Project Introduction

The overall objective of the project is to improve collaborative planning skills and performance of planners (i.e. managers and facilitators of natural resource and environmental planning processes) in the project partner countries (the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and the Slovak Republic).

The immediate objective of the project is to enhance the quality of training provided to planners by improving the knowledge, methods and training tools of trainers. The ultimate beneficiaries of the project are NREP (Natural Resource and Environmental Planning) students and professional planners as well as decision-makers and citizens served by such planners in the partner countries. They will be reached via the primary target groups of the project: teachers, trainers and other learning facilitators in institutions which provide training to planners and trainers.

The main products of the project will be:

• a "core skills analysis" of NRE planners in priority sectors in view of collaborative planning (5 country studies and a synthesis report);
• an assessment of the available VET for NRE planners in priority sectors and the related development needs in view of collaborative planning (6 country studies and a synthesis report);
• a new trainer's tool package on collaborative planning (CoPack) in priority languages of the partner countries (Czech, Dutch, English, Finnish, German, Slovak);
• eight CoPack testing courses and the course evaluations;
• one international seminar in which results of recent international research and experiences on collaborative planning and related VET are exchanged and seminar materials;
• a project website;
• six national dissemination seminars (one in each partner country) and seminar materials;
• articles submitted to relevant national and international journals/publications.

At the end of the project, the partner organisations will utilise the developed methodologies and training tools in the design and implementation of their training curricula, modules and/or courses of NREP and collaborative planning for NRE planner and trainers. The experiences and products will be disseminated through national dissemination seminars, the extended networks of the project partners, the Internet and relevant national and international journals/publications in order to enable other interested VET and NREP organisations within the partner countries and beyond to benefit from the products in developing their services on collaborative planning.

The progress and quality of the project management, activities and products will be consistently evaluated internally by the project partners throughout the process. The CoPack will be tested in eight pilot training courses and evaluated by the pilot trainers and participants.