Social Management Seminar

Dear friends,

from 22nd to 26th October, a seminar on social management was held in the framework of the education year for the Caritas project leaders.

 The aim of the seminar was to increase skills and to enhance competence of the project managers in the area of social management, administration and coordination of ongoing activities and fundraising.

 Tasks:

1. To train the participants to put together a project proposal based on a “Log frame” (The Logical Framework Approach is a systematic, analytical planning process for the target-oriented design of a project);

2. To enhance team management abilities of the participants;

3. To make the participants familiar with the principles and techniques of an internal project evaluation and with preparing for an external evaluation;

4. To instruct the participants in some PR-techniques, which are necessary for a project presentation.

 The seminar was held in St. Petersburg Catholic Major Seminary "Mary Queen of Apostles".

 Moderators: Dana Hradcova, Michal Synek (Czech Republic)

 The participants had the following expectations before the start of the seminar:

 "... To learn an algorithm for the compilation of a project proposal in accordance with the requirements of our donors";

"... To receive a complete sample project";

"... To get new skills; the previous experience in the compilation of project proposals should be better structured after the seminar."

"... To learn more about the experiences of our colleagues which I can implement in my work"

"... To get to know my colleagues and their work better"

"I expected that we will be able within five days to assemble a nearly completed project proposal, which would be useful for each project leader"

"... To get acquainted with the Logical Framework Approach and understand what this actually means; to learn to work in a team";

"I thought it would be a formal and boring seminar with an incomprehensible goal... I have been already for more than 10 years writing project proposals."

"... To get a detailed plan for putting together a project proposal"

"... To find out about new opportunities for the project development"

"... To get new knowledge in the field of personnel management"

All project managers wanted not only to get within five days acquainted with the technique of putting together a project proposal, but also to write a project proposal, make themselves familiar with the personnel management, get some training in PR campaigns and events, find new donors to finance their projects and change the world for good!

 Five days of the intensive Caritas team work strengthened our sense of belonging to a united community. The constant reference to the "sources" – to the common goal and the Caritas working principles - helped us to better analyze the offered learning situation and to feel our community deeper. Each project of Caritas St. Petersburg is autonomos; it has its own manager, its own staff, its own goals and tasks. The seminar gave us the opportunity to feel "the shoulders of our colleagues."

 We made the decision to prepare new project proposals in a team. The initiator of a new project will have to introduce a presentation of his project proposal; his colleagues may thereby express comments and suggestions. "One head is good, two heads are better."

At the monthly meetings of our project leaders, not only the current financial and management issues should be discussed, but also constantly arising problems with the staff and with the project development have to be addressed. Common solutions to difficult problems should also be found.

 Our impressions from the seminar:

 • "I enjoyed the comfortable and benevolent work atmosphere that Dana and Michael have created. The moderators have not forced us to spend hours listening to a boring and incomprehensible theory, but they thought us using specific examples from their extensive experience of Caritas work. I also want to highlight the simplicity and clarity of the learning material, what proves the high professionalism of the both speakers."

• "It was very useful that our director and the public relations officer also attended the seminar together with the project managers."

• "This was a very emotional and not purely theoretical training that will have a practical impact on my work. Thank you for the opportunity to have an informal interaction with the moderators and my colleagues. I would like to especially highlight the professionalism of the presenters.”

• "I understood what the Log frame means and what it is useful for at all steps of the project compilation. This work helped me to understand the shortcomings of my own project. At the seminar I learned to better get along with my colleagues."

• "I found it very stimulating to work as a team, to collegially discuss problems and to find solutions together. This was an important experience for me. I enjoyed the work of the moderators very much. The learning was interesting, calm, focused, useful and not boring!

• "I understand now the scheme better, how one fills up the log frame. The relations between the different parts of the logical framework became clearer to me. I became aware of the meaning of the term "sustainability of the project."

• "I gained new ideas for the development of my project. I became aware of the fact that I have worked within a narrow range, and that those limits should and could be extended. I understood that one can achieve much more if one would more often discuss with the staff, in which direction the project should be developed. "

• "I understand that all the weaknesses and problems in working with the project’s staff belong to the zone of the next development. There are no hopeless situations. One can always find a solution if one is supported by his colleagues! "