The project PROTEIN II aims a) to improve the quality in the validation processes of informal/non-formal learning produced in SME and craft enterprises by searching, indicating common criteria in the existing experiences/approaches which can make these solutions/approaches more transparent, visible, verifiable and reliable and therefore can improve the quality of the conditions and the tools for the social partners and the other actors, at national and EU level, for the development of activities of validation of informal and non formal learning in SME and craft enterprises. The project Protein II intend to reach its aims a) by promoting a ”European network of for validation of informal-non formal learning ”,( ENEVAL) which will include the existing multidisciplinary Protein network of experts, social partners at European and national level, institutions covering Italy, France, United Kingdom, Belgium, Austria, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Spain and Norway and of Hungary and Slovenia , b) organising 4“ “Informal learning Internet workshops” ( INTIL) with the objectives to 1) analyse and making visible the validation criteria defined and used in the experiences and practices of validation of informal/non-formal learning in SME’s and craft enterprises; 2) identify and compare common criteria which inspires the different approaches in validation, related to SME’s and craft enterprise at different levels of activity (national, local, and sectors 3) debate and transfer in the network the common criteria in order to underline and increase the aspects of credibility, reliability, verifiability, and transparency of the validation processes 4) diffusing and promoting via Internet these analysis towards all the key actors involved in the process of validation including social partners, institutions and experts in order to promote the transfer of the common principle in validation practices c) by elaborating a “ Repertory of validation common criteria in Europe”(REVALCE) which will contain the validation processes in SME’s and craft enterprises characterized by common criteria which can guarantee the quality of the processes; d) presenting and diffusing during a “European event” (EV) the European Repertory of criteria on to the social partners at European and national level, key decision makers in the matter of validation of informal/non formal learning in SME’s and craft enterprises e) and elaborate a Report to the Commission presenting the results of the project including the indication of the future steps to take in the field of quality of validation.

The actions proposed in the Project are motivated by the following reasons: a) even though several practices of validation of informal learning in SME’s and Craft enterprises have been experimented in some EU countries such as France, United Kingdom, Italy, Norway, the diffusion of practices of validation is still facing difficulties due to the fact that the validation criteria are lacking of elements which can give to them clarity, and reliability which can make them, even in their differences, more valid and capable to contaminate the on going analysis and the experiments in many countries of EU; b) the role of Social partners at all levels which is considered of paramount importance in setting up the process of validation is also facing difficulties by the lacking of a clear common criteria reference framework of validation in EU which could speed the initiative of the social partners in promoting validation processes in SME’s and Craft enterprises; c) the problem of well define, clarify and explain the validation criteria adopted and therefore define and identify “standards/reference points” has been underlined during the Conference on Validation of non formal/informal learning which took place in Olso the 6-7 of May 2002 as a key action to take in order to promote the practice of validation and to increase the contribution of SME’s and Craft to the growth of the process of the continuous training and life long learning; d) the indication of common criteria in the validation of non formal/informal learning in SME’s and Craft can benefit the initiative of the candidate countries in this field and will benefit the enlargement process; e) the work which is actually conduct in the network of the Protein project on the identification of validation criteria of non formal-informal learning has pointed out the aspect of quality and therefore the need to extend the network activity, enlarged to new EU countries, to the issue of identification of “standard/reference points” in the validation process.

Taking into account the above mentioned reasons, the actions foreseen by the project Protein II are oriented to overcome the identified problems. In fact the European network ( ENEVAL) by setting up the validation network in 11 EU countries and in 2 candidate countries will be able to organise the high level of expertises of the key actors (social partners, experts, institution representatives entrepreneurs) in the field of validation of non formal/informal learning in enterprises covering a large number of EU countries and including candidate countries ; the activity which will be carried on trough 3 internet workshops ( INTIL) will be able to able to identify and indicate the common criteria in the existing practices of validation of non-formal/informal learning in SMEs and craft enterprises to innovate in the communication activity in order to reach a large number of key actors in the matter of the project, with the effect to increase the quality and to enhance the initiatives of the social partners at all levels in the field of validation; the production of the Electronic Repertory (REVALCE) will be an innovative product in the field of validation activity regarding SMEs and Craft enterprises which will contain the “standards/reference points” will be diffused and promoted by the Avignon Academy of SMEs and Craft in Europe towards the key actors in the matter of validation, with the effect to promote the quality and to facilitate the initiative in the field of validation in the enterprise sector; the European event (EV) will give the necessary relevance to the quality issue in the validation of non formal- informal learning and will be the occasion to deep the analysis, which will be reassumed in the Reportt to the Commission, regarding the future steps to take regarding the quality in the practice of validation in the small, medium and craft enterprises.