Project managers in the LTA process (Long Term Agreements with Industry sectors on Energy saving measures) require the skills to improve the focus of the present and new developments. More specifically, project managers need to be able to conduct or facilitate the planning process of projects in such a way, that a maximum support and commitment of all the stakeholders will be achieved. Furthermore, we understand that LTA managers need to be able to conceive and produce the necessary documentation, which enables effective appraisal (and approval) of the projects, and provides a solid basis for the monitoring and steering of the implementation process.
Moderation, the lubricant in LTA processing……
Moderation is to facilitate a group (e.g. potential LTA participants) in reaching better understanding, agreements and successful results with clearly defined and understood goals, tasks and responsibilities.
A moderator understands and optimizes group dynamics, especially when interests in participation and mutual confidence are not necessarily common and natural at the start of the co-operation. Such dynamics might obviously be expected when industrial SME associations and authorities are sitting together to discuss targets and actions on energy efficiency improvement.
Therefore it is expected to be of great value when expertise on moderation techniques, methods and competences will be learnt and used in the EU-LTA Uptake project.
Moderation methods in a group of LTA parties will focus on the way how to identify obstacles and challenges, how to analyse bottlenecks and how to formulate solutions and actions. There are also moderation methods to enforce plans by performing risk analysis (‘shooting exercise’). So the focus is not to identify solely possible solutions but much more on the process to achieve common sense about them.
Trainees were invited from 12 different European countries (1 person per country) and were selected from governmental or local authority organisations, agencies or industrial associations.
This training followed a simulation of the reality of the current situation, by describing a desired commonly agreed situation and analyzing obstacles on how to reach there. Learning how to facilitate this process was the key of this training.
Hands-on experience with the moderation of effective planning tools provided a sound basis for the creation of full awareness of problems and opportunities of this energy saving process, and reinforced the confidence of participants to be able to find personal solutions.
Finally, it is our experience that real changes in the way projects are being planned can only be realised if the officers concerned have taken a conscious decision to effectively review these processes. Just showing how it should be done is not sufficient. Therefore, the approach of the workshop was focussed on creating a learning experience for the participants, which allowed them to draw their own conclusions, and translate these into concrete actions for improvements.
Within the Dutch LTA approach on energy efficiency improvement some moderators were trained. A freshly trained moderator reacts: “Different involved LTA parties face bottlenecks which might be solved with a strategy workshop (one of the tools learnt). Trainers were experienced, provide useful tips, were sometimes critical and challenged our awareness to forward our best competences. The added value of the training exceeded any expectation”
Please check the web site of the EU – LTA project
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