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EASY-ECO Szentendre training is the second in the series
of training and conferences of the EASY-ECO 2005-2007, providing possibility
for young researchers to improve their knowledge and competences in different
forms of evaluation and impact assessment of sustainability and to collect
practical experiences from case studies. The participation of young researchers
in the EASY-ECO training will strengthen the evaluation culture of sustainable
development all over Europe on national and international level.
The training is sponsored by the EU 6th Framework Program, Marie Curie
Action. Details are on the website: www.sustainability.at/easy
Participants - apply in October
2005!
The training is designed for a specific
target group of young researchers (less than ten years experience) with
a strong interest in the areas of evaluation and/or sustainable development.
Participants may be studying for their doctorates, working in a government
department, in public administration, in NGOs or for international organisations
in the sustainability/evaluation field. EU-Grants are available to cover
all costs (travel expenses, participation fees, accommodation and living
allowance) for participants of this target group. Young researchers are
highly encouraged to visit a conference, and then attend one of the EASY-ECO
trainings, all of which can be covered by an EU-Grant. Ideally, participants
will submit a paper on an aspect of evaluation of sustainability for one
of the conferences following their training. Full details on eligibility
for grants is given on the EASY-ECO website at www.sustainability.at/easy.
Deadline for (up to
35) EU-Grant is on the 31th October!
Training venue: This training will be
held in Szentendre, in the REC Headquarter Conference Center. Szentendre
is situated north of Budapest on the banks of the Danube River. It takes
about 20 minutes to reach Budapest by car and approximately 40 minutes
by suburban train.
Accommodation will be in comfortable hotels in the center of Szentendre.
Further information is "How to get to the REC"...
Theme
Evaluation and impact assessment are playing increasingly important role
in all European member states. Most governments have introduced regulatory
impact assessment procedures for their own policy-making processes and
candidate countries are being encouraged to do the same. Local Agenda
21 initiatives, and private sector corporations' sustainability reporting
and environmental management systems are also increasingly widely used.
Many development assistance programmes, as well as the EU's agricultural
and structural funds, are subject to impact assessment or evaluation procedures.
The topics are important, because evaluation can support sector integration,
institutional change, reforms, good governance, planning and implementation
of sustainable development.
Theme of the Szentendre training
The structure and the content of the EASY-ECO Szentendre
training was designed by the international team of the EASY-ECO project
from Austria, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, United Kingdom
and Canada. The aim of the training program as other trainings in Slovakia
(September 2005), Poland (2007) and Romania (2007) is to grow up a new
generation of sustainability evaluators, who are able to influence the
decision making process by assessment and evaluation of national strategies,
programs, projects, reports. In Hungary, as in other New Member States,
impact assessment and sustainability evaluation of national development
plans, sustainable development strategies and their implementation and
EU projects are highly important due to the urgent need of more sustainable
and innovative economic development.
In addition to the core modules of the training three case studies can
bring some specific topics, methods, region or country experiences during
the afternoon sessions, designed by the case trainers. In the Szentendre
training the SEA of the Hungarian Development Plan, the Science role in
sustainability in international context, a water resource management plan
evaluation will connect the general new knowledge to practice for the
young researchers studying at the course.
Structure of the training
The training starts with the three month pre-phase
internet based preparation via the EASY-ECO website. The participants
can have access to read the core materials to be prepared for the local
training.
The local training, 25 January - 3 February 2006, Szentendre, combines
a morning core-modules with afternoon case-study practical sessions. The
core modules comprise a series of high-quality lectures given by experienced
international trainers. Each afternoon the course shifts its focus to
practical case-study sessions, during which participants have the opportunity
to work hands-on alongside case-owners and apply the content of core-course
materials. Participants are given the choice of working on evaluation/impact
assessment case-studies focusing on international and EU policies and
programmes; national policies for sustainable development; and regional
and local activities for sustainable development (LA 21 etc). In groups
of 10-15, participants will be supported by a scientific tutor throughout
the duration of the training.
During the three-month virtual follow-up phase, participants can work
on their own papers towards submission at one of the conferences, with
the full support of case-owners and scientific tutors. Contextual issues
that may be addressed in these papers include: integration into policy-making
processes; institutional transformation and capacity-building; identification
of goals and needs; stakeholder identification and involvement; evaluation
culture and strategies to enhance it; expert networks, overview of the
evaluation praxis in the participants home country.
Further Information and Booking
The training itself runs for ten consecutive days, starting on the 25th
of January and finishing on the 3rd of February. In order to book your
participation at the training, please follow the application guidelines
"How to apply" at www.sustainability.at/easy.
The host of the Training
The REC Country Office Hungary: The conference
is being organised by the Regional Environmental Center for Central and
Eastern Europe (REC), Hungarian Country Office(COH), which is based in
Szentendre. The REC is a non-partisan, non-advocacy, non-profit international
organisation with a mission to assist in solving environmental problems
in Central and Eastern Europe, in 16 countries. The center fulfils this
mission by promoting cooperation among non-governmental organisations,
governments, businesses and other environmental stakeholders, and by supporting
the free exchange of information and public participation in environmental
decision-making. Country Office Hungary is in the unique position working
in the Headquarter. The main area of the work of the COH: EU integration,
education and training, implementation of sustainable development, environment
and health, SEA of the National Development Planning.
Please take a look at the REC website for more information.
The EASY-ECO website www.sustainability.at/easy
has been carefully constructed so as to provide answers to all your questions.
Should you not have access to the internet, or you require any assistance
not available on the website, please do not hesitate to contact Eva Csobod/Petur
Farkas at the REC COH on: Tel.: +36 26 504 075, Fax: +36 26 302 137, e-mail:coh@rec.org
Partner Organizations
Research Centre Managing Sustainability,
Vienna University of Economics and
Business Administration,
Vienna, Austria |
Center for Evaluation
Saarland University, Germany |
DPM - Institute for Development Policy
and Management, University of Manchester,
UK
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The Regional Environmental Center
for Central and Eastern Europe,
REC Country Office Hungary and
REC Slovakia |
The Sendzimir Foundation,
Krakow, Poland |
National Centre for Sustainable
Development (NCSD)
Bucharest, Romania |
IISD - International Institute
for Sustainable Development,
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
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