Empowering women in European project management consultancy

<< Background >>WEWON aimed to empower women in entrepreneurship and European project management, particularly women, in successful careers. While many EU project management training programs exist, they often focus on project management skills rather than entrepreneurial ones. VET organizations have the opportunity to contribute to reducing the gender gap but lack crucial data to adapt training programs to the needs of EU PM professionals.The proposal aimed to assist EU PM professionals in assessing competition, promoting their work, and strengthening entrepreneurial skills. Strict regulations on project management of funded projects led project coordinators to manage them with internal staff, causing professionals to struggle with career paths between self-employment and short-term contracts, often managing projects unofficially and lacking recognition for their work.The rising competition and stringent standards for EU project management made small organizations, facing language barriers and resource shortages, unlikely to access grants without external contractors. WEWON aimed to create new business models to assist local SMEs, third sector organizations, and public bodies in accessing EU funds.<< Objectives >>WEWON aimed to foster entrepreneurial mindset, critical thinking, and creativity in the labor market, particularly for women. It aimed to overcome labor market obstacles, promote innovation, enhance access to European grants (especially for SMEs, local authorities, and social economy actors), and increase the social impact of European projects.The aim was to empower women and EU PM professionals by identifying new training and career guidance models, creating a collective intelligence network with EU decision makers. Additionally, it sought sustainable project management consultancy models, focusing on collective intelligence and social equality, to enhance EU program access The objectives of the proposal were: 1 Identification of new models of training and career guidance for European project managers, based on professional's needs, to empower professionals, especially women, and strengthen their entrepreneurial skills. 2 Establishing a network of EU project managers to develop sustainable business models, leveraging collective intelligence and promoting social equality for mobilizing skills and address industry challenges collaboratively.3 Starting a dialogue with local and EU decision makers to recognize the role of PM << Implementation >>1.Project management, led by Limeup, includes: drafting and signing the Project Steering Committee regulation and Partnership Agreement, technical and financial management, monitoring, analysis, and reporting of project communication of progress and results, and organization of PSC meetings for issue discussion and action plan revision.2.INDA coordinated the identification of new EU consulting models based on collective intelligence, social value, and equality. An outreach campaign engaged EU PM professionals and organizations, especially women, to form a network and promote innovation. Market analysis gathered data through a questionnaire distributed among target groups. 2 transnational meetings facilitated discussions on new consulting models.3.GY led the creation of a roadmap to enhance professionals' preparedness and the sector's social impact. Following a needs analysis, the roadmap was developed collaboratively with INDA and LIMEUP. It addresses training needs, offers guidance to VET organizations, and provides inputs to improve EU PM professionals' performance. 4 Dissemination and exploitation were led by INDA Iniciativas SL. A speech at the EU Parliament was organized to share project activities. << Results >>1.Developing a roadmap to address career guidance needs and barriers for EU PM professionals 2.Establishing a network of women EU PM professionals for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and sector sustainability 3.Hosting a pilot event to facilitate dialogue between professionals and EU decision-makers, addressing sector sustainability and growth barriers. WP1:partnership agreement & PSC regulation, interim technical and financial reports, a final technical and financial report, and 3 physical plus 2 online PSC meetings WP2:a network of EU PM to enhance collaboration and knowledge sharing, plus a formal network of 10 women EU PM professionals and organizations from 3 countries. WP3:a roadmap addressing career guidance needs and barriers for EU project consultants; ii) a pilot event fostering dialogue between professionals and EC agency representatives to address sector sustainability barriers. WP4: Through the dissemination strategy made of interviews, questionnaires, social posts, we involved a minimum of 436 stakeholders , including local and EU decision makers. The activity also defined a communication and exploitation strategy manual and a press review.