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Section 4: Evaluation

partner organisation. The high response rate from 4.3 Learning outcomes from the
member countries (96.5%) can be interpreted as a thematic activities
indication of members’ commitment to the Network
and its development. Overall, the members of the four Work Packages
(WPs) reported that they were content with the work
carried out in these thematic groups. A large majority
4.2 Management of the network of country teams agreed that the outcomes achieved
in their respective Work Packages were of high qual-
The ELGPN Co-ordination Unit based at the Univer- ity; all but one agreed that these outcomes had met
sity of Jyväskylä, Finland, has been responsible for their expectations at least to some extent. The mem-
the day-to-day management of the Network. Accord- bers reported that the thematic activities and field
ing to the summative evaluation survey, the ELGPN visits had given them opportunities to learn about
members appeared in general to be satisfied with lifelong guidance systems and different options
the leadership and administration of the Network. for organising the services. They had become more
Respondents were also very content with the way the aware of the challenges and factors which influence
Co-ordinator dealt with problems and difficulties. lifelong guidance policy development and success-
However, it was suggested that the management of ful implementation of national initiatives. Members
procedures and deadlines, and the financial manage- also felt that interaction in the thematic groups had
ment arrangements, could be improved. given them an opportunity to review their national
One of the main aims of ELGPN is to facilitate lifelong guidance systems, as well as to explore what
mutual learning and exchange of good practice worked and why in particular contexts. The field
between the member countries. ELGPN members visits had helped them to reflect on the relative prog-
were in general satisfied with their participation ress of their country in developing a national lifelong
opportunities in the Work Programme: 90% of the guidance system and on the level of engagement of
respondents fully agreed or agreed with a statement national stakeholders in this process. During some
to that effect. They also valued the contributions from field visits, practical examples of career guidance
the ELGPN consultants, their peers in other countries structures were enhanced by making connections to
and the partner organisations. The Plenary Meetings theoretical contributions. The contributions of con-
were viewed as important forums for cross-national tracted external consultants had helped to develop a
communication between the members and for reflec- coherent synthesis of the themes and to explore the Evaluation
tion on the Network outputs and future directions. interface with the sectoral policy areas. For the field-
Substantial work also took place within the thematic visit host countries, organising the visit and present-
activities and at country level. Nevertheless, it was ing their national guidance system had proved to be
indicated that the Network would benefit from a a valuable learning experience.
continuous development of its working methods. It More specifically:
was noted, for instance, that the workload regarding
data collection and reporting was too demanding, in • WP1 members reported that they had learned
the light of the available resources. about the complexity of the career manage-
ment skills (CMS) development process and
had become more aware of the challenges in
implementing CMS nationally. The implemen-
tation of CMS in national curricula, and the
role of CMS in higher education as well as

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