1 st report on project implementation

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Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (SARUD)

Erasmus + KA2 project number 561969-EPP-1-2015-1-DE-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP

1

st

_{report on project implementation}

Topic: Monitoring of SARUD project implementation

Date: 13th_{February 2018}

Drafted by: Quality Team

Work package | lead: WP7 |UHOH (7.1) and RSAU-MTAA (7.2)

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561969-EPP-1-2015-1-DE-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP

1st_{report on project implementation}

13

th

_February

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This report is prepared by the quality team, responsible to monitor the project progress. The members of the quality team include academic and administrative senior experts from the partner institutions who are not involved in project activities. The quality team consists of 5 persons from participating institutions who act as peer reviewers of the project quality:

Russian State Agrarian University - Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy, Russia

Prof. Dr. Valery Koshelev, Head of the Management Chair, Alexander Cha-yanov Faculty of Economics

University of Hohenheim, Germany Prof. Dr. Ulrich Haas, Associate

Pro-fessor emeritus of the Faculty of Natu-ral Science

Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW, Poland

Prof. dr hab. Piotr Stypiński, Faculty of Agriculture and Biology

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czech Republic

Ing. Karel Němejc, PhD, head of the Department of Education at the Insti-tute of Education and Communication S.Seifullin Kazakh Agro Technical

Universi-ty, Kazakhstan

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The present report

summarizes all information of implemented vs. intended activities concerning project

progress, monitoring and quality control of results, including the reference to the

al-ready existing SARUD project documents (Provided in OpenILIAS work space):

 Detailed project description

 Grant agreement

 Partnership agreement

 Logical Framework Matrix, revised August 2017

 Project workplan and respectively updated GANTT chart

 SARUD Quality plan

 Work packages relevant documents (indicated in the report below)

Methods

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Scope of the report

The present report includes quality assessment of the activities/ tasks and deliverables

of all work packages, thus encompassing as well the work packages on

dissemina-tion, project management and quality control themselves. The list of work packages

is:

1. Situation analysis and specification of job requirements

2. Curricula development and implementation of the Master of Professional Studies

3. Capacity building and staff training for HEIs

4. Practice orientation and stakeholder involvement

5. Establishment of knowledge platform(s) and national network(s)

6. Study information and results dissemination

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1. Situation analysis and specification of job requirements

Aim of this work package is to identify and describe the needed professional skills of

the future graduates and to derive from this learning objectives and contents of the

new educational programme.

WP.1 deliverables:

 Establishment of the local working groups in 6 regions

Intention (project proposal)

The HEIs P6-11 established working group with local actors from state agencies and enterprises (P17-28, P34 plus others), and agreed with them on meeting arrangements (tasks, sequence, time, place etc.). Summary of agreements, list of participants and documentation of meeting dates will be provided in English.

Achievements (by Dec 2017)

As a prerequisite for development of all other work packages, WP 1 had the basic approach to involve potential members of the universities operat-ing in the rural landscapes of interest to collect data about the agricultural, economic and social situations in these regions. Therefore, local working groups (LWG) had to be established in three higher education institutions (HEI) in Russia - Omsk SAU (P6), Michurinsk SAU (P7) and Buryat SAA (P7) - and three HEIs in Kazakhstan - Kazakh ATU (P9), Kostanay SU (P10) and Kokshetau SU (P11).

All LWGs were established within the first two months of year 2016 re-vealing a representative composition of the members with respect to quan-tity as well as to their expert knowledge for the upcoming tasks. In addi-tion, public and private local partners multiple participated to the meetings of most LWGs. The LWGs regularly reported on working progress by submitting the meeting minutes to the project coordinator.

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in-561969-EPP-1-2015-1-DE-EPPKA2-CBHE-JP

tensely involved into the development procedure. Looking more in detail into the minutes of LWG-meetings of the different HEIs, to a certain ex-tend comes into notice that there are partially some differences in the commitment of the HEIs into the project.

An interesting and pleasant aspect of the SARUD-project was that the pro-ject network partner Novosibirsk SAU(P12) recognizing its importance for the Novosibirsk region, considered the advantage of implementation of the new SARUD Master programme at their university and actively contribut-ed to the elaboration of the new Master course, regardless to their initial role and low budget allocation specified in the project proposal. The pro-ject management unit supported the initiative and, thus, an additional LWG was established in P12.

Relevant documents

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

Situation analysis/ description of framework conditions in the regions

HEIs P6-11 complete the situation analyses in their respective regions on agriculture, rural regional development trends, tasks, job market and poten-tial employers, and other affected or interested institutions or stakeholders through desktop research, interviews and stakeholder dialogue. P1, P3 and P5 assist the development of standardised procedure (e.g. checklist or questionnaire). P12-17, P34 contribute available case studies and material from their regions. Summary of reports will be delivered in English.

Lead by P3 and in close cooperation with non-academic partners, on the basis of a standardized procedure in terms of a questionnaire (see AIDE MEMOIRE) developed by partners P1, P3 and P5, the HEIs conducted a situation analysis in the regions to identify current demand for knowledge, skills and competencies of graduates in a Master degree on sustainable ag-riculture and rural development in the Russian Federation and Kazakhstan. The outcomes of the investigations are summarized in the report and were used to set up learning objectives and contents of the new educational pro-gramme on sustainable agriculture and rural development.

- AIDE MEMOIRE on job skills demand

- Report WP1 (published on the project web-page: (

https://sarud.uni-hohenheim.de/fileadmin/einrichtungen/sarud/General-docs/SARUD_WP1_Report_final.pdf)

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2. Curricula are developed and implemented for a Master of

Professional Studies

WP.2 includes the necessary steps for the development of the new study programme,

beginning from the clarification of the requirements, the draft outline of the study

programme, course and module development, accreditation procedure, test of new

teaching elements and implementation of the programme. It is closely connected with

WP.3 which summarises all activities on staff training and coaching, and the

upgrad-ing of equipment, and WP.4 which is designated to ensure effective stakeholder

in-volvement into programme development and the elaboration of target and practice

oriented teaching formats and methods.

WP. 2 deliverables:



Outline and study requirements defined

The requirements for the study programme, workload/ ECTS and general structure are clarified and an agreement on a general basic structure is found.

According to the national legislation on higher education in Russia and in Kazakhstan, the elaboration and implementation of curricula for Master programmes is put solely under the responsibility of the university, which is in line with the European Qualifications Framework.

The study plans for the new Master programmes drafted by the LWGs were further elaborated by profound discussion and in close cooperation with EU partners. Elaboration was performed under consideration of the necessary learning objectives and contents, national accreditation obliga-tions and requirements for quality assurance.

- Presentations on basic requirements for Master’s programme

- Template by project coordinator for distribution of thematic pillars within the programme modules

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Study programme elaborated

Until month 10 the study structure and draft syllabi of a professional Mas-ter have to be finalised in a way that the key facts are summarized (degree, standard period of study, credits, language, target group, entry require-ments), the curriculum with the module structure of compulsory and elec-tive modules is finalized, the general objecelec-tives and possible professional/ career fields are identified. Furthermore, the optional exploitation of pro-gramme parts for post-graduate/ vocational training shall be discussed.

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went along with contents definition. Required basic contents include the coverage of the three basic pillars of sustainable development (ecology, economy, social aspects) as well as basic issues of sustainable agriculture. In addition, a scope for further specialization via a range of thematic elec-tive modules was elaborated.

Final study plan for

 KZ Economics (P9-P11)  RU Economics (P6-P8)  RU Agronomy (P6)

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

Courses and modules are developed

The involved staff at the HEIs adjusts existing and develops new modules according to the elaborated study programme. They produce the detailed module plans and contents, didactic concepts, learning materials and re-sources. Supporting project partners share their existing examples and ma-terials and give feedback to draft concepts or mama-terials.

Inter-institutional working groups were established to cooperate on the elaboration of the contents for study modules. For each module a responsi-ble person was defined. The responsiresponsi-ble university coordinated the work, whereas all institutions involved contributed to content elaboration. Units (module descriptions including learning outcomes, workload, structure and brief content description) were elaborated and provided for pre-review to EU partners. For some modules several pre-review stages were necessary until the structure and content were brought into compliance with the de-fined learning outcomes.

- Final units (short descriptions of study modules) for all curricula (see the list above)



Study programme accredited and courses implemented

The institutions involved start the process for approval of the new study programme and conduct the formal and administrative steps to acquire the recognition/accreditation of the new study programme by the respective (national) bodies and/or authorities. The implementation process of the new programme includes the announcement of the study offer, student reg-istration and admission procedures and the implementation of the actual modules. The new course starts in the winter semester (year 2) in Septem-ber.

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* Omsk State Agrarian University named after P.A. Stolypin, P6, Rus-sia

* Michurinsk State Agrarian University, P7, Russia

* Buryat State Academy of Agriculture named after V.R.Philippov, P8, Russia

* Seifullin Kazakh Agro Technical University, P9, Kazakhstan * A.BaitursynovKostanay State University, P10, Kazakhstan * Sh.UalikhanovKokshetau State University, P11, Kazakhstan * Novosibirsk State Agricultural University, P12, Russia

The table below provides an overview of accredited majors, study form and number of students enrolled.

- Institutional orders (department, faculty, university) for approval of a new Master’s course

- Institutional announcements of the call for applications for a new Mas-ter’s course

- Institutional orders on students’ enrollment

Responsible university Accredited major Number of students enrolled WS 2017/18 (total) Of them state grant Of them self- financed Study form Beginning of the lecture period P6 - OSAU Agronomy 18 10 8 off-campus study October

P6 - OSAU Economics 15 15 off-campus study November

P7 - MichSAU Economics 11 0 11 off-campus study November

P8 - BSAA Economics 7 6 1 off-campus study October

P9 - KATU Economics 4 5 on-campus study September

P10 - KSU Economics 2 0 2 on-campus study September

P11 - KokSU Economics 2 0 2 on-campus study October

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3. HEIs capacities are built-up and staff is trained and familiar with

practice cases and teaching methods

The objectives of the WP.3 activities are to ensure the quality and realisation of the

new study programme by supporting the implementing HEIs P6-11 in upgrading

teaching and training equipment, literature, and skills and know-how of the involved

staff. Aim is also to support the technical capacities and knowledge resources of P5,

which builds up a knowledge platform on sustainable agriculture and rural

develop-ment (described in WP.5).

WP.3 deliverables:



Literature purchased and equipment installed

Based on the proposed budget of 20.000,- € respectively 30.000 € for equipment, the partners P5-P11 specify the demand for technical items, training/ teaching material and literature, contact suppliers, collect the of-fers and finalize hardware purchases and instalment until M24 and litera-ture purchases until M34.

Despite the delayed start of equipment purchase caused by the clarification of programme and national requirements for the tendering procedure, the consortium managed to catch up with equipment purchases. Thus,

- P7, P8 have purchased and installed equipment already;

- P5, P6, P10, P11 are currently about to finalize the procedure of equipment purchase and proceed with installation

- P9 is working on adjustments and clarification of the list of equip-ment to be purchased.

The remaining purchases shall be completed in spring 2018. Purchases of literature and other didactic materials remain relevant during the third pro-ject year.

- Justifications of adjustments for the list of equipment to be purchased and EACEA authorization (where relevant)

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- Final receipt and an order for payment - Inventory lists (to be provided later)



Staff training and study trips to programme countries conducted

2x14 staff members involved in the study programme elaboration and im-plementation (P6-11) and staff offering training/ coaching support and dis-seminating training activities at the RSAU Centre of Sustainable Develop-ment of Rural Areas (P5) are trained during 2 week study trips to P1-4 and P29.

The main activities of the staff training comprise two study trips to the EU programme partners with a duration of two weeks each. Study trips were foreseen for the staff involved in the study programme elaboration and conduction (P6-11), and for the staff offering training/ coaching support and disseminating training activities at P5. On agreement with all partners involved, the timetable for the implementation of the study trips was ad-justed: the first study trip was conducted by P2 and P3 from 3 to 16 Octo-ber 2016. The second study trip was hosted by P1 and P4 from 27 Febru-ary to 12 March 2017. Inputs on theoretical bases and ecological dimen-sion, socio-economic aspects of rural development and sustainable agricul-ture as well as the practical aspects of implementing and teaching, and working examples related to training in sustainable agriculture and rural development were provided during the study trips.

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by EACEA, the following mobility changes took place: due to the limited number of staff available from P5 (RSAU) and lack of involvement in program development the number of participants was reduced to one P5 representative per study trip. This provided an opportunity to train the staff involved into the elaboration and implementation of the new curriculum at Novosibirsk State Agrarian University (P12). Accordingly, one representa-tive from P5 and P12 was nominated for each of two study trips. Due to health problems, the P5 nominee for the second study trip resigned at short notice. Considering the limited time, no other candidate from the same in-stitution could be nominated for participation. Therefore, altogether 27 staff training mobilities were implemented instead of 28 foreseen in the project application.

1. Criteria relating to professional skills and involvement in the SARUD project were applied to select study trip participants. All local working group members were informed about the call for applications. First evalu-ated by the home university, applications were submitted for approval to the project Steering Committee. The requirement for participants repre-senting different study fields (agriculture, economics, ecology, social sci-ences) of the same university ensured the interdisciplinary group to be trained and was met by all participating HEIs. The requirement on the minimum language skills could not be met and was lowered emphasizing the professional skills of the applicants concerned. Only academic and administrative staff from partner HEIs are expected by the project to par-ticipate in training activities. Our recommendation is: it will be useful to involve some representatives from farmers associations and/or from some business in international training activity of similar future projects.

- Study trips programmes - Presentations

- Pictures

- Reports of participants

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

Input/ backstopping visits from partner countries

72 short-term mobilities are conducted to realize input, exchange and back-stopping visits from and to the 6 HEIs developing new study programmes in Russia and Kazakhstan and 6 Russian HEIs, participating as network partners in the project. The travels will be organised on demand of the partners between M10 and M30, which covers the period of module elabo-ration, tests and implementation. Summary of reports are provided in Eng-lish.

So far the following backstopping visits have been conducted:

 visit from P1 to P12 to support elaboration of interdisciplinary SARUD Masters course on the major of Administration (Nov 2016)  a three-day seminar on sustainable rural development (SRD) took

place in February 2017 in Kostanay (P10). Experts from EU (P1-P3) and RU (P5) provided an input on theoretical basics of sustainability and examples of practical implementation of programmes on SRD. Participants of the seminar were the coordinators of the SARUD Master programme at the universities implementing the new curricu-lum (P6-P12) and academic staff responsible for the elaboration of the modules on sustainable agriculture and rural development

 visit from P6 to P3 (co-financed) on elaboration of interdisciplinary SARUD Master’s course on the major of Economics in KZ (Dec 2016)

 a three-day training on organic agriculture and ecological aspects of rural development was held in Stavropol (P16) in Oct 2017. Input was provided by the host institution as well as invited experts from P1 and P 15. Participants were academic staff responsible for elabo-ration of the modules on respective topics from P6-8,12.

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2017 in Tambov State University (P14). Invited lecturers from Kok-shetau State University (P11), Buryat and Samara State Agricultural Academy (P8 and P13) gave an input together with experts from TSU (P14). Participants from P6, P7, P8, P12 responsible for the elaboration of respective modules attended the meeting.

Further trainings and single backstopping visits to be implemented in ac-cordance to the preliminary schedule of demanded topics.

- Programmes of backstopping and support visits, seminars and trainings - Presentations

- Pictures

- Reports of participants

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4. New mechanism of practice orientation and stakeholder

involve-ment are introduced

According to the project objective to develop a study programme that is focused on

the job requirements of (young) professionals, WP.4 ensures that this prerequisite is

reflected by the elaborated course contents and methods. This includes the discussion

with stakeholders on the selection of relevant topics and the considerations of the

teaching formats and methods to foster skill development beyond disciplinary

knowledge.

WP.4 deliverables:



Practical training elements developed and introduced

Starting with the specification of practical and transversal skills to be de-veloped during studies the WP activities range from the collection of case examples for the development, test and implementation of appropriate training and teaching formats and methods.

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- Documentation on didactic trainings provided in EN and RU - List of student-centered teaching methods as a part of procedure - Detailed elaboration of examples on teaching methods and feedback - Teaching methods included into descriptions of study modules



Stakeholder involvement institutionalised

The local working groups established during the preparation phase meet on a regular base (e.g. ~4/ year) and ensure the feedback and involvement of practice partners into the study programme development. Possibilities to integrate internships and or project work assignments are discussed and developed with the local working group partners.

HEIs initially responsible for elaboration of the new Masters programme (P6-P11), as well as P12 (as described in WP1) established local working groups with involvement of representatives of different university depart-ments as well as local non-academic partners (P17-P28, and others). In close cooperation with public administrations and non-academic stake-holders they perform the situation analysis and define the job requirements for their regions (WP1), elaborate the outline and contents of the new Mas-ter’s programme (WP2) as well as implement new practice-oriented teach-ing/learning methods (WP4). The special input from the non-academic stakeholders was provided via professional consultations (situational anal-ysis, development of competencies); evaluation of the curriculum structure and course syllabi and assistance in dissemination of project results. The regular exchange with stakeholders during the local working groups meet-ings proves the growing need for trained professionals in issues relating to rural development.

-

Minutes of the LWG meetings

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5. Knowledge platform(s) and national network(s) are established

National awareness and demand from other educational, research and development

institutions for information and material about rural development and sustainable

ag-riculture exists in Russia and in Kazakhstan. Sustainable platform and website

solu-tion(s)can be established and attention and awareness for the intended services

creat-ed.

WP.5 deliverables:



Knowledge platform (web) designed and accessible

To promote and disseminate information on sustainable agriculture and rural development on a wider scale, a knowledge platform that provides online resources and further links/ information will be implemented and hosted at P5 and possibly at P9. The concept of the national network plat-form(s) shall be specified until M14, overlapped and followed with activi-ties to elaborate the services (web contents, information, links) until M31 and to ensure the sustainability and future maintenance until M36.

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workplan. The activities directed to ensure the sustainability and future maintenance have not started – which is in accordance to the GANTT chart and workplan. Further steps on elaboration and an implementation plan for the knowledge platform were agreed during the Steering Commit-tee Meeting in November 2017.

- Structure of the knowledge platform – JPEG picture - Technical design specification - document

- List of responsible contacts persons for issues related to the knowledge platform at the SARUD HEIs and non-academic partners in pilot re-gions – (it is an excel document from 21 Dec 2017) it is not completed for P14 and P16

- Presentations and programme of the 3rd Steering Committee Meeting – Warsaw, Poland, 7th of October 2016

- GANTT chart (by the end of Dec 2017)



Network Conferences are conducted

Three project conferences are conducted for the kick-off (M7, Moscow), interim (M17, Omsk) and final meeting (M31, Astana) with participation of all project partners. Project internal programme parts (management is-sues) are conducted as well as public parts, with the invitation of expert speakers on sustainable agriculture and rural development in Russia and Kazakhstan.

Due to internal changes at Timiryazev academy (P5) the project Kick-Off conference (initially planned in P5) was relocated to P6, RU regional coor-dinator, which is in line with the GANTT chart and the workplan. The in-terim project conference took place at P9 in Astana, the KZ regional coor-dinator. Location for the project final conference (spring 2018) is still to be negotiated: two options considered include P5 in Moscow and P12 in No-vosibirsk.

-

Meeting programmes

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Meeting minutes and summary of assigned tasks

- Lists of responsible persons

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6. Study information and project results are disseminated

For dissemination activities the available networks and resources at the participating

HEIs will be used to provide public information on a specific project website and on

the partner institutional websites, during national and international conferences and

with publications.

Especially the project and network conferences described in WP.5 can be used to

ad-dress a wider audience by inviting expert speakers outside the consortium and media

representatives to report on the project. The knowledge platform (also WP.5) has a

strong two-way dissemination component: to make resources/ materials on

sustaina-ble agriculture and rural development availasustaina-ble to SARUD project partners and to

provide access for interested HEIs and others to the SARUD project information and

the developed study programmes, modules and materials. This way not only the

in-volved

‘RUDECO’

HEIs can benefit from the developed results and material, but also

HEIs in other regions who might be interested in integrating parts into their ongoing

educational programmes or to establish similar programmes.

Dissemination on the local level to the employment market is especially supported by

the contact with practice partners and other multipliers in the local working groups.

WP.6 deliverables:



Project website, partner websites, links created and maintained

The general project website is prepared and launched in English until M6 and maintained throughout the project lifetime with links to respective multi-language websites at the partner institutions especially at P5 (knowledge platform) and P6-11 (HEIs in the regions).

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(English / German / Russian) – the activity is finished according to GANTT chart. The need to implement the website in Russian is linked with the consortium decision to reach a wider Russian-speaking audience (in Russia and in Kazakhstan), and especially to address the stakeholders in partner countries, whose English proficiency is deficient. The regulations concerning the visibility of the EU support are respected and both the logo of the Erasmus+ as well as the SARUD project logo are available for downloading. The website is maintained by the Coordinator and is regular-ly updated in line with the implementation of the project activities. General information about the project and its partners (including contacts, logos and interlinkages to the partners’ webpages) – (it works, but not all the partners provided logo – e.g. Association of forestry and wood processing organizations of the Republic of Kazakhstan "Zhasyl Orman" or Associa-tion "Ecological Commitee", Omsk), major-links relevant for the project, news and events enriched by photo galleries and links to partners’ publica-tions as well as project materials and outputs (e.g. project poster and flyer, reports on implementation of work packages, etc.) are available on the

website in the section Results & reports -

https://sarud.uni-hohenheim.de/resultsandreports. The general project flyer is available in English, Russian and Kazakh. It lists contact persons to be addressed. Re-prints of the project flyer can be provided upon demand by the project partners, in addition to the electronic version that is also used for dissemi-nation. Furthermore, the monthly updates of the SARUD Gantt chart, which is used for monitoring and evaluation of the project progress, are

also available on the webpage (

https://sarud.uni-hohenheim.de/resultsandreports).

Relevant documents and links

- Dissemination strategy(SARUD Dissemination Strategy and Project Sustainability – pdf draft)

- Dissemination plan

- https://sarud.uni-hohenheim.de/

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- SARUD poster (https://sarud.uni-hohenheim.de/resultsandreports)

- Info Letters (available until 30.11.2016 only -

https://sarud.uni-hohenheim.de/resultsandreports#jfmulticontent_c323796-3



Info on study programmes/ project results elaborated, disseminated

Information materials on the study programme are elaborated by the HEI partners P6-P11 and on the national knowledge platform/ networks by P5 and P9, to inform students and other target groups (M12 -M24) and en-suredissemination of according information throughout the project.

The first call for applications for SARUD Masters programmes was

an-nounced at the webpages of the partner universities. Special flyers were elaborated including information on application procedure and study pro-gramme (elaboration of information material on study propro-grammes fin-ished according to GANTT chart) and disseminated to target groups ac-cording to the dissemination strategy.

Elaborated information materials on the study programme are available in English, Russian and Kazakh, in some partners e.g. only in Russian = P7,

see https://sarud.uni-hohenheim.de/studyprogram.

Detailed information on study programmes is going to be summarized in the so-called ‘Module catalogues’– activity in progress. Those are current-ly under construction and will be available on the webpages of the HEIs offering the SARUD Master’s programme. Those catalogues will also be used to disseminate study information via the knowledge platform.

Relevant documents and links

-

Dissemination strategy

-

Partners’ flyer on study programme used for the call for applications

-

Information on the project and partner websites

(https://sarud.uni-hohenheim.de/119254?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=38156&cHash=58cbfbc76e45b901d240a36ced1d0176)

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7. Quality control plan is established and project results and

pro-gress are monitored

The main target areas of the quality control are a) the monitoring and evaluation of

the project progress and results achievement and b) the definition and application of

quality standards for the developed teaching programmes and modules. For these

functions two different responsibilities are assigned with P1 (UHOH, DE) taking the

lead for 7.1 and P5 (RSAU-MTAA, RU) as lead for 7.2.

WP.7 deliverables:



M&E tools for project progress elaborated and implemented

Monitoring and evaluation of the project progress and achievement of re-sults is realised by defining roles and procedures for project monitoring until M6, and the regular monitoring and reporting during the course of the project. Reports of the project management are delivered twice a year for the SC meetings and activity reports of partners on a yearly base.

Monitoring and evaluation is closely linked to project management activi-ties. The Steering Committee (SC) members, who represent the WP leads, are responsible for monitoring activities and the quality of results. Docu-mentation of SC meetings comprises the list of participants, meeting minutes and decisions made, as well as a summary of assigned tasks and deadlines. SC meeting minutes are distributed among the project partners. The next online meeting is planned for February 2018 and the personal SC meeting will take place in April-May 2018 during the project final confer-ence.

SC monitors the project progress according to the defined procedures for project communication, implementation of activities and reporting. The following tools are used for monitoring:

 SARUD GANTT chart that illustrates the project schedule and the de-gree of accomplishment of deliverables is updated monthly;

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 dissemination of project internal information is ensured through regular SARUD information letters,

 the project homepage and a group member workspace in OpenILIAS are provided by the communication and media center at Hohenheim in order to effectively exchange files and materials,

 financial transactions are documented according to EACEA require-ments,

 project outcomes realized in the partner countries are summarized and WP reports are provided.

In addition to the measures foreseen in the project proposal, a survey for an internal project assessment was conducted to reflect the self evaluation by project partners. Report on the survey results was completed and is availa-ble for project partners in English and Russian. The survey results were discussed as one of the workshop topics during the interim meeting in July 2017 and considered for further project implementation.

External project evaluation is a task of the quality team. The members of the quality team include academic and administrative senior experts from the partner institutions, who are not involved in project activities. The qual-ity team consists of 5 persons from participating institutions who act as peer reviewers of the project quality.

Relevant documents/ links

- Quality control plan - SARUD GANTT Chart - SARUD information letters

- group member workspace in OpenILIAS

- SARUD project homepagehttps://sarud.uni-hohenheim.de/

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

Quality control of study plans and modules

Quality criteria and standards for the planned teaching programmes and modules are defined until M22 parallel to the formal steps of the study programme approval and are further assessed during the whole project life time.

The lead to ensure the quality control of the educational elements and pro-grammes developed is with P5 (RSAU-MTAA, Moscow), which holds extended experience in developing and implementing agricultural study programmes as well as trainings for different target groups. Regional coor-dinators P6 and P9 organize the gathering of information on national and international standards, quality frameworks and quality management in HEIs in Russia and Kazakhstan. HEIs implementing the new Master pro-gramme (P6-12) are involved with the aspects concerning the accreditation processes, which include the respective quality aspects. Local working group (LWGs) are composed of qualified teachers representing different departments of partner universities. External experts representing non-academic partners from practice are involved in the LWGs to assure an outside input and feedback on the topical contents of the sustainable agri-culture and rural development curricula to be developed.

The quality control of the educational aspects is facilitated by (P5) and in-cludes internal procedures. External feedback to be provided by the quality

expert group to assess the quality of the practice oriented and holistic

SARUD study programs on sustainable agriculture and rural development. Participating institutions in the external quality assessment group include: Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary (requested) and Stolypin Centre of Regional Development, Russian Federation (requested) and a further external practice partner – the National Agrarian Research and Education Center in Kazakhstan.

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8. Project is successfully managed

To realize project coordination, strategic decision making and day-to-day project

management, communication, reporting and financial administration the relevant

pro-ject bodies or units will be established, procedures of day-to-day management

in-stalled and EACEA agreement taskscommunicated and accomplished.

WP.8 deliverables:



Project steering committee meetings conducted

The steering committee composed of 4 EU partners and 5 project partner institutions, including all WP leads, is installed after project approval. First steering committee meeting is scheduled for M2 to clarify roles and re-sponsibilities and tasks for the project starting phase. During the 3 years project lifetime, 6 steering committee meetings are conducted at EU and partner country institutions.

So far five steering committee meetings have been conducted in line with project schedule:

- 1st_{SCM in November 2015 in Hohenheim}

- 2nd SCM in April 2016 in Omsk, combined with Kick-Off meeting - 3rd_{SCM in Warsaw in October 2016 combined with the 1}st_study

trip

- 4th_{SCM in Astana in July 2017 combined with the interim}

confer-ence

- 5th_{SCM in Prague in Nov-Dec 2017}

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The 6th SCM is to be held together with the final conference in April-May

2018.

- SCM meeting programme - Participants lists

- SCM meeting minutes and summary of assigned tasks - Photos of the meetings

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Day-to-day management installed and in place

Day-to-day management is accomplished, especially by the project man-agement unit at P1 and the regional coordinators P6 and P10. (Technical) tools and appropriate procedures for information, communication, file ex-change, reporting and financial administration are agreed upon and put into place.

To implement project coordination, strategic decision making and day-to-day project management, communication, reporting and financial admin-istration by the relevant project bodies or units have been established, management procedures installed and EACEA agreement tasks communi-cated and accomplished:

a) The project management unit (PMU) is established at P1 and undertakes the responsibility for the project management and communication, realiza-tion of monitoring and evaluarealiza-tion tools for project progress, as well as – in a close cooperation with P6 and P9 – takes a coordinative and supportive role for all project partners.

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all contributing partners to the interactive exchange of project documents, and at the same time meets all requirements on data protection.

The platform is used to share and exchange:

- all relevant project documents (Grant and Partnership Agreements, guidelines for the use of the grant, templates for meeting minutes and re-ports, ITRs or Joint Declarations, regularly updated partner contact list and work plan (GANTT chart), Info-letters);

- meeting documentations (programmes, minutes, presentations and pic-tures);

- working materials and reports on project Work Packages and other rele-vant project information.

c) the Steering Committee (SC) as the main decision making body was es-tablished upon the project approval and assures the consideration and treatment of the relevant and important issues during the SC meetings. The decisions taken by the Steering Committee are documented in the meeting minutes including summaries of assigned tasks and timeframes; the latter are disseminated to the consortium via email and uploaded to the content sharing platform. The feedback on the project management and decision making is regularly collected via internal evaluation of the consortium partners to ensure transparent communication procedures and decision making in the project.

The SARUD Gantt chart is used for the monitoring of the project imple-mentation progress; monthly updates of the Gantt chart are provided to all project partners; progress and deviations from the initial work plan are ana-lysed during the Steering Committee and consortium meetings to make justified adjustments to the project implementation plan, if necessary. Financial management

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of stay by the project partners, those two budget categories are managed centrally by the project coordinator for the entire consortium. They are ei-ther paid directly or reimbursed to the beneficiaries concerned upon provi-sion of the proof for the expenditures incurred. Individual travel reports together with the travel documents are submitted to the project manage-ment (P1) upon return from the meetings. Centralized managemanage-ment of the travel costs is a suitable approach, which allows to level out the losses, which otherwise would incur for some consortium partners due to real travel expenses being higher than unit costs allocated to some distance bands.

Staff costs are transferred to the project partners in three instalments. The first rate is transferred upon provision to the coordinator the ‘request for the pre-financing’; for the transfer of the 2nd and 3rd instalment the bene-ficiaries additionally send a “statement on the use of the previous pre-financing instalment” and respective supporting documents. All partners are assisted and advised by the project management unit (P1) on the issues of supporting documents for staff costs. Where possible, transfers are made to the universities bank accounts, otherwise to the private bank accounts of the beneficiaries.

To simplify the procedure the costs for equipment are transferred, where possible, directly to the equipment supplier. With respect to the tender pro-cedure, the consortium made an effort to comply with both national re-quirements and the rules of the funding programme.

- SARUD GANTT chart

-

SARUD info letters

-

Financial documents (receipts, bills, tickets, etc.)

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Coordination of agreement tasks

Contact point with EACEA is installed at P1 and administrative and legal grant agreement tasks are accomplished including the realisation of part-nership agreement and the communication to partners on the guidelines for the use of the grant. Reporting and audits, including an intermediate finan-cial audit are realised.

The Partnership Agreement was signed by all project partners in due time, despite some administrative issues at P5 and P30 that emerged due to the change of the institutional management boards. Those were solved by the experienced and well standing contact persons in charge for the project, who could promote the project to the new decision makers and gained their support for continued project implementation.

The technical implementation report submitted to EACEA timely. The feedback considered and respective actions taken to implement recommen-dations of EACEA and the National Erasmus+ Offices.

- Partnership agreement

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Main findings of the 1

st

_{quality report}

WP1. – different commitment by partner universities – reflected in the Local Working Group Minutes (page 6).

WP3. – recommendation to extend study trips to non-academic partners (page 15).

WP5. – list of editors for Knowledge platform is not completed 8page 21).

WP6. – project website (pages 23-26)

- difficulties to switch pages between languages– technical restriction - incomplete information about some (non-academic) partners