paweł poszytek competences 4

The Competences 4.0 as Facilitators in the Realisation, Management and Sustainability of Erasmus+ Projects in the Times of the COVID-19 PandemicPaweł Poszytek

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ISBN 978-83-8175-316-6

P15080101

The book is also available as an e-book

The dynamics of changes in contemporary management are clearly visible in the

development of new competences required to lead teams and organisations im-

pacted by digital transformation. Speed, agility, flexibility and responsiveness are

just several characteristics of organisations functioning effectively in the glo-

balised, digitalised and drastically changing environment. The post-COVID-19 era

requires fast and effective adaptation to new social and vocational situations and

challenges.

The book reflects the theoretical, empirical and implementational insights on the

basis of Erasmus+ project leaders, giving a valuable contribution to the area of

management in the era of the ‘new normal’.

Prof. Grzegorz Mazurek, PhD, Kozminski University

COMPETENCES 4.0Paweł Poszytek

The

in the Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic

as Facilitators in the Realisation, Management and Sustainability

of Erasmus+ Projects

Attempting to seek for links between competences 4.0 and the implementation, management and sustainability of Erasmus+ projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic is very impor-tant from the cognitive point of view. (…) The book fills the re-search gap in this area. (…) The subject of the study is innovative. It deals with issues that have not been considered jointly so far. (…) I rate the interpretation of the results, the conclusions and their documentation highly. They bring a new element to sci-entific knowledge. (…) There are also valuable remarks that the competences of the future may form a protective shield against the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that personal characteristics, such as emotional stability, openness to experience, conscientiousness and extraversion play a role in

the sustainability of Erasmus+.

an excerpt from the review by Prof. Anna Cierniak-Emerych,

Wroclaw University of Economics and Business

The strengths of this work are primarily the topic taken up and the research carried out on a large sample. The subject of com-petences is very important in management and quality sciences as well as in other scientific disciplines. The social significance of the Erasmus+ Programme is also of considerable importance. The research carried out has the potential to explain important

regularities in the management of Erasmus+ projects.

an excerpt from the review by Prof. Aldona Glińska-Neweś, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun

PAWEŁ POSZYTEK – Director General of the Foundation for the

Development of the Education System, PhD graduate of Linguis-

tics awarded at the University of Warsaw (2007). Between 1998

and 2011, he was a co-ordinator and then deputy director and di-

rector of the European Union’s educational programmes: Lin-

gua, eTwinning, Socrates/Lifelong learning as well as a national

co-ordinator of the Council of Europe’s Country Profile project.

He worked for many advisory groups for the development of the

language policy of the EU, i.a. the language working group under

Education and Training 2010, the board of the European Associ-

ation for Language Testing and Assessment, and the European

Language Inspectors Network. Currently, he is a Horizon 2020 ex-

pert (since 2014) and a member of the advisory board of the In-

ternational Institute of Informatics and Systemics (2019), where

he deals with educational leadership, management in education

and models of co-operation between science and business.

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COMPETENCES 4.0




The

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Paweł Poszytek

COMPETENCES 4.0




The

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ReviewersProf. Anna Cierniak-Emerych, Wroclaw University of Economics and Business

Prof. Aldona Glińska-Neweś, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun

ProofreadingMagdalena Liebner

Cover designAmadeusz Targoński, targonski.pl© vs148 | shutterstock.com© Feaspb | shutterstock.com© INGARA | shutterstock.com

TypesettingProtext

Copyright © 2021 by Poltext Ltd.All rights reserved.

Warsaw 2021

The Publication has been issued under a licence granted by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System.

Poltext Ltd.www.poltext.pl

ISBN 978-83-8175-316-6DOI: 10.7206/9788381753166

The blank pages have been deleted from the file.

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Contents

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Chapter ICompetences in the Context of the 4th Industrial Revolution . . . . . . 13

1 .1 . The Model of Competences of Project Leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 .2 . The 4th Industrial Revolution and Its Implications . . . . . . . . . . . 231 .3 . Towards Competences 4 .0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291 .4 . Final Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Chapter IIThe Erasmus+ Programme’s Contribution to Skills Development and Innovation from the Polish Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

2 .1 . The Erasmus+ Programme in the Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

2 .2 . Research Related to Measuring the Improvement of Competences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

2 .2 .1 . Leaders of Internationalisation: Survey on School Co-ordinators of European Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

2 .2 .2 . How Did Mobile Teachers Change Their Schools? Research Report on the Long-Term Impact of International Mobility on Polish School Education Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

2 .2 .3 . Teachers Online: Survey of eTwinning Platform Users During the COVID-19 Pandemic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

2 .2 .4 . Erasmus… and What Next? Tracer Study on Education and Careers of Polish Students Participating in Erasmus Mobility Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

2 .2 .5 . Polish Students’ Mobility in the Erasmus+ Programme in 2014–2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

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2 .2 .6 . Analysis of Youth in Action and Erasmus+ Youth Programmes Outcomes Within the RAY Network . . . . . . 52

2 .2 .7 . European Voluntary Service – Competences for the Labour Market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

2 .2 .8 . Foreign Volunteers in Polish Schools and Pre-schools . . . 53 2 .2 .9 . Survey of the Scholarship and Training Fund Programme

Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 2 .2 .10 . The SCIEX Programme Participants Survey . . . . . . . . . . 55 2 .2 .11 . Survey of Erasmus VET (Vocational Education Training)

Graduates’ Careers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 2 .2 .12 . International Survey of VET International Mobility

Graduates’ Professional Careers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 2 .2 .13 . Ongoing Research Related to the Improvement of the

Competences of HEI (Higher Education Institutions) Graduates – Beneficiaries of Erasmus / Erasmus+ Programme: Panel Survey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

2 .3 . Final Remarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Chapter IIIThe Realisation of Erasmus+ Projects from the Managerial, Organisational and Psychosocial Points of View in the Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

3 .1 . Review of Management Theories in Relation to Managing Erasmus+ Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

3 .2 . Erasmus+ Projects as Organisations in the Context of Current Management Paradigms and Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71

3 .2 .1 . Erasmus+ Projects as Organisations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 3 .2 .2 . Erasmus+ Projects’ Organisations in the Context

of the Network Paradigm and the Relational View . . . . . 75 3 .2 .3 . Strategic Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 3 .2 .4 . Agile Project Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 793 .3 . The Stress Factor and Personal Features as Determinants

of Business Sustainability and Success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 813 .4 . Final Remarks: The Competence-Based Approach

to the Sustainability of Erasmus+ Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Chapter IVResearch Aims and Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

4 .1 . Research Context, Aims and Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

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4 .2 . Research Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 874 .3 . Research Method and Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 894 .4 . The Questionnaire Feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 914 .5 . Research Design and Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Chapter VData Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

5 .1 . Factor Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 975 .2 . Analysis of the Reliability of Scales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 985 .3 . The Erasmus+ Project Leaders’ Competence Profiles . . . . . . . . . 1015 .4 . The Sustainability of Erasmus+ Projects in Reference to Project

Leaders’ Competences and Selected Contextual Factors . . . . . . 1025 .5 . The Sustainability of Erasmus+ Projects and Personal Traits . . . 1125 .6 . Final Remarks on Research Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Chapter VIConclusions and Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

6 .1 . The Professionalisation and Training of Leaders in the Context of Current Socio-Economic Needs . . . . . . . . . . . 117

6 .2 . The Erasmus+ Programme’s Contribution to the Development of Competences 4 .0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

6 .3 . Further Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

List of Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Annex I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125Questionnaire – the research tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Annex II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145Model matrixes for factor analysis for individual competences . . . . . 145

Annex III . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149The relationship between competences and project status in reference to age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149

Annex IV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150The relationship between competences and project status in reference to work experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

Annex V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151The relationship between competences and project status in reference to sex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

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Annex VI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152The relationship between competences and project status in reference to formal education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Annex VII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153The relationship between competences and project status in reference to the type of institution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

Annex VIII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154The relationship between competences and project status in reference to the number of partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Annex IX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155The relationship between competences and project status in reference to project budget . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Annex X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156The relationship between competences and project status in reference to the number of co-ordinated projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

Annex XI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157The relationship between competences and project status in reference to the education sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Annex XII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158The relationship between competences and project status . . . . . . . . 158

Annex XIII . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159The quality assessment of the research model for prediction: . . . . . . 159

Annex XIV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161Assessment of the research model: prediction of project suspension: 161

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

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Introduction

The aim of this work is to study how competences 4.0 facilitate Eras-mus+ Programme project leaders in the realisation, management and

sustainability of their transnational co-operation projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic. The European Commission reports that the period of the COVID-19 pandemic affected the realisation of Erasmus+ projects to a great extent. It is true in reference to the need of changing the system of work and altering the mode of operations into an online one. Accordingly, the international co-operation within the Erasmus+ Programme has had to be adapted to the new situation and conditions. Yet, the European Commission’s perspective on this issue results only from quantitative surveys analysing the numbers of suspended, prolonged or continued projects. There has been no research so far on the sustain-ability of Erasmus+ projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic in reference to their leaders’ competences and their adaptability potential. According to broad literature, competences 4.0 constitute a specific ‘survival kit’ for functioning in a globalised, digitalised and drastically changing environment, which requires that people adapt fast and effec-tively to new social and vocational situations and challenges. Therefore, the pandemic situation, with its all possible consequences experienced by whole communities and populations, is a unique opportunity to check if generally accepted views and theories apply here.

Consequently, the working thesis of this research is that competences 4.0 facilitate the realisation, management and sustainability of Erasmus+ projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, the extent to which the thesis corresponds with observable facts needs to be researched and proved. In the light of this thesis, the research aims at providing

10 Introduction

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answers to the following questions: (1) What are the levels of compe-tences 4.0 among Erasmus+ project leaders? (2) Which competences 4.0 facilitate the management of Erasmus+ projects during the CO-VID-19 pandemic? (3) Which competences 4.0 or other contextual factors impact the successful realisation and management of Erasmus+ projects in the times of COVID-19 most?

Accordingly, chapter I of this book presents the issue of competences from educational and industrial or business-oriented perspectives. From the content point of view, Erasmus+ Programme projects are of an edu-cational nature, but at the same time, their successful realisation requires high managerial skills. Detailed definitions of competences 4.0 in the context of the 4th Industrial Revolution with its consequences are also presented on the basis of relevant literature review and in reference to bibliometric analyses. Finally, chapter I shows which competences 4.0 form a reference framework for this research.

Chapter II of this book presents the Erasmus+ Programme’s aims and objectives in the broader context of the European Union’s economic and educational policy. It also shows how the Erasmus+ Programme contributes to the development of the competences of its participants. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been growing concern about the sustainability of the Programme and its impact on participants, especially that the COVID-19 pandemic time span over-lapped the end of the European Union’s seven-year budget period and the beginning of the next one. Since together with the new multilateral financial framework, a new Erasmus+ Programme was being designed by the European Commission, it was necessary to assess how COVID-19 affected the Programme in this time in the case of the need to introduce potential changes and modifications to its structure and offer. Conse-quently, the European Commission conducted a survey to examine this phenomenon followed by additional activities in this respect carried out by the Foundation for the Development of Education System which is the National Agency of Erasmus+ Programme in Poland. Finally, the structure of the Erasmus+ Programme has practically remained un-changed with substantially increased budget, though the continuation of the Erasmus+ Programme in its fundamental form, which is the mobility of students and professionals, was put in question at the begin-ning due to radical limitations and restrictions connected with travel.

In addition, chapter II extends the context of this discussion by ex-ploring various surveys already conducted by the Foundation for the

Introduction 11

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Development of Education System which have researched the develop-ment of competences as such by Erasmus+ Programme participants within their mobility and co-operation projects. However, the author has assumed that further assessment of the situation and more in-depth research is needed.

Chapter III discusses Erasmus+ projects in reference to management theories, approaches, current paradigms, concepts and practices. Ad-ditionally, the issue of how personal traits may impact business activities is included in this discussion, which provides a broader context for this research. Personal traits have been proved by various researchers to be one of the intrinsic determinants of business sustainability. And if one considers the fact that due to COVID-19, Erasmus+ project leaders have been exposed to a highly stressful environment, then considering per-sonal traits as a contextual factor is plausible. Finally, chapter III explains how the adopted research model of competences 4.0 relates to presented current paradigms and approaches to management.

Chapter IV describes a research tool and research procedures and chapter V presents research results, discusses research findings, com-ments on the working hypothesis and provides answers to research questions. The research tool is a questionnaire completed by 990 Polish Erasmus+ project leaders. The research questionnaire’s aim is to estab-lish Erasmus+ project leaders’ competence profiles. This, in turn, should lead to seeing the relations between the level of Erasmus+ project lead-ers’ competences 4.0 and projects’ sustainability. These relations are also studied in reference to such moderators as: age, experience, sex, formal education of a project leader, type of institution, number of partners in a project, budget of a project, number of projects in realisation, sector of education. Additionally, the research uses predictive analysis in the form of logistic regression in order to assess the chances of project sus-pensions in relation to the level of Erasmus+ project leaders’ compe-tences 4.0, project features and project leaders’ personal engagement and experience.

Chapter VI includes conclusions in reference to:1. The professionalisation and in-service training of project leaders in

the context of modern socio-economic needs.2. The Erasmus+ Programme’s contribution to the development of

leadership competences.3. Further research proposals.

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Chapter 1

Competences in the Context of the 4th Industrial Revolution

1 .1 . The Model of Competences of Project Leaders

According to Lamri, the last two decades of the 20th century marked the beginning of discussions on how competences, as such, should be

defined in their modern shape. At that time, the French approach dom-inated, with perceiving competences from the technical point of view as something that determines whether an individual can do something or not (Lamri 2021:78–82). Yet, the gradual departure from the strictly technical perception of competences could be seen in Parlier’s definition in which competences are understood as knowledge and soft skills (Parlier 1994:91–108). This is the point in which English terms of hard skills and soft skills became an integral part of the discussions on competences. The former meant technical competences or simply the things that an individual can do, whereas the latter meant social, emotional and rela-tional competences or simply human competences (Lamri 2021:84). However, the turning point in thinking about competences came in 2000 when Le Boterf proposed three-dimensional perception of a competence as (1) the ability to act, using internal and external resources in a proper time and with suitable proportions; (2) eagerness to act; (3) the oppor-tunity to act when an individual undertakes some action depending on external conditions. This approach places the notion of competences in a broader external or functional context (Le Boterf 2000). Putting all the threads together, Lamri finally proposes four main categories of

14 The Competences 4.0 as Facilitators in the Realisation, Management...

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competences, namely: (1) technical competences – acquired through learning and experience; (2) behavioural and motivational competences, such as extraversion, openness, agreeableness and emotional stability – they determine how an individual reacts in various situations; (3) cogni-tive competences – creativity, critical thinking, communication and co-operation; (4) social competences – they determine how an individual perceives society and his or her relation with this society (Lamri 2021:87). This categorisation is crucial in further discussions on competences, as most of its elements reverberates in current discussions on competences of the future, and finally, on competences 4.0.

However, the starting point for the discussions on competences in this research is the model of competences which can be broadly understood as a matrix of competence profiles of project leaders, regardless of the nature of projects. A helpful matrix of competences in this respect was elaborated in the framework of a separate project initiated by the author of this book with the following authors involved: Paweł Poszytek (Foun-dation for the Development of Education System – FDES), team head; Dominika Walczak (Educational Research Institute – IBE, The Maria Grzegorzewska University – APS); Beata Jancarz-Łanczkowska (Centre for Education Development – ORE); Piotr Mikiewicz (Educational Re-search Institute – IBE), and with contributing experts: Liliana Budkowska (FDES), Marta Choroszczyńska (Mazovian Teacher Continuing Profes-sional Development Centre, MSCDN), Prof. Joanna Madalińska-Michalak (University of Warsaw – UW), Anna Ryś (City of Łódź Teacher Continuing Professional Development and Practical Training Centre – ŁCDNiKP) and Ewa Sprawka (City of Łódź Teacher Continuing Profes-sional Development and Practical Training Centre – ŁCDNiKP). The authors’ group also consulted this project with Prof. Stefan Kwiatkowski of the Maria Grzegorzewska University – APS – and Prof. Michael Kelly of Southampton University and validated its results, presenting them during various scientific conferences worldwide as well as publishing internationally. Originally, this model was designed and developed in reference to educational leaders. At a later stage, it was elaborated further on by the author of this book to form a universal point of reference which is not oriented towards any specific professional area.

In the discussions on competences in the above-mentioned matrix profiles or framework, a number of properties of the concept were analysed. When investigating competences from the educational point of view, the above-mentioned team considered competences in relation to their:

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• Subjective character – competences are owned by individuals or col-lective entities (e.g. society, group of people, organisation)

• Complex structure – competences have different structures, depend-ing on their type; knowledge, skills, personality traits, value systems, experience, and motivation for work are the factors affecting the competence structure

• Graduality – an entity achieves competences at differing levels, which affects their efficiency and ability to perform a given task, whereas a specified competence level of a given entity is defined by the degree of the development of individual components that make up the competence (e.g. the level of knowledge or abilities in a given scope)

• Dynamics – it is expressed by the change in the condition of indi-vidual correlates of competence, and as a result, it may lead to a change in the entire competence, which, in turn, testifies to the possibility of its development

• Possibility of development – competences are treated as a result of the process of an individual’s learning in the course of the acquisition and production of educational experiences in the course of one’s life, which are significant for the individual

• Expression of competences in a certain context/situation – compe-tences are expressed when an individual undertakes to carry out tasks under certain conditions

• Interactivity of competences with the conditions, in which an indi-vidual operates – lifelong updating of competences, according to the context (new experiences affect the development of knowledge, skills improvement and attitudes of an individual, which are expressed in action)

• Transferability of competences to other situations and other frames of reference – this leads to the expansion of freedom and ownership, and the ability to carry out new tasks as a result (Madalińska-Michalak 2016).

Furthermore, the team of experts who originally worked on the preparation of this competence matrix has commenced with the assump-tion that competences are based on three pillars, which are:

1. Professional knowledge.2. Professional practice.3. Professional identity and commitment.


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1) Professional knowledge includes the following competences: subject-related (factual) knowledge, knowledge of legal and organ-

isational matters, familiarity with health and safety regulations, psychological and pedagogical knowledge, diagnostic and research-related knowledge, familiarity with supporting institutions, and familiarity with sources of (factual / subject-related) knowledge.

2) Professional practice includes the following competences: teaching skills, educational / care-giving / prevention-related skills,

research skills, digital skills, communication (language) skills, cog-nitive skills, leadership skills, adaptation skills.

3) Professional identity and commitment include the following com-petences:

professional ethics, personal improvement and development, emo-tional and social competences, cultural and multicultural compe-tences where the concept of professional ethics refers to the rules of conduct of a given professional group, and where professional ethics is normative ethics, which attempts to describe a model professional, the ethical objectives of the profession, rules of conduct and typical ethical conflicts, which may occur in the course of professional practice.

Another aspect of describing competences is to recognise that these competences are constantly being developed in the process of profes-sional development.

For this purpose, three levels of professional proficiency and compe-tences have been identified:

Level 1 – beginner.Level 2 – specialist.Level 3 – expert.

Therefore, the matrix model is presented in the form of a table where each pillar of professional work is divided into three stages of advance-ment based on professional development – from ‘basic’ (beginner) skills to the most advanced competences of a highly experienced professional (expert).

The pillars themselves are broken into detailed competences, e.g. professional knowledge includes subject-related competences, legal competence, familiarity with health and safety regulations as well as psychological knowledge. It also takes into consideration such aspects


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as diagnostic and research related knowledge, capacity to seek and find factual knowledge and familiarity with the various aspects of the func-tioning of the education system, including its most important institu-tions. The aspect of professional practice is also divided into detailed skills and arranged according to the three-level development model.

It is also worth emphasising that the above-mentioned original com-petence model was related to the competences which should be acquired by professional educational leaders. However, as stated above, this ma-trix of competence profiles has been modified and adapted by the author of this book in such a way that it could be applied to a group that is more diverse from a point of view of a profession, for instance, to Erasmus+ project leaders who come from different vocational areas from education and academia through social workers to the private and industry sectors. These modifications, in general, must also consider the character of the Erasmus+ Programme and the specificity of projects realised within its framework themselves. Changes in question were applied to the follow-ing areas: (1) the matrix proposed below has been based only on those competences which could be universal enough to be referred to different professional groups. For instance, subject-related, profession-related and factual knowledge competences are treated here as irrelevant. In further research, it would undoubtedly be interesting to see how different pro-fessions cope with the pandemic situation while realising Erasmus+ projects, but at this stage, the introduction of too many variables is not plausible; (2) the matrix has been extended by including competences connected with digitalisation, adaptability and leadership, which is justified in view of competence models presented further in this chapter; (3) professional identity and commitment competences were not origi-nally described on the three-level matrix, as opposed to the previous two groups of competences. However, for the sake of clarity and better accountability, the three-level model approach has been applied here for professional identity and commitment as well.

Accordingly, the proposed model, which is a general point of reference at this stage, is as follows:


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I. PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE

Legal competence

Level 1Beginner leader

Level 2Specialist leader

Level 3Expert leader

is familiar with and applies legal regulations in the area of institutional operation and record keeping

applies legal regulations; modifies internal legal regulations (including strategy papers: statutes, programmes and others); updates his/her knowledge of legal regulations and explains them to others; takes part in the development and updating of institution documents and internal regulations

co-authors and modifies internal regulations (including strategy papers: statutes, programmes and others); can identify the required changes and new directions of changes in the system; participates in the development of internal regulations drawn as a result of an evaluation; develops a strategy for the development of the institution

Health and safety regulations




is familiar with and observes regulations concerning providing safe and hygienic conditions for learning and working; under-stands that health and safety rules affect the quality of life

observes legal regulations and modifies them to consider the needs of the institution; can co-author procedures concerning acting in different situations in the institution; creates health and safety rules and working condi-tions for the institution

proposes solutions in the field of occupational health and safety;creates and develops procedures;is responsible for efficient evacua-tion of employees and instructs others on that topic;acts as a volunteer occupational health and safety supervisor

N/A takes preventive and remedial measures; explains doubts and shares expertise

N/A

Diagnostic and research-related knowledge




knows methods, techniques and research tools used in his/her profession, selects and uses available tools; takes part in the evaluation of the results of the institution’s work, draws conclusions and implements recommendations

modifies diagnostic tools in accordance with the research purpose; correctly selects research methods and techniques; adjusts the tools to the needs and specific character of the institution; evaluates the results of his/her own work (self-assessment) and implements conclusions from the reports; uses research results in everyday work

introduces innovations relating to methodology; creates original methods and shares them with others; initiates diagnostic and research activities; co-authors research tools and creates original ones; plans (internal) work evaluation (identifies research problems and questions) and draws conclusions


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Familiarity with supporting institutions




knows institutions which operate in a broadly understood ecosystem characteristic for his/her institution

identifies the tasks of other supporting institutions; uses the support of institutions and co-operates with them if necessary; knows how to establish systematic co-operation; can measure the results of co-operation

has knowledge of the changes in the institutions operating in his/her institution’s ecosystem (their offers, organisational changes); initiates co-operation and looks for new partners; knows how to solve challenges in co-operation with various institutions; influences the development of partner institutions

II. PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

Basic managerial skills




plans and completes the processes on the basis of ready-made models, plans and methodology: he/she formulates objectives, selects the contents, tasks, methods and forms of work, as well as relevant resources

plans and implements the project management process using the plans modified and adapted to the situation: he/she differentiates the objectives, contents, tasks, methods and forms of work, and methods

leads the project management process on the basis of his/her own programmes and plans; can adjusts contents, tasks, methods and forms of work, and training resources to the dynamics of the project implementation process

Prevention-related skills




observes social phenomena in the project team; builds and integrates project teams; identifies and solves problems in the team

identifies the causes of problems in a group; controls the behaviour of the group – impacts on social phenomena in the group and intervenes accordingly

manages group processes; plans and implements corrective measures aimed at solving identified problems; commits project participants to the planning and implementation of such activities;evaluates their effectiveness

diagnoses the socio-economic situation of project participants; takes action adequate to the diagnosed socio-economic needs; takes measures related to providing psychological and pedagogical support

takes action to prevent problems arising from the difficult socio-economic situation of participants; initiates and takes measures aimed at bridging the socio-economic gap between project participants

initiates and organises activities relating to providing psychological and pedagogical support in co-operation with other actors


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communicates with the parents/legal guardians of project participants coming from different socio-economic environments and in different emotional conditions

differentiates the forms and methods of communication with the parents/legal guardians of project participants coming from different environments and in different emotional conditions

in co-operation with the parents/legal guardians of project participants, he/she develops a co-operation strategy based on dialogue and trust; arranges different forms of support, enters into dialogue with others

recognises and identifies social and civilisational problems; takes preventive measures

promotes attitudes and behaviours promoting health, society, ecology and others, plans and implements preventive measures

uses knowledge of the mechanisms spurring civilisational problems in order to take preventive measures; by his/her attitude, he/she promotes project participants’ attitudes and behaviours

Research skills




collects, analyses, and interprets evidence and data for the purpose of making decisions

carries out research, analyses the results, presents them to others; takes action on the basis of the conclusions of the analysis

co-ordinates the work of a team set up to evaluate project work; formulates conclusions and recommendations on the basis of collected evidence and data, and implements such recommendations

Digital skills




uses digital tools, electronic devices and various applications and software in order to improve the effectiveness of project implementation and the organisation of one’s work

uses educational programmes and creates original materials using ICT; collects and processes data

uses the concept of distance work and learning to develop the competences of project participants

knows the sources of knowledge in his/her field, including digital ones, uses them, and evaluates their value

knows and uses the sources of knowledge in related areas; collects information in the virtual environment

knows, verifies and uses sources of knowledge, including digital ones, in foreign languages

is open to the use of new tools and technology as well as new ready-made solutions in his/her work system

actively extends his/her knowledge and skills in the area of new technologies by e.g. regular training;is up-to-date with new technological solutions and chooses his/her tools and technologies adequately for use at work

creates his/her own tools for the use of modern technologies and implements them in his/her work;shares this expertise in ICT with others and, if necessary, he/she offers training or supports the others in the choice of tools and their application


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Communication (language) skills




uses a clear, logical and comprehensive language, provides and accepts feedback, according to a given situation

applies different communication methods in contact with different interlocutors; creates conditions and atmosphere for effective communication

initiates and moderates discussion; uses coaching techniques; communicates in an assertive manner

Cognitive skills




thinks critically, analyses situations, interprets them, distinguishes problematic situations, solves problems – analyses, offers arguments, interprets and takes decisions; is characterised by cognitive curiosity

draws conclusions from different problem situations, proposes solutions and implements them in practice; creates educational situations in order to prevent the appearance of problem situations

recognises the essence of problem situations, proposes creative solutions, and predicts the effects of their application; predicts problem situations, develops model solutions and disseminates them

is open to new solutions, the use of non-conventional methods, experience of new solution applications, and tries to implement those proposed by others

can point out areas where innovative approach is required in order to change the current situation; proposes non-standard solutions and implements them in his/her environment

is a mentor of change and innovation; encourages others to undertake non-standard solutions, helps to implement them and disseminates the solutions

Leadership skills




recognises areas of change, introduces changes

actively participates in the planning and implementation of changes; monitors their effectiveness

initiates changes drawing on own experiences and those of others, manages change, leads a group

knows and understands short-term aims of the undertaken activities, according to the project assumptions; is aware of the existence of long-term goals; avoids undertaking excessive risks as a leader

knows and understands the long-term goals, knows the vision and mission of the undertaking; observes and introduces elements of interdisciplinary in his/her activities; is ready to undertake moderate risk while managing the project

co-authors the vision, mission and goals of the undertaking (organisation/project); combines activities from various areas in a wide approach in order to assure the interdisciplinary aspect of the project; is prepared to undertake a substantial risk in project management if justified


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applies one approach in most cases in human resources management; monitors conflicts/disagreements in the team; takes care of the team atmosphere; monitors relations in the team

tries to combine various styles of management of human resources, knows several possible methods and techniques linked to HR management; actively prevents conflicts and disagreements in the team; encourages defusing conflict situations; proposes measures for the improvement of relations between co-workers in the team if needed

depending on the situation, he/she efficiently combines various styles of leadership in human resources management; moderates conflict situations, mediates between co-workers; actively supports the creation of lasting relations between team members

divides tasks between team members on the basis of their skills and competences

delegates part of his/her tasks to his/her co-workers; divides tasks between team members, knows how to assign tasks to particular persons in an adequate manner; controls the workload of team members

controls the process of task division, is open to discussion and changes in this respect; knows what type of tasks will be adequate for each employee/project participant/partner; controls the workload of team members

Adaptation skills




adequately responds to specific social situations, can handle stress, act under time pressure; is a multitasker; can cope with precariousness

negotiates, looks for and finds solutions to crisis situations; applies techniques and tools for crisis situation management

leads a team responsible for handling difficult situations; is in charge of mediations; develops rules of professional ethics

notes the changes in the external environment requiring the implementation of changes in operations: he/she sees when his/her actions are no longer adequate to the situation

can listen to others and use their ideas in a critical way while responding to the changes in the environment

has a wide range of possible behaviours and competences, and can choose them adequately, depending on the current situation; can predict the results and consequences of choosing particular measures

III. PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY AND ENGAGEMENT

Professional ethics




dutifully implements tasks linked to his/her position



obeys the law obeys the law obeys the law


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Professional development




is aware of his/her strengths and weaknesses

undertakes actions leading to the improvement of his/her own competences

is ready for continuing systematic professional development, including during crisis situations and shares his/her knowledge and encourages others to develop their skills

Emotional and social skills




has a positive attitude towards people and the world

recognises his/her own emotions, knows how to manage them in a skilful way

has a high degree of ethical sensitivity, is emphatic, open, thoughtful, pro-social and responsible;initiates and maintains relations, co-operates and collaborates with others, initiates actions

Cultural and multicultural skills




shows respect towards different cultures

shows respect towards opinions, judgements and actions of others in order to create suitable conditions for co-operation

takes care of shaping moral and civic attitudes

The above matrix serves as the basis for designing research tool de-

scribed in chapter IV, especially for operationalising competence indica-tors for the final research competence model.

1 .2 . The 4th Industrial Revolution and Its ImplicationsPriffti, Knigge, Kienegger and Kremar (2017) state that industry 4.0, or i4.0 in short, also known as the 4th Industrial Revolution, is one of the ten future projects of the High-Tech-Strategy 2020 action plan that was introduced by the German Federal Government at the Hannover Fair in 2011. They add that ‘its aim is a more efficient, flexible and in-


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dividual production, achieved through decentralized controls of produc-tion and completely digitally controlled or even self-organized value chains’ (Priffti, Knigge, Kienegger and Kremar 2017:50). Experts also stress that the main aim of German policy in this respect was to maintain German competitiveness (Smit, Kreutzer, Moeller and Carlberg 2016:7). However, the term the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ was brought to a wider public by Klaus Martin Schwab, an executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, four years later (Schwab 2015).

The 4th Industrial Revolution defined by full automation of produc-tion processes, alongside with the rapid development of big data, artifi-cial intelligence, the Internet of Things and increasing computing power, is shaping the labour market and the world of education nowadays. But how has the world arrived at this stage of its development? The 1st In-dustrial Revolution, or the steam engine revolution, released workers from using muscles in the place of work to a great extent and made mechanised production processes. The second one, connected with the introduction of electricity, brought assembly lines and fostered mass production. The third one is associated with full automation of working and production processes due to the implementation of computers on a mass scale. And finally, the industrial revolution 4.0 is taking us to the world defined by algorithms and big data. In this world, most of the processes will be (and in many areas, already are) carried out by robots, and many jobs, as we know them now, will disappear and will be replaced by new ones, requiring the knowledge of and skills in using high tech-nology in most cases (Poszytek and Jeżowski 2019a). A comprehensive overview of all industrial revolutions with their characteristics is pro-vided by Rojko (2017:79–80). Additionally, presentations and descrip-tions of the industrial revolutions and a list of industry 4.0 definitions can be found in Tay, Chuan, Aziati and Ahmad (2018:1379–1382).

Consequently, new competences, or the so-called competences 4.0, will be needed in order to function effectively in this new reality. Ac-cording to the World Economic Forum 2017, in the future, up to 47% of jobs may be automated (World Economic Forum 2017). For the first time in history, machines can see better than humans can, they can read street signs and even diagnose cancer (World Economic Forum 2019). In consequence, low-skilled jobs are automated, and at the same time, new, high-skilled jobs are created. This puts unprecedented challenges on systems of education that need to rapidly equip learners with com-petences relevant to live and work in the digitalised world, including


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well-developed technological skills, media literacy, creativity, social intelligence, critical analysis, virtual collaboration or intercultural skills (OECD 2019). Future World Skills 2020 Report (OECD 2019) also stresses that the industrial revolution 4.0, characterised by global con-nectivity, intelligent machines and new media accessible to almost anyone, is fuelled by six drivers: extreme longevity, the rise of smart machines and systems, the computational world, new media, structured organisations and the globally connected world (Poszytek and Jeżowski 2019a). For instance, in relation to this discussion, it means that the COVID-19 pandemic situation with its restrictions and limitations for international mobility, and consequently, potential harm to interna-tional co-operation, may be compensated by the use of electronic forms of communication and collaboration. However, this may pose further challenges connected with the new organisation and structure of this co-operation and the need for advanced, digital skills. Yet, the industrial revolution 4.0 allows products, machines, components, individuals, and systems to create smart networks, which may lead to integrate cyber-physical systems and perform more quickly by linking information and physical memory to the smart network (Buchelt, Frączkiewicz-Wronka and Dobrowolska 2020:1). But still, various experts maintain that al-though the COVID-19 pandemic has become an accelerator of digital transformation, it has also revealed weaknesses of the Polish state as such and weaknesses of the Polish economy, including digital, infra-structural shortages and the lack of coherent, national digitalisation strategy (Czerniak, Durka and Piznal 2020:5). The authors of Kompe-tencje Jutr@ report also stress that the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Poland shows that we can still work online without harming the ef-fectiveness of our work since there are enough economic resources in Poland to implement the digitalisation (Czerniak, Durka and Piznal 2020:5).

Accordingly, one must draw the following conclusions which will constitute the underlying assumptions of further discussions:1. New jobs, or especially new challenges in current jobs, require new

competences. However, new competences are not understood here as something literally new, since, as stated before, we do not know exactly what new jobs and new challenges will be like. For instance, COVID-19 has appeared as something totally unexpected and its impact on existing jobs will not be indifferent. In fact, it has acceler-ated the need for applying competences 4.0 in everyday work in


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reference to the digitalisation of processes and, first of all, commu-nication, just to mention only one example. It must be stressed that these new competences are understood as a specific set of the com-petences that we already know and we assume that this set of com-petences will help learners and future workers, or even current ones, to get prepared and survive in the new professional and social con-text. In relation to our discussion, it is actually meant to survive professionally and vocationally in the times of the COVID-19 pan-demic.

2. The development of new competences must be also understood in the broader framework of lifelong learning concept since we also need to include the issue of upskilling of those who are already functioning on this fast-changing labour market and unexpectedly changing environment.

3. Since service and production processes are becoming more and more complex and based on fast developing and sophisticated algorithms, future workers on different levels of social structure will need in-terdisciplinary competences, especially the ones in leadership and management positions.

4. The above-mentioned sophistication will require from future workers not only hard skills connected directly with the profession they are going to perform but also the so-called soft skills enabling them to communicate and co-operate effectively both with other workers, but also with machines. In the context of the COVID-19 situation, communication – alongside digital competences – be-comes a crucial aspect of functioning not only in professional life, but also in social one. New professional challenges will require the engagement of different mixes of competences, which in prac-tical terms will mean the co-operation of people whose compe-tences are complementary and suitable for new tasks defining new jobs or new challenges.

Consequently, in the broad sense, new leaders will first of all need to be interdisciplinary and able to communicate on different levels and in different contexts.

It is also worth adding that the experience of the previous three industrial revolutions has already shown that the introduction of ma-chines, computers and a higher and higher level of automation creates more jobs than takes them away (Menon 2019). The only difference


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that is brought with the milestone of technological inventions is the radical change of the nature of the jobs in question. It can be assumed that with the introduction of self-driving vehicles, self-piloting planes, automated and computer-controlled production lines as well as self-directed online services, drivers, pilots, mechanics and many others will have to be replaced by computer specialists, robotic specialists and data analysts, just to mention a few examples. Moreover, many new jobs and tasks performed will require the already mentioned interdis-ciplinary approach and knowledge, which in turn, will enforce per-forming different operations and tasks within a group of specialists with complementary competences from different fields. Accordingly, not only specialist knowledge and skills will be needed, but also the so-called soft skills, such as being able to communicate on different levels, being able to co-operate and solve problems in a creative way within a group of people, will become more important than at present. Consequently, we touch upon here the issue of leadership and the abil-ity to manage various processes on different levels. These abilities and skills will be needed in more places and positions. Future leaders will be in need of a unique mix of strictly professional skills, on the one hand, and of social competences on the other hand. In other words, the level of the interdisciplinarity of performed tasks at work will be growing along with the technological advancement. The need to apply digital solutions on a broader scale and in a faster way than expected due to the COVID-19 pandemic already requires the implementation of competences 4.0 in action; this also implies modifications in the ways of communication and imposes greater sophistication not only in reference to technology, but also due to the fact that the conditions of performing current tasks become more difficult and complex. It means that the competences of future are, in fact, the competences of the present.

Current studies on the competences of the future clearly indicate the change of the present requirements for future jobs, where digital, cognitive and social competences become crucial. It is a step change in thinking about work, where interdisciplinarity, personal flexibility as well as project-based approaches to work will condition the fit to work.

In this new approach to the industry functioning concept, a wide application of technology and instruments of the digital economy is necessary, among which the following aspects should be emphasised:


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advanced computing and connectivity thanks to the internet, data analytics leading to increased business intelligence, new ways to imple-ment human-digital interfaces, such as touch screens or virtual reality (Dobrowolska and Knop 2020:3). The above-mentioned aspects, in fact, constitute a definition of industry 4.0. The literature review car-ried out by the author of this book in a separate study (Poszytek 2021:2) shows that in most cases, researchers such as Schwab (2015); Rojko (2018:88); Tay, Lee, Hamid and Ahmad (2018:1379–1382); Górka, Their and Łuszczyk (2020:60–71); Jeschke, Brecher, Song and Rawat (2017); Sanders, Elangeswaran and Wulfsberg (2016:811–833); Goena, Lleo de Nalda, Diez and Garcia (2018:5); Gilchrist (2016:208–211) define in-dustry 4.0 with the use of the following terms:• Smart factory: an intelligent factory that is based on the Internet of

Things and cyber-physical systems.• Internet of Things (IoT): advanced connectivity of systems, services

and physical objects enabling object-to-object communication and data sharing.

• Cyber-physical systems: systems that integrate humans with ma-chines.

• Big data: huge amount of data obtained from devices connected to the internet.

• Cloud computing: system logic that provides huge space for data storage.

• Autonomous robots: robots which interact with each other and col-laborate with humans.

• Simulation; modelling real or virtual processes by using real-time data to represent the real world in a simulation model.

• Augmented reality: a reality enhanced by virtual elements.• Additive manufacturing / 3D printing: implementation of new manu-

facturing skills for the purpose of integrating information technologies.• Blockchain: a decentralised and dispersed database.

The complexity of performed tasks and the sophistication of processes that must be managed also shed a new light on the already well-known and acknowledged idea of lifelong learning and the development of leadership and management competences within its framework. The general typology of types of education connected with it is:1. Formal education – school and university education where mainly,

but not only, knowledge and hard professional skills are developed


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2. Non-formal education – short forms of out-of-school education, such as in-service professional training necessary for a quick update of competences and skills in the place of work

3. Informal education – education taking place in relation to others, especially the development of the so-called soft skills, such as the ability to communicate on different levels, co-operate and solve problems together in a creative way (OECD 2010), which form a co-herent ecosystem for the development of the competences in ques-tion. It must be added here that the above-mentioned complexity and sophistication will require leadership from most of the future workers, either in micro- or macroscale. Leadership and management skills will be, and in many cases already are, necessary to deal with all sorts of processes and challenges of work in everyday life.

1 .3 . Towards Competences 4 .0Before going into details, a few general remarks on competences in rela-tion to management and leaders should be mentioned here. Apart from various competence models presented further in this book, it should be noted that a ‘perfect manager’ or a leader requires certain intellectual abilities, and the most important of them are the ability to learn fast, getting to know new things and acquiring new skills, especially if the environment changes quickly (Koźmiński 2013:71). This universal rule perfectly applies to the current pandemic situation. Additionally, uni-versal rules pertaining to how the development of competences should be managed refer to equipping people, organisations and societies with relevant competences in order to guarantee the high quality of work and life and attaining a high level of effectiveness and efficiency (Oleksyn 2018:49).

The origins of the term ‘competences 4.0’ must be sought in two sources. Firstly, the term appeared as a derivate of the general concept of industry 4.0. Secondly, as Dobrowolska and Knop (2020) claim, the developments within the concept of industry 4.0 have led the research-ers dealing with competences to draw from the discussions on the so-called competences of the future (Dobrowolska and Knop 2020:7). Consequently, the starting point of this discussion should be the follow-ing model of future key competences proposed by the Council of the European Union:


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Key competences of the future:Literacy: the ability to identify, understand, express, create, and

interpret concepts, feelings, facts and opinions in both oral and written form, using visual, sound/audio and digital materials across disciplines and contexts. It implies the ability to communicate and connect effec-tively with others, in an appropriate and creative way.

Multilingual competence: the ability to use different languages appropriately and effectively for communication. It broadly shares the main skill dimensions of literacy: it is based on the ability to understand, express and interpret concepts, thoughts, feelings, facts and opinions in both oral and written form (listening, speaking, reading and writing) in an appropriate range of societal and cultural contexts, according to one’s desires or needs.

Mathematical competence: the ability to develop and apply math-ematical thinking and insight in order to solve a range of problems in everyday situations.

Competence in science: the ability and willingness to explain the natural world by making use of the body of knowledge and methodology employed, including observation and experimentation, in order to iden-tify questions and to draw evidence-based conclusions.

Entrepreneurship

Cultural awareness

and expression

Literacy

Multilingual

Science,technology,engineering,

mathematical

Digital

Personalsocial andlearning

Citizenship

Lifelong learning


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Digital competences: the confident, critical and responsible use of, and engagement with, digital technologies for learning, at work, and for participation in society. It includes information and data literacy, com-munication and collaboration, media literacy, digital content creation (including programming), safety (including digital well-being and com-petences related to cybersecurity), intellectual property-related questions and problem solving.

Personal, social and learning-to-learn competences: the ability to reflect upon oneself, effectively manage time and information, work with others in a constructive way, remain resilient and manage one’s own learning and career. It includes the ability to cope with uncertainty and complexity, learn to learn, support one’s physical and emotional well-being, maintain physical and mental health, and to be able to lead a health-conscious, future-oriented life, empathise and manage conflicts in an inclusive and supportive context.

Citizenship competence: the ability to act as responsible citizens and to fully participate in civic and social life, based on an understand-ing of social, economic, legal and political concepts and structures, as well as global developments and sustainability.

Cultural awareness and expression competences: an under-standing of and respect for how ideas and meaning are creatively ex-pressed and communicated in different cultures and through a range of arts and other cultural forms. It involves being engaged in understand-ing, developing and expressing one’s own ideas and sense of place or role in society in a variety of ways and contexts.

Entrepreneurship: the ability to act upon opportunities and ideas, and to transform them into values for others. It is founded upon creativ-ity, critical thinking and problem solving, taking the initiative and perseverance and the ability to work collaboratively in order to plan and manage projects that are of cultural, social or commercial value (Coun-cil of the European Union 2018).

The above-mentioned competences are indispensable for persons holding managerial positions and are strongly linked to competences required while performing management tasks. At the same time, in literature, managerial competences are frequently connected to the concept of ‘leadership’, especially in formal organisations (Madalińska-Michalak 2018).

A similar model is postulated by the World Economic Forum, accord-ing to which there are three blocks of future skills: (1) foundational


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literacies, (2) competences, and (3) character qualities (World Economic Forum 2015). The first block includes literacy, numeracy, scientific lit-eracy, ICT literacy, financial literacy and cultural and civic literacy. In practical terms, one can see a direct reference in this part of the model to what we might call a traditional approach to education. The second block refers to such competences as:• Critical thinking / problem solving – on a practical level, it means

giving constructive feedback.• Creativity – meaning opportunities to build and innovate as well as

providing autonomy to make choices.• Ability to communicate – in other words, creating a language-rich

environment.• Ability to co-operate – based on fostering greater respect and toler-

ance for others and providing the opportunity for group work.

In short, one can say that the second block reflects the ability to function effectively in a society. However, interestingly enough, World Economic Forum model also points at character qualities as an integral part of the whole set of necessary skills. They include:• Curiosity – defined as encouraging questions and guessing, providing

autonomy to make choices, instilling sufficient knowledge to ask questions and innovate, evoking contradiction.

• Initiative – fostered by providing long-term, engaging projects, build-ing confidence in the ability to succeed, providing autonomy to make choices.

• Persistence – the ability to learn from failure.• Adaptability – the ability to process emotions and practise both flex-

ibility and structure.• Leadership – the ability to negotiate and being empathic.• Cultural and social awareness: greater respect and tolerance for oth-

ers, empathy and cultural self-awareness.

Furthermore, the World Economic Forum has also provided a simpli-fied model of top ten skills of the future:

# 2020 2015

1. Complex problem solving Complex problem solving

2. Critical thinking Co-ordinating with others


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3. Creativity People management

4. People management Critical thinking

5. Co-ordinating with others Negotiation

6. Emotional intelligence Quality control

7. Judgement and decision making Service orientation

8. Service orientation Judgement and decision making

9. Negotiation Active listening

10. Cognitive flexibility Creativity

Source: Gray (2016) .

This is an interesting example of how in the recent few years, the model of top skills of the future has evolved. The skills have remained practically unchanged, but their ranking is different. Apart from the ability to solve complex problems, critical thinking and creativity are evidently perceived as the most important in education for the future. In an attempt to make the model even more compact and, at the same time, meaningful, one can put it into the framework of the so-called 4Cs: critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration (Poszytek and Jeżowski 2019a).

Another framework of competences of the future is proposed by Kwiatkowski (2018) who distinguishes the following categories:1. General competences connected with general education, but also

including linguistic, digital and social competences gained during formal education.

2. General vocational competences referring to specific groups of pro-fessions and including group work and leadership.

3. Vocational competences gained during formal, non-formal and in-formal education.

4. Specific vocational competences, including adaptation to techno-logical change and transformation and interdisciplinarity, which Kwiatkowski calls the integration of knowledge and skills from dif-ferent vocational areas.

5. General social and civic competences, including social and interper-sonal interaction, conflict solving, negotiation, group work.

6. Specific social competences, such as empathy, problem solving, cre-ativity, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, ethics, courage,


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openness to change, time management, ability to learn, people management (Kwiatkowski 2018:26–27).

Taking all of this into consideration, one must conclude that such an approach poses numerous challenges to the way that people should be educated or in-service trained nowadays. This education must, on the one hand, provide the opportunity to acquire the so-called hard skills, meaning the skills that define a given profession. Additionally, because of the growing sophistication of systems and processes implemented in the place of work, one needs the hard skills from not only one profession, as the importance of interdisciplinarity is rapidly growing. On the other hand, this education must enable one to develop social skills so that one can function effectively in societies that are also becoming more and more sophisticated organisms because of globalisation which, in turn, makes these societies more plurilingual, pluricultural and diverse on many levels and in many aspects.

The above-mentioned competences form a foundation of modern management competences which also have evolved alongside with changes in the social and technical environment. At this stage, it is also worth mentioning the approaches to leadership and management com-petences reflected in the literature. Firstly, if one relates leadership to formal organisations, then leadership should be closely associated with management. Contemporary authors agree that leadership is not so much linked with the actions taken by lonely leaders at the top of the organisa-tion, but is related with the work of competent managers who combine the efforts of many people targeted at achieving desired results by the organisation (Madalińska-Michalak 2018:27). And yet, due to the mul-titude of descriptions of the term ‘leadership’, it is difficult to develop a single definition of the concept (Madalińska-Michalak 2018:35). A similar position is also postulated by Avery (2009) who claims that ‘the concept of leadership remains elusive and enigmatic, despite years of efforts at developing an intellectually satisfying understanding’ (Av-ery 2009:21). Additionally, theories on leadership based on personal traits are becoming more popular than theories based on behaviour (Madalińska-Michalak 2018:23). Furthermore, it is claimed that Adair’s classic theory of management developed in the 1960s is the most com-prehensive. It postulates that a leader should focus on: task performance, team building and development, and providing assistance to individual team members in their development (Madalińska-Michalak 2018:25).


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However, a more universal, and yet perfectly corresponding to the cur-rent pandemic situation, is still the transformational model of leadership. Kostera, Kownacki and Szumski (2013) quote after Tichy and Ulrich (1984) that a transformational leader has a vision of his or her organisa-tion, mobilises the organisation to follow this vision and institutionalises changes needed to realise this vision (Kostera, Kownacki and Szumski 2013:352 and Tichy and Ulrich 1984:59). In practical terms for Erasmus+ project leaders, it means that the new pandemic situation requires from them new ideas for how to sustain the projects, mobilising partners to implement these ideas and solutions and finally, introducing new modes of operation in order to achieve previously planned goals and results, though in a substantially different context and environment. It is worth adding that this requirement of rapid organisational and even cultural change results not only from the pandemic situation, but has been also an imbedded characteristic of modern times as such since the 1st indus-trial revolution. In order to catch up with new trends and challenges, one sometimes needs to implement changes within several months or even weeks (Poniewierski 2020:296). This perspective is discussed in more detail in the section devoted to current management paradigms, approaches and practices (see chapter III).

Accordingly, one can claim that the approach to the issue of leadership in this research is competence-based, which finds its reflection in the matrix presented in chapter I. It is also worth mentioning that leadership is treated as the second most important rule of quality management, ac-cording to ISO 9004 standard (Wawak 2018:296). Consequently, the competence-based approach in this research gains a broader sense here.

Yet, what is the comprehensive model of competences of the future? According to various researchers, this model consists of three categories:1. Digital competences – connected with the use of technology on dif-

ferent levels of advancement, ability to solve problems with the use of digital tools, knowledge about privacy and cybersecurity issues.

2. Social and emotional competences – connected with interaction with others and coping with one’s own emotions as well as ability to co-operate in a group, leadership and entrepreneurship.

3. Cognitive competences – connected with the ways of thinking, in-cluding processing and verifying information, creativity and critical thinking (Bawany 2017:12); (Barata, Da Cunha and Stal 2018:173–192); (Karabiegovic 2018:11–16); (Włoch and Śledziewska 2019:16); (Ellis, Van Der Merwe 2019:163–170).


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This approach is proved by thorough empirical research and its findings by the McKinsey Global Institute, which shows that the need for the-above mentioned competences of the future in the context of the industrial revolution 4.0 is on the rise in relation to the demands of the labour market (McKinsey 2018:19). Yet, it is interesting to note that this model is actually derived from an already classical model of managerial competences including technical, social and cognitive competences (Korzeniowski 2019:35). The shift towards competences 4.0 is formulated by various researchers who claim that the compe-tences of the future, such as digital, cognitive and social ones, reflect the current requirements of future jobs (Hecklau, Galeitzke, Flachs and Kohl 2016:1–6); (Vieira, Dias, Santos, Pereira and Oliveira 2018:377–390); (Śledziewska and Włoch 2020a:1–4); (Dobrowolska and Knop 2020:7). Others add that this shift also implies the need for interdisciplinarity, personal flexibility and a project-based approach (Erol, Jager, Hold, Ott and Sihn 2018:13–18); (Imran and Kantola 2018:118–128); (Pinzone, Fantini, Perini, Garavaglia, Taisch and Mi-ragliotta 2017:282–288).

Consequently, the model of competences 4.0 enhanced with a man-agerial component on the basis of the discussion above is as follows:• Digital and technical competences – so-called hard competences.

Digital competences are understood not only as programming and data analysis, but as a wide range of skills – from digital solu-tions to problems to expertise in online privacy and cybersecurity. They include, among others, specialist competences, such as processing of big data sets, use of the computing clouds and the Industrial Internet of Things, integration, simulation and visu-alisation of processes, and evaluation of technology and its prod-ucts.

• Managerial competences, such as self- and team management, creating own image, financial management, business strategies, project management, psychology of work, organisation and manage-ment, public relations, marketing and media, managerial economy, management of human resources, managerial, leadership and en-trepreneurship skills training, quantitative methods and business statistics, ethics, risk management and changing management techniques in the context of social and technological change.

• Cognitive or thinking competences – including creativity, logical reasoning and solving complex problems.


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• Social and psychosocial competences – effective co-operation within a group, leadership, entrepreneurship and emotional intelligence, including such soft competences as personal flexibility and interdis-ciplinarity.

A similar approach, though with the use of slightly different termi-nology, is proposed by Fitsilis, Tsoutsa and Gerogiannis after Leinweber. They postulate the following model of competences 4.0:a) Technical competences, such as state-of-the-art knowledge, process

understanding, technical skills, etc.b) Methodological competences, including creativity, entrepreneurial

thinking, problem solving, conflict solving, decision-making, ana-lytical skills, research skills, and efficiency orientation.

c) Social competences, such as intercultural skills, language skills, communication skills, networking skills, ability to work in a team, ability to be compromising and co-operative, ability to transfer knowledge and leadership skills.

d) Personal competences that include flexibility, ambiguity tolerance, motivation to learn, ability to work under pressure, sustainable mindset and compliance.

(Fitsilis, Tsoutsa and Gerogiannis 2018:130–131); (Leinweber 2013:145–178).

Fitsilis, Tsoutsa and Gerogiannis also add that ‘skills needed for in-dustry 4.0 are numerous and diverse’ and some of them, for instance, ICT (information and communication technology) skills, have not been standardised yet (Fitsilis, Tsoutsa and Gerogiannis 2018:130–131).

Other typologies of competences 4.0 can also be found in the litera-ture and the differences result from specific contexts that they address. Geryk (2020) and Clavert (2019) provide the list of skills or, to be more precise, constituting elements of competences, needed to overcome the challenges posed by industry 4.0 from the point of view of the higher education system whose aim is to equip students with new qualifications needed on the new labour market. These skills are as follows: flexibility, adaptability, technological literacy, risk-taking, business thinking and abilities connected with information management, cybersecurity, qual-ity control and sustainability (Geryk 2020:141–148); (Clavert 2019). In fact, the above skills also directly refer to the broader categories of digital, cognitive, social and managerial spheres.


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Another example comes from the strictly industrial and manufactur-ing point of view expressed by one of the most prolific authors on indus-try 4.0, according to the bibliometric analysis carried out by the author of this book with the use of Scopus database (Poszytek 2021:4). Stock and Seliger (2016) enumerate the human factor as one of the most im-portant elements in sustainable manufacturing. They put stress on ICT technical skills, social skills, creativity and decentralised decision-making (Stock and Seliger 2016:536–541). Here as well, a reference to digital, cognitive, social and managerial spheres can be found. As stated above, the literature review shows that there are numerous instances in which researchers concentrate only on selected elements of these broad competence categories while discussing the concept of competences 4.0 (Prifti, Knigge, Kienegger and Kremar 2017:49).

Taking all the above discussions into consideration and bearing in mind that one needs a precise list of competences or parameters which can be measured by the research tool to guarantee a proper level of the clarity and accountability of the research, as well as its validity, in the end, the proposed typology is as follows:a) Digital and technical competences.b) Managerial competences: team management: team co-ordination or

leadership, entrepreneurship.c) Cognitive and thinking competences: complex problem solving,

creativity, critical thinking, adaptability.d) Social and psychological competences: team work, team collabora-

tion, leadership, flexibility, adaptability, interdisciplinarity.

As can be observed, some of the skills are put in two different com-petence categories. It is caused by the fact that researchers, who propose competences 4.0 models, sometimes categorise some of the skills differ-ently due to the transversal nature of these skills.

Consequently, the research aim is to examine if competences 4.0 including: (1) digital and technical competences, (2) managerial com-petences, (3) cognitive and thinking competences, and (4) social and psychological competences facilitate Erasmus+ project leaders in the successful realisation of their projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic. These four main parameters are further defined and fine-tuned in chapter IV, taking into consideration the nature and specific-ity of the Erasmus+ Programme as well as the conditions and the context in which Erasmus+ projects are realised and managed.


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1 .4 . Final RemarksThe bibliometric analysis carried out by the author of this book with the use of the Scopus database shows that most of the scientific discussions on competences 4.0 are carried out within technical and industrial fields as well as in the world of business in reference to practical applications of the concepts in question. These discussions are held in specific func-tional and operational contexts rather than in the broadly understood context of education and scientific disciplines connected with it (Po-szytek 2021:12). In order to fill this specific gap, the discussion on competences 4.0 in this chapter has been rooted in the preliminary presentation of an educational view on the competence model of project leaders. Since management is a highly interdisciplinary area of science, pedagogical views could also enhance the discussions on competences 4.0. In practical terms and in reference to the research presented in the empirical part of this book, the competence model of project leaders presented at the beginning of this chapter has been very helpful in op-erationalising the indicators of competences 4.0 in the research question-naire (see Annex I and chapter IV).

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Chapter 2

The Erasmus+ Programme’s Contribution to Skills Development and Innovation from the Polish Perspective

2.1. The Erasmus+ Programme in the Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Increasing the competitiveness of European economy has been one of the European Commission’s main priorities for many years. At the

same time, one of the main pillars of this process is the support to the education systems whose task is to contribute towards development and increasing innovation in Member States economies. Reaching this goal depends on two elements: (1) contribution of education towards the development of competences indispensable for creative and innova-tive behaviour and (2) effective transfer of innovations and creative solutions from higher education institutions to business. Moreover, the European Commission points out in its Communication four key areas which Member States should take into consideration in their policies, namely:• Stimulating the development of entrepreneurial, creative and innova-

tive skills.• Improving the infrastructure for the transfer of knowledge of higher

education.• Institutions and improving their engagement in such initiatives as

start-ups and spin-offs.


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• Encouraging to building partnerships and undertaking co-operation with business.

• Involving the higher education sector in establishing integrated local and regional development plans (European Commission 2011).

At the practical level, the Erasmus+ Programme is the Commission’s main tool for the implementation of the above-mentioned aims. At the same time, the Programme’s main aim is to provide and develop com-petences, especially the key ones, of the EU citizens. During its activity of over 30 years, the Programme has proved its effectiveness in this area. However, the fact that Erasmus+ is based on the development of com-petences through participation in the international mobility of pupils, teachers, students, academics, professionals and youth workers as well as through the realisation and implementation of innovative, inter-in-stitutional co-operation projects and strategic partnerships, the times of the COVID-19 pandemic have evidently limited the Programme’s activities in a very substantial way. Due to this situation, the extent to which the pandemic has harmed the functioning of the Programme should be carefully examined. However, at this point, it is most impor-tant to find out if the up-to-date influence of the Programme on the individual participants resulted in the provision of leadership compe-tences to the leaders of change on the European education and vocational market and in this way if it has become a kind of cure to the pandemic ill effects, particularly including those related to innovative and creative activities undertaken by the Programme participants. Taking a different approach, it is worth checking if the Erasmus+ Programme has helped their participants to develop a kind of antibodies, hence increasing their resilience to the coronavirus pandemic in the areas of social and eco-nomic activities. Three surveys should be mentioned here at this stage of the discussion: two carried out by the European Commission and one conducted by the Foundation for the Development of the Education System (FDES).

The first survey examined the impact of COVID-19 on learning mobility activities and was carried out in April 2020. It aimed mainly at collecting the views of mobility participants in Erasmus+ and Euro-pean Solidarity Corps (ESC). It covered almost 40% of mobility par-ticipants at the time of the first coronavirus outbreak. The main findings of the survey show that approximately 25% of the participants were not (or were only very mildly) affected by the situation. The remaining 75%

The Erasmus+ Programme’s Contribution to Skills Development and Innovation... 43

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reported that they continued their activities with different arrangements (42% of these respondents), had to suspend their activity (22%), and had their activity cancelled (36%). 75% of the affected participants re-turned home while around 25% stayed abroad (in many cases due to difficulties with organising their return). The respondents were asked how they assessed the quality of virtual activities offered to them as replacement for those to be carried out abroad. A high proportion as-sessed the digital learning tools and platforms as very good (71%), the quality of activities as high (63%) and relevant to their planned mobil-ity (71%). They also confirmed that they were very satisfied with the overall support that they received (over 80%) and in most cases (72%), these activities were to be recognised by the sending institutions. It also seems that the participants who have carried out virtual mobility peri-ods are more confident in the validity of the future ‘blended mobility’ scenario. The survey shows that starting the mobility as virtual learning had the highest preference and only 9% were in favour of cancelling the mobility periods (European Commission 2020a).

The second survey examined the impact of COVID-19 on the ac-tivities of European universities and was carried out in May 2020. In its main conclusions, the European Commission states:

The COVID-19 shows that there is an urgent need for much deeper cooperation between higher education institutions on education, research and innovation. There is also a huge need to pool together and share on-line courses, data, digital and research infrastructure. The COVID-19 has accelerated this need for a digital transformation of higher education institutions.

(European Commission 2020b)

Although the COVID-19 pandemic is a significant hindrance in in-ternational co-operation, this survey points at the importance of being part of a European university network which may help in coping with challenges imposed by this pandemic, including sharing good practices and solutions, pooling together IT tools and creating a joint environment (European Commission 2020b). This line of thinking has been con-firmed by more than 60% of the respondents of this survey. Additionally, almost 80% of the respondents declare that they share good practices within their alliance and 96% say that ‘they would have been better prepared to face the pandemic if their European University had already been fully operational’ (European Commission 2020b).


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According to the respondents, the most useful features to manage the pandemic crisis are:• Fully functional digital EU inter-university campuses.• Fully working infrastructure and methodology for joint blended

courses.• Establishment of short learning courses leading to micro-credentials

for equipping workforce with ‘just-in-time’ skills in co-operation with companies, regions and cities.

• Applying a challenge-based approach in which students work with academics, researchers, companies, cities and regions to address so-cietal challenges (European Commission 2020b).

The third survey was carried out by the FDES in March 2020 among institutions sending mobility participants abroad in the framework of the following programmes: Erasmus+, ESC and POWER. 213 surveyed institutions had 3,713 participants abroad taking part in mobility at the time of the survey, the majority of them in Spain, Portugal and Germany. The institutions’ representatives who completed the survey were asked if persons staying abroad were currently planning to return home earlier than planned and 71% of them responded that their mo-bility participants did not plan to reduce the length of their stay. In total, only 733 persons were planning to return earlier than originally planned (FRSE 2020a).

All these surveys offer one a general answer to the question to what extent the pandemic has limited the scope and reach of the Programme’s influence. However, the author sees the utmost need to investigate if competences 4.0, developed by the Erasmus+ participants through their involvement in the Programme have taken a role of a defence mechanism against the pandemic. In this context, the results of both surveys (by the EC and the FDES), with their mostly quantitative nature, will be followed up by introducing the qualitative aspect of the topic in question. In addition, the research must also consider all kinds of inter-institu-tional co-operative projects realised in the form of strategic partnerships which constitute a substantial part of the Erasmus+ Programme’s agenda.

It must be also stressed at this stage that no research on competences 4.0 in reference to Erasmus+ projects’ management and sustainability in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic has been identified. Neither was such a study on the impact of competences 4.0 on projects’ manage-


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ment carried out before the pandemic. The Polish National Agency for Erasmus+ Programme moderates and co-ordinates activities of research-ers across Europe with the support of National Agencies in other coun-tries and it organises annual meetings of researchers in the field. The publications connected with these research seminars show the areas of researchers’ interest in reference to the Erasmus+ Programme. The research areas include mainly the following topics: the Erasmus+ Pro-gramme’s impact on educational practices, mobility impact on partici-pants, tracing Erasmus+ students’ vocational careers, internships as a key to a professional career, monitoring the development of youth policy and practices developed under the Erasmus+ umbrella (Rybińska and Senyuva 2018; 2019).

The research presented in this book aims to spark the interest of various stake-holders in order to: (1) make it possible to develop evi-dence-based educational policy, supported by the provision of a clear picture of the current situation; (2) draw attention of decision-makers responsible for educational policy to the importance of the development of leadership competences of the future. This should also lead to:• A better understanding of a given phenomenon.• The intensification of co-operation and undertaking a resolution to

correct the policy and practical measures.• The increased awareness of the existence of recommendations and

knowledge on how they are implemented.• Establishing a long-term tool for observing the phenomenon in ques-

tion.

It must be stressed that the issue of mapping the relevant competences is also very crucial from the strictly managerial point of view, since hu-man capital, understood in terms of competences, attitudes, leadership and development, is one of the fundamental parts of the intellectual capital of organisations (Jabłoński and Ziębicki 2018:233). Additionally, it is competences and their development in this broader sense that un-derlie the nature and define the main objectives of the Erasmus+ Pro-gramme.

A choice of respondents – persons engaged in the implementation of the Erasmus+ projects – may seem limited, as the surveyed group is a specific one. However, it is worth stressing that this group is profes-sionally active and represents many educational, professional and voca-tional areas. Due to the above-mentioned characteristics of the target


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group, the survey results will be universal and will help to produce a picture of the level of adaptation abilities and the durability of processes among the leaders of change during the time of the pandemic, those who have a real impact on the civilisational development of their com-munities. It is their resilience that has a decisive bearing on the potential social and economic delays or shortcomings caused by the pandemic.

Before proceeding to the very research that this book is devoted to, it is still worth mentioning the already conducted research on the Eras-mus+ Programme’s beneficiaries. It must also be pointed out at this stage that the group of the Erasmus+ Programme’s beneficiaries is by definition a larger group than Erasmus+ projects’ leaders. The former one relates to participants of projects and the latter one includes only those who co-ordinate and organise the projects. However, it must also be noted that project leaders are also projects’ participants.

The following discussion concentrates on the presentation of several surveys addressing the issue of the development of beneficiaries’ com-petences in the Erasmus+ Programme and other similar international initiatives managed by the FDES. The presented surveys have been carried out by different researchers, in different countries and sectors of education, and at different points in time. On the one hand, these sur-veys provide a broader context for the content area of this book, and on the other hand, in some cases, they exemplify the already discussed issues of the competences of the future and how they are developed during international co-operation. These examples show the potential of the Erasmus+ Programme in contributing to the development of these competences before the times of the COVID-19 pandemic. This aspect is also interesting from another point of view, namely the Erasmus+ Programme itself and participation in it, in general, can possibly equip project leaders in competences which, in turn, help them to continue their work in the times of pandemic. In other words, the Erasmus+ Programme may be itself, to a certain degree, a cure to the pandemic situation as far as the sustainability of international collaboration is concerned.

As the Erasmus+ Programme covers different aspects of education systems, the presented results show the development of beneficiaries’ competences in both formal and non-formal learning environments, and also consider informal learning which takes place in all projects. Such an approach positions this discussion in the already explained framework of the lifelong learning perspective.


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The main conclusions of surveys in question are presented below. In many cases, they show how international mobility and international institutional co-operation help educational leaders and innovators to develop relevant competences and how they become a driving force behind institutional change before and during the times of the pan-demic.

2.2. Research Related to Measuring the Improvement of Competences

2.2.1. Leaders of Internationalisation: Survey on School Co-ordinators of European Projects

The survey conducted in 2019 addressed the teachers responsible for the implementation of international projects in a given educational set-ting. The aim was to define the role of school project leaders in the process of internationalisation of schools and to learn about the problems that they encounter in their everyday work. International projects were supported in 2007–2016 within the framework of LLP (Lifelong Learn-ing Programme), Erasmus+, eTwinning, as well as systemic projects supported by ESF (European Social Fund) which involved international mobility of school staff and students.

The survey addressed the three following areas linked to the project leader role: • Circumstances in which teachers undertake the role of leaders, as

well as the general organisation of tasks related to leadership.• Results of internationalisation while considering changes which were

defined as the most important by the co-ordinators, both with respect to their personal development and to the general improvement of school functioning.

• Support in the area of international co-operation received by project leaders in their schools.

The survey was implemented with the use of qualitative methods via structured individual in-depth interviews which were carried out in situ in 24 schools involved in the international projects. Primary and second-ary school teachers responsible for the implementation of international projects in a given school were interviewed.


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The survey analysis shows that project leaders not only co-ordinate projects, but also initiate international co-operation. Their role fre-quently results from their competences, as in many cases, they have a very good command of a foreign language or they have sound social competences which allow them to establish good contacts, regardless of communication barriers and cultural differences.

The survey results show that project co-ordinators’ responsibilities include more tasks than simply teaching, and their scope does not fit precisely in the competence framework of school teachers. The survey participants frequently stressed the fact that project results brought many positive developments to their schools. However, their implemen-tation requires additional support and co-operation within the institu-tion itself (Pachocki 2020a).

2.2.2. How Did Mobile Teachers Change Their Schools? Research Report on the Long-Term Impact of International Mobility on Polish School Education Staff

The survey was carried out in 2016 and in 2018 as part of an international project initiated by the Lithuanian National Agency for the Erasmus+ Programme which resulted in a common methodology adopted. The main aim of this international survey was to assess the impact of projects on mobility participants, and the increase of institutional capacity in institutions implementing international projects from Germany, Estonia, Finland and Poland. The questionnaire, group interviews, and study cases of selected good practices were used for data collection. Project participants were management staff as well as teachers, students and parents in a given school. In Poland, 1,787 respondents in total completed the questionnaire – including 350 project participants. Additionally, 4 study cases were analysed and 5 group interviews were implemented.

The survey results show that participation in training abroad has an important impact on the change in the participants’ attitudes, especially where the experience gained abroad resulted in the increased openness of their institutions to learning about other cultures and learning con-texts. Many participants noted that mobility had a great influence on the general change in their professional attitudes and current practices. It frequently turned out that the described changes applied to attitudes towards duties, and an increased motivation for work was one of many important positive outcomes of participation in mobility.


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The respondents stressed, among others, a change occurring in their mentality – this resulted in greater openness to new methods of work. They pointed out the existence of an important link between personal and professional competences development, as well as visible intensifica-tion of further activities contributing towards the development of profes-sional competences. Changes in institutions frequently occurred due to the acquisition of new linguistic skills. In the respondents’ opinion, the implementation of staff mobility projects also created many opportuni-ties for developing competences related to teaching foreign languages.

The survey results show that the participants of Erasmus+ Pro-gramme projects, upon their return from mobility, undertake the imple-mentation of project results. This frequently takes the form of sharing knowledge and experience with others, as well as other interested indi-viduals and institutions (Pachocki 2019).

2.2.3. Teachers Online: Survey of eTwinning Platform Users During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The survey was carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic, soon after the end of the school year 2019/2020. It aimed at discovering how the eTwinning users managed with the online teaching during the pandemic, and to what extent participation in online eTwinning projects helped them with the development of their skills related to the use of digital and online tools and applications.

The survey covered the three following areas:• eTwinning – familiarity with the platform and the use of its resources.• Digital competences of teachers.• Online teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The survey respondents included teachers in schools (mostly primary ones) and pre-schools, and heads of these settings registered as eTwin-ning users. The invitation to participate in the survey was forwarded to over 38,000 prospective respondents – registered eTwinning users who had logged in to the platform at least once during 3 years prior to the survey. The questionnaire was completed by 1,790 of them. The analysed data had a quantitative character and was collected with the use of the CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interviews) technique. The respondents completed an online questionnaire distributed among teachers in July–August 2020.


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The survey shows that the level of teachers’ digital competences is one of many important factors decisive for the quality implementation of teaching with the use of new technologies. The results confirm that the teachers actively using the eTwinning tools have digital competences and are familiar with modern technology supporting online teaching. Many respondents agreed that online teaching did not pose any prob-lems to them, as it was not their first contact with online teaching techniques.

The survey results show that teachers involved in eTwinning have a very positive attitude towards their digital skills and consider their level to be very high. Skills related to the use of the internet, email, online resources and online communicators were assessed as their top assets. On the other hand, skills related to the use of computer graph-ics, calculation sheets, graphic and illustration programmes were pointed out as those with which they are not very familiar (FRSE 2020b).

2.2.4. Erasmus… and What Next? Tracer Study on Education and Careers of Polish Students Participating in Erasmus Mobility Projects

The first data collection took place in November 2017 and was completed in January 2018. Since 2018, the survey has been carried out annually, to date. The aim is to analyse the impact of involvement in international mobility on the education and careers of Polish students who took part in Erasmus and Erasmus+ mobility projects during their studies.

The sample included all students involved in Erasmus and Erasmus+ mobility projects during their studies. All students who participated in Erasmus and Erasmus+ mobility projects during their studies in 2007–2015 were involved in this survey. The data collection was implemented with the use of CAWI method – the respondents received a link to an online survey which they completed with no support by the researchers. In the first phase of the survey, 7,100 fully completed questionnaires were collected which were further analysed.

The project participants were very satisfied with their study period abroad, as well as with the choice of the country and institution. Ac-cording to the students’ opinions, the improvement of linguistic skills, the experience of living abroad, and the development of competences and skills were the most crucial positive aspects of mobility. The respon-


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dents were asked to assess their transversal skills and their knowledge related to their specialisation, and intercultural competences – the overall result was very positive – all the competences were assessed as high or very high. Over 97% of the respondents declared that they can learn new skills, and 90% of them assessed their analytical and conclu-sion drawing skills based on information and available data as high, together with co-operation with persons of a different nationality and problem solving. The respondents also declared a sound command of at least one foreign language, and many of them could speak several foreign languages (Dąbrowska-Resiak 2019).

2.2.5. Polish Students’ Mobility in the Erasmus+ Programme in 2014–2016

Desk research was carried out in 2018. This survey targeted students who undertook a study period or a practical placement abroad in the framework of the Erasmus + Programme in 2014–2016. Student mobil-ity reports were analysed in order to establish the reasons why the stu-dents decided to participate in the mobility and how they perceived its influence on their personal development.

The survey was based on desk research of individual mobility par-ticipants reports from 2014–2016. The reports are completed upon return from the mobility which limits the scope of potential errors by the respondents. They were students who undertook a study period or a practical placement abroad in the framework of the Erasmus + Pro-gramme in 2014–2016. In total, over 48,500 student mobility reports were analysed.

Professional prospects and cultural and linguistic competences have proved to be the most important aspects of Erasmus+ mobility. Personal development was measured by the increase of such learning outputs as knowledge, skills and social competences. Analysis of relations between the reached level of a given learning output, professional prospects and the motivation factors for participation in mobility shows that students who were involved in Erasmus+ mobility were most satisfied with their stay abroad, mostly due to their personal development in the area of learning outcomes defined as ‘knowledge and competences’. However, it should be emphasised that the other two elements, e.g. ‘social compe-tences’ and ‘prospects for employment abroad’, had an equally strong influence on the level of mobility satisfaction (Zamojska 2019).


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2.2.6. Analysis of Youth in Action and Erasmus+ Youth Programmes Outcomes Within the RAY Network

This international survey has been conducted since 2009. Its main topic is the learning outcomes in non-formal education projects supported by the Erasmus+ Programme. The RAY Survey tackles the following re-search topics:• How do Erasmus+ Youth projects influence young people and youth

workers, organisations and local communities in which they are implemented?

• What are the circumstances in which Erasmus+ Youth projects are implemented?

• What is the profile of participants and implementing organisations?

Online questionnaires open to mobility participants for 3 months upon completion of the Erasmus+ Youth project. Data is collected among young people and youth workers. The recent edition’s total sample was 19,421 persons.

The most recent edition of this survey shows that thanks to participa-tion in non-formal education projects, young people have the opportu-nity to develop precious competences and skills, such as team work, the command of foreign languages, and negotiation and compromise finding in a multinational and multicultural community. The survey shows that its respondents – project participants – are aware of their increased self-confidence and understand their educational and professional prospects better (not published).

2.2.7. European Voluntary Service – Competences for the Labour Market

In March 2013, the respondents who completed the implementation of EVS projects before the beginning of the survey have been interviewed. Around 1,400 volunteers were involved in the survey. Quantitative methods of data collection were used, including CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interviews) and an online questionnaire.

The survey addressed the following research topics:• How do former volunteers manage on the current demanding labour

market?• What have they learnt due to their involvement in the project?


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• Do they use their knowledge acquired at school or rather that acquired during their stay abroad?

According to the survey results, 50% of the respondents assessed the professional competences gained during their involvement in the EVS project as very useful, and nearly 44% of them found the competences useful to some extent. Volunteers, when asked for the assessment of competence usefulness, declared that those competences developed during the non-formal education were more useful than those gained during formal education. According to the respondents, their personal development (made possible thanks to the new competences developed in non-formal education) was one of the EVS most valuable outcomes. The survey results also show that volunteers have greatly developed their intercultural competences, foreign language skills, social compe-tences, and they have learnt how to work in a team, how to plan and implement their own ideas, recognise professional opportunities and agree to a common solution, regardless of any differences in opinions (Jeżowski 2018).

2.2.8. Foreign Volunteers in Polish Schools and Pre-schools

This group of beneficiaries has been interviewed in 2019. Among them were former foreign volunteers working in Polish schools and pre-schools in 2014–2018. The survey was to identify and describe the influence of long-term volunteering projects on schools and pre-schools, and to assess to what extent the hosting institution’s needs, defined at the project application stage, were satisfied. The survey was also aimed at describing long-term activities implemented by foreign volunteers in Polish schools and pre-schools, as well as to point out the reasons for a choice of a given institution as a place of voluntary activities.

Three types of methods were applied: analysis of existing data, sta-tistics for Erasmus+ projects, quantitative (online questionnaires) and qualitative research (in-depth interviews). In total, 169 questionnaires were completed and 10 in-depth interviews (6 in schools and 4 in pre-schools) with participation by 44 employees were conducted.

The survey results show that a wish to gain professional experience abroad was the most common reason indicated by the volunteers who declared their interest in the projects implemented in Polish educational institutions. Many of them had qualifications required for work with


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children and young people, and planned to work in schools, pre-schools or other settings. Therefore, it is possible to conclude that long-term voluntary projects in schools and pre-schools can be considered as a way to implementing professional induction by future teachers and carers.

The survey also brings a conclusion that an opportunity to commu-nicate in a foreign language is one of the most important gains for Polish educational staff. The presence of foreign guests creates an additional motivation for foreign language learning – this applies mostly to English (but in many cases also to languages spoken in the volunteers’ home countries). Clearly, Polish and English are working languages of settings which accept foreign volunteers and this also has a positive impact on the pupils. Teachers and school leaders also pointed out that volunteers helped them to learn about other cultures, tolerance and openness (Jeżowski 2020).

2.2.9. Survey of the Scholarship and Training Fund Programme Results

This survey was carried out in 2016 as part of the evaluation of the second edition of the Scholarship and Training Fund (Polish abbrevia-tion: FSS) Programme.

The main aim of the survey was to assess support offered to Polish institutions in the framework of the Scholarship and Training Fund (FSS) as part of projects implemented in 2012–2016. The analysis focused on the assessment of the influence of projects on their participants and institutions implementing the FSS projects.

The survey was carried out with the use of quantitative (online ques-tionnaires) and qualitative methods (individual and group interviews, study cases). Participants and institutions implementing the FSS projects were the target group.

The survey results show that FSS projects had a direct influence on education mainly thanks to the opportunity of introducing new curricula (new subjects, study programmes and modules), as well as new didactic methods. In the opinion of the survey respondents, namely higher edu-cation institutions’ representatives, the opportunity to finance projects contributing directly to the improvement of teaching quality was one of the most important positive aspects of this programme.

According to most respondents, the projects brought a tangible change in the quality of teaching linked to the introduction of individual study and tutoring. As a result, students gained not only knowledge and com-


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petences, but also the opportunity to test their new skills in practice. This is also due to the fact that the FSS-supported teaching programmes were frequently drafted in co-operation with employers, which allowed for a better adjustment of teaching to the reality of the modern labour market.

Educational mobility strongly supported teaching which aimed at the development of knowledge and competences related to the study programme or future professional/research activity. The survey results show that to the overwhelming majority of students improvement of linguistic skills is the most important gain from their participation in mobility. New experience and increasing employability also proved to be among the important positive results of participation in the FSS Programme.

Although the majority of FSS project activities addressed the develop-ment of teachers’ and students’ competences, the FSS-supported projects helped to develop competences of staff in HEIs (Higher Education Insti-tution), in particular that of the academics. The survey results show that academic teachers gained new skills and competences, including linguis-tic ones, they learned how to use new technologies and how to work with students in a different way. The projects also supported the individual development of professional and research career of HEIs staff (Dąbrowska-Resiak and Pachocki 2017).

2.2.10. The SCIEX Programme Participants Survey

The survey was conducted in June and December 2015. It addressed the issue of the impact of research mobility SCIEX projects in Switzerland on young researchers and their research community. The Programme offered scholarships to young foreign researchers and study visits to their promotors.

Analysis carried out within the survey addressed the following areas:• Evaluation of SCIEX Programme impact on the development of com-

petences and career paths of its participants.• Evaluation of SCIEX Programme impact on the development of Pol-

ish HEIs supported by the Programme.• Assessment of quality and durability of partnerships established

between Polish and Swiss institutions involved in a SCIEX project.

The main target group contained young researchers and their research community.


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98 grant holders and their tutors were interviewed. The research also included 5 case studies of selected SCIEX projects implemented.

The analysis of respondents’ opinions allows for defining two types of the results of the SCIEX Programme. The first type corresponds to the content-related area of the support (both in individual and institu-tional terms), while the second one is related to the development of language competences and soft skills of the recipients of scholarships.

Such aspects as the development of professional competences, content-related knowledge of young researchers, as well as the imple-mentation of research at a Swiss HEI can be categorised as falling within the first type. In terms of institutional results, the respondents fre-quently stressed the fact that thanks to the SCIEX scholarship, the research potential of the home HEI has increased by e.g. establishing new research contacts and partnerships or sharing project results (not published).

2.2.11. Survey of Erasmus VET (Vocational Education Training) Graduates’ Careers

The survey implemented in 2017 was aimed at mapping the educational and professional careers of VET graduates who participated in training and practical placements abroad supported by the FDES-operated pro-grammes. It was carried out with the use of quantitative (online survey) and qualitative methods (20 individual interviews and 5 focus groups) among all participants of Erasmus VET mobility projects.

The survey was to present the impact of international mobility on the development of the competences and prospective careers of VET graduates. The majority of the respondents agreed that such mobility had a substantial impact on their professional careers, though its impor-tance depended highly on the duration of the stay abroad, the scope of training and the quality of mentoring. A substantial proportion of the respondents declared that participation in VET mobility helped them to confirm their choice of a career path, which was particularly relevant to those who had not participated in any practical placements in Poland.

Many VET mobility graduates had already decided on their future career paths at the time of school choice, and participation in a training or practical placement abroad was only one of the elements included in their general career plans. In the participants’ opinion, involvement in international mobility definitely contributes to professional experience


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and helps to learn about a labour context that is different from the Pol-ish one, and conditions of working while employed at a given position.

The survey results show that the level of declared impact on particu-lar competences in many cases depends on the sector of training. In the case of mechanics, the graduates stressed how important it was to learn about the use of specialist equipment, while in IT, they remarked on the technological differences between Polish and foreign companies. These differences between sectors proved to be important in the context of developing interpersonal competences of participants. New competences in the area of relationships with clients, sale techniques or negotiation skills were declared much more frequently by training participants in such sectors as tourism and food industry rather than by those employed in engineering or agricultural sectors.

The majority of the respondents emphasised that the experience of project participation has influenced their attitudes and views to a great extent, and their involvement in training helped them to develop their soft skills. The respondents frequently confirmed that participation in mobility helped them to tackle stress and cope in difficult or non-typi-cal situations. The declared changes were related to very different aspects linked to e.g. taking the initiative, team work or increased openness to change (FRSE 2019).

2.2.12. International Survey of VET International Mobility Graduates’ Professional Careers

The international survey was implemented between 2017 and 2019. It was aimed at the assessment of the impact of involvement in Erasmus+ VET mobility projects on the prospective professional careers of its participants.

The analysis was mainly focused on the following key questions:• Does mobility influence the future careers and personal development

of mobility participants, and if yes, to what extent?• Which new competences and skills did the mobility participants gain

or develop during their practical training abroad?• To what extent did the acquired competences prove to be useful,

especially in the context of their professional status and position on the labour market?

VET training graduates with experience in international mobility were in the target group. The survey was carried out with the use of


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quantitative (online survey) and qualitative methods (individual inter-views and focus groups). The number of Polish respondents was 2,592 (out of the total sample of 8,009).

The survey results show that in regard to their acquired soft skills, VET training graduates have improved particularly their intercultural competences, communication and team work skills. The respondents stressed that they have become more independent, self-confident, stress-resistant and able to adjust to new circumstances. Many of them admitted that mobility helped them to improve their language skills, which was one of its main positive results. This shows that mobility has mainly an impact on the participants’ personal development, however, it should be noted that soft skills frequently go together with professional competences and at present, they are highly rated by employers.

The survey also shows that a longer duration of the placements had a higher impact on soft skills and the majority of professional compe-tences. The participants with an experience of a longer mobility period improved their language skills more than those who spent less time abroad and they have also improved their communication and team work competences to a larger extent than the others. They stated that they had become more aware of the specificities of particular employ-ment environments, and more prepared for work in an international context. Considering the VET sectors, persons undertaking training in the area of tourism, hospitality and catering business have experienced the top positive impact of their mobility (as they participated in the longest mobility periods in comparison with persons from the other sectors). This high level of impact was also noted for persons undertak-ing training in the sector of administration and services.

Many respondents admitted that competences acquired during in-ternational mobility can be used in their career and personal life. This applies mostly to soft skills, such as interpersonal competences and team work (Pachocki 2020b).

2.2.13. Ongoing Research Related to the Improvement of the Competences of HEI (Higher Education Institutions) Graduates – Beneficiaries of Erasmus / Erasmus+ Programme: Panel Survey

The ongoing panel survey of the educational and professional careers of HEI graduates is linked to the study Erasmus… and What Next? Tracer


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Study on Education and Careers of Polish Students Participating in Eras-mus Mobility Projects (see point 4) and is considered to be its continua-tion. The survey covers all types of graduates in all types of programmes (Bachelor’s, Master’s and PhD degrees).

Upon collection of 2020 data, the initial analysis of panel survey outcomes will be available, as the methodology requires a minimum of two (and ideally three) surveys carried out on the same group of respon-dents. A full and more complex analysis will be possible in 2023 when all three sets of results of the panel survey carried out for the first group of respondents are available.

2.3. Final RemarksThe above-listed surveys’ results and conclusions served as one of the inspiration sources for the idea of initiating this research in order to see to what extent competences 4.0 facilitate the realisation, management and sustainability of Erasmus+ projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is Erasmus+ project leaders who initiate change in their institutions and realise projects to equip others with these competences as well. Research undertaken in the framework of this study can also be considered as continuation of the above-mentioned surveys, especially if the competences developed within mobilities and international co-operation projects in most cases match the competences of the future, as described and defined in chapter I. However, it must be stressed here that in most cases, the above-mentioned surveys targeted participants of the Erasmus+ projects as a whole, whereas this research targets proj-ect leaders whose responsibilities within a project are much greater and refer to various areas of operation: from the content to management ones.

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Chapter 3

The Realisation of Erasmus+ Projects from the Managerial, Organisational and Psychosocial Points of View in the Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic

3.1. Review of Management Theories in Relation to Managing Erasmus+ Projects

First of all, it must be explained how the term ‘management’ should be understood in relation to Erasmus+ projects which are an interna-

tional and inter-institutional form of pan-European co-operation. Grif-fin explains that each group of two or more people who co-operate in order to achieve certain goals with the use of human, material and fi-nancial resources actually practice management (Griffin 2021:24). What is more, one can talk about management not only in relation to profit-oriented organisations, but also non-profit ones, whose aims may be educational or social (Griffin 2021:25). In addition, Sudoł (2012) claims that management requires a leading organ which has an influence on the process of achieving goals (Sudoł 2012:30). This is exactly what Erasmus+ projects are: they are realised by international consortia of institutions of various sorts, whose aim is to work together in order to develop and implement innovative solutions into education and training systems across Europe. Moreover, in order to finance such an activity, these consortia need to have a leader or co-ordinator who applies for


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a European grant on behalf of all partners by submitting an application which requires a detailed description and rationale for the initiative.

Scientists and professionals have for centuries reflected on how to organise the process of work in such a way so that it could be made more effective. These discussions have mainly touched upon the issue of which factors contribute to this process. Furthermore, if one considers the fact that Erasmus+ projects undergo detailed scrutiny in reference to not only the projects’ content, but also in reference to managerial aspects during the assessment process in order to get financial support, then it is plausible to confront the above-mentioned factors with the criteria of this assessment.

Regardless of the character of Erasmus+ projects, namely if they are of a mobility character or if they fall into the category of inter-institu-tional co-operation for innovation in the form of strategic partnerships, all project proposals are assessed against the following criteria: (1) the relevance of the project or strategy, (2) the quality of the project design and implementation, (3) the quality of the project team and the co-operation arrangements, (4) impact and dissemination (European Com-mission 2020c:7).

In fact, only the first criterion (and partially the second one) refers to the project content. It is actually evident that a relatively big empha-sis in the assessment of Erasmus+ project proposals is put on the mana-gerial aspects of these projects. It can be seen even better if one looks at sub-criteria enlisted in the 2020 Erasmus+ Guide for Experts on Qual-ity Assessment where, apart from the content matter aspects, the follow-ing typically managerial aspects are mentioned during the assessment process: needs analysis, clear goals and objectives, innovation, feasibility, quality control, cost-effectiveness and resources, distribution of respon-sibilities and expertise, consistency between objectives and activities proposed, the quality of practical arrangements and management, ef-fective co-ordination and communication mechanisms, dissemination plan, promotion, plan for ensuring sustainability, reinforcement of the capacities and international scope of the participating organisations (European Commission 2020c:34–41). Since the notion of sustainabil-ity lies in the core of the discussion in this book, it is worth mentioning that according to modern management conceptions, sustainability is a fundamental element that defines modern management and is broadly understood as the ability of an organisation to learn, adapt, develop, revitalise, reconstruct and reorient (Hejduk, Grudzewski, Sankowska

The Realisation of Erasmus+ Projects from the Managerial, Organisational... 63

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and Wańtuchowicz 2010:2). In the times of the COVID-19 pandemic, these characteristics constitute a direct analogy to what Erasmus+ projects and their leaders have to do and what kind of remedial actions they have to undertake in order to sustain their activities. However, certain objective administrative limitations exist in this respect, but this issue will be further elaborated on in the next sub-chapter.

In historical terms, the management theories can be categorised along the following division: (1) pre-historic approaches; (2) scientific manage-ment theory, administrative management theory, behavioural manage-ment theory and quantitative management theory, which all fall into the broader category of classical approaches followed by (3) the systemic and situational approach that integrates the above-listed classical theo-ries, and finally (4) numerous modern theories (Lachiewicz and Mate-jun 2012:87–89). However, Mijal proposes slightly different terminology and typology. For him, scientific management includes both the indus-trial approach, which corresponds to what Lachiewicz and Matejun call scientific theory, and the administrative approach (Mijal 2016a:57). Regardless of the typology and terminology, what is most important for this discussion is seeing how managing Erasmus+ projects corresponds to these theories and approaches.

An interesting example referring to the pre-historic period is the work of Charles Babbage who, as early as in the 19th century, pointed out at four benefits resulting from the proper division of work in a company:1. Shortening the time for learning relevant vocational skills.2. Elimination of time loss connected with transfer from one activity

to another.3. Greater ability thanks to performing repetitive activities.4. A better adjustment of tools and machines to perform certain ac-

tivities (Babbage 1972:24–27).

The need for a proper, efficient and effective use of tools and machines was identified as early as in the 19th century. In practical terms, nowa-days, in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic, it refers to the effective use of properly adjusted digital tools. The only new dimension connected with this issue at present is the relation between humans and machines. This aspect of work and social life in general is of great priority in the contemporary discussion about digitalisation and current socio-eco-nomic changes (Czerniak, Durka and Piznal 2020:10). Robert Owen was another representative of this pre-scientific period and one of his


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main interests were the conditions of work and how they impacted ef-fectiveness (Lachiewicz and Matejun 2012:88). In this case, the issue of work conditions is crucial in the context of adaptability to the drastically changed pandemic situation.

The first management theory within a broader context of so-called classical theories is the scientific approach. The most prominent Amer-ican representative of this approach was Frederick Winslow Taylor. His system was based on four key elements:1. Scientific approach to each aspect of human work.2. Scientific recruitment followed by proper training of workers so that

each worker is assigned to proper tasks in which he will achieve maximal efficiency.

3. Co-operation between managers and workers.4. Almost equal distribution of responsibilities between managers and

workers (Taylor 2008:27).

Again, the aspects of the proper distribution of tasks according to relevant expertise and ability to co-operate are the essence of the nature of Erasmus+ projects. Another representative of the scientific approach was Henry Louis Le Chatelier, a French chemist who implemented the American experience in management in the European context by taking over many of Taylor’s ideas (Lachiewicz and Matejun 2012:94). His system of the organised cycle was based on the following assumptions:1. Establishing goals and objectives.2. Planning activities including means and conditions needed to achieve

a goal.3. Acquiring, preparing and distribution of resources needed to realise

the plan.4. Plan realisation or implementation.5. Supervision and results assessment in line with established goals and

objectives (Le Chatelier 1926:30).

Actually, Le Chatelier’s cycle fully reflects the life cycle of Erasmus+ projects. The next representative of the scientific organisation of the work approach was Harrington Emerson who elaborated twelve rules of efficiency (Emerson 1972:135). Some of his rules of efficiency directly refer to the operational aspects of Erasmus+ projects, namely the estab-lishment of clear goals and objectives; applying norms and standards; and, first of all, reporting, on which subsequent grant payments depend


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on. At this stage, it is also worth mentioning Fordism, which is the con-cept named after Henry Ford, a famous American car manufacturer. Apart from such features as the strict division of labour and automation, it is also based on an autocratic and highly disciplined style of managing team work (Kurnal 1970:44). Actually, the latter feature of this concept stands in total opposition to the idea of managing Erasmus+ projects in which co-operation and a democratic approach are highly valued. And finally, the Polish perspective must be mentioned here in the form of Adamecki’s rules of functioning of companies:1. The rule of responsibilities’ division between managers and workers.2. The rule of concentration and integration – referring to the spe-

cialisation of an organisation’s units and their complementarity.3. The rule of harmony – all units work and co-operate with each other

(Adamecki 1970:170–172; Mijal 2016a:61).

In this case as well, one can see the full reflection of the nature of Erasmus+ projects’ management where a proper mix of responsibilities among a project co-ordinator and project partners and an adequate mix of expertise among project partners are an important part of the ex-ante assessment of project proposals.

The next management approach in question is the administrative approach represented, first of all, by Henri Fayol. Not only does his comprehensive concept include the functions of a company and his fourteen rules of management, but it also describes managerial or lead-ership functions (Lachiewicz and Matejun 2012:98–99). The latter aspect of his approach is most relevant to this discussion and it is de-picted as:1. Predicting, also meaning planning.2. Commanding, later interpreted as motivating.3. Organising.4. Co-ordinating.5. Controlling (Mijal 2016a:63).

In fact, as in the case of Le Chatelier’s approach, one can see a straight-forward correspondence between Fayol’s approach and subsequent phases of Erasmus+ projects, especially in relation to what aspects of these projects are assessed. According to Lachiewicz and Matejun (2012:100), Max Weber, a German sociologist, is another representative of the administrative approach. However, for Mijal (2016b:157), Max


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Weber’s ideas were developed parallelly to the ones of Taylor and Fayol. The difference between these three researchers lies in the fact that We-ber postulated looking at management from the historical perspective. In other words, he perceived the functioning of organisations in the broader context of the history of society, social development and cultural transformations (Mijal 2016b:158). Weber’s theory of bureaucracy de-fines the functioning of organisations by a hierarchical structure with clearly established rules and laws and lines of subordination as well as the clear division of tasks, responsibilities and levels of authorisation (Lachiewicz and Matejun 2012:100). This Prussian school of thought is well reflected in the current bureaucratic European Union structures and also underlies the idea of Erasmus+ co-operation projects where the clear and precise division of tasks within a project is an important pre-condition of its success. Moreover, Weber defined three types of organ-isational powers or authorities:1. Rational-legal authority.2. Traditional authority.3. Charismatic authority (Weber 1972:321–322).

It is interesting to note that the sources of authority do not necessar-ily depend on legitimacy. Charismatic authority is independent of le-gitimacy, as it is embedded in the outstanding characteristics of an in-dividual. At this point, a clear reference can be seen to the matrix of competences presented in chapter I. It must also be pointed out here that the organisational aspects of Erasmus+ projects deserve a separate detailed discussion and they will be elaborated further on in the next sub-chapter.

However, as Mijal claims, the approaches and theories described above do not explain the changes in workers’ efficiency (Mijal 2016a:66). Ac-cordingly, new approaches have been elaborated, among which the be-havioural approach, or the human relations approach, is worth mention-ing. Its representatives, such as Mary Parker Follett and Chester Irving Bernard, postulated that mechanical attitude towards workers with its economic incentives, proper use of tools and working methods, as well as proper labour and responsibilities division, are not enough. They stressed the importance of psychosocial factors, such as informal organ-isation, proper work atmosphere, trust between managers and workers, proper communication and engagement (Lachiewicz and Matejun 2012:102). Consequently, the issue of conflicts in a team and motivation


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in a place of work were elaborated. The latter one was extensively studied by Douglas McGregor within his Theory X and Y, in which Theory X is connected with treating workers as people who do not like to work and have low aspirations and engagement, whereas Theory Y refers to a pos-itive dimension of work where people like to work and are pro-active (Lachiewicz and Matejun 2012:102; McGregor 2006). The issue of mo-tivation is also reflected in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (Maslow 1943:370–396). The most important implications of the above theories in the context of the discussion in this book are the following rules:1. Relations within a team of workers and relations between managers

and workers are an important motivating factor.2. Efficient work also depends on informal factors.3. Specialisation in the context of labour division does not always lead

to the improvement of efficiency (Lachiewicz and Matejun 2012:106).

However, it is worth coming back to Follett and mentioning her idea of leadership which she defined as the ability to develop, and she distin-guished the terms ‘power over others’ and ‘power with others’, where the former leads to superiority, while the latter leads to co-operation in gaining goals and objectives. It means that she established a new ap-proach to responsibility by shifting ‘responsibility to someone’ to ‘re-sponsibility for something’ (Jaskanis and Majczyk 2016:390). All these psychosocial aspects with their co-operative and interactional character are well represented in the competence-based research model described in subsequent chapters and reflect the underlying nature of Erasmus+ co-operation projects. Since these projects are realised on a voluntary basis, it is not only economy that matters, but first of all personal rela-tions that govern and regulate operational processes within projects.

The quantitative management theory closes our discussion about classical management theories. Two main approaches represented here are the quantitative approach and operational management (Lachiewicz and Matejun 2012:107). The former refers to a mathematical represen-tation of organisational reality in relation to systems or processes, whereas the latter uses statistical and mathematical methods in order to work out solutions for various challenges and problems within an organisation. The operational approach can be further divided into process management and project management which is of most impor-tance for this discussion. Process management is further represented by three approaches:


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1. Quality control tradition – characterised by identifying best ways to perform tasks and establishing a proper control system.

2. Management tradition – referring to efficiency issues.3. Information technology tradition – defined by the automation of

processes thanks to the use of computer hardware and software (Harmon 2015:38–53).

It must be mentioned at this point that quality control issues and the use of ICT (information and communication technology) are of priority in Erasmus+ projects and only the project proposals which can prove the efficient implementation of these aspects are likely to get European funding. Both quality control issues and ICT use, as well as the potential of an institution to manage the project process are assessed during the ex-ante evaluation of the project proposal within a grant-awarding pro-cedure. However, it is project management which perfectly corresponds to what the European idea of international co-operation is.

According to Koźmiński and Piotrowski, the term ‘project’ originally had a technical character and was used in engineering, but later, thanks to the scientific approach to organisations, the term ‘organizational project’ was coined (Koźmiński and Piotrowski 2013:455). Turner and Muller define a project as an innovative activity undertaken in order to achieve certain benefits. It is realised with the use of specially designed activities with a certain time framework and with the use of specified resources (Turner and Muller 2003:7). Lachiewicz and Matejun add that various project management methodologies aim at achieving a compro-mise between a project and a process (Lachiewicz and Matejun 2012:82). This is very true in reference to Erasmus+ projects on different levels of their realisation. First of all, international partners have to agree on common goals and objectives as well as the final product of the project. Then, they have to negotiate how to proceed with the process, including task division, responsibility distribution, time framework, delivery methods, etc. All of this is accompanied by the constant tension between what has been agreed, to what extent it is feasible and how the partners’ engagement contributes towards the final product, considering all pos-sible hindrances that can be faced in the due course of the project re-alisation, such as communication breakup, misunderstandings, conflicts of various sorts, etc. Another characteristic of the project management approach is that a project is treated as a temporary organisation (Pack-endorff 1995:326), which is exactly what Erasmus+ projects are: these


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are consortia of international, institutional partners of organisational types which agree to work together and join their institutional capacities and potential for a period of several months or years to achieve certain goals or to develop certain products. Thanks to this co-operation, these institutions share experience, learn and expand their institutional ca-pacity, which, according to Packendorff (1995), is another important aspect of project management (Packendorff 1995:330). In this light of different definitions, Stabryła adds after Kerzner (2005:17) that another important feature of project management is accomplishment deadlines, costs and quality level (Stabryła 2018:301). Further important aspects of project management are evaluation, feasibility study, the use of avail-able data and experience, risk management and management of change (Majczyk 2016:106–107). Practically all of these aspects are inherent elements of all Erasmus+ projects and detailed information on how they are tackled in a project is required at the application and selection stages before being granted funding. Furthermore, in the context of the already described industrial revolution 4.0, project work is becoming one of the most preferable and efficient modes of work requiring the combination of emotional intelligence, creativity and entrepreneurship from workers and placing them in geographically dispersed project teams, which, in turn, requires efficient management, co-ordination and decision-making (Śledziewska and Włoch 2020b:167). This also perfectly characterises the nature of the Erasmus+ Programme co-operation.

The broad framework of classical management theories was followed by systemic and situational approaches in efforts to integrate and depict the multifaceted nature of organisations and management. The detailed rules of the systemic approach in management defined by Rosnay (1982:141–142; Koźmiński and Piotrowski 2013:697–699) are as follows:• Maintaining diversity in order not to let simplification of internal

communication or not to worsen interactions between subsystems. In terms of managing Erasmus+ projects, it can refer to direct and indirect means of communication, namely with the use of ICT, but in person as well, which turned out to be practically impossible dur-ing the COVID-19 pandemic and consequently led to loosening in-ternal ties between project partners.

• Not breaking the cycle of self-regulation, but using existing, natural tendencies in the organisation without breaking natural cycles for ad hoc results – one of the examples here is the commonly known rule that sometimes it is better not to intervene during a situ-


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ation of conflict and take control over it, but to let it burn out natu-rally in order to avoid escalation. In the case of Erasmus+ projects, it is a very important aspect of relations between partners, since they are very diverse in linguistic, cultural and social terms, and these relations were put to test during the stressful and uncertain situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Disclosing weak points – concentrating on specific areas is more effective than multidirectional action, and in Erasmus+ projects management, constant monitoring and introducing remedial actions, if necessary, is one of the requirements that should be assessed inter-nally and externally.

• Maintaining balance through decentralisation – it can allow the leaders of Erasmus+ projects to make use of the potential underlying diverse project team composition in reference to different countries involved, different working cultures, complementary expertise, etc.

• Accepting and using different ways of the functioning of the system – for instance, it can equip Erasmus+ project leaders with the possibility to use unplanned resources while implementing re-medial exercises in case of emergencies.

• Diversity – actually it is imbedded in the whole idea of European co-operation, which means that differences can contribute greatly to closer integration in order to produce new quality and gain added value.

• Allowing aggression – in terms of managing Erasmus+ projects, it can refer to constant development through strong and dynamic in-teractions which appear in a natural way within international project teams.

• Preferring goals and objectives and not detailed agendas or action plans, which should lead to unleashing the creativity and indepen-dence of individuals within an organisation and creating self-regu-lation and self-control mechanisms – actually creativity is a funda-mental condition in managing Erasmus+ projects, since they need to prove their innovative character.

• Using command energy – for instance, it can refer to the manage-ment of different modes and channels of communication, depending on the character of one’s Erasmus+ partner or his or her culture.

• Accepting different paces of reaction – for instance, the accept-able reaction time to respond to e-mails may vary, depending on the country and culture.


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On the other hand, the situational approach in management assumes that effective managing methods in one context do not necessarily prove useful in other contexts. In terms of managing Erasmus+ projects, it actually means that a similar project will probably be differently man-aged in a public institution and in a private one in order to achieve the same results or it will require different approaches, depending on the country where it is realised due to different cultures of work. Implement-ing a different managing approach may also be a result of a suddenly changed internal or external context, which is actually the case in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is also connected with the issue of adaptability researched further on in this book. Gareth Morgan, as one of the representatives of the situational approach, formulates the following assumptions which actually correspond very well to the cur-rent pandemic situation and a sudden change of the internal and exter-nal contexts of implementing Erasmus+ projects:1. Organisations should be open systems and be able to adapt.2. There is no single, universal managing method, the use of a method

depends on the environment in which an organisation exists.3. The aim of management is to achieve a good match between an or-

ganisation and the environment.4. Different approaches are needed to realise different tasks (Morgan

2002:52).

Morgan’s view on management leads us directly to the discussion on current, or modern, management approaches in the next sub-chapter.

3.2. Erasmus+ Projects as Organisations in the Context of Current Management Paradigms and Practices

Czekaj, Mesjasz and Ziębicki (2018) claim that in previous periods, it was relatively easy to distinguish theories, approaches, views and trends in management. Nowadays, due to the high complexity of the subject mat-ter and the fact that management draws various ideas and concepts from other scientific fields and disciplines, it is very difficult to provide clear typology of management theories or approaches (Czekaj, Mesjasz and Ziębicki 2018:463). A comprehensive presentation of various scientific paradigms in this respect is provided by Grochmal (2016:83–131). How-ever, he also stresses the fact that the scientific landscape of paradigms


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and approaches in management is multifaceted and he postulates the need for a new paradigm in the science of management which would fulfil the expectations of management theoreticians, practitioners, man-agers, workers and other stakeholders (Grochmal 2016:85 and 129). Ac-cordingly, Erasmus+ projects will be discussed in this sub-chapter in the context of (1) current views on organisations and their features; (2) two most prevailing paradigms, namely the network paradigm and the rela-tional view; (3) strategic management and (4) agile project management.

3.2.1. Erasmus+ Projects as Organisations

In the light of what has already been discussed in the previous sub-chapter, the most proper definition of Erasmus+ projects from the or-ganisational point of view is that these projects are temporary organisa-tions. And what are organisations? A comprehensive list of definitions of organisations is provided by Krzakiewicz and Cyfert (2020:12). And since the definitions in question are plentiful, the discussion in this respect must be selective. Accordingly, the starting point for the discus-sion on the nature of organisations in the context of Erasmus+ projects should be Sułkowski’s statement that an organisation is an entity that ‘exists thanks to human intention and social convention’ (Sułkowski 2015:240). This definition fits the understanding of Erasmus+ projects as organisations perfectly, since these projects are voluntary entities in the form of European partnerships whose aims are not only to reach certain goals, but also to act according to conventions established by the European Union. In that sense, the existence of these organisations must be perceived even in broader terms, not only social, but also political ones. Another interesting view on organisations is presented by Kast and Rosenzweig who claim that an organisation is a structured socio-technical system (Kast and Rosenzweig 1970:120–121). This definition reflects two important dimensions of Erasmus+ projects which are re-searched in this book: social relations of Erasmus+ projects’ partners in the form of their co-operation and communication abilities as well as technical abilities supporting their communication. And finally, it is worth reaching into Morgan’s metaphors depicting the nature of organ-isations (Morgan 2006) where the metaphor of an organisation as a brain seems most relevant in the discussion on Erasmus+ projects. The fun-damental attribute of such an organisation is the ability to learn. The need for this ability results from the growing importance of information


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and knowledge in gaining a competitive advantage in more and more global and competitive environments. This context also requires tech-nological flexibility and fast reactions to changes in the environment on the part of organisations (Barczak, Bartusik and Kozina 2018:389). The ability to learn as an organisational feature in the above-described sense is crucial in the context of the research presented further in this book, since it refers to competences as a key to success. Jaskanis presents nu-merous definitions and notions connected with a learning organisation (Jaskanis 2016:494). However, in the context of the research presented further in this book, the notion of flexibility as a feature of a learning organisation is the most relevant and it will be discussed further on in the subsequent sub-chapters in the context of network and relational paradigms, strategic management and agile project management. Here, flexibility is a sort of thread that interweaves all these discussion areas in management.

According to the typology of organisations presented by Beliczyński (2018:31), Erasmus+ projects fulfil the definition criteria of several categories, namely they can be categorised as:• Public organisations: such organisations offer public goods and ser-

vices. Although some of Erasmus+ projects are managed by private companies and businesses, they can be treated as temporary public organisations because their Erasmus+ activities are financed with the use of the European Union’s funds. According to Polish financial law, EU funds are treated as public funds. Consequently, the organ-isations which use EU funding are subject to the same legislative regulations as public institutions, for instance, tender procedures.

• Non-profit organisations: this category refers to the activities which are not profit-oriented, however, if a commercial product results from an Erasmus+ project, then according to the European Union’s rules, property rights and possible commercial profits belong to the project consortium. Yet, profits, as such, are never the ultimate goal of Eras-mus+ projects.

• Social organisations: Erasmus+ projects can be treated as social or-ganisations in the sense that some of their results satisfy higher order needs, for instance, strengthening European co-operation and build-ing mutual understanding in the creation of a common European educational and social area.

• Non-commercial organisations: such organisations satisfy non-ma-terialistic needs of societies, for instance, educational ones.


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According to the typology of the aims of organisations, also presented by Beliczyński (2018:33), Erasmus+ projects fulfil the definition criteria of the non-economic organisations, meaning that their aims are of high social prestige, regardless of whether the area of activities is technical, social or ethical. Furthermore, the mission of each Erasmus+ project, which is a specific aim defining the establishment and the role of an organisation, together with strategic and operational aims are established simultaneously at the moment of setting up a project consortium or partnership by all the partners in a democratic way. In that sense, Eras-mus+ projects organisations differ from the usual structures in which the establishment of different types of aims, general, specific and detailed ones, is assigned to different units of these structures, according to their hierarchical character.

Another organisational aspect of Erasmus+ projects is their structure. In the light of the typology of modern organisations in reference to their structures presented by Stabryła, Tyrańska and Walas-Trębacz (2018:62–65), Erasmus+ projects organisations can be categorised as network and virtual organisations. The former types of organisations are characterised by (1) a co-operative and relational character and (2) highly specialised units with complementary expertise and competences functioning in a network and supported by information and communication technolo-gies. The latter, namely virtual organisations, are characterised by (1) separate units that together do not have a legal status, common assets or common personnel and (2) a temporary character where the time of the existence of an organisation is limited to the life cycle of a project realised jointly. Putting all these threads together, one must mention Latusek (2019) who claims that technology enhances and fosters inter-actions within virtual and temporary organisations (Latusek 2019:169). This means that digital competences, and consequently, the social ones, are expected to facilitate the sustainability of Erasmus+ projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic, which will be verified in the empiri-cal part of this book. This also implies that digital transformation is not only required by the requirements of industry 4.0 era, but it is also of urgent need to maintain sustainability in the times of crisis, such as the current pandemic situation. Mazurek (2020:71) claims that one of the aims of digital transformation is the adaptation of a new business model. This assumption brings us back to the beginning of this discussion in which it was pointed out that the pandemic situation enforces new modes of work, in this case: electronic ones. Accordingly, it should be expected


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that virtual and temporary organisations, such as Erasmus+ projects, are not prone to suffer much from the pandemic situation and its limita-tions connected with mobility and personal contacts.

Networking and virtual concepts of organisations also bring us to another important issue which is the intercultural or multicultural character of Erasmus+ projects. Kostera (2013) claims that the biggest challenge for international organisations is adjusting the philosophy of activity to the specificity of individual countries (Kostera 2013:588). Bińczycki (2018) adds that the multicultural character of an organisa-tion poses challenges to effectiveness and internal communication within this organisation (Bińczycki 2018:444–445). Sułkowski sees the inter-cultural aspect in a broader perspective of organisational interactions. He claims that intercultural organisational interactions should be un-derstood as ‘social processes of information flow and cooperation be-tween different organizational actors, including communication, valu-ation, cooperation and power distribution’ (Sułkowski 2017:4). Because of the specific character of Erasmus+ projects organisations, the above-mentioned aspects apply. It must be noted that one of the general assess-ment criteria for receiving EU funds for projects is the so-called European dimension of a project proposal. It means that the project consortium needs to prove in the application form that the results of the project are universal enough, meaning that they are going to serve different geo-graphical contexts across Europe. Additionally, as mentioned before, Erasmus+ projects, their aims and results are agreed and designed in a democratic way with all project partners being equal. Although the projects have a project leader as a co-ordinator, his or her role is not hegemonic. Consequently, power distribution within Erasmus+ projects is rather dispersed and does not necessarily pose significant challenges. However, it is communication and co-operation that are the main chal-lenges for Erasmus+ projects organisations from the intercultural, or multicultural, point of view. These two aspects are also key elements of the research on Erasmus+ projects’ sustainability in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic.

3.2.2. Erasmus+ Projects’ Organisations in the Context of the Network Paradigm and the Relational View

As stated above, the network paradigm is one of the most prevailing paradigms in management. The emergence of this paradigm in organ-


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isational research is described by Borgatti and Foster (2003:991–1013). In Poland, Czakon (2011:6) is an advocate of this paradigm in modern science of management. Woźniak-Sobczak (2015) claims that the emer-gence of network paradigm was caused by turbulent, unstable, diversi-fied, dynamic, global and unpredictable environment, which led to the shift from hierarchical management towards horizontal relations be-tween geographically dispersed partners forming different organisational units. These partners are usually connected with the use of information and communication technologies and they create voluntary partnerships, depending on the needs, to realise and reach specific goals. Each con-figuration of partners is an original combination of key competences contributed by these partners, which makes the organisation or partner-ship stronger, more flexible and faster in action in comparison to the potential of each individual partner. This type of organisation fosters the processes of adaptability to new conditions (Woźniak-Sobczak 2015:57–59). The vertical disintegration of organisations, communicative aspect and complementarity of partners are also stressed by Czakon (2012:42–43) as characteristic features of the network paradigm. Both the external context of unpredicted the COVID-19 pandemic and the network character of Erasmus+ projects, which form organisations consisting of international partner units, constitute a perfect analogy to the above-mentioned current organisational approach in management.

The relational view in the science of management was introduced by Dyer and Singh (1998:660–679). This view postulates knowledge shar-ing within units of an organisation and building relations inside and outside of it in order to enhance competitive potential and effectiveness (Wieland and Wallenburg 2012:303). This point of view is also crucial in analysing the effectiveness and sustainability of Erasmus+ projects in relation to Erasmus+ project leaders’ competences, since the ability to communicate effectively on various levels and maintaining relations are integral parts of these competences.

However, Woźniak-Sobczak claims that, in fact, the relational view is an integral part of the network paradigm. She classifies the relational view as a partial paradigm within a broader context of the network paradigm being a holistic paradigm (Woźniak-Sobczak 2015:56). The ability to create and maintain relations is a fundamental competence of network organisations, according to Woźniak-Sobczak (2015:62). A sim-ilar view is represented by Thorelli who states that inter-organisational networks are usually defined as two or more organisations engaged in


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long-term relations (Thorelli 1986:37). Stańczyk-Hugiet adds that mod-ern organisations are using relational and network mechanism more and more often nowadays (Stańczyk-Hugiet 2012:171). A slightly different view is postulated by Piwoni-Krzeszowska who states that the network paradigm and the relational paradigm should be classified as two sepa-rate paradigms and they are still emerging and being formulated (Piwoni-Krzeszowska 2015:326 and 331).

3.2.3. Strategic Management

On the one hand, strategic management is a relatively new discipline of practice and theory in management. However, on the other hand, Polowczyk’s bibliometric analysis proves that strategic management should be already treated as a well-developed sub-discipline in manage-ment (Polowczyk 2012). It is thought that current, modern organisa-tions cannot be competitive and effective without a strategy and plans for its realisation. Stańczyk-Hugiet (2012) notices that current organ-isations, which implement strategic management, most frequently adopt the network and relational perspective in their activities (Stańczyk-Hugiet 2012:166). This kind of approach brings strategic management into line with the network and relational paradigms. Furthermore, four main approaches can be distinguished within stra-tegic management: (1) a planning one, (2) a positional one, (3) a re-source-based one, and (4) an evolutionary one (Stańczyk-Hugiet 2012:164). The planning approach prefers a formalised planning system and SWOT analysis (Stabryła and Walas-Trębacz 2018:113). These two features correspond to the character of Erasmus+ projects very well, as the granting procedure for these projects is mainly based on the as-sessment of project plans and their structure. Moreover, Erasmus+ project consortia are encouraged to implement the analysis of strengths and weaknesses by various handbooks and guidelines on Erasmus+ project management in order to avoid failures. SWOT analysis usually helps Erasmus+ project leaders to identify threats and plan remedial activities if necessary. The positional approach, on the other hand, concentrates on the need to carry out diagnostic research in order to see how an organisation places itself in reference to other organisations and in order to seek a competitive advantage (Stabryła and Walas-Trębacz 2018:113). In reference to Erasmus+ projects, it can be under-stood as the search for an organisation’s own way to become innovative


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or the introduction of innovative solutions that others do not offer. This feature of Erasmus+ projects is crucial, as the ability to implement new quality is highly valued during the assessment procedure. Although both the planning and positional approaches in strategic management have some value in managing Erasmus+ projects, Romanowska (2013) claims that from the current perspective, the potential of these ap-proaches has already been exploited, while the resource-based approach is still being developed (Romanowska 2013:198). For Zakrzewska-Bielawska (2015), both the resource-based and evolutionary approaches have contributed to the relational and network paradigms. In the case of resource-based approach, this contribution can be observed in the perception of inter-organisational relations as strategic resources (Za-krzewska-Bielawska 2015:179). This aspect of strategic management refers to Erasmus+ projects as organisations composed of several vari-ous partners whose alliance is based on complementary expertise and resources. As regards the evolutionary approach, anchoring it in the relational and network paradigms manifests itself in current business ecosystems which form complex networks and relations (Zakrzewska-Bielawska 2015:179). The relational and networking character of Eras-mus+ projects have already been discussed above. For Stead and Stead, the evolutionary perspective connected with this new paradigm, or paradigms, brings modern organisations directly to strategic manage-ment (Stead and Stead 2008:66).

Apart from various approaches within the concept of strategic management and their relations to the current paradigms in the science of management, the landscape of scientific discussions on the very definition of the notion of strategy is also very diverse and not neces-sarily homogenous (Krzakiewicz and Cyfert 2020:268). Yet, Krzakie-wicz and Cyfert (2020) enumerate six fundamental aspects of the notion of strategy in management after Gołębiowski (2001:16–17): aims, a plan, relations with the environment, a business area, com-petitive advantage and market positioning, and stakeholders. These aspects also actually constitute a definition of what Erasmus+ projects are. A successful Erasmus+ project needs to have clearly defined aims and goals, according to the European Union’s priorities within EU educational, economic and social policies. In order to get the financing, each project consortium produces a plan specifying sub-sequent stages of project realisation, including task division, budget distribution, results dissemination and information strategy as well as an evaluation


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plan. The consortium of project partners needs to describe both rela-tions within a group, for instance, the complementarity of expertise, but also outside relations, for instance, the already mentioned dis-semination and information plan. The consortium also has to show how their activities or developed products within a project position them as innovative in their business area and how they engage or ad-dress various stakeholders in their field of activities. These aspects correspond with a definition of Erasmus+ strategic partnerships de-veloped by Symela (2018). He bases these partnerships on three main pillars: (1) common goals and a common action plan; (2) formalised structure of activities; (3) partnership’s resource potential: both human and technical. Additionally, he stresses the relational character of Erasmus+ strategic partnerships, the learning potential of project partners as well as the adaptive and flexible characteristics of Erasmus+ project leaders (Symela 2018:37–38).

As stated before, the complexity of various sorts of typologies in reference to strategic management is vast. However, there is still one aspect of strategic management worth mentioning here. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the aspect of adaptability to a new chal-lenging situation is crucial. Czakon (2020) states that the fitting of an organisation to the environment is one of very few normative notions in strategic management. This notion refers to the effective use of both resources and competences in reference to possible threats (Czakon 2020:36). The relevance of this aspect is crucial for the research on how competences facilitate the successful realisation of Erasmus+ projects during the COVID-19 pandemic. A similar view is presented by Dyduch (2013) in his considerations on creative strategy, in which he points at flexibility as an important aspect of strategic management. He defines flexibility as a strategy of changing activities direction and a prompt adoption of activities in new conditions (Dyduch 2013:29, and Chell 2001:286).

3.2.4. Agile Project Management

Project management as such is not a new phenomenon and it has already been discussed in one of the previous sub-chapters. However, in response to quickly changing environments and conditions, which inevitably requires higher levels of the already mentioned flexibility, project man-agement has recently gained a new form of agile project management.


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The fundamental difference between these two is presented by Serrador and Pinto (2015) who state that ‘less planning and more flexibility is used in agile projects than in traditional project management’ (Serrador and Pinto 2015:1042). There is a paradox here in relation to Erasmus+ projects. On the one hand, these projects have to act according to the original plan because their financial support from the European Union is conditioned by the realisation of this plan. The Erasmus+ Programme’s fundamental rule in this respect is that what has been promised must be delivered. Because of the fact that the Erasmus+ Programme’s funds are European public money, the European transparency rules on expen-diture require the delivery of what has been contracted. Any substantial change to the project plan requires formal permissions, usually in a com-plicated procedure. On the other hand, the COVID-19 pandemic situ-ation requires changes, adaptability and flexibility in new, challenging conditions in order to sustain and realise the projects successfully. Originally, the idea of agile project management comes from the ‘agile manifesto’ written by practitioners in software design in 2001, including four core values: (1) individuals and interactions over processes and tools; (2) working software over comprehensive documentation; (3) customer collaboration over contract negotiation; (4) responding to change over following a plan (Dybå and Dingsøyr 2008:3). However, this approach has evolved into practical frameworks, such as Scrum (www.scrum.org), and it is applicable in various fields of management. In reference to Erasmus+ projects management, the following features of agile project management are crucial and adaptable: the ability to communicate effectively; interdisciplinarity and competences comple-mentarity; soft skills. The research presented in this book concentrates practically on all of these aspects. It must also be noted that due to its character, agile project management is framed in the broader context of the evolutionary approach in strategic management.

The discussion above shows certain trends in approaching the issues of modern management. These trends can be summarised as the shift from network to relations or from planning to flexibility. However, in the context of Erasmus+ projects, it can be stated that this shift is only a theoretical construct depicting relevant aspects and processes con-nected with successful and effective management in a drastically chang-ing social and economic context. Actually, all discussed issues, either from the paradigmatic point of view or directly from the practical man-agerial point of view, apply here.


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3.3. The Stress Factor and Personal Features as Determinants of Business Sustainability and Success

The worldwide coronavirus pandemic situation has brought significant changes to the mode of work. In the times of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland, 94.8% of people working in managerial positions as well as high-level specialists worked from home for more than the half of the working week in comparison to 5.3% before the pandemic (Czerniak, Durka and Piznal 2020:39). This means a radical change, as far as the mode of work is concerned, undoubtedly affecting work efficiency which is defined as the result of activities undertaken within a certain period of time (Mijal 2016a:58).

The sudden necessity to transfer Erasmus+ co-operation completely into virtual reality, with all its restrictions and constraints, has posed a great challenge to project leaders and has become the real threat of breaking up European, transnational co-operation. This situation has required from project leaders not only a smooth transition to using electronic forms of communication, which require a certain level of digital competences, but also a redefinition of their projects from the content and the methodology points of view in such a way that goals and objectives of the projects could remain unchanged. Otherwise, ac-cording to the European rules of the Erasmus+ Programme, projects lose their financial support from the European Union funds. This con-sequently leads this discussion to the factor of stress.

The factor of stress and various types of threats have been extensively discussed in numerous papers in which they are presented as very impor-tant and crucial determinants of work efficiency and employee productiv-ity (Lozano 2008:1838–1846; Lozano and Huisingh 2011:99–107; Mak and Cheung 2014:173–189). What is more, the feeling of the lack of safety at work affects, in most cases negatively, pro-active behaviour at work, work skills and team performance (Tutak, Brodny and Dobrowolska 2020:5). However, it has been found out that the lack of sense of safety has a much bigger negative impact on older employees than the young ones in terms of their pro-active professional behaviours (Tutak, Brodny and Dobrowolska 2020:5). It must also be stressed at this point that fac-tors, such as pro-active behaviour at work, work skills and team perfor-mance, are fundamental in the effective and successful realisation of transnational projects. This is because of the fact that the realisation of these projects results from individual initiatives of project leaders. Besides,


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the projects themselves are usually an additional form of institutional activity, and although they give institutions and individuals taking part in them significant financial support, work for these projects definitely has a voluntary character. Finally, the idea of team work lies at the heart of the character of European transnational co-operation projects.

Similarly, the concept referring to the appraisal of interactions be-tween the individual and the environment developed by Lazarus and Folkman (1984) differentiates employees’ behaviours in relation to dif-ficult situations. If an individual perceives the situation as a threat, then he or she assesses his or her abilities to manage stress as insufficient. The result of such assessment is opposite if an individual perceives the dif-ficult situation as a challenge (Pollak, Dobrowolska, Timofiejczuk and Paliga 2020:2). Since the age factor affects pro-active behaviours and is also commonly associated with risk-taking, the correlation between age and the willingness to continue the realisation of Erasmus+ projects by their projects’ leaders will also be researched in this book.

Threat itself may evoke various reactions, from avoidance to minimis-ing the threat. This may take the form of actions, such as undertaking control activities and refraining from risky actions on the one hand, or the intensified observation and analysis of the situation on the other hand (Dobrowolska, Stasiła-Sieradzka and Kozuba 2020:3). In the case of Erasmus+ project leaders, it can be translated into either breaking up international collaboration or seeking ways to successfully finish the projects and achieve their goals and objectives. The latter way involves either temporal suspension of the project, or continuation of the project, taking into account all external restrictions and limitations imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. All three situations have been researched by the European Commission in its survey described in chapter II.

Furthermore, it is also worth analysing the issue of stress from the point of view of personal traits, since some of them have an influence on performance as well. For this part of the discussion, a personality concept called the Big Five model (Costa and McCrae 1997:509–516; Costa, McCrae and Dye 1992a:887–898) will be used here. This model perceives personality from the perspective of five dimensions, namely:1. Extraversion.2. Emotional stability.3. Openness to experience.4. Agreeableness.5. Conscientiousness (Costa, McCrae and Dye 1992b).


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The first trait is extremely relevant in this discussion, since interna-tional interactions between individuals within Erasmus+ projects are the essence of European co-operation, and as Pollak, Dobrowolska, Timofiejczuk and Paliga (2020:2) put it, ‘extraversion refers to the social dimension of functioning and defines the amount and quality of social interaction’. While emotional stability as a trait has a very general char-acter and is relevant in various contexts, the last three ones, just as ex-traversion, reflect the attitudes underlying the character of international co-operation. Since openness to experience is associated with cognitive curiosity and tolerance for novelty, it would be difficult, or even impos-sible, to co-operate internationally within the Erasmus+ Programme without this sort of feature, as this co-operation requires functioning in a multilingual and multicultural environment. Furthermore, Erasmus+ projects are innovative by their nature, otherwise they would not get financial support from the European Union. In the context of interna-tional co-operation, openness to experience is closely linked to agree-ableness which can be manifested as altruism or antagonism. Again, as Pollak, Dobrowolska, Timofiejczuk and Paliga (2020:2) put it, altruism in behavioural terms means ‘being sensitive to others, trusting them, and being willing to cooperate’. In order to top up the picture, the im-portance of the last trait for the effectiveness and success of international projects must be stressed here: according to Costa (1992b), conscientious-ness is connected with the level of organisational skills, persistence and an individual’s motivation. Moreover, it is worth adding that Pollak, Dobrowolska, Timofiejczuk and Paliga (2020:3) also postulate that three out of the five above-mentioned traits, namely: extraversion, agreeable-ness and conscientiousness, strongly correlate with the issue of manag-ing stress and ability to apply remedial actions or applying a coping strategy, which by no means are pillars of a successfully managed inter-national co-operation project. Various surveys carried out by the Foun-dation for the Development of Education System, described in chapter II, show how important most of the above-mentioned traits are in order to function effectively in an international environment and how inter-national co-operation forms a platform for the development of indi-viduals in relation to these traits.

The whole issue in question can still be analysed from the broader perspective of sustainable business development. As already discussed, the issue of the continuation of Erasmus+ projects, or in other words, the sustainability of these projects, poses a substantial challenge to


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project leaders in the times of pandemic. Sustainable business develop-ment is based on good work conditions and good relations, but at the same time, they have a great impact not only on efficiency, but also on employees’ creativity (Tutak, Brodny and Dobrowolska 2020:2). The latter is crucial here, since the already partially mentioned innovation and, first of all, creativity underlie the whole idea of European interna-tional co-operation projects. In addition to this, sustainability involves not only human factors, but also relationships between people and technical facilities and environment (Tutak, Brodny and Dobrowolska, 2020:2). This aspect of the discussion is connected with the already presented issue of digital competences of the future in chapter II, since the present trends in reflections on digital competences also stress the importance of communication between people and machines (Czerniak, Durka and Piznal 2020:11). What is more, people and machines are complementary in many cases. For instance, there are areas, such as ethics, in which machines cannot replace people (Bakhshi, Downing, Osborne and Schneider 2017). It is a crucial point also in reference to relations and effective communication and co-operation between people. These relations, in turn, are important in this discussion because this research will also include the issue of digital competences and digital environment as potentially remedial factors in the continuation of Eras-mus+ projects in the times of coronavirus pandemic. Since the already mentioned relations between project partners have seized in terms of various types of physical mobility and face-to-face communication, digitalisation has become the way out to compensate for a possible breakup of communication and eventual relations.

3.4. Final Remarks: The Competence-Based Approach to the Sustainability of Erasmus+ Projects

To sum up, the discussion above means that apart from the competences 4.0, which are the focal point of the survey in this research, stress and personal traits may also affect Erasmus+ project leaders in their persis-tence to continue transnational co-operation in the times of pandemic. Accordingly, these variables must also be taken into consideration. However, it must be pointed out that stress, as a factor, is reflected in one of the dimensions of social competences in the proposed competence model of this research (see chapter IV for competence indicators and


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chapter V for Table 3). Additionally, the personal traits discussed above have their reflection in the competence matrix presented in chapter I, and finally, in the research model presented in chapter IV as well. As a result, the research is in line with the competence-based approach to leadership in general, which was postulated in chapter I. Moreover, it must be noticed that effective communication, collaboration, relations, networking, innovation, flexibility and adaptability, which are enumer-ated as fundamental organisational factors by the current literature on management, constitute an underlying construct of competences 4.0. In the competence model used in this research, they define the sub-sequent dimensions of these competences (see chapter IV for competence indicators and chapter V for Table 3). Consequently, both the educational view on competences and the management approaches feed into the competence model used in the empirical part of this book from two perspectives. This should lead to the valid assessment of the extent to which competences 4.0 facilitate the realisation, management and sus-tainability of Erasmus+ projects.

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Chapter 4

Research Aims and Procedures

4.1. Research Context, Aims and QuestionsThe period of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the realisation of Erasmus+ projects. The system of work has changed and many institu-tions have altered their mode of operations into an online one. Accord-ingly, the international co-operation within the Erasmus+ Programme has had to be adapted to the new situation and conditions.

The first pillar of the research is the matrix of leaders’ competences presented and discussed in chapter I. The second pillar of the research is the research model of competences 4.0, also presented in chapter I, and finally, the focal point of the research is the assessment to what extent competences 4.0 facilitate the realisation, management and sus-tainability of Erasmus+ projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, the research questions are as follows:• What are the levels of the competences 4.0 among Erasmus+ project

leaders?• Which competences 4.0 facilitate the management of Erasmus+

projects during the COVID-19 pandemic?• Which competences 4.0 or other contextual factors impact the suc-

cessful realisation and management of Erasmus+ projects in the times of COVID-19 most?

4.2. Research GroupThe research was carried out among almost 3,000 project leaders within the Erasmus+ Programme coming from public, NGO and private sec-


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tors. 1,072 project leaders responded, out of which 990 fulfilled the criteria and were introduced into the final research group. The criteria included: being a project co-ordinator and realising a project within a specified period of time. The research refers to projects realised and managed in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, namely from March 2020 to November 2020. In 816 cases, key project activities were carried out exactly in the specified period of time. In other cases, project ac-tivities fell into this period but were not acknowledged as the key ones. Most of the project co-ordinators (80%) come from the public sector. NGOs and the private sector are represented by 13% and 7% of the re-spondents, respectively, which actually reflects the participation distri-bution structure of Erasmus+ participants’ profiles. Out of 990 qualified respondents, 422 come from the school sector, 233 from the vocational sector, 141 from higher education institutions, 128 from the youth sec-tor and 98 from the adult education sector. All these respondents cover all Erasmus+ Programme actions. In most cases, projects were realised within a group of 1–3 international partners. 16% of the respondents confirmed that their project included over 5 partners from abroad. 26% of the project leaders co-ordinated 2 or 3 projects simultaneously, whereas 67% co-ordinated only one project. 52% of the respondents managed the project independently and 48% shared co-ordination responsibilities.

An interesting feature of the research group is its professional distri-bution (question 67 from a questionnaire, see Annex I).

Table 1. Professions represented by Erasmus+ project leaders

What is your area of education? % Number

Humanistic, social, pedagogical 47.07 466

Philological 35.45 351

Technical and engineering 13.43 133

Economics 12.22 121

Management and marketing 10.10 100

Natural sciences 7.68 76

General 5.66 56

Law, finance and administration 4.85 48

Vocational 4.55 45

Arts 3.33 33

Other 2.53 25

Medical, pharmaceutical 1.41 14

[N = 990]

Research Aims and Procedures 89

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This distribution makes the research group a reliable pool of respondents, though they constitute a specific type of leaders.

In addition, the level of the engagement of the project leaders is re-flected by the following data: 32% of them were initiators of their proj-ects and 51% shared project ideas with others. A similar distribution can be observed in relation to project authorship: 35% of the project leaders filled in the application forms to receive an Erasmus+ grant by them-selves and 52% filled in the applications in co-operation with others. However, 86% of the respondents confirmed that their projects included solutions designed by themselves. Moreover, in most cases, the project leaders had an influence on other aspects of projects. For instance, they determined the aims and the subject matter of the projects. The follow-ing table shows which of the aspects of the project they influenced (question 9 from the questionnaire, see Annex I):

[N = 990]

And finally, the status of the projects qualified for the research was as follows:• Suspended or prolonged because of the COVID-19 pandemic – 29%.• During realisation – 59%.• Successfully finished – 13%.

This contextual data is further used in the analysis and constitutes an important point of reference.

4.3. Research Method and ToolAn online questionnaire (see Annex I) in the form of computer-assisted web interviewing was used for the research and the data collection pro-

76.57%

71.72%

68.79%

67.17%

64.65%

64.14%

64.14%

3.84%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Project goals

Subject matter of the project

Working methods

Choice of co-workers in the project

Development of criteria for selection of project participants

Duration of the project

Choice of partner institutions

None of the above


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cess took 5 weeks. The link with the questionnaire was sent to Erasmus+ project leaders. The questionnaire was anonymous in reference to proj-ect leaders. However, the participants were asked about the status of the project. Detailed methods of data processing and statistical analysis is presented in chapter V. The online questionnaire consists of mainly closed questions but in some cases also of open ones – there are 70 ques-tions in total. The questions referred not only to the process of projects’ realisation in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also to difficul-ties and challenges as well as solutions which the project leaders imple-mented. Some of the questions referred directly to the project leaders themselves and their personal features in the context of their declared level of digital, managerial, cognitive and social competences. Most of the questions are based on the Likert-type scale, since they are to mea-sure the intensification and the level of certain features, in this case: competences. Other questions, the ones not based on the Likert scale, are mostly contextual. Research tool questions aim at assessing to what extent a respondent agrees or disagrees with a relevant issue included in subsequent questions. All indicator questions are coded in such a way that the value 1 means the lowest level of the assessed feature and the value 5 means its highest level. All questions which include inverted scales are re-coded in such a way that cohesion of the analysis is main-tained. The questionnaire is not a typical tool for measuring the level of competences, since for such a purpose, standard, scaled and nor-malised tool would be required. The objective of the research is not to measure the level of each competence in an individual case of each project leader, but to assess to what extent individual competences are useful in managing projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic. The research is based on declarative data. The respondents assess the level of their competences themselves through various indicators. Some of the questions aim directly at eliciting the answer if, according to the respondents, a certain feature or competence is useful and helpful in the management of the projects. The questionnaire also assesses the level of the advancement of the project leaders, their experience in the man-agement of Erasmus+ projects and whether a given project resulted in success or whether it was suspended or cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.


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4.4. The Questionnaire FeedbackThe research is based on the analysis of total 990 valid responses and the distribution of these responses in reference to the type of the insti-tution involved in the project is as follows.

Table 2. Questionnaire feedback

Sector Number of responses %

Public 796 80.4

Private 65 6.6

NGO/non‑public 129 13.0

[N = 990]

This uneven distribution of institutions coming from three different sectors results from the participation structure in the Erasmus+ Pro-gramme. Although the Programme is addressed to all types of institu-tions coming from all possible sectors and the European Commission stresses the importance of equal access to it, in reality, most of the participants come from the public sector.

4.5. Research Design and ApproachNow the question is how the above-mentioned research tool reflects the model of competences 4.0 presented in chapter I. For this purpose, first the final reference model of these competences was designed and then the relevant references to questionnaire items were established. Since, as described in chapter I, the reference competence model includes four main competences, namely: digital competences, managerial compe-tences, cognitive competences and social competences, the next step was to refer all possible indicators which have the form of question items in the questionnaire to these competences. Additionally, indicators were verified statically if they really refer to relevant competences. Accordingly, the following indicators are referred to the subsequent competences:

Digital and Technical Competences:

• Knowledge of evaluation tools and techniques.


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• Ability to use basic tools and programmes in practice in everyday work situations and tasks.

• Digital literacy in everyday-life situations.• Ability to work online, knowledge and usage of appropriate programs

and tools to work online.• Ability to be up-to-date with new digital solutions useful in the field

basic issues connected to cybersecurity.

Relevant indicators or questions in the questionnaire for digital and technical competences are the following:27.6 Own preparation for online work.33. Do you carry out an ongoing evaluation of the project results on your own?42.1 Using e-banking services.42.2 Filing your tax return online.42.3 Filing an official application via the ePUAP system.42.4 Making use of an electronic document workflow.42.5 Organising my own online work.42.6 Starting a video conference with several people at the same time.42.7 Protecting my PC from network viruses.42.8 Sharing the screen with others during a video conference.43. Please rate how up-to-date you are with modern ICT solutions that

can be used in your work.44.1 Web resources.44.2 Text editors (e.g. Microsoft Word).44.3 Spreadsheets (e.g. Microsoft Excel).44.4 Instant messengers.44.5 E-mail.44.6 Online collaboration tools.44.7 Video conferencing tools.44.8 Project management tools.45. Please rate your overall level of proficiency in using modern techno-

logy.

Managerial Competences:

• Self- and team management.• Project management.• Psychology of work.• Organisation and management.


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• Management of human resources.• Managerial, leadership and entrepreneurship skills training.• Quantitative methods and business statistics.• Risk management and changing management techniques in the

context of social and technological change.

Relevant indicators or questions in the questionnaire for manage-rial competences are the following:15. In connection with the ongoing pandemic, are you familiar with the

frequently changing regulations and recommendations concerning work and social functioning?

23. As a project co-ordinator, did you feel responsible for the health and safety of project participants and colleagues?

27.1 Implementation of project activities during the pandemic.27.7 Team’s preparation for online work.35.3 Dividing tasks among co-workers and co-ordinating their work.35.4 Motivating co-workers.35.6 Enforcing compliance with agreed deadlines.35.7 Evaluating co-workers’ performance.35.8 Noticing conflict situations within the team.35.9 Delegating own tasks and responsibilities to co-workers.37.2 Providing feedback.37.9 Mediating between conflicting parties.40.8 I am a person who initiates activities in a team.41.1 Bring collaborators together around a project idea.41.2 Recognise areas for change that will help to better implement the

project.41.6 Divide tasks among the team so that they match the competences

and skills of co-workers.41.7 Control the workload of people in my team.41.8 Co-ordinate the work of a dispersed team (e.g. working remotely).41.9 Lead the work of a team consisting of people from different nation-

alities and cultural backgrounds.41.10 Be in charge of a task involving several institutions from different

countries (e.g. an international project).

Cognitive or Thinking Competences:

• Creativity.• Logic reasoning.


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• Solving complex problems.• Critical thinking.• Ability to observe and understand the reality around oneself.• Being open to new perspectives and new views.• Being conscious of own skills, abilities and limitations.

Relevant indicators or questions in the questionnaire for cognitive or thinking competences are the following:29.2 Every crisis situation can teach you something.29.3 I like doing several tasks at once.29.5 I like bringing ideas to life.29.6 Implementing project activities during the pandemic allowed me

to test myself in completely new circumstances.29.8 I can usually foresee the consequences of my actions.29.9 Stress has a mobilising effect on me.38.6 I am a reflective person, I contemplate a lot.39.5 I can control emotions and stress that come with working online at

home.40.1 I can usually foresee problems coming.40.2 I always try to learn from difficult experiences for the future.40.3 I always see at least a few possible solutions for each situation.40.5 I can find arguments for my beliefs during a discussion.40.6 I like exploring new things.40.7 I take a long time to make difficult decisions.40.10 I analyse my failures and setbacks.40.11 I avoid spontaneous decisions.40.12 I need to know all the pros and cons before making an important

decision.40.13 I am able to look critically at everything around me.40.14 I can apply innovative solutions in my work.41.11 Identify my own strengths and weaknesses.53.7 I am aware of my own strengths and weaknesses.53.8 I make the most important decisions concerning my life indepen-

dently.

Social and Psychosocial Competences:

• Effective co-operation within a group.• Ability to establish new contacts, create a group.• Maintaining relations and contacts.


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• Initiative in action.• Leadership.• Effective communication skills.• Emotional self-control.• Coping with uncertainty among group members.• Entrepreneurship and emotional intelligence including such soft

competences as personal flexibility and interdisciplinarity.

Relevant indicators, or questions in the questionnaire for social and psychosocial competences are the following:13.2 I have my own contact network of persons with whom I can carry

out joint projects.13.3 I have initiated the co-operation within the project by myself on at

least one occasion.13.5 I have a sense of systematic co-operation with a permanent group

of institutions.27.2 Adapting the way project activities are implemented to the pandemic

period.27.3 General pandemic uncertainty.27.4 Situation of risk to my own health and the health of those close to

me.27.5 Situation of risk to the health of co-workers.29.1 I can quickly adapt to a new situation.31. How important is it for you to introduce elements of interdisciplin-

arity or combining disciplines and fields when implementing a Eu-ropean project?

35.1 Integrating a team of co-workers.35.2 Developing a team spirit.35.5 Adapting communication methods to different types of audiences.35.10 Mitigating possible conflicts between co-workers.35.11 Noticing co-workers’ problems, including those concerning their

private lives, socio-economic situation, etc.37.1 Clear and precise communication.37.3 Communicating difficult messages.37.4 Moderating discussions.37.5 Actively listening to others.37.6 Assertive refusal.37.7 Accepting praise, compliments.37.8 Giving praise, compliments.


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37.10 Adjusting communication style and language to the audience and circumstances.

38.2 I can identify emotions that accompany me in a given moment.38.3 I can feel what emotional state my interlocutor is in.38.4 I can control my negative emotions.38.5 I have a wide network of friends.38.8 I like co-operating with others, completing tasks in a team.38.9 I am more comfortable when working on my own.38.10 I am a person who maintains relationships with others.39.6 I can alleviate the stress of online work for others.41.5 Create an atmosphere of effective co-operation within the team.53.2 I can separate people from their views.53.9 I can be flexible when sudden and unforeseen changes occur.

The above-presented approach is a function of various competence models, profiles and relevant research tool items described previously as well as in the subsequent chapters of the book. It constitutes the fundamental point of reference for the research.

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Chapter 5

Data Analysis

5.1. Factor AnalysisFor the purpose of data analysis, Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) was used. Consequently, widely acknowledged statistical meth-ods, which are provided by the system in the form of various function-alities, were used for the data analysis of this research.

Firstly, the number of dimensions within each competence was re-duced with the use of factor analysis and the principal component method. The analysis was carried out in reference to each competence, since indicators for each competence are disjointed. Within each analy-sis, several configurations of variables were examined in order to reduce dimensions of subsequent competences in such a way that the final result could be plausible from the content point of view and justifiable and sound in statistical or mathematical terms. Model matrixes for each factor analysis of each competence are presented in Annex II and the main methods for this analysis are methods of extracting factors and the rotation method.

Accordingly, 10 dimensions have been extracted within 4 compe-tences, which translates into 62 indicator questions in the questionnaire.


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Table 3. Distribution of indicators in relation to competences’ dimensions

Competences Dimensions No. of indicators (questions in the questionnaire)

Digital and technical

The use of computer in everyday work 12

Work with online documents 4

Managerial Co-operation with people 6

Team co-ordination 4

Cognitive and thinking

Pro-activeness, innovation, openness to challenges 8

Critical thinking 3

Social and psychosocial

Relations and emotions 11

Adaptability and managing stress during the pandemic 4

Maintaining contacts, co-operation 3

Communication 7

Total: 62

On the basis of this table, one can calculate the level of competences in their respective dimensions (see the analysis below in 5.3).

5.2. Analysis of the Reliability of ScalesEach dimension presented above needs to be verified in reference to scales’ reliability to guarantee that indicators resulting from factor analysis form separate, reliable scales. For this purpose, Cronbach’s Alpha measure was used. It is generally assumed that the scale is reliable if Cronbach’s Alpha value for this scale is over 0.7 (with the value span from 0 to 1). The result of this analysis is as follows.

Table 4. Cronbach’s Alpha value for competences’ dimensions

Competences Dimensions Cronbach’s Alpha

Digital and technical The use of computer in everyday work 0.91

Work with online documents 0.85

Managerial Co-operation with people 0.78

Team co-ordination 0.75

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Cognitive and thinking Pro-activeness, innovation, openness to challenges 0.77

Critical thinking 0.55*

Social and psychosocial Relations and emotions 0.81

Adaptability and managing stress during the pandemic 0.80

Maintaining contacts, co-operation 0.72

Communication 0.74

* It can be observed from the data that Cronbach’s Alpha value or the dimension: critical thinking within cognitive and thinking competence is below 0.7, which means that the reliability of scale in this dimension cannot be guaranteed. Consequently, cognitive and thinking competence is further analysed only in its first dimension, namely pro-activeness, innovation, openness to challenges. This also means that for measuring cognitive and thinking competence, only indicators connected with this dimension are used in this research.

Taking all this into consideration, the following indicators, or in other words, question items from the questionnaire, are used for the analysis in this research:

Table 5. Indicators (questions in the questionnaire) assigned to competences’ dimensions

Competences Dimensions Indicators (respective questions in the questionnaire)

Digital and technical

The use of computer in everyday work

42.6 Starting a video conference with several people at the same time42.8 Sharing the screen with others during a video conference 43. Please rate how up-to-date you are with modern ICT solutions that can be used in your work.44.1 Web resources44.2 Text editors (e.g. Microsoft Word)44.3 Spreadsheets (e.g. Microsoft Excel)44.4 Instant messengers44.5 E-mail44.6 Online collaboration tools44.7 Video conferencing tools44.8 Project management tools45. Please rate your overall level of proficiency in using modern technology.

Work with online documents

42.1 Using e-banking services42.2 Filing your tax return online42.3 Filing an official application via the ePUAP system42.4 Making use of an electronic document workflow


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Managerial Co-operation with people

35.3 Dividing tasks among co-workers and co-ordinating their work35.4 Motivating co-workers35.6 Enforcing compliance with agreed deadlines35.7 Evaluating co-workers’ performance35.8 Noticing conflict situations within the team35.9 Delegating own tasks and responsibilities to co-workers

Team co-ordination

40.8 I am a person who initiates activities in a team.41.2 Recognise areas for change that will help to better implement the project41.9 Lead the work of a team consisting of people from different nationalities and cultural backgrounds 41.10 Be in charge of a task involving several institutions from different countries (e.g. an international project)

Cognitive and thinking

Pro-activeness, innovation, openness to challenges

29.2 Every crisis situation can teach you something.29.3 I like doing several tasks at once.29.5 I like bringing ideas to life.29.6 Implementing project activities during the pandemic allowed me to test myself in completely new circumstances.29.9 Stress has a mobilising effect on me.40.3 I always see at least a few possible solutions for each situation.40.6 I like exploring new things.40.14 I can apply innovative solutions in my work.

Social and psychosocial

Relations and emotions

35.10 Mitigating possible conflicts between co-workers35.11 Noticing co-workers’ problems, including those concerning their private lives, socio-economic situation, etc.38.2 I can identify emotions that accompany me in a given moment.38.3 I can feel what emotional state my interlocutor is in.38.4 I can control my negative emotions.38.5 I have a wide network of friends.38.8 I like co-operating with others, completing tasks in a team.38.10 I am a person who maintains relationships with others.39.6 I can alleviate the stress of online work for others.41.5 Create an atmosphere of effective co-operation within the team53.2 I can separate people from their views

Adaptability and managing stress during the pandemic

27.2 Adapting the way project activities are implemented to the pandemic period27.3 General pandemic uncertainty27.4 Situation of risk to my own health and the health of those close to me27.5 Situation of risk to the health of co-workers

Maintaining contacts, co-operation

13.2 I have my own contact network of persons with whom I can carry out joint projects.13.3 I have initiated the co-operation within the project by myself on at least one occasion.13.5 I have a sense of systematic co-operation with a permanent group of institutions.

Communication 37.1 Clear and precise communication37.3 Communicating difficult messages37.4 Moderating discussions37.5 Actively listening to others37.6 Assertive refusal37.7 Accepting praise, compliments37.10 Adjusting communication style and language to the audience and circumstances

Data Analysis 101

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5.3. The Erasmus+ Project Leaders’ Competence ProfilesThe profile of average level of competences 4.0 among Erasmus+ project leaders (N = 990) as resulted from the research is as follows.

Table 6. The Erasmus+ project leaders’ competence profiles

Competences DimensionsAverage level of

competences (scale 1–5)

Digital and technical The use of computer in everyday work 4.37

Work with online documents 4.18

Managerial Co-operation with people 3.77

Team co-ordination 3.86

Cognitive and thinking Pro-activeness, innovation, openness to challenges 3.96

Social and psychosocial Relations and emotions 3.94

Adaptability and managing stress during the pandemic 1.74

Maintaining contacts, co-operation 3.96

Communication 3.63

However, it must be noted that this assessment is based on the respon-dents’ self-evaluation and their declarative answers. Consequently, the data presented above cannot be treated as a reflection of the objective features of assessed persons. The used scale is from 1 to 5 where 5 means the highest level of a given competence. The highest score is for digital competence in its both dimensions, namely (1) the use of computer in everyday work – the average level of competence is 4.37 and (2) work with online documents – the average level of competence is 4.18. This means that project leaders are actually ready for the new mode of inter-national co-operation in the form of blended learning activities. A slightly lower score is obtained for cognitive competence (3.96) which was ana-lysed one-dimensionally and is understood here only as pro-activeness, innovation and openness to challenges. The result for the managerial competences is slightly lower but it was still assessed as relatively high: 3.86 for team co-ordination and 3.77 for co-operation with people. The most varied results were obtained for social psychosocial competences. The most distinctive feature is that the lowest score is for adaptability


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and managing stress during the pandemic (1.74) which is much lower than the middle of the scale. This dimension refers to how the respon-dents managed and coped with the pandemic situation of uncertainty both in professional and health terms. This low score means that Eras-mus+ project leaders assessed the pandemic situation as difficult and stressful. However, at the same time, they were able to cope with emo-tions in those difficult times – the average level of competence in this dimension is 3.94. Other dimensions also have high scores. The opti-mistic result is that the dimension of maintaining contacts and co-op-eration has the score of 3.96, which means that again even in those difficult times, international co-operation did not suffer from a substan-tial break up. The project leaders also declared high social competence in its communication dimension: 3.63. Accordingly, the first research question, namely: ‘What are the levels of competences 4.0 among Eras-mus+ project leaders?’ has been answered.

5.4. The Sustainability of Erasmus+ Projects in Reference to Project Leaders’ Competences and Selected Contextual Factors

First of all, it must be mentioned again that efficiency is defined as the result of activities undertaken within a certain period of time (Mijal 2016a:58). However, the starting point for the discussion about the sustainability of projects is the indicator question 17 in the question-naire: ‘Did the pandemic make it necessary to introduce changes in the way the project activities were implemented?’, 72% of the project lead-ers answered that the pandemic situation required introducing sig-nificant changes, 22% had to implement minor changes, 3% did not need to introduce changes and the remaining 3% of them did not know. What is more, further questions provided the answer that 62% of the project leaders managed to realise only less than half of the planned activities.

The most interesting and highly relevant observation in the context of this research is that there is a statistically significant difference be-tween project leaders who realised their projects in less than 25% and those who realised their projects in more than 75% in reference to their respective levels of managerial competence in the dimension of team co-ordination:

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Table 7. Relation between the sustainability of Erasmus+ projects and the level of managerial competence of their co-ordinators

An indicator question from the questionnaire % Number of

respondents (N)

The level of managerial competence in the

dimension of team co-ordination

In your opinion, to what extent the project activities conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic were implemented successfully? (q20)

Maximum in 25 387 3.78

Between 75 and 100 222 4.03

Although a significant difference can be observed here, the measure of the relationship strength is not very strong in this case: Eta = 0.2. When asked which factor had the biggest impact on the successful completion of project tasks, the project leaders pointed at project team work: 46%. Additionally, they mentioned the following indicators: the experience of partner organisations (13%), co-ordinator’s skills (11%) and support from the institution’s management (11%) – indicator question 21 in the questionnaire.

Project leaders or co-ordinators who associated the successful realisa-tion of the project during the COVID-19 pandemic with their skills and competences also declared levels of managerial competence higher than the average. The declared level here in the dimension of team co-ordi-nation is 4.07 against the average of 3.86. And respectively, the declared level in the dimension of co-operation with people is 3.87 against the average of 3.77. It can be interpreted as the coexistence of two features: assigning bigger importance to oneself and one’s abilities and at the same time, declaring higher managerial competence in the self-evaluation process.

The next observation results from the analysis of the average, declared levels of competences 4.0 in reference to projects which were:• Suspended or prolonged because of the COVID-19 pandemic.• During realisation.• Successfully finished.


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Table 8. Average level of competences in relation to project status

Competences

A B C C–A

Average for: suspended or prolonged projects because of the COVID-19 pandemic

(N = 283)

Average for: projects

during realisation(N = 583)

Average for: successfully

finished projects

(N = 124)

Difference between: successfully

finished projects and suspended or prolonged projects

Cognitive competence: proactiveness, innovation, openness to challenges

3.8785 3.9764 4.0595 0.18

Social competence: relations and emotions

3.9056 3.9373 4.0022 0.10

Social competence: adaptability and managing stress during the pandemic

1.5822 1.7985 1.8246 0.24

Social competence: maintaining contacts and co-operation

3.8940 3.9777 4.0161 0.12

Social competence: communication

3.5997 3.6351 3.6452 0.05

Managerial competence: co-operation with people

3.7562 3.7593 3.8884 0.13

Managerial competence: team co-ordination

3.7933 3.8804 3.9516 0.16

Digital competence: the use of computer in everyday work

4.3182 4.3951 4.3426 0.02

Digital competence: work with online documents

4.1475 4.1840 4.2641 0.12

In the case of all competences, the value of data obtained is slightly higher for the project leaders who finished their projects successfully than for the project leaders who suspended or prolonged their projects because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the relationship or dis-crimination is weak here, the explicit tendency in this aspect of the research is present in all parameters. This means that there is a potential relationship between the sustainability of projects and the level of com-petences 4.0 of their co-ordinators.

Another relevant observation refers to the comparison of the average levels of cognitive, managerial and digital competences within two groups:

Data Analysis 105

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• Project leaders with high uncertainty and stress – project leaders whose score for social competence in the parameter of managing stress is < 2.5.

• Project leaders with low uncertainty and stress – project leaders whose score for social competence in the parameter of managing stress is > 2.5.

Table 9. The relationship between cognitive, managerial and digital competences’ levels and the level of stress

Competences

Average levels of competences

Difference between high and low

uncertainty and stress

Statistical significance (at the level

of 0.05)

Proj

ect l

eade

rs wi

th h

igh

unce

rtain

ty a

nd st

ress

– so

cial

com

pete

nce

in th

e pa

ram

eter

of

man

agin

g str

ess i

s < 2

.5

N =

835

Proj

ect l

eade

rs wi

th lo

w un

certa

inty

and

stre

ss–

socia

l co

mpe

tenc

e in

the

para

met

er

of m

anag

ing

stres

s is >

2.5

N

= 15

5

Diffe

renc

es in

ave

rage

s for

tw

o gr

oups

Are

the

diffe

renc

es

statis

tical

ly sig

nific

ant?

Cognitive competence: proactiveness, innovation, openness to challenges

3.9398 4.0613 0.12 significant

Managerial competence: co-operation with people

3.7661 3.8204 0.05 insignificant

Managerial competence: team co-ordination

3.8422 3.9839 0.14 significant

Digital competence: the use of computer in everyday work

4.3521 4.4444 0.09 significant

Digital competence: work with online documents

4.1548 4.3387 0.18 significant

As presented in the table above, project leaders with a lower level of uncertainty and stress and, at the same time, with higher adaptation abilities have slightly higher average levels of cognitive, managerial and digital competences except for managerial competence in its co-operation with people dimension. This means that pro-activeness, innovation,


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openness to challenges, team co-ordination, ability to use of computer in everyday work and, first of all, ability to work with online documents make the project leaders slightly less susceptible to stress. These project leaders fear the unknown less and adapt to a new situation better. The differences in these two groups are statistically significant, however, they are relatively small. This observation and finding must be referred to the discussion in chapter III where the relationship between stress and the pro-active attitude was described. It was mentioned after various researchers that stress and the feeling of uncertainty negatively influ-ences the pro-active attitude, especially in the group of older workers who treat stress as a threat, whereas younger ones tend to treat it as a challenge. In the case of Erasmus+ project leaders, this general rela-tionship is not strongly visible, but the tendency can be observed which, in fact, is in the line with the discussion in chapter III. It must also be added at this point that the issue of stress is an important part of this discussion, since risk and uncertainty are inherent features of manage-rial activities (Czekaj and Ziębicki 2018:207). This phenomenon is il-lustrated by the following tables in the context of Erasmus+ projects’ sustainability:

Table 10. The relationship between stress and project status in reference to age

Age No. of respondents

The average level of social competence – adaptability and managing stress

Project status

During realisation Suspended Finished

Up to 46 568 (57%) 1.78 347 (61%) 154 (27%) 67 (12%)

Over 46 422 (43%) 1.69 236 (56%) 129 (31%) 57 (13%)

Total 990 (100%) N/A N/A

In the group of older people (aged 46 and over), a lower average score for social competence in the dimension of adaptability and managing stress can be observed, which means that it was more difficult for them to cope with the pandemic situation than for those of age less than 46 – this difference is only 0.09. In both groups, almost the same number of suspended projects due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is around 30%, can be observed. However, again, for the younger leaders, this percentage is slightly lower, which means that they tended to finish their projects successfully slightly more frequently than the older leaders.

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The above-mentioned issue of the relationship between stress and effi-ciency was also tackled from the perspective of the project leaders’ ex-perience.

Table 11. The relationship between stress and project status in reference to work experience

Experience in years No. of respondents

The average level of social competence – adaptability and managing stress

Project status

During realisation Suspended Finished

Up to 15 287 (29%) 1.80 182 (63%) 74 (26%) 31 (11%)Over 15 703 (71%) 1.71 401 (57%) 209 (30%) 93 (13%)Total 990 (100%) N/A N/A

This approach also shows that project leaders with less experience feared the pandemic situation slightly less and equally suspended their activi-ties slightly less frequently.

Because of the fact that both groups do not show substantial differ-ences in the sustainability of their projects in relation to their age or experience, other factors were analysed to explain the low level of dis-crimination here. The table below shows that older group could com-pensate stress and the feeling of uncertainty with a slightly higher level of managerial competence in its dimension of co-operation with people in comparison to the younger group. In this competence, the difference is 0.9, whereas in the case of other competences, differences practically do not exist.

Table 12. The average levels of competences 4.0 in relation to age

Competences Dimensions Age up to 46 (N = 568)

Age over 46 (N = 422)

Digital and technical The use of computer in everyday work 4.39 4.34

Work with online documents 4.21 4.14

Managerial Co-operation with people 3.74 3.83

Team co-ordination 3.85 3.88

Cognitive and thinking Pro-activeness, innovation, openness to challenges 3.95 3.98

Social and psychosocial Relations and emotions 3.92 3.96

Adaptability and managing stress during the pandemic 1.78 1.69

Maintaining contacts, co-operation 3.93 4.00

Communication 3.62 3.63


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In further analysis, apart from age and experience, other moderators such as sex, formal education of a project leader, type of institution, number of partners in a project, budget of a project, number of projects in realization and sectors of education were used to check the strength or direction of the relationship between the competences 4.0 of Eras-mus+ project leaders and the sustainability of their projects. Significant relationships were found only in reference to four moderators, which is depicted below on the basis of data presented in Annexes III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI and XII:

Moderator Relationship Description

Type of institution The NGO sector scored higher in both dimensions of managerial competence in comparison to other sectors and leaders from NGOs have slightly higher compe-tence in managing stress, however, it is the private sector that has significantly fewer suspended or prolonged projects (18% of suspended or prolonged projects in this category in comparison to the average of 29%)

Number of partners in a project

The more partners in a project, the higher social competence in reference to main-taining contacts and co-operation. The category of 5 or more projects suffered significantly fewer suspensions or prolongations (18% of suspended or prolonged projects in this category in comparison to the average of 29%)

Project budget Leaders of projects with the largest budgets (EUR 200,000 or more) have signifi-cantly higher competence in managing stress with the score of 2.01 in comparison to the average of 1.74; in this group, the ratio of suspended or prolonged projects is only 8% in comparison to the average of 29%

Sector of education No relationships between the educational sector and competences levels were observed, but in Higher Education and Adult Education significantly lower ratios of suspended or prolonged projects were reported: 10% and 20% respectively in comparison to the average of 29%, whereas the Vocational Education Training sector suffered mostly with the ratio of 37% of suspended or prolonged projects in comparison to the average of 29%, however, it was mostly due to objective hindrances to perform vocational training and activities that require face-to-face interactions

Although not very strong relationships between the competences 4.0 of Erasmus+ project leaders and the sustainability of their projects were observed, it was the consequence of the specific character of the researched target group. Erasmus+ project leaders are a very homogenous group in this sense that regardless of age, experience, sex or sector that they work in, they are highly motivated, conscious and skilled people. Before getting the grant for their projects, their project proposals undergo very thorough scrutiny and are evaluated in the ex-ante mode. All aspects of their projects are assessed against detailed

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criteria (see chapter III) in order to check if they employ modern project management tools and innovative approaches. If one adds to this that competition to get Erasmus+ grant is very strong with the success rate of around 25%, depending on the sector, then it must be concluded that Erasmus+ project leaders represent relatively compa-rable competence profiles by nature. Moreover, because of the fact that it is also a relatively large group and the research managed to target a relatively high sample and proportion of them, the tendencies and relationships depicted above are meaningful and helpful. Yet, it is worth noting that the project leaders who co-ordinate five or more projects have better developed social competence in the dimension of maintaining contacts and co-operation than the project leaders who co-ordinate fewer projects. This can mean that the very engagement in managing Erasmus+ projects contributes to developing specific ‘antibodies’ which protect Erasmus+ project leaders against the neg-ative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in reference to the projects’ sustainability. It can be observed that this group of project leaders has a slightly lower rate of suspending or prolonging projects and a higher rate of finished projects in comparison to other groups of project lead-ers (see Annex X).

However, these findings encouraged even more in-depth research which was carried out in the form of predictive analysis with the statistical tool of logistic regression. The underlying research question here was what relationships exist between a dependent binary (di-chotomous) variable, which in this case is a successful continuation of a project or its suspension and independent variables, which in this case are:1. Competences.2. Project leader personal engagement – as reflected in questions 4–8

and 10–11 in the questionnaire (see Annex I).3. Project leader experience – work experience, number of institu-

tions involved in a project, number of projects carried out.4. Project features – budget and number of international participants.

In other words, the proposed model predicts the chances of project suspension in relation to the above-listed independent variables. The table below presents the results of only those variables in the equation which turned out to be significant, which means that the significance value is below 0.05:


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Table 13. Significant predictors and their Exp(B) value

Predictors B Significance Exp(B)

Cognitive competence: pro-activeness, innovation, openness to challenges

–0.465 0.004 0.628


–0.540 0.000 0.583

Only person managing the project 0.416 0.005 1.516

Professional time spent on project management: N/A 0.004 N/A

Professional time spent on project management: 20–75% –0.439 0.006 0.645

Professional time spent on project management: more than 75% –0.970 0.010 0.379

Project budget: more than EUR 200,000 –1.433 0.000 0.238

Length of service at the institution where the surveyed project was implemented: 10 years and more

0.449 0.006 1.567

Constant 1.718 0.012 5.573

The parameter Exp(B), the exponentiation of the coefficients, shows the odds ratios for enlisted predictors, which means that it shows the chance of project suspension if the value of a corresponding predictor changes, whereas the values of other predictors remain the same. Consequently, the data from the table above can be translated into the value of (Exp(B)1)*100% which shows by how many per cent the chances of project suspension decrease or increase if the value of a given variable increases by one:

Table 14. The chances of project suspension in relation to significant predictors

Predictors Exp(B) Decrease of a chance to suspend a project

Increase of a chance to suspend a project

Cognitive competence: pro-activeness, innovation, openness to challenges

0.628 37% N/A


0.583 42% N/A

Only person managing the project 1.516 N/A 52%

Professional time spent on project management: N/A N/A N/A

Professional time spent on project management: 20–75%

0.645 35% N/A

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Professional time spent on project management: more than 75%

0.379 62% N/A

Project budget: more than EUR 200,000 0.238 76% N/A

Length of service at the institution where the surveyed project was implemented: 10 years and more

1.567 N/A 57%

The data above shows that the most influential factors that deter-mine the sustainability of projects are the level of a project budget and the time spent on project management by a project leader. The former case shows that the chances of project suspension decrease by 76% in relation to projects with large budgets of more than EUR 200,000 and the latter one refers to project leader engagement, namely if a project leader spends more than 75% of his or her profes-sional time on project management, then the chances of project sus-pension decrease by 62%.

However, the comparatively strong relationship between the sus-tainability of projects and some of the competences 4.0 can also be observed here. Social competence in its adaptability and managing stress dimension and cognitive competence in its dimension of pro-activeness, innovation and openness to challenges can decrease the chances of project suspension by 42% and 37%, respectively, if the value of the scale for these predictors rises by one. These values are presented in Table 6.

This data also shows that the chances of project suspension can sub-stantially increase if a project leader is the only person managing a project and if his or her experience and length of service in a given institu-tion implementing that project is over 10 years.

However, it is also interesting to note why only two dimensions of two respective competences were taken into consideration as a result of this research model. Table 15 shows the significance value for all com-petences.

The choice of predictors was determined by:1. The assessment of the significance of a relationship or an association

with a dependent variable with the use of the Mann–Whitney U non-parametric test.

2. The choice of representatives on the basis of the level of correlation with a dependent variable.


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Table 15. Competences 4.0 relationship measures

Measures of Association EtaAsymp.

Significance (2-tailed)

Social competence: adaptability and managing stress during the pandemic 0.162 0.000

Cognitive competence: pro-activeness, innovation, openness to challenges 0.111 0.000

Managerial competence: team co-ordination 0.086 0.005

Digital competence: the use of computer in everyday work 0.063 0.042

Social competence: maintaining contacts and co-operation 0.055 0.038

Social competence: relations and emotions 0.048 0.216

Social competence: communication 0.034 0.245

Digital competence: work with online documents 0.032 0.246

Managerial competence: co-operation with people 0.022 0.544

It must be also noted here that managing stress showed a weak cor-relation with other predictors, whereas pro-activeness showed a moder-ate correlation with other predictors. Accordingly, pro-activeness was also chosen as a representative of other significant predictors.

Finally, it must be mentioned that the quality assessment of the above-presented research model was carried out in order to check the validity of the results. Three tests were used here: the Omnibus test of model coefficients, the Hosmer–Lemeshow test and the ROC (receiver operating characteristic) test. All three tests proved the validity of the research model (see Annexes XIII and XIV).

Consequently, the answers to the research questions Nos. 2 and 3, i.e. ‘Which competences 4.0 facilitate the management of Erasmus+ projects during the COVID-19 pandemic?’ and ‘Which competences 4.0 or other contextual factors impact the successful realisation and management of Erasmus+ projects in the times of COVID-19 most?’ have been provided. However, additional discussion connected with these research questions in reference to personal traits is presented in the next sub-chapter.

5.5. The Sustainability of Erasmus+ Projects and Personal Traits

If one overlays the Big Five model of personal traits (see chapter III) on the above-mentioned competence model, it can be observed that subse-

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quent dimensions of personal features presented there, i.e. (1) extraver-sion; (2) emotional stability; (3) openness to experience; (4) agreeable-ness and (5) conscientiousness, are reflected in this competence model. Extraversion defined in terms of social interactions and emotional stabil-ity, including the ability to manage stress, refers to some of the elements of social competence. Openness can be treated as an element of cognitive competence, since it is connected with cognitive curiosity. And finally, agreeableness with its willingness to co-operate and conscientiousness connected with organisational skills can be associated with the category of both social and managerial competences. Consequently, if one inter-prets personal features as certain dimensions of competences, according to the model presented in Table 8, then one has to conclude that personal traits in the case of Erasmus+ project leaders have only a weak relation-ship with the sustainability and successful realisation of the projects. Additionally, the analysis of contextual data retrieved from questions 5, 6, 7, 8, 11 and 15 (see Annex I) was carried out. These questions define pro-active attitudes of respondents. Accordingly, pro-activeness is treated here as an intermediary variable. The data analysis does not show a very strong relationship in this respect, namely pro-active respondents do not perform substantially better than an average respondent. However, predictive analysis showed that an increase of the scale value by one in relation to pro-activeness actually decreases the chances of project sus-pension by 37%.

However, if one goes back to the data presented in Table 8, then it can be observed that the following competences, namely: (1) social competence with its dimension of adaptability and managing stress, (2) cognitive competence with its dimension of pro-activeness and openness to challenge and (3) managerial competence with its dimension of team co-ordination, have the biggest influence on the successful completion of projects. In addition, the first two competences also showed relatively high relevance in predicting the chances for successful project continu-ation. Consequently, it can be stated that such personal traits as, first of all, emotional stability, openness to experience, conscientiousness and extraversion influence the successful realisation of Erasmus+ projects to a certain degree. It also must be noted at this point that, as presented in chapter III, conscientiousness and extraversion correlate strongly with undertaking remedial actions and applying strategies in order to sustain activities successfully.

This relationship is proved in the context of Erasmus+ leaders as well.


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5.6. Final Remarks on Research FindingsAt this stage, it is also worth noting what Erasmus+ project leaders themselves think of the factors that contributed most to their projects’ success (question 21 in the questionnaire – see Annex I):

Table 16. Factors that contributed most to projects’ success according to project leaders

Which of these aspects contributed the most to your project’s success? % No. of respondents

Team project work 45.96 455

Experience of partner organisations 12.83 127

My skills as a co-ordinator 11.21 111

Support from the management of my institution 10.71 106

None of the above 10.10 100

Adequate working conditions (e.g. for online working) 5.35 53

Support from a leading organisation 2.22 22

The infrastructure in place (e.g. hardware, software) 1.62 16

[N = 990]

The data from the table above also shows that competences are a rela-tively important factor determining project success according to project leaders, but the most influential factor in this respect is team project work. The collaborative aspect of Erasmus+ projects actually brings us back to the discussion of managerial competence, especially in its team co-ordination dimension. If one looks back at Table 8, it can be observed that there is a positive relationship between project leaders’ managerial competence in the dimension of team co-ordination and the successful realisation or sustainability of the projects. Accordingly, this relationship is proved from two different perspectives.

To sum up, one can claim that the competences of the future, or the so-called competences 4.0, form a protective shield against the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to a certain degree, especially social competence in its dimension of managing stress, cognitive competence in its dimension of pro-activeness, innovation, openness to challenges and, to some degree, managerial competence in its dimension of team co-ordination. It must be noted that, as presented in sub-chapter 3.2.2 and 3.2.3, adaptability and relational character are the fundamental features of modern strategic management within a broader relational paradigm currently prevailing in the management science, which is the

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answer to unstable and extremely dynamic contexts in which organisa-tions function currently. Since the times of the COVID-19 pandemic constitute such a challenging context, it can be stated that competences 4.0 prove useful not only in reference to industry 4.0 as such, but also during this pandemic. It is also worth to refer to Stead and Stead again who claim that ‘strategic management is a continuous process that in-volves the efforts of strategic managers to successfully fit their organiza-tion to their environment by developing competitive advantages. These competitive advantages allow the firm to capitalize on its opportunities and minimize its environmental threats’ (Stead and Stead 2008:66). They also add that it is apparent that the survival of organisations in the future requires new organisational structures and processes which Tay-lor and Weber did not dream about (Stead and Stead 2008:66). As de-scribed in sub-chapter 3.1, Taylor’s and Weber’s mechanical and hierar-chical approach to work does not provide answers to current challenges that organisations face, although their contribution to views on manage-ment and organisations cannot be entirely undermined. Accordingly, in the light of the above discussion and in reference to this research’s results, the working hypothesis of this research that competences 4.0 facilitate the realisation, management and sustainability of Erasmus+ projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic is confirmed. Additionally, the research also shows that personal features or traits, such as emotional stability, openness to experience, conscientiousness and extraversion play some role in the sustainability of Erasmus+ projects. Furthermore, the data shows that young and not very experienced leaders perform slightly better in sustaining the projects, but the difference is minimal. This finding is in line with Tutak, Brodny and Dobrowolska, mentioned in sub-chapter 3.3, who claim that the lack of sense of safety has a much bigger negative impact on older employees than the young ones in terms of their pro-active professional behaviours (Tutak, Brodny and Dobro-wolska 2020:5). Besides, the predictive analysis shows that the bigger experience on the part of a project leader, the bigger the chance to sus-pend a project. It also shows that the more time devoted to project re-alisation and more persons involved in project management, the fewer chances to suspend a project. The latter aspect does not come as a sur-prise if one confronts it with the model of self-efficacy drivers presented by Hendel. He postulates that successful performance is determined, though not only, by self-efficacy that is one of the drivers in vicarious influence defined as observation and comparison with others or com-


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parison with peers attempting to achieve the same goals. Self-efficacy is strengthened through these comparisons (Hendel 2017:240). On a more specific level, the research shows that (1) private organisations are sub-stantially more sustainable in the realisation of Erasmus+ projects dur-ing the COVID-19 pandemic, though no relationship with higher com-petences 4.0 levels was observed in this group; (2) big Erasmus+ projects with five or more partners suffer substantially fewer realisation breakups and their leaders show higher levels of social competence than average; (3) Erasmus+ projects with budgets of over EUR 200,000 also tend to be more sustainable and their leaders have higher competences in man-aging stress; (4) organisations from the higher education sector and the adult education sector are also comparatively more sustainable in the realisation of Erasmus+ projects, though no relationship with compe-tences 4.0 levels higher than average was observed in this group.

And finally, it must be stressed that this research’s results should prove useful to all practitioners in the field and contribute to the discus-sion on project management, especially when, as stated in sub-chapter 2.1, there has been no scientific research on the influence of competences 4.0 on Erasmus+ projects’ realisation, management and sustainability so far. However, other empirical studies prove a general shift towards competences 4.0 in modern businesses. For instance, Łupicka and Grzy-bowska (2017) stress the importance of competences 4.0 among manag-ers in automotive and pharmaceutical businesses in Poland in gaining a competitive advantage and sustaining business by their companies on the basis of empirical research (Łupicka and Grzybowska 2017:44). Moreover, on the basis of empirical studies carried out in Germany, Poland and Slovakia, it is claimed that nowadays, organisations, in gen-eral, assume new business models based on the change of employees’ competences towards competences 4.0 (Dobrowolska and Knop 2020:12).

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Chapter 6

Conclusions and Recommendations

6.1. The Professionalisation and Training of Leaders in the Context of Current Socio‑Economic Needs

The research shows that the competences 4.0 play a role in successful management of Erasmus+ project to a certain extent (see Tables 6, 8 and 14). Accordingly, the working thesis of the research that competences 4.0 facilitate the realisation, management and sustainability of Erasmus+ projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic is proved in general terms. However, on a detailed level, Erasmus+ project leaders declared a higher level of their competency in digital skills than in social and managerial skills. The former ones can be classified as hard competences, whereas the latter ones belong to the broader area of soft skills. Conse-quently, stress must be put on these competences in different areas of education: formal, non-formal and informal. Actually, the research proves the already existing tendency in experts’ views on education for the future. Poszytek and Jeżowski (2019a) state that educational systems must:• Be ready for permanent change and prepare for addressing fast

changes in labour markets. This requires flexibility and adaptability which by their nature are difficult to implement in the educational systems.

• Need to find a balance between hard skills and soft skills developed during didactic process – as presented in chapter I, McKinsey (2018) points out at evident tendency for higher demand of soft skills than hard skills.


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• Create a coherent ecosystem together with the world of work in which students will be able to develop relevant skills. Simultaneous study-ing and ability to experience the new solutions implemented in the place of work or opportunity to use the latest technology in a real environment may substantially bridge the gap in question.

Additionally, Kompetencje Jutr@ report states that interdisciplinar-ity and the project work approach are the most effective tools in imple-menting the above assumptions into reality (Czerniak, Durka and Piznal 2020:49). Unfortunately, this report also postulates that al-though Polish higher education institutions have a detailed insight into which competences are mostly valued on the labour market, they do not translate this knowledge into systemic solutions and training pro-grammes (Czerniak, Durka and Piznal 2020:52). The research pre-sented in this book clearly shows that Erasmus+ project leaders are interdisciplinary, since for the successful completion of their projects, they need to employ various competences and combine managerial and technical skills with the subject matter of their profession and activities. At the same time, they function effectively in the mode of project work. In this sense, Erasmus+ project leaders are an example of a good prac-tice of how to implement the above-mentioned assumptions into reality. However, on the other hand, the research presented in this book may also contribute to the dissemination of the postulate that bridging the gap between skills supply and skills demand is of urgent socio-economic need.

Finally, the aspect of in-service training must be mentioned. Accord-ing to Poszytek and Jeżowski (2019b), the following policy implications must be considered:• Labour market should be designed in such a way so that it could

encourage employers to seize the opportunities offered by techno-logical change and globalisation.

• Training and acquiring of new skills shall not only be provided within the formal education systems, but also, through non-formal and informal education schemes, with an increasingly important par-ticipation of employers, offering trainings and apprenticeships provid-ing job-specific knowledge.

• New forms of social dialogue between the world of education and employers must be promoted, which will allow tailored solutions to new challenges to emerge at the firm level while strengthening the

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voice of those workers who are increasingly working independently and separated by distance, language and the legal context.

The above discussion of the professionalisation and training of lead-ers in the context of the current socio-economic situation and in refer-ence to competences, up-skilling and project work also finds its reflection in the findings of this research: as mentioned in chapter V, Erasmus+ project leaders state that team project work, learning from others and relevant competences are key factors in the success of their projects (see: Table 16 in chapter V).

It must be also noted that on the practical level, the research presented in this book unequivocally posits the relationship between the level of managerial skills and the sustainability of Erasmus+ projects (see Table 8). Although Erasmus+ project leaders show a relatively high level of managerial skills, the analysis shows that an even higher level of this competence is unlikely to contribute to the increased sustainability of projects. It must be concluded that possessing of this competence is a sine qua non condition of successful project realisation. Hence, the develop-ment of managerial competence needs attention during the educational process on different levels.

Since Erasmus+ project leaders declare high levels of digital compe-tence and social ones in its dimension of maintaining contacts and communication (see Table 6), they are actually ready for the new mode of international co-operation in the form of blended learning activities. This mode of collaboration is strongly postulated by the European Com-mission in order to sustain European bonds.

It must also be postulated that various types of support should be guaranteed to leaders in reference to easing the negative effects of stress. As mentioned in chapter V, most of the project leaders suffered from a substantially high level of uncertainty and stress. Since one deals with a sudden and unexpected change of a socio-economic situation here, a separate discussion (and preferably separate research) is needed on this matter.

And finally, pro-active attitudes and the collaborative mode of work should be promoted and developed on various levels of education and training.


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6.2. The Erasmus+ Programme’s Contribution to the Development of Competences 4.0

As described in chapter II, the Erasmus+ Programme helps to develop practically all competences defined here as competences 4.0. Efficient international co-operation requires communication abilities of various sorts, openness not only to other cultures, but also to new solutions, ability to tackle various issues not only from the content point of view, but also from the organisational or managerial ones. It also demands from participants to be flexible, to be able to adapt, manage stress, work collectively and use ICT. Yet, participation in the Erasmus+ Programme is not only beneficial from the point of view of individuals, but it also aids capacity building and fosters the growth of institutional potential in participating institutions in all aspects of their activities including managerial efficiency and effectiveness.

Moreover, the conclusion of the Erasmus+ Programme’s real and tangible contribution to the development of competences finds its reflec-tion in the data presented below:

Table 17. Acquisition of new skills while realising the Erasmus+ Programme’s projects

With regard to yourself, do you have a sense of continuous learning or do you tend to rely on previously acquired knowledge and skills? (question 50 in the

questionnaire)% Number of

respondents

Yes, I am still developing. 72.83 721

I am still developing, but more slowly than I used to. 27.07 268

I have no need for development – I rely on previously acquired knowledge and skills.

0.10 1

[N = 990]

The respondents confirm that they are still learning and acquiring new skills while realising Erasmus+ projects, which perfectly reflects the above-mentioned idea of informal type of skills acquisition.

Bearing in mind that the budget of the Erasmus+ Programme almost doubles for the current new seven-year financial framework, which will result in much wider access to the Programme, it needs to be recom-mended that all institutions and individuals should take an effort in participating in it. In the era of globalisation, which is one of the defin-ing factors and the so-called mega trends underlying the idea of the 4th

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Industrial Revolution, developing one’s own potential as well as the potential of one’s institution within international co-operation is a sine qua non condition of the advancement of any kind, either on a small local scale or in bigger civilisational terms.

6.3. Further ResearchIt should be stressed again that the research presented in this book tops up a long series of various previous studies which have aimed at looking into the issues of competences development within the broad framework of the Erasmus+ Programme. Accordingly, this research is only the subsequent step in collective effort to draw the attention to the impor-tance of the Erasmus+ Programme and its contribution to the broadly understood European socio-economic development. Challenges and needs are plenty in this respect, but it seems that the following research activities would be extremely useful in the near future:• A follow-up to this research in a form of longitudinal research in

order to validate already obtained results and observe the potential dynamics of the phenomenon in question.

• Further in-depth analysis of stress factor in the realisation of Euro-pean co-operation projects, which is treated in this research from the contextual point of view but actually deserves a separate thorough analysis.

• Research on the impact of Erasmus+ projects from the content point of view, for instance, in reference to the European Union’s priorities for the next seven-year financial framework of 2021–2027, which are digitalisation and green Europe.

• Research on the organisational aspects of Erasmus+ projects in refer-ence to the network and relational character of modern management.

• Research on the intercultural aspects of Erasmus+ projects as organ-isations.

Apart from the personal involvement of the author of this book in the research, the above-mentioned proposals will also be presented dur-ing this year’s research seminar organised by the Erasmus+ Programme’s National Agency in Poland to the European research community study-ing the Erasmus+ Programme-related issues.

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List of Tables

I. Professional knowledge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

II. Professional practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

III. Professional identity and engagement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Table 1. Professions represented by Erasmus+ project leaders . . . . . . . . 88

Table 2. Questionnaire feedback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Table 3. Distribution of indicators in relation to competences’ dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Table 4. Cronbach’s Alpha value for competences’ dimensions . . . . . . . 98

Table 5. Indicators (questions in the questionnaire) assigned to competences’ dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Table 6. The Erasmus+ project leaders’ competence profiles . . . . . . . . . 101

Table 7. Relation between the sustainability of Erasmus+ projects and the level of managerial competence of their co-ordinators 103

Table 8. Average level of competences in relation to project status . . . . . 104

Table 9. The relationship between cognitive, managerial and digital competences’ levels and the level of stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

Table 10. The relationship between stress and project status in reference to age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Table 11. The relationship between stress and project status in reference to work experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Table 12. The average levels of competences 4.0 in relation to age . . . . . 107

Table 13. Significant predictors and their Exp(B) value . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Table 14. The chances of project suspension in relation to significant predictors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Table 15. Competences 4.0 relationship measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Table 16. Factors that contributed most to projects’ success according to project leaders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Table 17. Acquisition of new skills while realising the Erasmus+ Programme’s projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

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Annex I

Questionnaire – the research toolWe would like to invite you to take part in the study on the implemen-tation of projects financed by the Erasmus+ Programme. The survey is addressed to co-ordinators or contact persons and it concerns projects whose project activity period coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic (from 1 March 2020 to the present day). We want to know the difficul-ties that you had to face and to examine what competences are particu-larly helpful during these extraordinary times. If your project activities are still in progress, please respond according to the present situation. The survey is anonymous and the information provided will be used solely for the purposes of the conducted research. If you have any ques-tions, please send them to: [email protected]. The survey should take no more than 25 minutes to complete. Thank you for your time!

1. Please enter the CODE from the e-mail inviting you to the survey.The CODE consists of four digits. The CODE is used to maintain the anonymity of your answers and will allow us to reach selected respon-dents in case of the second wave of the survey.

2. Were you a co-ordinator (or a contact person) of the project financed by the Erasmus+ Programme?

Please select only one answer. Yes.No.

3. Did the implementation of the project activities, of which you were the co-ordinator (or contact person), fall within the period of the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e. from 1 March 2020 to the present day)?

Please select only one answer.Yes.No.


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The survey is addressed exclusively to co-ordinators of projects financed by the Erasmus+ Programme, which were implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank you for your willingness to participate in the survey.

4. In how many projects financed by the Erasmus+ Programme and implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic have you acted as co-ordinator?

Please select only one answer.OneTwo or threeFour or more

Please select one of the projects in which you acted as a co-ordinator and whose implementation period coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic. This may be the project that you consider to be the most important/most difficult/the one with the higher number of participants. Please answer the following questions with only this particular project in mind. 5. Were you the only person managing the project?Please select only one answer.Yes, I managed the project myself.I shared the co-ordinator’s tasks with another person. 6. Did you initiate this project?Please select only one answer.Yes, I was the main person to initiate the project.Yes, alongside other people.No, the project was initiated by other people.

7. Did you participate in writing the project application?Please select only one answer.

Yes, I was the main author of the application.Yes, I was the author of the application alongside other people.No, the project was developed by somebody else.

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8. Have your ideas, original educational programmes, original methods, ways of working been used in the project?

Please select only one answer.Yes, to a large extent.Yes, to a small extent.No.I do not know.

9. Which of the following aspects of the project have you influenced personally?

You can select more than one answer.Subject matter of the projectProject goalsDuration of the projectSelection of partner institutions in the projectWorking methods used in the projectSelection of co-workers for the projectDevelopment of criteria for selection of project participantsNone of the above

10. Please estimate what percentage of your professional time was spent on project management:

Please select only one answer.Up to 20%Between 20% and 50%Between 50% and 75%More than 75%

11. Have you ever personally sought institutional partners for the project?Please select only one answer.Yes, many times.Yes, once or occasionally.No, never.


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12. Assuming that you would like to submit a new application for a proj-ect financed by the Erasmus+ Programme, how easy or difficult would each of the following tasks be?

Please select only one answer in each row.1

Very easy

2 3 4 5 Very

difficultPreparing the project application

Obtaining help from an institution providing advice and support in submitting an application

Fulfilling formal requirements necessary to submit an application

Finding foreign partners for the project

Submitting the project application

13. To what extent do the following statements apply to you?Please select only one answer in each row.

Strongly disagree

Disagree Neither agree nor disagree

Agree Strongly agree

I know what institutions operate in my sector.

I have my own contact network of persons with whom I can carry out joint projects.

I have initiated the co-operation within the project by myself on at least one occasion.

I am certain that if I want to carry out another project, I will be able to find a partner without any major problems.

I have a sense of systematic co-operation with a permanent group of institutions.

I am well acquainted with the procedures for the implementation and settlement of EU projects.

14. To what extent do you think the following statements are true?Please select only one answer in each row.

Strongly disagree



Gaining contacts for potential joint activities, e.g. projects with other institutions, is crucial in the work of a project leader.

The basis for the implementation of European projects is to have suitable partners for co-operation.

A well-chosen partner in the project is necessary to achieve all project objectives.

Continuous expansion of the professional contact network helps with project work.

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15. In connection with the ongoing pandemic, are you familiar with the frequently changing regulations and recommendations concerning work and social functioning?

Please select only one answer.Extremely familiarVery familiarHard to saySlightly familiarNot at all familiar 16. Did key project activities coincide with the COVID-19 virus pan-

demic (i.e. the period from 1 March 2020 to the present day)?Please select only one answer.Yes.No.

17. Did the pandemic make it necessary to introduce changes in the way that the project activities were implemented?

Please select only one answer.Yes, there were big, significant changes.Yes, there were minor changes.No, it was not necessary.It is hard to say.

18. What did these changes involve?You can select more than one answer.Subject matter of the projectProject implementation deadlineProject durationChanging partners in the projectWorking methods in the projectLimiting or cancelling mobility activities within the projectHealth and safety regulations applicable in the institutionRestrictions on personal meetingsCommunication methods within the projectPandemic prevention measuresPurchase of infrastructure (e.g. hardware, software) necessary for

online working


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Other aspects (please describe): _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ None of the above

19. Did you take part in developing changes to the rules of project ac-tivities, implementation, regulations, documents in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic?

Please select only one answer.Yes, I was the main initiator of formal changes.Yes, I was a member of a wider group that was implementing formal

changes.No, the changes were made by another person/persons. 20. In your opinion, to what extent the project activities conducted

during the COVID-19 pandemic were implemented successfully?Please select only one answer.Up to 25%Up to 50%Up to 75%Between 75% and 100%

21. Which of these aspects contributed the most to your project’s success?Please select only one answer.Support from the leading organisationSupport from the management of my institutionWork of the project teamMy skills as a co-ordinatorExperience of partner organisationsThe infrastructure in place (e.g. hardware, software)Adequate working conditions (e.g. for online working)None of the above

22. What were the main problems that you encountered as co-ordinator of a project implemented during the COVID-19 virus pandemic?

You can select more than one answer.Project cancellationsTransition to online working by multiple institutionsClosed national bordersLimited opportunities for face-to-face meetings

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Mobility restrictions Problems related to the recruitment of project participantsProblems related to partnership co-operationProblems related to project funding (e.g. due to non-standard types

of expenses that have emerged due to the COVID-19 virus)Problems related to the organisation of project dissemination eventsProblems related to the organisation of work on Intellectual Outputs

(educational products)Limitations on the part of the grant providerOther (please specify): _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ None of the above

23. As a project co-ordinator, did you feel responsible for the health and safety of project participants and colleagues?

Please select only one answer.Fully responsibleTo an extent responsibleHard to saySlightly responsibleNot at all responsible

24. Did you, as co-ordinator, take any specific preventive measures in connection with the implementation of project activities during the COVID-19 virus pandemic?


25. Have the project team’s communication principles changed due to project implementation during the pandemic period?

Please select only one answer.Yes.No.Not applicable.

26. What methods for remote communication did you use for project work during the COVID-19 virus pandemic?

You can select more than one answer


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Phone callsE-mailsInstant messengersVideo conferencesOther (please specify): _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ None of the above

27. Please rate how easy or difficult you find the following situations:Please select only one answer in each row.

Very difficult

Rather difficult

Neither easy nor difficult

Rather easy

Very easy

Implementation of project activities during the pandemic

Adapting the way project activities are implemented to the pandemic period

General pandemic uncertainty

Situation of risk to my own health and the health of those close to me

Situation of risk to the health of co-workers

My own preparation for online work

Team’s preparation for online work

28. During project management…Please select only one answer.I try to minimise risk and avoid making risky decisions.Risk cannot be avoided, it is part of the project work.I do not avoid situations that require risky actions – such actions

often bring positive results.

29. Please rate how much do you agree or disagree with the following statements:

Please select only one answer in each row.Strongly disagree



I can quickly adapt to a new situation.

Every crisis situation can teach you something.

I like doing several tasks at once.

Time pressure reduces the effectiveness of my work.

I like bringing ideas to life.

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Implementing project activities during the pandemic allowed me to test myself in completely new circumstances.

I prefer to perform tasks in a linear fashion (one after the other).

I can usually foresee the consequences of my actions.

Stress has a mobilising effect on me.

30. Which of the following activities did you undertake during the project implementation?

You can select more than one answer.Promoting pro-health attitudes and behavioursPromoting civic attitudes and behavioursPromoting pro-environmental attitudes and behavioursPromoting preventive attitudes and behaviours in relation to the

COVID-19 virus pandemicBuilding co-operation based on dialogue and trustConducting dialogue with project partnersActivities towards achieving equality of socio-economic opportunities

for project participants Activities related to psychological and pedagogical assistance for

project participantsInvesting in developing your own or your team’s competencesNone of the above

31. How important is it for you to introduce elements of interdisciplin-arity or combining disciplines and fields when implementing a Eu-ropean project?

Please select only one answer.Very importantRather importantNeither important or unimportantRather unimportantCompletely unimportant

32. Please rate, on a scale of 1–5, your knowledge of project evaluation and project outcomes assessment:

1 – very weak ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 5 – excellentMark the icons.


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33. Do you carry out an ongoing evaluation of the project results on your own?


34. What tools do you use to evaluate the project results?You can select more than one answer.Established, proven evaluation toolsEstablished tools adapted by me to the project’s specific characterOwn, tailored tools

35. During project implementation, I believe I have no problems with…Please select only one answer in each row.

Strongly disagree



Integrating a team of co-workers

Developing a team spirit

Dividing tasks among co-workers and co-ordinating their work

Motivating co-workers

Adapting communication methods to different types of audiences

Enforcing compliance with agreed deadlines

Evaluating co-workers’ performance

Noticing conflict situations within the team

Delegating own tasks and responsibilities to co-workers

Mitigating possible conflicts between co-workers

Noticing co-workers’ problems, including those concerning their private lives, socio-economic situation, etc.

36. Please undertake a self-evaluation and generally rate your work as a project co-ordinator:

Please select only one answer.Very weakWeakSufficientGoodVery goodI am unable to evaluate myself.

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37. Please rate the subjective level of difficulty for the followingactivities:Please select only one answer in each row.

Very difficult

Rather difficult

Hard to say

Rather easy

Very easy

Clear and precise communication

Providing feedback

Communicating difficult messages

Moderating discussions

Actively listening to others

Assertive refusal

Accepting praise, compliments

Giving praise, compliments

Mediating between conflicting parties

Adjusting communication style and language to the audience and circumstances

38. To what extent are the following statements true about you?Please select only one answer in each row.

Strongly disagree



I am a person with a positive attitude towards the world.

I can identify emotions that accompany me in a given moment.

I can feel what emotional state my interlocutor is in.

I can control my negative emotions.

I have a wide network of friends.

I am a reflective person, I contemplate a lot.

I am empathic.

I like co-operating with others, completing tasks in a team.

I am more comfortable when working on my own.

I am a person who maintains relationships with others.

I believe that following ethical principles is extremely important.


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39. Please rate how much do you agree or disagree with the following statements:




Implementing a project during a pandemic requires special digital skills.

Remote communication is more difficult than face-to-face communication.

The pandemic period forced me to start using new tools/software.

Educational activities can be conducted remotely without any loss in quality.

I can control emotions and stress that come with working online at home.

I can alleviate the stress of online work for others.

40. Please indicate to what extent the following statements describe you:Please select only one answer in each row.

Strongly disagree



I can usually foresee problems coming.

I always try to learn from difficult experiences for the future.

I always see at least a few possible solutions for each situation.

I believe that highly developed social skills are the basis for effective teamwork.

I can find arguments for my beliefs during a discussion.

I like exploring new things.

I take a long time to make difficult decisions.

I am a person who initiates activities in a team.

I prefer tried and tested solutions.

I analyse my failures and setbacks.

I avoid spontaneous decisions.

I need to know all the pros and cons before making an important decision.

I am able to look critically at everything around me.

I can apply innovative solutions in my work.

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41. Please select an answer for each of the following statements: I believe I can…




Bring collaborators together around a project idea

Recognise areas for change that will help to better implement the project

Define short-term project goals Define long-term project goals Create an atmosphere of effective co-operation within the team

Divide tasks among the team so that they match the competences and skills of co-workers

Control the workload of people in my team Co-ordinate the work of a dispersed team (e.g. working remotely)

Lead the work of a team consisting of people from different nationalities and cultural backgrounds

Be in charge of a task involving several institutions from different countries (e.g. an international project)

Identify my own strengths and weaknesses

42. Please rate how easy or difficult you find the following tasks:Please select only one answer in each row.

Very difficult

Rather difficult

Hard to say

Rather easy

Very easy

Using e-banking services

Filing your tax return online

Filing an official application via the ePUAP system

Making use of an electronic document workflow

Organising my own online work

Starting a video conference with several people at the same time

Protecting my PC from network viruses

Sharing the screen with others during a video conference

43. Please rate how up-to-date you are with modern ICT solutions that can be used in your work.

Please select only one answer.I am completely up-to-date.I am moderately up-to-date.I feel that I have small gaps in my knowledge of modern ICT solutions.


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I have significant gaps in my knowledge of modern ICT solutions and I have no need to be up-to-date.

44. Please mark your answer for each of the following statements:I believe that I have no problems using…Please select only one answer in each row.

Strongly disagree



Web resources

Text editors (e.g. Microsoft Word)

Spreadsheets (e.g. Microsoft Excel)

Instant messengers

E-mail

Online collaboration tools

Video conferencing tools

Project management tools

45. Please rate your overall level of proficiency in using modern technology:Please select only one answer.Very lowLowSufficientHighVery highNo opinion

46. Have you participated in any training courses (class-based or online) on the use of modern technology in the last 6 months?


47. How often do you participate in training courses to improve compe-tences used at work?

Please select only one answer.Several times a yearOnce a yearNo more than once every 3 yearsNo more than once every 5 yearsLess than once every 5 years

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48. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, did you attend any training courses that would be useful in carrying out your tasks as a project leader in these unusual times?


49. Have you conducted any training courses in the past year?Please select only one answer.Yes, it was an internal training course (at my institution).Yes, it was an external training course (for people outside my institu-

tion).No, I have not.

50. With regard to yourself, do you have a sense of continuous learning or do you tend to rely on previously acquired knowledge and skills?

Please select only one answer.Yes, I am still developing.I am still developing, but more slowly than I used to.I have no need for development – I rely on previously acquired knowl-

edge and skills.

51. Do you have a planned path for your own development, career?Please select only one answer.Yes, I have a clearly defined path.Yes, but the path is rather general.No, I do not currently have such a plan.

52. To what extent, in your own estimation, are you emotionally and personally involved in the project?

Scale from 1 (minimal involvement) to 5 (full involvement).Mark the icons.


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53. Please rate how well the following statements describe you:Please select only one answer in each row.

Strongly disagree



I can respect others’ opinions even if I do not agree with them.

I can separate people from their views.

I always comply with applicable rules and laws.

Other people’s criticism does not bother me.

Ethical behaviour is very important to me.

I can sometimes bend the rules to achieve my goals.

I am aware of my own strengths and weaknesses.

I make the most important decisions concerning my life independently.

I can be flexible when sudden and unforeseen changes occur.

54. If you have any additional comments regarding project implementa-tion during the COVID-19 virus pandemic from the co-ordinator’s perspective, please write them below:

……………………………………………We are almost done! There are only a few demographics-related ques-tions left.

55. Please indicate the sector in which your institution operates:Please select only one answer.PublicPrivateNon-governmental

56. Please indicate under which area(s) the project was implemented:You can select more than one answer.Youth sector, Action 1Youth sector, Action 2Youth sector, Action 3School education sector, Action 1School education sector, Action 2Vocational education sector, Action 1Vocational education sector, Action 2Higher education sector, Action 1

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Higher education sector, Action 2Adult education sector, Action 1Adult education sector, Action 2Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development (POWER)Erasmus+ Sport Central Actions

57. Please indicate the subject area of the surveyed project:You can select more than one answer.Formal educationInformal educationNon-formal educationEcology and environmental protectionCivil society and human rightsSocial inclusionCounteracting discriminationNational minoritiesWorking with migrantsSocial workGender equalityYouth policyHealth careCulture & ArtsHobbies & SportsOther (please specify): _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

58. How many foreign partners (institutions) participated in the sur-veyed project?

Please select only one answer.None1–34–5More than 5

59. What was the budget for this project?Please select only one answer.Less than EUR 60,000EUR 60,000–200,000More than EUR 200,000


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60. What is the current status of the project?Please select only one answer.OngoingSuspended and extended due to the pandemicCompleted

61. Please indicate your total length of service:Please select only one answer.Less than 5 years5–10 years11–15 yearsMore than 15 years

62. How many different institutions have you worked in so far?Please select only one answer.12–45 and more

63. How many European projects have you been a co-ordinator of so far?Please select only one answer.12–45 and more

64. Please indicate your length of service at the institution where the surveyed project was implemented:

Please select only one answer.Less than 2 years2–5 years6–9 years10–13 yearsMore than 13 years

65. Have you ever worked abroad for at least 6 months?Please select only one answer.Yes.No.

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66. What is your level of education?Please select only one answer.Lower secondary educationSecondary educationHigher education, first degreeHigher education, second degreeHigher education, third degree

67. What is your area of education?You can select more than one answer.GeneralTechnical, engineeringHumanities, social, pedagogical sciencesNatural sciencesPhilologicalLaw, finance, administrationEconomicsManagement, marketingMedical, pharmaceuticalArtsVocationalOther (please specify): _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

68. The town in which your institution is located has a population of:Please select only one answer.Fewer than 3,000 people3,000–15,000 people15,000–100,000 people100,000–1,000,000 peopleMore than 1,000,000 people

69. Please indicate your age:Please select only one answer.Less than 26 years26–35 years36–46 years46–55 years56–65 yearsMore than 65 years


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70. Please indicate your sex:Please select only one answer.FemaleMale

Click ‘Submit’ to save your answers.

Annex II 145

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Annex II

Model matrixes for factor analysis for individual competencesThe following model matrixes were generated for each factor analysis of each one out of four competences: • Digital and Technical CompetencesTwo dimensions (factors) were extracted:Dimension 1: Digital and technical competence – the use of computer in everyday workDimension 2: Digital and technical competence – work with online documents.R2 (percentage of variance explained) = 57.5%

Model matrixaComponent

1 2

44: Video conferencing tools 0.899

44: Online collaboration tools 0.881

44: Instant messengers 0.859

44: Text editors (e.g. Microsoft Word) 0.806

44: E-mail 0.761

44: Web resources 0.756

Please rate your overall level of proficiency in using modern technology. 0.637

42: Sharing the screen with others during a video conference 0.629

44: Project management tools 0.614

42: Starting a video conference with several people at the same time 0.612

Please rate how up-to-date you are with modern ICT solutions that can be used in your work.

0.593

44: Spreadsheets (e.g. Microsoft Excel) 0.483

44: Filing an official application via the ePUAP system 0.904


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44: Filing your tax return online 0.842

44: Using e-banking services 0.786

44: Organising my own online work 0.751

Method of extracting factors – Principal component method.Rotation method – Oblimin with Kaiser Normalisation.a. Rotation converged in 4 literations. • Managerial CompetencesTwo dimensions (factors) were extracted:Dimension 1: Managerial competence – co-operation with peopleDimension 2: Managerial competence – team co-ordination.R2 (percentage of variance explained) = 53%

Model matrixaComponent

1 2

35.7 35: I evaluate co-workers’ performance. 0.805 N/A35.6 35: I enforce compliance with agreed deadlines. 0.756 N/A35.4 35: I motivate co-workers. 0.715 N/A35.3 35: Dividing tasks among co-workers and co-ordinating their work 0.712 N/A35.9 35: Delegating own tasks and responsibilities to co-workers 0.586 N/A35.8 35: Noticing conflict situations within the team 0.581 N/A41.10 41: Be in charge of a task involving several institutions from different countries (e.g. an international project)

N/A 0.936

41.9 41: Lead the work of a team consisting of people from different nationalities and cultural backgrounds

N/A 0.918

40.8 40: I am a person who initiates activities in a team. N/A 0.57741.2 41: Recognise areas for change that will help to better implement the project N/A 0.460

Method of extracting factors – Principal component method. Rotation method – Oblimin with Kaiser Normalisation.a. Rotation converged in 4 literations.

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• Cognitive and Thinking CompetencesTwo dimensions (factors) were extracted:Dimension 1: Cognitive competence – pro-activeness, innovation, open-ness to challenges Dimension 2: Cognitive competence – critical think-ing.R2 (percentage of variance explained) = 44%

Model matrixa Component

1 229.3 29: I like doing several tasks at once. 0.710 N/A29.5 29: I like bringing ideas to life. 0.680 N/A29.2 29: Every crisis situation can teach you something. 0.621 N/A29.6 29: Implementing project activities during the pandemic allowed me to test myself in completely new circumstances.

0.619 N/A

40.6 40: I like exploring new things. 0.599 N/A29.9 29: Stress has a mobilising effect on me. 0.593 N/A40.3 40: I can always see at least a few possible solutions for each situation. 0.572 N/A40.14 40: I can apply innovative solutions in my work. 0.569 N/A40.12 40: I need to know all the pros and cons before making an important decision.

N/A 0.755

40.13 40: I am able to look critically at everything around me. N/A 0.69540.10 40: I analyse my failures and setbacks. N/A 0.654

Method of extracting factors – Principal component method. Rotation method – Oblimin with Kaiser Normalisation.a. Rotation converged in 4 literations. • Social and Psychosocial CompetencesFour dimensions (factors) were extracted:Dimension 1: Social competence – relations and emotionsDimension 2: Social competence – adaptability and managing stress during the pandemicDimension 3: Social competence – maintaining contacts, co-operationDimension 4: Social competence – communication.R2 (percentage of variance explained) = 45%

Model matrixa Component1 2 3 4

38.10 38: I am a person who maintains relationships with others. 0.699 N/A N/A N/A35.11 35: Noticing co-workers’ problems, including those concerning their private lives, socio-economic situation, etc.

0.632 N/A N/A N/A

38.8 38: I like co-operating with others, completing tasks in a team.

0.616 N/A N/A N/A


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38.2 38: I can identify emotions that accompany me in a given moment.

0.610 N/A N/A N/A

38.3 38: I can feel what emotional state my interlocutor is in. 0.587 N/A N/A N/A41.5 41: Create an atmosphere of effective co-operation within the team

0.583 N/A N/A N/A

35.10 35: Mitigating possible conflicts between co-workers 0.555 N/A N/A N/A38.5 38: I have a wide network of friends. 0.545 N/A N/A N/A39.4 38: I can control my negative emotions. 0.506 N/A N/A N/A39.6 39: I can alleviate the stress of online work for others. 0.488 N/A N/A N/A53.2 53: I can separate people from their views. 0.446 N/A N/A N/A27.5 27: Situation of risk to the health of co-workers N/A 0.903 N/A N/A27.4 27: Situation of risk to my own health and the health of those close to me

N/A 0.891 N/A N/A

27.3 27: General pandemic uncertainty N/A 0.781 N/A N/A27.2 27: Adapting the way project activities are implemented to the pandemic period

N/A 0.569 N/A N/A

13.2 13: I have my own contact network of persons with whom I can carry out joint projects.

N/A N/A 0.827 N/A

13.5 13: I have a sense of systematic co-operation with a permanent group of institutions.

N/A N/A 0.743 N/A

13.3 13: I have initiated co-operation within the project by myself on at least one occasion.

N/A N/A 0.715 N/A

37.6 37: Assertive refusal N/A N/A N/A –0.725

37.3 37: Communicating difficult messages N/A N/A N/A –0.69637.1 37: Clear and precise communication N/A N/A N/A –0.68637.4 37: Moderating discussions N/A N/A N/A –0.572

37.5 37: Actively listening to others N/A N/A N/A –0.53737.10 37: Adjusting communication style and language to the audience and circumstances

N/A N/A N/A –0.507

37.7 37: Accepting praise, compliments N/A N/A N/A –0.501

Method of extracting factors – Principal component method. Rotation method – Oblimin with Kaiser’s Normalisation.a. Rotation converged in 5 literations

Annex III 149

www.poltext.pl

Annex III

The relationship between competences and project status in reference to age

Age of project leader

N

Competences Project status

The

use

of co

mpu

ter i

n ev

eryd

ay w

ork

(dim

ensio

n: d

igita

l 1)

Wor

k with

onl

ine

docu

men

ts (d

imen

sion:

di

gita

l 2)

Co-o

pera

tion

with

peo

ple

(dim

ensio

n:

man

ager

ial 1

)

Team

co-o

rdin

atio

n (d

imen

sion:

m

anag

eria

l 2)

Proa

ctive

ness

, inn

ovat

ion,

ope

nnes

s to

chan

ges (

dim

ensio

n: co

gniti

ve)

Rela

tions

and

em

otio

ns (d

imen

sion:

so

cial 1

)

Socia

l ada

ptab

ility

and

man

agin

g str

ess

durin

g th

e pa

ndem

ic (d

imen

sion:

socia

l 2)

Man

agin

g co

ntac

ts, co

-ope

ratio

n (d

imen

sion:

socia

l 3)

Com

mun

icatio

n (d

imen

sion:

socia

l 4)

Durin

g re

alisa

tion

(N)

Susp

ende

d/pr

olon

ged

due

to C

OVID

-19

pand

emic

(N)

Finish

ed (N

)

Up to 46 568 4.39 4.21 3.74 3.85 3.95 3.92 1.78 3.93 3.62 61%(347)

27%(154)

12%(67)

Over 46 422 4.34 4.14 3.83 3.88 3.98 3.96 1.69 4.00 3.63 56% (236)

31% (129)

14% (57)

Max 4.39 4.21 3.83 3.88 3.98 3.96 1.78 4.00 3.63

Min 4.34 4.14 3.74 3.85 3.95 3.92 1.69 3.93 3.62

Range 0.05 0.07 0.09 0.03 0.03 0.05 0.09 0.07 0.01


www.poltext.pl

Annex IV

The relationship between competences and project status in reference to work experience

Wor

k exp

erie

nce

in cu

rrent

insti

tutio

n

N


The

use

of co

mpu

ter i

n ev

eryd

ay w

ork

(dim

ensio

n: d

igita

l 1)

Wor

k with

onl

ine

docu

men

ts (d

imen

sion:

di

gita

l 2)

Co-o

pera

tion

with

peo

ple

(dim

ensio

n:

man

ager

ial 1

)

Team

co-o

rdin

atio

n (d

imen

sion:

m

anag

eria

l 2)

Proa

ctive

ness

, inn

ovat

ion,

ope

nnes

s to

chan

ges

(dim

ensio

n: co

gniti

ve)

Rela

tions

and

em

otio

ns (

dim

ensio

n:

socia

l 1)

Socia

l ada

ptab

ility

and

man

agin

g str

ess

durin

g th

e pa

ndem

ic (d

imen

sion:

socia

l 2)

Man

agin

g co

ntac

ts, c

o-op

erat

ion

(d

imen

sion:

socia

l 3)

Com

mun

icatio

n (d

imen

sion:

socia

l 4)

Durin

g re

alisa

tion

(N)

Susp

ende

d/pr

olon

ged

due

to C

OVID

-19

pand

emic

(N)

Finish

ed (N

)

Up to 13 years

473 4.37 4.24 3.75 3.90 3.99 3.93 1.80 3.92 3.65 64% (302)

26%(123)

10%(48)

Over 13 years

517 4.36 4.13 3.80 3.83 3.93 3.94 1.69 4.00 3.60 54% (281)

31% (160)

15%(76)

Max 4.37 4.24 3.80 3.90 3.99 3.94 1.80 4.00 3.65

Min 4.36 4.13 3.75 3.83 3.93 3.93 1.69 3.92 3.60

Range 0.02 0.11 0.04 0.07 0.06 0.01 0.11 0.08 0.05

Annex V 151

www.poltext.pl

Annex V

The relationship between competences and project status in reference to sex

Sex N


The

use

of co

mpu

ter i

n ev

eryd

ay w

ork

(dim

ensio

n: d

igita

l 1)

Wor

k with

onl

ine

docu

men

ts (d

imen

sion:

di

gita

l 2)

Co-o

pera

tion

with

peo

ple

(dim

ensio

n:

man

ager

ial 1

)

Team

co-o

rdin

atio

n (d

imen

sion:

m

anag

eria

l 2)

Proa

ctive

ness

, inn

ovat

ion,

ope

nnes

s to

chan

ges

(dim

ensio

n: co

gniti

ve)

Rela

tions

and

em

otio

ns (

dim

ensio

n:

socia

l 1)

Socia

l ada

ptab

ility

and

man

agin

g str

ess

durin

g th

e pa

ndem

ic (d

imen

sion:

socia

l 2)

Man

agin

g co

ntac

ts, c

o-op

erat

ion

(d

imen

sion:

socia

l 3)

Com

mun

icatio

n (d

imen

sion:

socia

l 4)

Durin

g re

alisa

tion

(N)

Susp

ende

d/pr

olon

ged

due

to C

OVID

-19

pand

emic

(N)

Finish

ed (N

)

Woman 775 4.36 4.15 3.78 3.85 3.96 3.96 1.69 3.95 3.62 58%(448)

29%(228)

13%(99)

Man 215 4.40 4.29 3.76 3.90 3.96 3.85 1.93 4.00 3.65 63% (135)

26%(55)

12%(25)

Max 4.40 4.29 3.78 3.90 3.96 3.96 1.93 4.00 3.65

Min 4.36 4.15 3.76 3.85 3.96 3.85 1.69 3.95 3.62

Range 0.05 0.13 0.02 0.05 0.00 0.10 0.24 0.05 0.03


www.poltext.pl

Annex VI

The relationship between competences and project status in reference to formal education

Formal education

of a project leader

N


The

use

of co

mpu

ter i

n ev

eryd

ay w

ork

(dim

ensio

n: d

igita

l 1)

Wor

k with

onl

ine

docu

men

ts (d

imen

sion:

di

gita

l 2)

Co-o

pera

tion

with

peo

ple

(dim

ensio

n:

man

ager

ial 1

)

Team

co-o

rdin

atio

n (d

imen

sion:

m

anag

eria

l 2)

Proa

ctive

ness

, inn

ovat

ion,

ope

nnes

s to

chan

ges

(dim

ensio

n: co

gniti

ve)

Rela

tions

and

em

otio

ns (

dim

ensio

n:

socia

l 1)

Socia

l ada

ptab

ility

and

man

agin

g str

ess

durin

g th

e pa

ndem

ic (d

imen

sion:

socia

l 2)

Man

agin

g co

ntac

ts, c

o-op

erat

ion

(d

imen

sion:

socia

l 3)

Com

mun

icatio

n (d

imen

sion:

socia

l 4)

Durin

g re

alisa

tion

(N)

Susp

ende

d/pr

olon

ged

due

to C

OVID

-19

pand

emic

(N)

Finish

ed (N

)

Below higher

4 4.67 4.75 3.83 4.56 4.09 3.89 1.44 4.75 3.71 75% (3)

25% (1)

0

Higher I degree

102 4.36 4.09 3.73 3.84 3.87 3.95 1.75 3.76 3.49 67% (68)

25% (25)

9% (9)

Higher II degree

784 4.36 4.19 3.78 3.84 3.96 3.93 1.72 3.97 3.63 57% (445)

30% (234)

13% (105)

Higher III degree

100 4.43 4.20 3.77 4.04 4.05 3.97 1.89 4.07 3.72 67% (67)

23% (23)

10% (10)

Max 4.67 4.75 3.83 4.56 4.09 3.97 1.89 4.75 3.72

Min 4.36 4.09 3.73 3.84 3.87 3.89 1.44 3.76 3.49

Range 0.31 0.66 0.10 0.72 0.22 0.09 0.46 0.99 0.23

Annex VII 153

www.poltext.pl

Annex VII

The relationship between competences and project status in reference to the type of institution

Type of institution N


The

use

of co

mpu

ter i

n ev

eryd

ay w

ork

(dim

ensio

n: d

igita

l 1)

Wor

k with

onl

ine

docu

men

ts (d

imen

sion:

di

gita

l 2)

Co-o

pera

tion

with

peo

ple

(dim

ensio

n:

man

ager

ial 1

)

Team

co-o

rdin

atio

n (d

imen

sion:

m

anag

eria

l 2)

Proa

ctive

ness

, inn

ovat

ion,

ope

nnes

s to

chan

ges

(dim

ensio

n: co

gniti

ve)

Rela

tions

and

em

otio

ns (

dim

ensio

n:

socia

l 1)

Socia

l ada

ptab

ility

and

man

agin

g str

ess

durin

g th

e pa

ndem

ic (d

imen

sion:

socia

l 2)

Man

agin

g co

ntac

ts, c

o-op

erat

ion

(d

imen

sion:

socia

l 3)

Com

mun

icatio

n (d

imen

sion:

socia

l 4)

Durin

g re

alisa

tion

(N)

Susp

ende

d/pr

olon

ged

due

to C

OVID

-19

pand

emic

(N)

Finish

ed (N

)

Public 796 4.38 4.16 3.76 3.83 3.94 3.94 1.70 3.93 3.61 59% (466)

29% (233)

12% (97)

Private 65 4.36 4.13 3.74 3.82 3.91 3.89 1.85 3.81 3.66 65%(42)

18 (12)

17% (11)

NGO 129 4.31 4.34 3.87 4.11 4.07 3.95 1.92 4.22 3.74 58%(75)

29% (38)

12% (16)

Max 4.38 4.34 3.87 4.11 4.07 3.95 1.92 4.22 3.74

Min 4.31 4.13 3.74 3.82 3.91 3.89 1.70 3.81 3.61

Range 0.07 0.22 0.13 0.30 0.16 0.07 0.22 0.41 0.13


www.poltext.pl

Annex VIII

The relationship between competences and project status in reference to the number of partners

Number of international partners in a project

N


The

use

of co

mpu

ter i

n ev

eryd

ay w

ork

(dim

ensio

n: d

igita

l 1)

Wor

k with

onl

ine

docu

men

ts (d

imen

sion:

di

gita

l 2)

Co-o

pera

tion

with

peo

ple

(dim

ensio

n:

man

ager

ial 1

)

Team

co-o

rdin

atio

n (d

imen

sion:

m

anag

eria

l 2)

Proa

ctive

ness

, inn

ovat

ion,

ope

nnes

s to

chan

ges

(dim

ensio

n: co

gniti

ve)

Rela

tions

and

em

otio

ns (

dim

ensio

n:

socia

l 1)

Socia

l ada

ptab

ility

and

man

agin

g str

ess

durin

g th

e pa

ndem

ic (d

imen

sion:

socia

l 2)

Man

agin

g co

ntac

ts, c

o-op

erat

ion

(d

imen

sion:

socia

l 3)

Com

mun

icatio

n (d

imen

sion:

socia

l 4)

Durin

g re

alisa

tion

(N)

Susp

ende

d/pr

olon

ged

due

to C

OVID

-19

pand

emic

(N)

Finish

ed (N

)

None 60 4.36 4.00 3.73 3.71 3.92 3.93 1.62 3.66 3.52 60% (36)

35% (21)

5% (3)

From 1 to 3

508 4.35 4.25 3.79 3.84 3.96 3.94 1.72 3.91 3.64 56% (285)

30% (154)

14% (69)

From 4 to 5

262 4.40 4.11 3.72 3.91 3.95 3.93 1.80 4.08 3.57 58% (152)

30% (78)

12% (32)

Over 5 160 4.35 4.16 3.82 3.92 3.99 3.92 1.77 4.03 3.70 69%(110)

19% (30)

13% (20)

Max 4.40 4.25 3.82 3.92 3.99 3.94 1.80 4.08 3.70

Min 4.35 4.00 3.72 3.71 3.92 3.92 1.62 3.66 3.52

Range 0.04 0.25 0.10 0.21 0.07 0.02 0.18 0.42 0.17

Annex IX 155

www.poltext.pl

Annex IX

The relationship between competences and project status in reference to project budget

Project budget N


The

use

of co

mpu

ter i

n ev

eryd

ay w

ork

(dim

ensio

n: d

igita

l 1)

Wor

k with

onl

ine

docu

men

ts (d

imen

sion:

di

gita

l 2)

Co-o

pera

tion

with

peo

ple

(dim

ensio

n:

man

ager

ial 1

)

Team

co-o

rdin

atio

n (d

imen

sion:

m

anag

eria

l 2)

Proa

ctive

ness

, inn

ovat

ion,

ope

nnes

s to

chan

ges

(dim

ensio

n: co

gniti

ve)

Rela

tions

and

em

otio

ns (

dim

ensio

n:

socia

l 1)

Socia

l ada

ptab

ility

and

man

agin

g str

ess

durin

g th

e pa

ndem

ic (d

imen

sion:

socia

l 2)

Man

agin

g co

ntac

ts, c

o-op

erat

ion

(d

imen

sion:

socia

l 3)

Com

mun

icatio

n (d

imen

sion:

socia

l 4)

Durin

g re

alisa

tion

(N)

Susp

ende

d/pr

olon

ged

due

to C

OVID

-19

pand

emic

(N)

Finish

ed (N

)

Below EUR 60,000

438 4.37 4.16 3.73 3.84 3.94 3.92 1.72 3.84 3.60 58% (253)

29% (129)

13% (56)

From EUR 60,000 to 200,000

453 4.37 4.19 3.82 3.87 3.98 3.96 1.70 4.03 3.65 55% (251)

32% (146)

12% (56)

Over EUR 200,000

99 4.36 4.27 3.75 3.95 3.96 3.92 2.01 4.16 3.64 80%(80)

8% (8) 12% (12)

Max 4.37 4.27 3.82 3.95 3.98 3.96 2.01 4.16 3.65

Min 4.36 4.16 3.73 3.84 3.94 3.92 1.70 3.84 3.60

Range 0.01 0.11 0.09 0.11 0.04 0.04 0.31 0.32 0.05


www.poltext.pl

Annex X

The relationship between competences and project status in reference to the number of co‑ordinated projects

Num

ber o

f pro

ject

s und

er co

-ord

inat

ion

N


The

use

of co

mpu

ter i

n ev

eryd

ay w

ork

(dim

ensio

n: d

igita

l 1)

Wor

k with

onl

ine

docu

men

ts (d

imen

sion:

di

gita

l 2)

Co-o

pera

tion

with

peo

ple

(dim

ensio

n:

man

ager

ial 1

)

Team

co-o

rdin

atio

n (d

imen

sion:

m

anag

eria

l 2)

Proa

ctive

ness

, inn

ovat

ion,

ope

nnes

s to

chan

ges

(dim

ensio

n: co

gniti

ve)

Rela

tions

and

em

otio

ns (

dim

ensio

n:

socia

l 1)

Socia

l ada

ptab

ility

and

man

agin

g str

ess

durin

g th

e pa

ndem

ic (d

imen

sion:

socia

l 2)

Man

agin

g co

ntac

ts, c

o-op

erat

ion

(d

imen

sion:

socia

l 3)

Com

mun

icatio

n (d

imen

sion:

socia

l 4)

Durin

g re

alisa

tion

(N)

Susp

ende

d/pr

olon

ged

due

to C

OVID

-19

pand

emic

(N)

Finish

ed (N

)

One 283 4.34 4.02 3.64 3.65 3.81 3.88 1.68 3.52 3.55 61% (172)

28% (80)

11% (31)

From 2 to 4

406 4.37 4.20 3.80 3.89 3.98 3.96 1.75 3.99 3.65 58% (234)

31% (125)

12% (47)

5 and more

301 4.38 4.32 3.87 4.03 4.07 3.96 1.78 4.32 3.66 59% (177)

26% (78)

15% (46)

Max 4.38 4.32 3.87 4.03 4.07 3.96 1.78 4.32 3.66

Min 4.34 4.02 3.64 3.65 3.81 3.88 1.68 3.52 3.55

Range 0.04 0.30 0.23 0.38 0.26 0.08 0.10 0.79 0.11

Annex XI 157

www.poltext.pl

Annex XI

The relationship between competences and project status in reference to the education sector

Sector N


The

use

of co

mpu

ter i

n ev

eryd

ay w

ork

(dim

ensio

n:

digi

tal 1

)

Wor

k with

onl

ine

docu

men

ts (d

imen

sion:

dig

ital 2

)

Co-o

pera

tion

with

peo

ple

(dim

ensio

n: m

anag

eria

l 1)

Team

co-o

rdin

atio

n (d

imen

sion:

man

ager

ial 2

)

Proa

ctive

ness

, inn

ovat

ion,

ope

nnes

s to

chan

ges

(dim

ensio

n: co

gniti

ve)

Rela

tions

and

em

otio

ns (

dim

ensio

n: so

cial 1

)

Socia

l ada

ptab

ility

and

man

agin

g str

ess d

urin

g th

e pa

ndem

ic (d

imen

sion:

socia

l 2)

Man

agin

g co

ntac

ts, c

o-op

erat

ion

(dim

ensio

n: so

cial 3

)

Com

mun

icatio

n (d

imen

sion:

socia

l 4)

Durin

g re

alisa

tion

(N)

Susp

ende

d/pr

olon

ged

due

to C

OVID

-19 p

ande

mic

(N)

Finish

ed (N

)

Youth Mean 121 4.33 4.09 3.78 3.97 3.96 3.93 1.82 4.01 3.72 61% (74)

27% (33)

12% (14)

School education Mean 400 4.39 4.11 3.72 3.85 3.94 3.93 1.67 3.90 3.55 57% (226)

32% (127)

12% (47)

Vocational education and training

Mean 228 4.39 4.31 3.89 3.83 3.99 3.98 1.67 4.05 3.68 49% (111)

37% (85)

14% (32)

Higher education Mean 129 4.36 4.24 3.73 3.88 3.92 3.85 1.94 4.00 3.64 81% (105)

10% (13)

9% (11)

Adult education Mean 87 4.25 4.30 3.80 4.07 4.10 3.97 1.92 4.21 3.72 66% (57)

20% (17)

15% (13)

Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development (PO WER)

Mean 193 4.44 4.29 3.91 3.89 4.03 4.02 1.71 3.94 3.72 59% (113)

27% (53)

14% (27)

Max 4.44 4.31 3.91 4.07 4.10 4.02 1.94 4.21 3.72

Min 4.25 4.09 3.72 3.83 3.92 3.85 1.67 3.90 3.55

Range 0.19 0.22 0.20 0.24 0.18 0.16 0.27 0.30 0.17


www.poltext.pl

Annex XII

The relationship between competences and project status

Project status N

Competences

The

use

of co

mpu

ter i

n ev

eryd

ay w

ork

(dim

ensio

n: d

igita

l 1)

Wor

k with

onl

ine

docu

men

ts (d

imen

sion:

di

gita

l 2)

Co-o

pera

tion

with

peo

ple

(dim

ensio

n:

man

ager

ial 1

)

Team

co-o

rdin

atio

n (d

imen

sion:

m

anag

eria

l 2)

Proa

ctive

ness

, inn

ovat

ion,

ope

nnes

s to

chan

ges

(dim

ensio

n: co

gniti

ve)

Rela

tions

and

em

otio

ns (

dim

ensio

n:

socia

l 1)

Socia

l ada

ptab

ility

and

man

agin

g str

ess

durin

g th

e pa

ndem

ic (d

imen

sion:

socia

l 2)

Man

agin

g co

ntac

ts, c

o-op

erat

ion

(d

imen

sion:

socia

l 3)

Com

mun

icatio

n (d

imen

sion:

socia

l 4)

During realisation 583 4.40 4.18 3.76 3.88 3.98 3.94 1.80 3.98 3.64

Suspended/prolonged due to COVID-19 pandemic

283 4.32 4.15 3.76 3.79 3.88 3.91 1.58 3.89 3.60

Finished 124 4.34 4.26 3.89 3.95 4.06 4.00 1.82 4.02 3.65

Max 4.40 4.26 3.89 3.95 4.06 4.00 1.82 4.02 3.65

Min 4.32 4.15 3.76 3.79 3.88 3.91 1.58 3.89 3.60

Range 0.08 0.12 0.13 0.16 0.18 0.10 0.24 0.12 0.05

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Annex XIII

The quality assessment of the research model for prediction:

Omnibus Tests of Model Coefficients

Chi-square df Significance

Step 1 Step 83.517 7 0.000Block 83.517 7 0.000Model 83.517 7 0.000

This test assesses if the used research model differs from a model based only on a constant variable (without predictors). In this test, a significant result is expected which has actually been received.

Hosmer and Lemeshow Test

Step Chi-square df Significance

1 3.796 8 0.875

This test assesses if data recreated on the basis of the research model differs from the actual data. In this test, an insignificant result is ex-pected which has also actually been received.


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Area Under the ROC Curve

Test Result Variable(s): Predicted probability

Area Std. Errora Asymptotic SignificancebAsymptotic 95% Confidence Interval

Lower Bound Upper Bound

0.676 0.018 0.000 0.640 0.711

The test result variable(s): Predicted probability has at least one tie between the positive actual state group and the negative actual state group. Statistics may be biased.a. Under the nonparametric assumptionb. Null hypothesis: true area = 0.5

The assessment of classification quality with the use of area under the ROC curve checks if the research model differs from a random model. A significant result is expected here with a random model of the 0.5 area. In this case, the result is even higher, which proves the validity of the model:

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Annex XIV

Assessment of the research model: prediction of project suspension:

Classifier Evaluation Metrics

Test Result Variable(s): Predicted probability

Gini IndexK–S Statistics

Max K–Sa Cut-offb

0.351 0.260 0.2498622

a. The maximum Kolmogorov–Smirnov (K–S) metric.b. In the case of multiple cut‑off values associated withMax K–S, the largest one is reported. Classification Tablea

Observed

Predicted

Was the project suspended?Percentage Correct

No Yes

Step 1 Was the project suspended? No 336 371 47.5Yes 61 222 78.4

Overall Percentage N/A N/A N/A 56.4

a. The cut value is 0.250 The research model predicts the probability of project suspension. It is possible to choose the limit of probability for which the model will pre-dict that a given project is going to be suspended. This choice does not influence the parameters of the model.

The default value of 0.5 does not result in classifying projects as suspended.


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On the basis of ROC analysis, it is possible to adjust a cut-off point as a compromise between possible classification mistakes and the ability to identify the cases for which such an event took place.

Accordingly, on the basis of ROC analysis, the cut-off point is 0.25. The research model calibrated in 78% of so identified projects which were actually suspended.

The weakness of the model is the fact that in some cases, it predicted project suspension when actually the project was being realised.

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The Competences 4.0 as Facilitators in the Realisation, Management and Sustainability of Erasmus+ Projects in the Times of the COVID-19 PandemicPaweł Poszytek

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ISBN 978-83-8175-316-6

P15080101

The book is also available as an e-book

The dynamics of changes in contemporary management are clearly visible in the

development of new competences required to lead teams and organisations im-

pacted by digital transformation. Speed, agility, flexibility and responsiveness are

just several characteristics of organisations functioning effectively in the glo-

balised, digitalised and drastically changing environment. The post-COVID-19 era

requires fast and effective adaptation to new social and vocational situations and

challenges.

The book reflects the theoretical, empirical and implementational insights on the

basis of Erasmus+ project leaders, giving a valuable contribution to the area of

management in the era of the ‘new normal’.

Prof. Grzegorz Mazurek, PhD, Kozminski University

COMPETENCES 4.0Paweł Poszytek

The




Attempting to seek for links between competences 4.0 and the implementation, management and sustainability of Erasmus+ projects in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic is very impor-tant from the cognitive point of view. (…) The book fills the re-search gap in this area. (…) The subject of the study is innovative. It deals with issues that have not been considered jointly so far. (…) I rate the interpretation of the results, the conclusions and their documentation highly. They bring a new element to sci-entific knowledge. (…) There are also valuable remarks that the competences of the future may form a protective shield against the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that personal characteristics, such as emotional stability, openness to experience, conscientiousness and extraversion play a role in

the sustainability of Erasmus+.

an excerpt from the review by Prof. Anna Cierniak-Emerych,

Wroclaw University of Economics and Business

The strengths of this work are primarily the topic taken up and the research carried out on a large sample. The subject of com-petences is very important in management and quality sciences as well as in other scientific disciplines. The social significance of the Erasmus+ Programme is also of considerable importance. The research carried out has the potential to explain important

regularities in the management of Erasmus+ projects.

an excerpt from the review by Prof. Aldona Glińska-Neweś, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun

PAWEŁ POSZYTEK – Director General of the Foundation for the

Development of the Education System, PhD graduate of Linguis-

tics awarded at the University of Warsaw (2007). Between 1998

and 2011, he was a co-ordinator and then deputy director and di-

rector of the European Union’s educational programmes: Lin-

gua, eTwinning, Socrates/Lifelong learning as well as a national

co-ordinator of the Council of Europe’s Country Profile project.

He worked for many advisory groups for the development of the

language policy of the EU, i.a. the language working group under

Education and Training 2010, the board of the European Associ-

ation for Language Testing and Assessment, and the European

Language Inspectors Network. Currently, he is a Horizon 2020 ex-

pert (since 2014) and a member of the advisory board of the In-

ternational Institute of Informatics and Systemics (2019), where

he deals with educational leadership, management in education

and models of co-operation between science and business.

paweł poszytek competences 4

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