Capacity Building in Project Management

As the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) evolves, strengthening staff capacity is key to managing activities effectively and ensuring future success. In response to the UfM College’s 2024 priority on enhancing project management skills, the HR Unit is implementing a structured training plan in 2025. This initiative supports staff across all six divisions and key institutional positions, aligning with UfM’s strategic priorities: environmental and climate action, sustainable development, social inclusiveness, digital transformation, and civil protection.

OBJECTIVES

The training is supported ongoing efforts to improve efficiency and impact of UfM. The project management training addressed UfM's stated requirement for comprehensive knowledge and skills in managing projects. Specifically, UfM identified the following key areas for development:

• The project cycle

• Project management tools

• Project planning

• Budgeting

• Monitoring

• Key performance indicators (KPIs)

• Risk assessment

This certificate of participation is delivered to the participants who have completed all the three online modules, knowledge tests and assignments and attended the two-day in-person workshop in Barcelona.

CONTENT

Participants in the foundational level training tackled the basics of project management focusing on:

• Project Cycle Management: Overview of the key phases (planning, implementation, closure) and UfM’s role in coordination, policy alignment, and monitoring.

• Stakeholder Engagement: Techniques for managing relationships with regional and international partners.

• Monitoring and Reporting: Tools for tracking project progress, including KPIs and reporting mechanisms.

• Policy and Strategy Integration: Aligning projects with UfM’s key priorities, such as environmental and social agendas.

LIST OF SKILLS / KNOWLEDGE

Knowledge Acquired

• Project Cycle Management: Understanding the key phases—planning, implementation, and closure—within the UfM’s project governance framework.

• Stakeholder Engagement: Techniques for identifying, analyzing, and managing relationships with regional and international partners.

• Monitoring and Reporting: Familiarity with tools for tracking project progress using KPIs and structured reporting mechanisms.

• Policy and Strategy Integration: Aligning projects with UfM strategic priorities, including environmental, social, and inclusive development agendas.

Skills Developed

• Ability to fit a project into the UfM results chain.

• Competence to design a results chain for UfM-implemented projects.

• Capacity to set indicators and understand how to track them effectively.

• Application of basic planning techniques in a project management context.