EFA’s 2016 Capacity Building project ended in January 2017 with a last session held in Kent, United Kingdom, together with our member Allergy UK. In 2016 we also visited other EFA members in Portugal, Spain and France, with very satisfactory results!
Capacity Building meeting with Allergy UK
Our last Capacity Building Session took place at Allergy UK offices in Kent. The meeting was attended by senior staff members and focused on topics considered of high interest for the organisation: first we discussed the involvement of patients and patient organisations on EU-funded projects, with practical examples and exercises on the development of project proposals; second, we analysed with the team important policy issues for Allergy UK (such as air quality legislation and food labelling) and looked at how to advocate for the rights of people with allergies in these fields, looking into the post-Brexit scenario.
Very high satisfaction among the participants in 2016
Considering the results of the four sessions we had in 2016, we are very proud of the evaluation of this project that has involved many members in the last three years. Thanks to their feedback, we are constantly improving the format and the quality of the content we provide in our capacity building project.
In 2016, we registered 67 participants in the meetings held in Portugal, Spain, France and the UK: 80% of them felt the meetings met their expectations and, while many do feel empowered, more than the 70% would like to attend additional trainings within this project. What’s more, the level of satisfaction among the participants is high or very high 88% of them. A full report of the project will be soon available at EFA website.
Preparing 2017
In 2017, we will visit several members and soon we will communicate soon about selected participants. Following the formula of previous years, we will organise two follow-up sessions with past beneficiaries and two sessions with new participants, where also other EFA members will be invited to share their experiences, as happened in 2016 with the Finnish Allergy and Asthma Federation. One novelty for 2017 is that the Meet and Greet the EU training will be integrated in the project programme and we are preparing a thematic workshop on European affairs.