WHY MHELM PROJECT?
The project will contribute to meet the national priority for the Republic of Moldova: to reinforce the ‘Governance, strategic planning and management of higher education institutions’. It supports the continuing reform of the higher education sector in the Republic of Moldova, by strengthening the capacity of leaders and managers to negotiate, plan for, and deliver on the changes needed for the transformation of the sector. The key aim of the project is to support the continuing programme of reform in the higher education sector.
The project will also ensure the good governance of Moldovan Higher Education Institutions once the immediate reforms have been delivered. The framework developed to support the training needs analysis conducted in support of this proposal, draws on research conducted over 20 years in Australia, Canada, France, the UK and USA on the qualities and skills that leaders and managers need to deliver good governance of HE institutions. The framework has recently been recognised to make a significant contribution to knowledge on the governance of higher education institutions internationally through its publication in ‘Studies in Higher Education’. The nine domains covered in the framework include leadership, managing resources, managing people, managing information and intelligence, as well as personal attributes such as drive and productivity. Using this framework to underpin the structure of the new programme will ensure the full range of qualities and skills needed for the good governance of higher education institutions.
PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES
Leading purpose:
Strengthen the governance, strategic planning and management in Moldovan universities in order to support the sector reform through increases in leadership and management capacity and capability.
Specific objectives:
- Establish where the best practices of the EU partner universities on design and delivery of development programmes can be applied to increase the leadership and management capacity of Moldovan universities.
- Create a higher education leadership and management development programme focused on governance, strategic planning and management, that is appropriate for delivery in Moldovan universities.
- Train the staff of the Moldovan partner universities in delivering the leadership and management development programme.
- Create an infrastructure to support and sustain the leadership and management development programme.
- Pilot and implement the new leadership and management development programme in Moldovan universities.
- Disseminate the new programme and findings after their implementation, for the higher education all over Moldovan universities, EU, and internationally.
WORK PACKAGES
MHELM project is broken down into five work packages. Work packages define in details the actions necessary to be undertaken and the deadlines to adhere to by the project partners and project management in order to complete the project.
Each Work Package has assigned leader and a team, allowing for simultaneous actions to be undertaken on various parts of the project; these are reflected in the draft work plan of the project. Each Work Package specific objectives and set of activities are geared towards clear defined deliverables.
DESCRIPTION OF THE WPs
WP1. Preparation
The aim of WP1 is to ensure an effective launch of the MHELM Project. The main objectives are to prepare appropriate systems and structures to manage the project and to ensure each partner has a clear and complete understanding of the plan of work.
WP2. Development
The development activity of the project follows 3 stages: Developing (WP2.1), Piloting (WP2.2), and Implementation (WP2.3) of the new Leadership and Management Development Programme (LMDP).
Stage 1: WP2.1 – Developing the Programme & Equipping the Leadership Development Labs
The aim of WP2.1 is to build on the established need, and support the creation of a new leadership and management development programme (LMDP) and associated infrastructure, tailored to the Moldovan HE sector. It will achieve this by: Reviewing EU best practice; Creating the structure and materials of the staff training workshops and the new LMDP; Obtaining approval for the programme from university Institutional Strategic Development Councils and Senates; Tendering, procuring, and installing equipment for Leadership Development Labs.
Stage 2: WP2.2 – Piloting of the new Leadership and Management Development Programme
The aim of WP2.2 is to pilot and review the staff training workshops and the new leadership and management development programme (LMDP) to ensure that they are not only of high quality in presentation and content, but also when used with participants. Its main objectives are to: Train staff on the use of new equipment installed in the leadership development labs; Pilot, evaluate and redevelop the staff training workshops; Pilot, evaluate and redevelop the new LMDP.
Stage 3: WP2.3 – Implementing the new Leadership and Management Development Programme across Moldova
The aim of WP2.3 is to implement and refine the staff training workshops and the new LMDP across all Moldovan partner universities. Its main objectives are to: Translate all materials for the staff development workshops and new LMDP in to Romanian, ready for use in the Moldovan partner universities; Train staff on the use of new equipment installed in the Leadership Development Labs at each Moldovan partner university; Implement and evaluate the staff training workshops at each Moldovan partner university; Implement and evaluate the new LMDP at each Moldovan partner university; Refine the materials at a 2-day workshop ready for dissemination.
WP3. Quality plan
The aim of this work package is to ensure the quality of all project activities, outputs, and partnership working; and to evaluate the extent to which the project delivers the aims and objectives of the CBHE programme. In doing this, it will ensure that the project has a significant impact on strengthening governance, strategic planning and management in Moldovan universities, in order to support reform of the sector through increases in leadership and management capacity. All partners are instrumental to the project in delivery of this work package.
WP4. Dissemination and exploitation
The aim of WP4 is to ensure efficient communication, dissemination, and exploitation of the project and its outputs across all Moldovan public and private universities, and HE bodies and universities across Europe. Its objectives are to develop and implement a communication and exploitation plan that will support the introduction, implementation and sustainability of the new LMDP at all universities in the Moldovan Higher Education Sector and provide universities across Europe and internationally with evidence of the benefits of increasing the availability of leadership and management development programmes in HEIs.
WP5. Management
The aim of this work package is to ensure proper and robust management of the project, to support all partners, and to support the implementation of all activities.
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