achieved against the aims (as regards activities/products), with implications for the whole of the grant if results are unacceptable and where results are very poor; 2) the means used to achieve these results in relation to the contractually agreed budget.

Evaluation (at program level): evaluation in the Commission is defined as a judgement of interventions according to their results, impacts and the needs they seek to satisfy.
 

The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) is the one responsible for the management of certain parts of the LLP.
 

Any type of higher education institution, in accordance with national legislation or practice, which offers recognised degrees or other recognised tertiary level qualifications, whatever such establishments may be called in the Member States

Any institution, in accordance with national legislation or practice, which offers vocational education or training at tertiary level
 

• Involve a minimum of three higher education institutions from three different Member States
• Implement a study programme which involves a period of study in at least two of those three institutions
• Have built-in mechanisms for the recognition of periods of study undertaken in partner institutions based on, or compatible with, the European credit transfer system
• Result in the awarding of joint, double or multiple degree, recognised or accredited by the Member States, from the participating institutions

• An economic pillar preparing the ground for the transition to a competitive, dynamic, knowledge-based economy. Emphasis is placed on the need to adapt constantly to changes in the information society and to boost research and development.
• A social pillar designed to modernise the European social model by investing in human resources and combating social exclusion. The Member States are expected to invest in education and training, and to conduct an active policy for employment, making it easier to move to a knowledge economy.
• An environmental pillar, which was added at the Göteborg European Council meeting in June 2001, draws attention to the fact that economic growth must be decoupled from the use of natural resources.

A list of targets has been drawn up with a view to attaining the goals set in 2000. Given that the policies in question fall almost exclusively within the sphere of competence of the Member States, an open method of coordination (OMC) entailing the development of national action plans has been introduced. Besides the broad economic policy guidelines, the Lisbon Strategy provides for the adaptation and strengthening of existing coordination mechanisms: the Luxembourg process for employment, the Cardiff process for the functioning of markets (goods, services and capital) and the Cologne process for macroeconomic dialogue.

The mid-term review held in 2005, for which a report was prepared under the guidance of Wim Kok, former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, showed that the indicators used in the OMC had caused the objectives to become muddled and that the results achieved had been unconvincing.

In order to give new impetus to the Lisbon Strategy, the Commission is proposing a simplified process of coordination in tandem with consultation on the measures to be taken under the national action plans.

This revised strategy is no longer based on all the targets set in 2000, and only the figure of 3 % of GDP for research and development is being retained. The integrated guidelines for growth and employment will henceforth be presented jointly with the guidelines for macroeconomic and microeconomic policies, over a three-year period.

http://ec.europa.eu/growthandjobs/index_en.htm 
 

Monitoring also involves giving feedback about the progress of the project to the donors, implementors and beneficiaries of the project.

Reporting enables the gathered information to be used in making decisions for improving project performance.
 

• Learning Content: full courses content modules, learning objects, collections and journals.
• Tools: software to support the development, use, re-use and delivery of learning content including searching and organization of content, content and learning managements systems, content development tools, and on-line learning communities.

Implementation resources: intellectual property licenses to promote open publishing of materials, design principles of best practices, and localisation of content”
 

The OMC provides a new framework for cooperation between the Member States, whose national policies can thus be directed towards certain common objectives. Under this intergovernmental method, the Member States are evaluated by one another (peer pressure), with the Commission's role being limited to surveillance. The European Parliament and the Court of Justice play virtually no part in the OMC process.

The open method of coordination takes place in areas which fall within the competence of the Member States, such as employment, social protection, social inclusion, education, youth and training.

It is based principally on:

• jointly identifying and defining objectives to be achieved (adopted by the Council);
• jointly established measuring instruments (statistics, indicators, guidelines);
• benchmarking, i.e. comparison of the Member States' performance and exchange of best practices (monitored by the Commission).

Depending on the areas concerned, the OMC involves so-called "soft law" measures which are binding on the Member States in varying degrees but which never take the form of directives, regulations or decisions. Thus, in the context of the Lisbon strategy, the OMC requires the Member States to draw up national reform plans and to forward them to the Commission. However, youth policy does not entail the setting of targets, and it is up to the Member States to decide on objectives without the need for any European-level coordination of national action plans.
 

Peer learning activities should take place at two broad levels: at a policy level, addressing the critical factors for policy change; and at a more practical level, addressing the opportunities and constraints for policy implementation.

Peer learning activities should strengthen mutual learning and deepen the exchange of good practice between countries sharing similar concerns in order to develop a common understanding of success factors for the improvement of policy-making and the implementation of reform.

Peer learning activities should also contribute to policy-making at European level through enhanced, practical cooperation, and by encouraging policy makers in participating countries to take full account of existing EU instruments in the development of national education and training policies and systems.
 

The pre-accession strategy conforms to the characteristics specified at the Luxembourg European Council of December 1997, at which an enhanced strategy was launched for the ten Central and Eastern European candidate countries. It was essentially based on:

• bilateral agreements;
• the accession partnerships and national programmes for adoption of the acquis;
• participation in Community programmes, agencies and committees.

In addition to these main instruments, the pre-accession strategy may include others for individual candidates, depending on their particular circumstances.
 

• Clustering of projects into thematic groups to gain overview on specific contents and outcomes
• Facilitating exchange of experience between project actors with a view to improving quality and impact at individual project level
• Facilitating the networking of projects, practitioners and decision makers with a view inter alia to the future orientation of political priority and strategy