Ideas how to show impact of your KA1 project

I visited a contact seminar in Rome recently in which I spoke with several national agencies about the KA1 application. With no exception, they told me that Impact is usually the weakest point of applications. Even in cases when evaluators recognize good project idea applicants struggle to show the impact with concrete examples. Hence, I decided to write another blog on impact in order to give some tips how can you explicitly show the impact of your mobility project.

The main idea of the impact chapter is to show changes you expect to occur as a result of the project.

French national agency suggest to be systematic in showing impact of the project on students, teachers and school.
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Desired impact for students: self-confidence, knowledge of the European Union, Knowledge of lifestyle and education in partner countries, knowledge of native culture, strong bonds with students from partner schools, digital skills development, foreign language skills development, team work development, social skills development, interest in other countries and their cultures, motivation in all subjects and studies, motivation to study foreign languages, tolerance with regard to different cultures.

Desired impact for teachers: experience of different teaching methods, experience of new subjects/knowledge, knowledge of the European Union, knowledge and understanding of partner countries’ educational system (content and assessment), knowledge of own subject field, creation of strong bonds with partner country teachers, project management skills development, digital skills development, English language skills development, language skills development in a language other than English, social skills development, motivation to work in a multi-disciplinary team, motivation for professional training and skills development, motivation for the job.

Desired impact for the school: improvement of school climate, development of interdisciplinary approaches, development of openness and cooperation with schools from other countries, development of work placements abroad, stronger relationships between students and teachers, better team work between teaching, administration and management departments, better team work among teachers, financial impact, introduction of new teaching systems, new content, strengthening of the European dimension and its development, increased support and involvement of family members in school life, increased support and involvement of other stakeholders: local and regional authorities, companies, parents’ associations.
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Don’t be scarce with measurement. Results indicators help recognise to what degree the project objectives have been achieved. Include different concrete indicators of your results such as: Number of information sessions for school staff to learn about skills gained by students during project activities, Number of delivered Europass Mobility, Number of training sessions by peers, Number of students/teachers involved in mobility activities, Number and type of organisations involved in a project other than schools e.g. any local/national businesses involved, Absenteeism rate, Number of new contacts established, Average satisfaction of the participants.