Meetings

During its project life (1-2-2013 to 31-7-2015) DESAFIO organized a range of project meetings covering the activities of project coordination and management, research, and dissemination and engagement with wider publics. We divided these in Project Meetings and Engagement and Dissemination Meetings. We provided regular detailed information about our meetings in the pages of DESAFIO’s Newsletter. In addition, the partners decided to organize Post-Project Meetings, self-funded, after the end of the project in July 2015. These meetings seek to enhance the activities of dissemination of project results and engagement with social actors relevant to the project’s themes.

Project Meetings

DESAFIO’s Team met three times during the project’s life, in February 2013, August 2014, and July 2015 (see below Face-to-Face Project Meetings). These were face-to-face plenary meetings with the participation of representatives from all the institutions that compose the Research Team to discuss the progress of our research and elaborate plans for the next stages. We invited to these meetings members of our Strategic Advisory Committee and of our Case Study Advisory Committees. These face-to-face meetings included a session of the Project Management Team, in charge of decisions about progress, problems and the management of the project work.

See more details of our three Face-to-Face Project Meetings.

In between these three face-to-face meetings, we held regular, virtual, plenary meetings of the Research Team via internet, with similar objectives. Between the first and the second face-to-face meetings, we held four plenary virtual meetings, on 18 June 2013, 26 August 2013, 25 November 2013, and 19 March 2014. Between the second and third face-to-face meetings, we held three virtual meetings, on 13 January, 24 April, and 8 July 2015.

In addition, the Project Coordination Unit had regular, normally weekly, communication in person or via telephone, e-mail or internet. The Project Co-ordinator also held regular face-to-face and virtual meetings with members of the local Research and Project Management Teams from the consortium members in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Portugal. These included pre-scheduled, face-to-face and virtual, individual meetings with each research team in charge of developing the project’s ten Case Studies, to discuss progress and provide feedback. These meetings regularly included members of our Strategic Advisory Committee and of our Case Study Advisory Committees.

Engagement and Dissemination Meetings

We organized a range of events oriented at engaging relevant actors external to DESAFIO in our research activities, as well as disseminating our work and receiving feedback. We invited members of the local communities that we worked with in our case studies, and representatives of public sector institutions, NGOs, social organizations, workers unions, and other relevant actors, including practitioners, fellow academics and students, and other professionals working in our field.

Taking advantage of the fact that we held three large international, face-to-face, plenary meetings with the presence of all senior members of the Research Team, we organized conferences and seminars that took place during the same week of our Project Meetings. We organized an International Conference on 25 February 2013, an International Course and Seminar on 29 August 2014, and a Second International Conference on 27-28 July 2015.

See more details of our open international events Engagement and Dissemination Meetings.

In addition, we organized regular engagement and dissemination meetings at the local, regional, and national levels in the countries participating in DESAFIO as well as internationally. These included the participation of our members in academic and professional events, including the organization of special sessions in the annual meetings of the WATERLAT-GOBACIT Network.

Post-Project Meetings

The partners decided to organize a number of meetings after the end of the project in July 2015 to enhance the impact of the project among potential beneficiaries of the research findings, reinforcing the activities of dissemination and engagement with relevant social actors. These meetings are self-funded by the partners, in association with public and civil society organizations, and with the support of the WATERLAT-GOBACIT Network. Click here to see the information about our Post-Project events.

Read more about our meetings in DESAFIO’s Newsletter.