EUMEDIS Partners Support by the EUMEDIS MDP Team

To increase the efficiency in the utilisation of the resources and to achieve both the EUMEDIS initiative?s overall and specific/contract objectives, the EC decided to set up a supporting project, by the title of EUMEDIS PILOT PROJECTS RESULTS DISSEMINATION AND MONITORING IN MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRIES (EUMEDIS-MDP), whose overall objective coincides with the EUMEDIS purpose, that is ?To contribute to the expansion and qualitative improvement of the Euro-Mediterranean Information Society in the pursuit of the overall economic, quality of life and mutual comprehension and understanding objectives of the overall Euro-Mediterranean cooperation?.

Consequently the purpose of MDP (its immediate objective) can be defined as: ?To support the European Commission?s services in the implementation of the EUMEDIS initiative, ensuring the effective, complete and impartial monitoring of the projects funded and the dissemination of the results amongst the MED partners, stakeholders and general public?. To pursue this project purpose, three main strategic components of the MDP, which are complementary and mutually reinforcing, can be analytically distinguished:

1. The monitoring and assessment of the EUMEDIS Pilot Projects? progress and results;
2. The strengthening of the EUMEDIS stakeholders networking capacity;
3. The dissemination of EUMEDIS results to the stakeholders and the general public.

The ?EUMEDIS PILOT PROJECTS RESULTS DISSEMINATION AND MONITORING IN MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRIES?, was awarded by the European Commission to the Consortium led by KANTOR S.A., together with DANISH MANAGEMENT S.A. and QWENTES S.A.

Presentation of the EUMEDIS MDP Activities

The EUMEDIS MDP aims to support the Pilot Projects? management acting as an interface between their implementing Consortia and the EC Services. EUMEDIS MDP established and is now implementing a mechanism for the permanent follow-up of the Programme?s projects focused on an internal monitoring process, in line with the EC?s Project Cycle Management / Logical Framework Method. This mechanism is aimed to provide a permanent support together with continuous assessment of each Pilot Project?s progress and results, proposing, if so required, alternative approaches and/or innovative actions.

Basic LogFrame for EUMEDIS MDP:

The overall objective coincides with the EUMEDIS Programme specific objective, that is ?To contribute to the expansion and qualitative improvement of the Euro-Mediterranean Information Society in the pursuit of the overall economic, quality of life and mutual comprehension and understanding objectives of the overall Euro-Mediterranean co-operation?.

The specific objective is: ?To support the European Commission?s services in the implementation of the EUMEDIS initiative, ensuring the effective, complete and impartial monitoring of the projects funded and the dissemination of the results amongst the MED partners, stakeholders and general public?.

The direct beneficiaries are: the Implementing Consortia & their partners; the EU DG EuropeAid Directorate B (at the level of Operations Managers).

The Indirect Beneficiaries are: National institutions responsible for the Programme?s target sector(s); training institutions; public/private research centers; NGOs; Regional bodies with competence in the Programme?s target sector(s); Wide public in Europe and MED.

The expected results are: Enhancement of follow-up mechanisms related to overall programme management and administration, implementation and targeted support to the programme partners, Facilitation of Networking among the various stakeholders, Promotion of effective mechanisms for information dissemination and visibility and of programme sustainability and impact.

The basic methodology is summarized in:

1. The Technical Assistance/monitoring will be developed along two basic courses of actions: as ?permanent? TA/monitoring and as ?field? TA/monitoring.
2. The permanent TA/monitoring will be based on the desk monitoring of EUMEDIS Pilot Projects? submitted / due deliverables. This will be the first main pillar of the EUMEDIS Performance Monitoring System (EPMS). It covers both timely submission and quality assessment of due contractual deliverables : this activity is performed by the EUMEDIS MDP Core Team.
3. The second main pillar concerns the monitoring and review missions on site. These include the annual monitoring missions to the Pilot Projects, with in addition mid-term and final reviews. In the course of the project?s implementation three assessment / monitoring cycles are foreseen, each one composed by a mission to each Pilot Project and a mission to each MEDA Country. The monitoring and review missions to the Pilot Projects will be performed by sectorial experts, while the missions to MEDA Countries by the Core Team Experts.

MDP Team Meeting in progress The Monitoring and Dissemination Project (MDP) Team is residing in the Brussels based EUMEDIS MDP Office.