A. Rationale and Objectives

1. Common interests/methodology/underlying problem

The partners to the TCA have a common and genuine interest to develop methods and systems that tackle patterns of discrimination and inequality in the labour market. All partners recognise the need for employers to adopt policies and procedures, which ensure equality of opportunity for all job vacancies regardless of race, gender or religious beliefs (unless exempt by nature of the job). The partners recognise the complexity of this problem, especially for migrants, for whom it can be difficult to find employment because of different methods of working, diverse experience and language barriers. In addressing the barriers, the trans-national partners are committed to developing products and methods of working, such as Employment Charters, use of comparative data and training guidelines that are easily exportable for working in other contexts.

2. Lessons learned from previous relevant actionsFrance: a) Specific training on discrimination (research of legal proof), across enterprise, to protect salaries, employers and union members; b) Enterprise agreements are available and exist to fight against racial discrimination in the labour market.Italy: Two partners of AHEAD are also in other partnerships (Equal Round 1, Action 3 - in progress), where the intention is to build on past experience to transform the unemployed into self-employed people who embark upon and manage their own activities. UK: Partners in Ascend have considered the merits of joint approaches to trans-national working and empowerment evident in previous trans-national forums and programmes. a) In Equal Round 1, where all partners in MERIT developed evidence that working together closely allowed for the transfer of information and methods which could be adapted for use in the UK and that the partnerships worked together in the development of new products, some of which were able to be mainstreamed in all countries, showing that it is possible to bring about change across borders in working together in the same objectives; b) Membership of European Employment Forum has shown that it is possible to widen the horizons of policy and practice.Slovakia: The DP is a member of the Council of Europe European Platform of Policing and Human Rights. Experience gained during executing the international project focused on the area of human rights and policing in Slovakia, with attention to the question of discrimination of citizens as well as the police force staff in the framework of policing.

3. The common objectives of the DPsCommon objectives include: a) The need to undertake a review of national legislations on discrimination, including their adoption of EU Directives; b) Comparison of the legal systems in direct relationship to the developing preventative practices; c) A joint objective across the DP’s for each individual partner to improve their own practices and those of others involved in seeking to change discriminatory practices; d) Identification of those with the power to widen and accelerate the fight against discrimination in the labour market; e) Change the practice of unfair discrimination in terms of access to promotion or job rotation; and f) An analysis of public policies and private initiatives concerning the fight against discrimination in the labour market.

4. The (common/complementary) products/deliverables foreseenThe trans-national partners share a strong interest in establishing a comparison of each country’s national legislation on discrimination. Common deliverables will be:-- Comparative analysis of the legal systems.- Comparative analysis of the preventative systems.- Comparative analysis of public policies and private initiatives.- An analysis of the different types of discrimination in the labour market and workplaces.- Development of methodologies and pilot projects to test the validity for change through mainstreaming (E.g. Employment Charter).- Development of innovative methods of working with employers, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s).- An evaluation of the variety of tools used in order to prevent or resolve discrimination. - A record of good practices emerging.

5. Added value on the strategy and intended results of each of the DPs involvedAdded value will include:-- Understanding and importing new and innovative approaches.- Improvement in current practice.- Access to information about relevant policy and practice development from a wider perspective.- New and far wider-ranging developments.- Improved methods and systems.- Wider-ranging dissemination and mainstreaming of findings.

6. Added value and financial viability of associated partner(s)Not applicable. All DP’s involved in this TCA are funded by ESF Equal.


B. Work Programme Working Methodology1. Transnational activities foreseena. Overall transnational strategy The main aim of the trans-national strategy is to harness the collective potential of the partners through working together on the joint objectives, producing a viable impact on mainstreaming horizontally in each DP, vertically in national terms and through thematic networks at EU policy level. To achieve this, the partners plan a phased development moving from ‘common understandings’ to joint work approaches, to new/improved products. The partners intend to adopt an approach of working together across all objectives, sharing all information and developments, within the area of discrimination, common to all.

b. Typology of activities

c. Description of the activities/tasks

2. Methodology for sharing information, results and working tools

Formal information about structural, organisational, financial or other matters in the working programme of each DP will be sent by email to the TCA secretariat who will forward it to the other partners and document it in the TCA file. Information about the progress and interim results of the trans-national work will be discussed at the steering group meetings. The secretariat will also provide and document the minutes of the steering group meetings and all conference/study visit reports. All partners will discuss final results of the joint work before publication.For other communications and discussions, the partners will use all available communication methods to ensure full and frank exchanges and collaborative approaches such as email, telephone, fax, video conferencing and paper exchanges of programmes and methods.
- Email will be used as standard communications device to inform each partner about progress in each objective.
- Strategic management will be assured through face-to-face meetings.
- Study/focus groups developing work programmes will mix bilateral steering group meetings with exchange visits.
- The partnership will develop its own website which will increase in influence as the TCA matures. This will provide accessible information to all DP’s and to a wider dissemination and mainstreaming audience.
- A joint database of contacts, work, outputs and outcomes will also be created.

3. Time schedule for milestones, outcomes and events

The trans-national partnership will continue its preparatory work in Action 1, with a first steering group meeting in Italy in June 2005. Following this there will be:-- A maximum of six months lead-in for research and development.- Workshop/seminar: Mid-December 2005 in Paris.- Conference and guide of best practice: June 2006 in the UK.- Exchange workshops: Dates to be agreed at first steering group meeting.- Two steering group meetings during 2006 and 2007 to be arranged. The meetings will address specific activities and tasks described in section B1(c). - Final conferences for dissemination: November 2007 in France and spring 2008 in Italy.- Formal review trans-nationally: At the steering group meeting in the second half of 2007.(Timescales are approximate and subject to review following discussion at the steering group meeting in June 2005).


C. Financial Provisions

1. Breakdown of budget for each activity (€)

2. Arrangements for cost sharing and avoiding double funding

Cost sharing shall list individual + common costs by type of activity.- Reciprocal arrangements will be finalised at the first meeting in Italy, June 2005.- Each DP will host and bear the cost of two steering group meetings during the partnership, to include working lunches and one evening dinner per meeting, to aid the partnership development and communication. Travel and other subsistence will be met from partner’s own budget.- Each DP will host and bear the cost of activity meetings in their own country, including working lunches. Travel and other subsistence will be met from partner’s own budget. - Each DP will bear the cost of all materials used in developing objectives within own DP.- Each DP will pay a share of the costs for evaluation/co-ordination/secretariat and final conferences, subject to final agreement of roles, methods and associated costs.


D. Organisational and Decision Making Arrangements

1. Contribution and responsibility of each DP

- Each DP will provide a leadership period for up to six months to coincide with a hosting event for the steering group, before rotating to the next strategic DP.
- Strategic decisions will be taken together at the twice-annual meetings
- Operational decisions will be taken collectively in each of the working groups, except where the decision has a strategic value.
- Working groups will manage their own communications strategy and dissemination of information to other partners.
- All partners will take leading and contributing roles as described in section B1(c).
- All partners will provide information for the exchange of views concerning the common objectives for research, comparative analysis and for the planned documentation of joint work.
- All partners will take an active part in the planned workshops and conferences and contribute to the discussions of the manuscripts for joint reports.
- All partners will take responsibility for their own budgets as described in section C1.

2. Role and tasks of TCA secretariat and external expertise

The TCA secretariat will be based in the UK. The trans-national partners have agreed to a centralised administrative system, following past experience with a decentralised model. The totality of the role will be discussed and agreed by the steering group at the first meeting in June 2005. External expertise is not required and will not be used in this context.

3. Arrangements for decision-making- Decision-making will be undertaken jointly at the twice-annual steering group meetings. An extra-ordinary meeting can be called at short notice if such a need arises.- Each partner will hold equal status and responsibility for decision-making.- The organisation of arrangements for decision-making will be decentralised to the host partner (current chair of the steering group).- The work undertaken in the working groups will feed into the decision-making process so that all strategic decisions reflect a ‘bottom up’ perspective.

4. Working language(s)·

EN


E. Monitoring and Evaluation Procedures

1. Mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating of transnational experience and results

The steering group has discussed various methods of monitoring and evaluation and will make a final decision at the first meeting in June 2005. The final decision will be based on innovative approaches, best practice and cost effectiveness of the model. It is likely that the monitoring process will cover all the work of the partnership using an online methodology to tie into the agreed evaluation method.

2. Mechanisms for updating work programme, working methodology and organisational arrangements

The partners intend to have a self-evaluating strategy, which will be applied to the working groups. The outcomes of the working groups and the workshops are documented according to the requirements of the European managing authorities. A brief evaluation of the joint work will be undertaken in the final meetings with trans-national partners on the basis of the monitoring and all the minutes of meetings within the TCA. It is not intended to ask an external body to undertake an evaluation, unless the European management authority requires it.


F. Other

1. Hyperlink(s) to other information/material

- The trans-national partnership will seek to maximise outputs and each working group will decide on the relevance of links to other information and materials.
- The steering group will decide on information/materials evolving from the trans-national approach for positioning on the joint website.

2. Links to other linguistic versions of the TCA

N.C.

3. Dates of (this version of) the TCA