Objectives and description of the action
The partnership should include partners from at least 3 participating countries. One of the partners must act as coordinator. It is strongly advised to indicate at application stage which of the partners volunteer to act as replacement coordinators, should the original coordinator be rejected in the selection.
Partnership projects fill a gap between the two major decentralised Leonardo da Vinci actions, i.e. the mobility projects and the bigger transfer of innovation projects, as they allow for cooperation in VET beyond mobility activities without, however, demanding large scale cooperation involving big budgets as in the Transfer of Innovation. Partnerships could also be used to continue to cooperate on results achieved in a previous project or be a first step towards a mobility or transfer of innovation project. However, LdV partnerships should not be used to carry out pure mobility projects or to prepare a transfer of innovation project.
Partnerships are an excellent way of enabling peer learning activities for the use of common tools as described in the Helsinki Communiqué, such as transparency, EQF, ECVET, quality assurance, excellence of skills, competences for key sectors.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES - TOPICS FOR CO-OPERATION
Leonardo da Vinci Partnerships follow the objectives of the Leonardo da Vinci programme as set out in Article 15.1 of the Programme Decision , which reflect the general political goals of VET policy at European level. This includes the objectives linked to the Copenhagen process and its 2- year updates. The main priorities for VET as reviewed in the Bruges Communiqué in December 2010 set an excellent framework for Leonardo da Vinci partnerships.
More specifically, LdV partnerships are differentiated from the partnership actions in the Comenius and Grundtvig programme on the basis of the content of the activities, which have to be clearly VET related. A second particularity of LdV partnership is the participation of other stakeholders than just VET schools, such as enterprises, social partners, regional, local or even national decision makers.
The following examples of topics which could be covered within a LdV partnership are based on the Bordeaux communiqué reflecting present priority topics in common VET policy:
- Development of guidance and advice on VET;
- Opening VET to flexible pathways and create better conditions for transition to working life;
- Reinforce or create closer links of VET with working life;
- Promoting the recognition of non-formal and informal learning;
- Responding to the needs of the labour market, particularly of SMEs, anticipation of skills needed in labour market;
- Improve the qualification of teachers and trainers;
- Support the implementation of Quality assurance in VET;
- Cooperate in the area of transparency of VET systems (i.e. ECVET, EQF, Europass…);
- Support the development of national qualifications frameworks in relation to EQF;
- Cooperate to test and apply common concepts developed at European level with the aim to achieve a spreading at the level of the actors “on the ground”.
The LdV Partnership will produce an outcome or results which allow later dissemination and further application of the results of the cooperation. This can be descriptive or tangible, take the form of a common report, a conference, a CD, a tangible product as developed for / on behalf of / with the involvement of trainees, a training concept in a specific VET field, ...etc.
Who can benefit
- Institutions or organisations providing learning opportunities in the fields covered by the Leonardo da Vinci sectoral programme;
- Associations and representatives of those involved in vocational education and training, including trainees’, parents’ and teachers’ associations;
- Enterprises, social partners and other representatives of working life, including chambers of commerce and other trade organisations;
- Bodies providing guidance, counselling and information services relating to any aspect of
- lifelong learning;
- Bodies responsible for systems and policies concerning any aspect of lifelong learning vocational education and training at local, regional and national level;
- Research centres and bodies concerned with lifelong learning issues;
- Organisation at tertiary level (higher education institutions) can participate in the projects, but the results should not target those attending vocational education and training at tertiary level
- Non-profit organisations, voluntary bodies, NGOs
