THEPS Newsletter #25: Some results have been announced.
Hello,
We have a juicy issue for you! Some news, some tips, some scandals, a lot of heart... and a vacuum cleaner. Enjoy:
- A New NA in Kosovo
- Results from Slovenia
- Tips & Tricks: Your Biggest Issue When You Begin a Project?
- What the Future Holds
A New NA in Kosovo
The Bulgarian National Agency, the Human Resource Development Centre (ЦРЧР), has announced that it will support the establishment of the future Erasmus+ National Agency in Kosovo. A signed Memorandum outlines cooperation in several key areas: effective programme management, exchange of expertise, development of joint initiatives and innovative practices, participation in training and cooperation activities, and support for the organisational and administrative development of Kosovo’s future National Agency.
According to the official statement of the Bulgarian NA, the focus will be on sharing good practices in agency management, implementing work programmes, communicating with target groups, and building sustainable institutional capacity.
This is an interesting development, given that the Bulgarian NA has often faced public criticism regarding transparency and governance. As in, being corrupt (not our words, the people's). They also want to mentor the Montenegrin and Albanian future NAs…
The new Bulgarian government (since 8th May) encountered its first controversy only days after taking office. The appointment of Asya Pandzherova as Deputy Minister of Education quickly sparked public debate when earlier media reports resurfaced. According to these reports, during her time as an evaluator of Erasmus+ projects in 2017-2018, she allegedly approved significant funding for companies linked to her future husband, amounting to €1,600,000. Yes, you’ve read that right. One million and six hundred thousand euros. Parts of the schemes even included schools (one was ordered to return €300,000).
Four days after her appointment, it was announced that she had resigned.
We sincerely wish the future Kosovar, Albanian and Montenegrin National Agencies success in building a strong, transparent, and effective structure. They will certainly have a challenging road ahead.
We demand independent evaluators, just as it is for the bigger projects. No more corruption in the EU!
Results from Slovenia
The results for the Erasmus+ projects submitted in March have been announced. If you’re a partner in such a project, contact your partners from Slovenia. Fingers crossed!
Tips & Tricks: Your Biggest Issue When You Begin a Project
We’ve noticed that one of the most common comments evaluators give is that the needs analysis section isn’t strong enough. And while we’re firm believers in using official data from Eurostat and national statistics, that alone is never enough. You also need your own research.
Take the PlayPump example. It was a system designed to use the energy of children playing to pump water. Imagine a windmill‑powered pump, but fun. It replaced the traditional hand pumps that women used after walking kilometres to reach water sources.
It sounded brilliant. It attracted huge investments. It was praised as a life‑changing innovation for parts of Africa. But one crucial step was skipped: checking whether it was actually needed and whether it would work in real conditions. Children couldn’t provide the constant force required (who knew children could get tired…), the pumps kept breaking, repairs took ages, and villagers didn’t have the skills to fix them. Women ended up using the merry‑go‑round themselves, which made them dizzy, and eventually, many communities returned to the old hand pumps.
The point is: we all want to do good, none of us are in this field for the money, we’ve established that long ago. But if we want to do good, we need to do it better.
So before writing a project, ask your target groups what they actually think and need. Create a short questionnaire, send it around, and talk to people. The evaluators notice this. It’s the difference between scoring 60 and scoring 100.
What the Future Holds
A big summer survey, a killer guide and… a PLATFORM!
Also, we have more of your feedback!!!
We love youuuu! Here's a gif of the dog (Aristotle) of one of our writers who loves getting cleaned by the vacuum cleaner. (to prove there is no ChatGPT in this email, just humans, a canine and a very old vacuum cleaner)
