This document outlines a project with partners from 5 European countries to improve skills in managing town twinning projects through training seminars. The project aims to enhance skills in strategic planning, provide a common methodology, and create a network. It will address themes like active aging, rural development, and waste management. Participants will develop project proposals at the seminars. The expected impacts are increased knowledge, improved management skills, and sustained partnerships to facilitate future cooperation.

2. PARTNERS

3. PARTNERS
5 European countries in a North-South and West-East
perspective
 ITALY – Sweden Emilia Romagna Network
 SPAIN – La Coruna Province
 SWEDEN - Association of Municipalities of Norrbotten
 CROATIA – Agencija Lokalne Demokracije
 POLAND – Association of Polish Cities

4. BACKGROUND
Previous projects (NTT+ and MaNTT) have evidenced 2
major needs:
1) to improve skills among civil servants (Town Twinning
officers and managers from other departments) in order
to plan and formulate more effectively NTT projects.
2) to develop shared approaches and tools that can help
them managing their projects once approved

5. Objectives
 1) to enhance the skills of civil servants to meet more
complex and demanding challenges in terms of strategic
project planning;
 2) to provide the participating municipalities with a
common methodology for planning (NTT) projects
ensuring consistency between objectives and achieved
results;
 3) to create a platform for networking in order to
further develop the exchange and contacts at multiple
institutional levels.

6. Activities
 Three training seminars focusing on the Project Cycle
Management (PCM) methodology
 The first 3 phases of the project cycle:
THE PROJECT CYCLE
INDICATIVE
1 PROGRAMMING
 Indicative Programming GOAL 2
Identification
IDENTIFICATION
 EVALUATION 6
P.C.M.
 Formulation
5 3
IMPLEMENTATION 4 FORMULATION
FINANCING

7. WORK PLAN 1
 1st SEMINAR
(21-23 February 2012 - Poland, Poznan)
Participants meet and know each others sharing knowledge about their
organisations and the needs they elements they have in comon.
 2nd SEMINAR
(19-22 March 2012 - Italy, Rimini)
Participants identify the main problem they want to tackle, define the
causes and as a result of that the general objective and results of the
project.
 3rd SEMINAR -
(5-7 June 2012 - Spain, La Coruna)
Participants plan events, activities and methodology for evaluation,
dissemination and follow-up. Define all the main elements needed in order
to complete the project proposal.

8. WORK PLAN 2
 DISSEMINATION SEMINAR
(18-19 October 2012, Brussels)
AIM:
 to spread information on the project, results and the process
undertaken
 to inform EU institutions (EACEA and EU Commission) and
representatives of national/regional offices in Brussels
Representatives of the 5 work groups will present their project proposals
and the process they have carried out during the training highlighting
advantages of a participative planning process and the critical points .

9. THEMES
 Active ageing
 Local Rural development strategies
 Local urban development policies
 Cultural policies as driver for local development
 Waste management strategies

10.  European Year 2012; Theme 1
Active Ageing
 Aspects related to the theme:
questions related longer working life,
healthy lifestyle,
active contribution of elderly to
society through volunteering;
 Participants from Sweden, Spain,
Croatia and Poland
 6 Municipalities

11. Theme 2
 Aspects related to the theme: Local rural
development
promotion of local produces, strategies
development strategies based on
tourism, promotion of entrepreneurial
skills among farmers;
 Participants from Sweden, Italy Spain,
Croatia and Poland
 9 Municipalities

12. Theme 3
Local urban
development
policies
 Aspects related to the theme:
employability, new skills for new jobs)
 Participants from Sweden, Italy, Croatia
and Poland
 7 Municipalities

13. Theme 4
Cultural policies
as driver for local
 Aspects related to the theme: planning development
and implementation of cultural policies
at local level, support to creative
industries;
 Participants from Sweden, Italy Spain,
Croatia and Poland
 11 Municipalities

14. Theme 5
Waste
management
 Aspects related to the theme: waste strategies
management processes and
approaches , awareness raising actions
targeting the population, innovative use
of wastes;
 Participants from Sweden, Italy, Spain,
Croatia and Poland
 6 Municipalities

15. IMPACT of the PROJECT
 An increased knowledge of the EFC Programme;
 A shared and replicable methodological approach to
effective Thematic Network project planning;
 Improved managerial skills to govern the different phases
of the process;
 Shared criteria and guidelines to enhance “evaluation”,
“follow-up” and "dissemination" as key elements to
valorize project’s achievement and learn from
experience;
 Increased transnational partnerships, initiatives and
project proposals in the context of NTT .

16. SUSTAINABILITY of the FUTURE
PROJECTS
CREATION OF SUSTAINABLE NETWORKS thanks to:
 Project partners (association of municipalities): through
the project coordination and follow-up actions;
 Participants (municipalities): through planning,
implementation and follow-up of NTT projects;
 -Local Networks (NGOs and other civil society actors):
through their participation in NTT projects, which will
create new contacts and generate new transnational
processes of cooperation.