European Humanitarian Action Partnership Erasmus Project

Project Title

European Humanitarian Action Partnership

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2014

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Recognition, transparency, certification; Labour market issues incl. career guidance / youth unemployment; Post-conflict/post-disaster rehabilitation

Project Summary

The European Humanitarian Action Partnership (EUHAP) is a collaborative community of humanitarian stakeholders representing academia (12 NOHA member universities and 8 other European universities), training providers (RedR UK and Institut Bioforce) and employers (Aktion Deutschland Hilft e.V.). The initiative is primarily concerned with strengthening the professionalization of the delivery of humanitarian aid, through the exchange of best and innovative practices as well as improving the quality and efficiency of the education, and exploring the linkages between competencies, occupations and qualifications. The key project deliverables include: Map of the Humanitarian Job Profiles, Toolkit on Recognition of Prior Learning in Humanitarian Action, European Map of Humanitarian Action and a set of Humanitarian Learning Activities in the form of Open Educational Resources.

The partnership addresses the current needs of the humanitarian sector: increased demand for qualified and trained humanitarian professionals to respond to increasingly complex crises; coordinated approaches to train people who can provide an effective humanitarian response, fulfilling the EU’s duties reflected in the European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid; clear progression routes for integrating competent professionals in the labour market; mechanisms for recognition and certification of competencies in a sector characterized by international mobility and high turnover; and an understanding of the multidisciplinary nature of the sector.

All of the EUHAP partners have an established position in the sector, often serving as a reference point for quality training, education and research in humanitarian action as well as being pioneers in the professionalization of the sector. Aktion Deutschland Hilft e.V. is a German relief organisation gathering 13 prominent humanitarian NGOs; RedR UK is a well-known training provider with a vast experience in short, tailor-made courses; and Institut Bioforce is a vocational training centre at the forefront of recognition of prior learning in the humanitarian sector. The Network on Humanitarian Action and its 12 member universities, brings to the table 25 years of experience in education and training of humanitarian professionals, a strong research capacity, and a wide network of graduates working in the sector. An additional 8 universities (University of Graz, Sofia University, Palacky University of Olomouc, University of Iceland, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Comenius University in Bratislava and Oxford Brookes University), all leading HEIs in their respective countries, provide insight into a broad variety of European visions and realities of humanitarian action. All universities have previously collaborated in the EUPRHA (European Universities on Professionalization on Humanitarian Action) project, of which the findings and deliverables of EUHAP’s rationale is based on.

During the 3-year project period, the following results were achieved:
R1. Humanitarian occupations, competencies and linkages with qualifications and career systems were mapped and made available. Through various methodologies (ESCO, Europass, HAQF), links between occupations and sets of transversal & sector-specific skills/competencies enabling the matching of supply and demand in the humanitarian labour market were established.
R2. New and improved processes of recognition and validation of prior learning were developed, with a common understanding and clear guidelines on how to use the Humanitarian Action Qualifications Framework for the recognition and validation of Prior Learning.
R3. A flexible platform containing OER-based on-line modules and training material focusing on specific topics for use by humanitarian actors (including trainers and educators) was developed and made available to support progression on individual learning pathways in humanitarian action.
R4. The Observatory on European humanitarian activity was made operational while the mapping as well as quantitative and qualitative analysis of the requirements of the European labour market, education and training possibilities were conducted.

It is expected that as a result of a wide dissemination of the project outcomes, humanitarian education will be strengthened to effectively respond to the challenges of employment by orientating learners directly to the labour market and its specific requirements. The use of RPL tools in the humanitarian sector will increase synergies improving transition between the different education systems at various levels and contributing to the modernisation and internationalisation of higher education institutions and systems in partner countries and beyond.

Please note that all attachments to the report were shrunk in order to meet the size requirement. Full A4-sized attachments are available online at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/h0yc4cqedx2ezej/AACctTCjYCkBzE5yodivOHywa?dl=0

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 336464,43 Eur

Project Coordinator

RESEAU POUR L’ACTION HUMANITAIRE (NETWORK ON HUMANITARIAN ACTION) & Country: BE

Project Partners

• OXFORD BROOKES UNIVERSITY
• RedR UK (formerly Register of Engineers for Disaster Relief)
• NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET NTNU
• UNIVERZITA PALACKEHO V OLOMOUCI
• FUNDACION ACCION CONTRA EL HAMBRE
• HASKOLI ISLANDS
• UNIVERSITATEA ALEXANDRU IOAN CUZA DIN IASI