| In
this section we shall look at the development of project related networks.
The starting point is a set of research projects in the field of vocational
education and training which have been implemented under major EU programmes.
These include LEONARDO, the Targeted Socio-Economic Research Programme
(TSER), SOCRATES and the Fifth Framework Programme for Research and Technological
Development (FP5). The projects selected for this analysis have been presented,
in various ways, at one or more of the annual European Conferences of Educational
Research (ECER) in the period 1998 to 2003.
The
intervals of support provided by the EU programmes result in roughly three
phases covering the total period from 1995 (when the first European projects
started) to 2003. As indicated in this figure, the average duration of
projects is two or three years. These time frames determine the initiation
and termination of rather short-lived project partnerships.
Two
more aspects of EU project work should be noted. The programmes expect
multi-national participation (with participants originating, in general,
from at least three different European countries); they have also stimulated
the involvement of new EU candidates. The project partners under contract
are institutions only; however, in reality the formation of partnerships
rests on individuals. For this reason, the following analysis of project
related networks is concerned with persons rather than institutions. |
