Period of implementation
Start of project implementation: 1 October 2019
Completion of project implementation: 30 June 2023
Partners of the project
Aim of the project
The aim of the project is to develop innovative ways of working with families at risk in the field of social and legal protection of children in the Pardubice Region. It uses the method of the solution-oriented approach and the model of the so-called learning organisation by adapting the Vanguard method (Netherlands) in the field of social and legal protection of children in order to create space for an individual approach to each case. The point is that OSPOD (Social and Legal Protection of Children Authority) effectively coordinates the teamwork (family, service network, OSPOD). At the same time, it minimises activities that do not have a direct impact on the client.
The project involves: OSPOD of the Regional Office of the Pardubice Region, OSPOD Česká Třebová, OSPOD Žamberk, OSPOD Lanškroun
Total project costs: 24,087,117.47 CZK, the sources of financing of the project are as follows:
| Source | Amount | Percentage |
| ESF | 21,886,277.51 CZK | 90.86% |
| State Budget of the Czech Republic | 996,484.05 CZK | 4.14% |
| Pardubice Region | 1,204,355.91 CZK | 5% |
Key activities of the project
KA 1 Training and support for teams
The activity consists of two thematic areas – training in the solution-oriented approach and individual training for OSPOD staff.
- Education in a solution-focused approach
- Kids’ Skills – the training for the staff of the involved OSPOD offices and representatives of the cooperating organisations will take place in 3 rounds in the form of 3 two-day meetings with a total of 48 hours allocated.
Dates:
- February to April 2020
- September to December 2020
- April to July 2021
- Management training – this is a separate training block for key actors and managers of the organisations involved (network of support services and other organisations active in the social and legal protection of children). The aim is to extend the solution-focused approach among managers to support the work of OSPOD staff and to improve communication within the network of services for families with children at risk. The course is run in a two-day block with a total of 16 hours allocated.
- Tailored education
Tailored education will take the form of short training sessions at OSPOD workplaces based on the individual needs of staff. It will be implemented by the project partner, the University of Pardubice. The focus will be on mediation, facilitation, mental hygiene in the helping professions, and other topics arising from the change management process in individual OSPOD offices.
KA 2 Change management
The activity is implemented by the project partner Gov Lab s.r.o through senior and junior consultants in collaboration with the regional change management methodology specialists and the regional expert on the social and legal protection of children.
Gov Lab will support OSPOD in its ability to coordinate public and non-profit sector institutions working with families and to provide them with the right services at the right time. The Vanguard Method and Service Design Methods will enable human, cyclical and systematic improvement of the whole system of support for families in crisis. Gov Lab will provide six months of intensive change management support to participating OSPOD offices, which will then be delivered in a lighter format over the course of the project. The team of experts will include a product designer who will work with senior and junior consultants at OSPOD for a period of 2 months.
The basic stages of change management:
- Getting acquainted
Mutual acquaintance between the guides and the OSPOD staff, getting to know the place and other actors concerned with families in crisis.
- Reflection and development of services
Creating time to reflect on the work of OSPOD, learning to use tools collaboratively to assess the functioning of the system concerned with families in crisis, and learning to use tools collaboratively to improve services.
- Stabilising and influencing the wider system
Maintaining the newly acquired knowledge in the daily work of OSPOD and strengthening the ability to influence the wider system, i.e. institutions outside OSPOD.
The outputs of Gov Lab s.r.o. from the project will be the publication Design of Services and the Vanguard Method in the field of Social and Legal Protection of Children and the websites Design of Services and the Vanguard Method in the field of Legal Protection of Children and Advocacy Strategies for Improving Conditions for Helping Families in Crisis.
The Pardubice Region will be involved in the key activity mainly through two regional change management methodology specialists who will work at OSPOD workplaces together with Gov Lab. In the last year of the project, the specialists will gradually take over the role of Gov Lab for the whole Pardubice Region.
In parallel with the change process, an expert in the social and legal protection of children will be available to OSPOD staff to monitor the change management process and its outcomes for the purpose of methodological guidance within the social and legal protection of children agenda. The expert on social and legal protection of children coordinates the preparation of regional methodological materials for OSPOD staff.
In addition, as part of the change management process, OSPOD staff will be supported by experts in the fields of law, special education, psychology, facilitation, graphics, copywriting, etc., according to their needs.
KA 3 Transfer of foreign experience
Both foreign lecturers in the Czech Republic and foreign trips are used to transfer foreign experience.
As part of the project, the Pardubice Region will organise two panel discussions and three workshops with the participation of foreign lecturers.
Another key activity will be two trips abroad. The trip to Amsterdam consists of a visit to a Dutch institution, similar to the Czech OSPOD, which has undergone a process of change using the Vanguard method.
During the trip to Groningen, the staff will learn about the solution-focused approach and its use in the practice of the care system for children at risk in the Netherlands.
KA 4 Evaluation
The activity is implemented by the project partner, the University of Pardubice. The evaluation will be linked to the change management process. It will be a mutual methodological collaboration.
Key evaluation questions:
How does the new way of social work impact the lives of families and children in crisis?
What are the changes in the capacity used in the system?
How does the process of implementing change work, and what influences it?
The University of Pardubice will process the following outputs as part of the evaluation: Evaluation plan, Baseline evaluation report, In-depth case study of families, Final evaluation report
The evaluation will take place at two levels:
- In the process part, the evaluation
▪ tracks the integration of self-evaluation into the procedures of the team working with and evaluating the family,
▪ focuses on the processes of introducing a new way of working and specific operations and their evaluation within the project implementation,
▪ examines the extent to which the planned functioning of the project corresponds to reality and identifies the direct impact of the project processes on the work of social workers and the situation of vulnerable children and families in the system.
- In the summative part, the evaluation
▪ examines and assesses the benefits and outcomes of the social workers’ activities and their impact on improving the situation of vulnerable children and families in the system,
▪ assesses the capacity of the system and its reserves for the benefit of families.
4 evaluation phases for each OSPOD:
▪ initial phase (2–4 months) – analysis of the initial situation: documents, activities and methods of OSPOD, the situation in the region,
▪ field phase (approx. 6 months) – monitoring of the change management process according to the Vanguard method, design of services and other activities in the project, analysis of 10–40 cases of families, monitoring of actions related to them, evaluation,
▪ interim data analysis and interpretation (7–21 months) – continues to monitor the impact of the project from the field phase,
▪ final phase (5–6 months) – production of outputs.
Contact details of project team members:
Project Manager
Ing. Kateřina Netolická
Tel.: 466 026 495
e-mail: katerina.netolicka@pardubickykraj.cz
Financial Manager
Pavlína Bartoňová
e-mail: pavlina.bartonova@pardubickykraj.cz
Activities Coordinator
Kristýna Mrázková
e-mail: kristyna.mrazkova@pardubickykraj.cz
Regional Change Management Methodology Specialist
Ing. Martina Šťastná
e-mail: martina.stastna@pardubickykraj.cz
Mgr. Zuzana Horáčková
e-mail: zuzana.horackova@pardubickykraj.cz
Guarantor of the Change Management Process
Mgr. Richard Kokeš, Gov Lab s.r.o.
e-mail: richard@govlab.cz
Evaluation Guarantor
Mgr. Adriana Sychrová Ph.D., University of Pardubice
e-mail: adriana.sychrova@upce.cz
Project No CZ.03.3.X/0.0/0.0/15_018/0015433
Co-financed by the European Social Fund under the Operational Programme Employment
