On the 29th of May 2019, Sapienza University of Rome team travelled to Beirut to perform an assessment visit of the EU project design and management unit installed at the University of Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth. The visit duration was three full days and the assessment procedure was based on the Guidebook for the installation of European Project Design and Management Unit and an Evaluation Roadmap, created by the consortium, which includes set up information for the units. The Sapienza team was composed of Prof. Francesca Giofrè and Dr. Mohamed El Edeisy. Saint Joseph’s unit members were Prof. Dolla Sarkis, Prof. Marie Abboud, Prof. Magda Bou Dagher Kharrat, Ms. Soha Daou and Ms. Ursula El Hage.
The project partners discussed the setting up of the units, the unit structure, and the unit’s functioning. Saint-Joseph’s staff members filled evaluation questionnaires and provided a list of project documents to help the evaluators conduct a full assessment of the unit’s operation. The programme country’s representatives measured the indicators of progress, they visited and evaluated the installed unit and elaborated a full report that included key issues analysed, levels of achievement of each task, questions and answers, system of indicators, notes and comments, conclusions, and future recommendations. Saint-Joseph’s team had foreseen two training sessions to spread and amplify the services of the unit.
At the end of the visit, the assessing group formulated suggestions for improvement and good practices to be transferred. Saint-Joseph’s team demonstrated strong will and enthusiasm, and they adopted all the recommendations provided by the assessors to boost the unit’s activities and reach its full capacity within the short term.
