Once the learning model and teaching resources of IO1 had been agreed upon by the consortium, it was time to try the material out with experienced trainers from the field of entrepreneurship and cooperative work. The aim was to test the material’s applicability and usability and validate with experienced trainers that the content and training approaches were appropriate for the target audience. Participants were also asked to compare and evaluate the different sections of the teaching material and resources. Each partner of the COPE consortium recruited participants for the training, either from their own staff and team of trainers or from associated partners working in the field of entrepreneurship counseling or training
The partnership collected feedback from two different sources during the pilot training. First of all, a survey that pilot training participants were asked to complete, and most trainers (but not all) completed such a questionnaire. And secondly, project participants reflected on the pilot training experience during the regular online pulse meetings of the consortium.
The main source of feedback from the pilot training was the survey that was distributed among participants and analyzed once the training was concluded. All partner organizations took part in shaping the survey items, and the resulting survey was divided into sections on trainers’ impression of the material, usefulness of the teaching resources, likelihood of adoption and finally, background information. The survey was administered, either on paper or by using an online form. The data was gathered, and summaries and analysis are available in the IO3 pilot survey report. A little over 30 individuals in total took part in the pilot training across the partnership countries, and 24 surveys were completed after the training was concluded.
The survey is available on the project’s results website, so that future users of the training materials can get structured feedback from participants.
The survey findings showed that most participants were satisfied with the teaching/training material produced, and its useability good in terms of activities, relevance, and instructions. Participants also commented favorably on the modular structure of the material, which allows them to easily pick up topic specific portions. The findings from the training participants’ survey are further elaborated on in the IO3 pilot training survey report. The main concerns expressed were that the first module was too theoretical or had too much reading material. During the finalization stages of the material, this concern was addressed by moving a few items across the modules, and thereby ensuring that the first module included training activities on par with the other ones.