Vol. II: Shaping Information and Communication ... - IMA,ZLW & IfU

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L5: Need to be aware of the formal limitations imposed by the rigidity of funding structures
Funds should be directed to project activities rather than allocated to individual institutions.
Where as the EU partners have had considerable experience of the complexity and rigidity of
European funding rules, this was a new cultural experience for Indian partners. In crosscultural
collaborations the project coordinators and partners should be aware of the potential
negative synergy between the very rigid financial/accountability system of Indian institutions
and the EC funding structure. There is a very real risk that these will work together to make
flexible adaptation to changing circumstance almost impossible to make. Funding should be
managed in a central pool rather than allocated to individual institutions; and should be used
to support activities rather than the personnel. The coordinators have to recognise the
asymmetry between the Indian institutional norms and funding terminology used by the EC.
We should also be aware that the notion of the equality of funding advocated by the EC,
might become a hindrance. We found that project partners, especially Indian partners saw
funding as the only yard stick of equality, separated from the technical equality as the funding
was seen as the only criteria for evaluation, rather than focusing on the technical contribution
as the evaluation criteria it should have been.
L6: Need to build the project on both the individual interests and institutional contexts
The strength of this project is that it started and remained mainly as a network of individuals,
and this facilitated very effective collaborations at the personal levels. Because of this
personal development, it maximised institutional impact. It is our experience that in India,
bottom up innovations are very difficult and top down developments are rather slow.
Engaging the interest of the committed individuals and supporting the development of their
profiles within their institutions proved to be an effective strategy.
L7: Need to cultivate both big and little pictures, but project activities should have limited
objectives to achieve
Our experience is that proverbial advice “to think global and act local” is as valid here as
anywhere else. It is necessary while keeping the overall picture in mind, that specific
activities need to be very effectively targeted. We made the mistake on some occasions of
attempting to satisfy too many objectives at the same event, and consequently sometimes
seemed to lose specific focus. For example, some workshops and exchange visits were loaded
with too many objectives during the same activity. A workshop could be simultaneously the
forum for students (second level) participation, entrepreneurial networking, visibility events,