The Bridge INTELLECTUAL RESULT IO 16 (8) | Page 6

1. Developing and managing an international project Developing a project already begins with the first contact made between future partner schools. Contact seminars, organized by National agencies, are specifically intended at finding partner schools based on specific topics or fields of work. Some schools hit it off from the minute they meet while others need to look elsewhere for potential partners, such as the portals E-twinning or Gateway, just to mention a few. Once a school has found its eligible partners a preparatory meeting is recommended allowing them to come together and define their project's goals and the roles each partner will play in the project; prepare the work plan for the duration of the project, fill out the project application and get to know and understand each other better, as well as their mutual goals and ways of working. Once the project has been approved, in order for it to develop the way it was set out in the application, it is very important that it is monitored from day one. There are certain things to consider in keeping a project intact. The project's overall success will depend on the response and feedback of the students and teachers from all partner schools, from the families of the participating students, from the local region and other municipalities and institutions. That is why it is always good to keep on the lookout for unpredictable changes that might occur along the way in comparison to the primary goals set out in the application. As the project progresses it is important to monitor to what extent the project goals are being met; how satisfied the project participants (including the students, teachers, parents and the wider public) are; what impact the project is making on each individual partner school; what impact it is making in the region and how the partner schools will make further use of their rich experiences in the future. Constant monitoring and evaluation should be done on a regular basis to ensure that things are going the way they should. 1.1 Monitoring Regular monitoring is crucial to the project's positive outcome and conclusion. It should include: 6