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Evaluation Bridges for Recognition

Bridges for Recognition achieved its aim, and maybe more... Participants knowledge of recognition of non-formal education grew, as well as their contacts and motivation in the field of recognition. Have a look at the evaluation by the participants of Bridges for Recognition and a first assesment of its Impact...

Participants' Evaluation

At the end of Bridges for Recognition the participants filled out a questionnaire to gauge the impact of such a conference on their work and motivation (see graphs on the right).

  • 100% of participants indicated on their forms that they gained knowledge about Recognition at the Bridges conference (79% a lot-21% a little)
  • 100% of participants said they had had the opportunity at Bridges to build up a network of Recognition related contacts at Bridges for Recognition (64% a lot-36% a little)
  • 100% of participants said Bridges contributed to their motivation to take action in the field of Recognition (75% a lot-25% a little)

We used SALTO's pre- and post-questionnaire system to contrast people's judgements of their Knowledge of Recognition before and after Bridges for Recognition, as well as their perceived network of Recognition related contacts. The graphs clearly indicate a shift to a higher motivation and knowledge after Bridges, compared to before.

Evaluation of the Programme

The individual programme blocks were evaluated (rating from 1=very bad to 6=very good) to see which programme elements were particularly successful or which ones could be approved on. The general evaluation was extremely positive! (see graphs to the right)

  • 82% judged the Opening Speaches of the European Commission, Council of Europe, European Youth Forum plus the Young person's life story positively (3 or more)
  • 88% rated the inputs on Terms & Concepts related to Recognition above average (3 or more) and appreciated the Terminology Cheat Sheet prepared by Lynne Chisholm
  • 74% liked the Expectations Panel, where different stakeholders shed light on their expectations towards recognition of non-formal learning, from their perspective (3 or more)
  • 94% enjoyed the many Good Practice workshops (3 or more), several people comment to be positively surprised that so many initiatives have already been taken.
  • 75% judged the Networking Fair positively (3 or more) as it allowed for a free exchange of ideas and material or in depth face-to-face discussions
  • 76% rated the Stakeholder Needs Discussions (splitting up with other people from their sector) above average (3 or more)
  • 88% gave positive marks (3 or more) to the Hot Issue Discussions and of course the recommendations coming out of these debates (available soon at www.salto-youth.net/BridgesReport/)
  • 94% liked the general rapporteur's Conclusions of the Event. They will be reworked and appear in the final report at www.salto-youth.net/BridgesReport/

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Impact of Bridges for Recognition

Bridges for Recognition brought together a wide variety of stakeholders (see participants list) which enriched the discussions enormously. In total there were:

  • 120 participants (and 12 staff)
  • of which 45 speakers & facilitators…
  • and 28 reporters + 1 general rapporteur. 
  • 8 representatives from the Educational Sector
  • 6 people from the Labour Market
  • 29 YOUTH National Agencies 
  • 6 SALTO-YOUTH colleagues
  • 41 Youth Organisations or Youth Trainers 
  • 30 Policy Makers (European, National, Local)

Virtual Participation

But there was more impact than only on the participants of Bridges for Recognition! Before, during and after Bridges, there was and is the possibility to participate in the recognition discussions online!

  • Appr. 40 new members joined in Cedefop's http://communities.trainingvillage.gr/youth/ virtual community because of Bridges' use of this platform to prepare and follow up the conference
  • Appr. 1350 visitors browsed through the Virtual Community in the month before Bridges (compared to appr 320 visitors/month otherwise)
  • 11 background documents from the SALTO Bridges site were downloaded 1110 times in the run-up to Bridges (Dec 04 & Jan 05)
  • 19 people followed parts of Bridges for Recognition via WebCam - an innovative experience which is promising for future events. 

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Visibility for Recognition of Youth Work

SALTO Bridges went beyond the (virtual) participants only and reach many more with the message that 'young people learn in youth activities' and that 'youth work and the young people should get recognition for this'! Bridges reached:

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Bridges Practicalities

Last but not least, one should not forget the work that went into the organisation of Bridges for Recognition. When asking participants in the evaluation form they were overwhelmingly happy with the organisation and staff of Bridges. Participants appreciated postively (3 or more out of 6 - see graphs to the right):

  • The Registration Procedure (96%)
  • Information before Bridges (98%)
  • Accommodation (96%)
  • Food (97%)
  • Venue (97%)
  • Bridges Staff (98%)

So I would like to send a big thank you to the Bridges Staff!

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Related Pages

Downloads

The following downloads are available:

  • Bridges for Recognition Evaluation

    A short overview of the participants' evaluation of Bridges for Recognition and a first assessment of Bridges' impact. With some interesting statistics!

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