Type of our services

PDCS has provided education to adults since its establishment. Our training topics are aimed primarily at organizations who wish to increase qualification of their employees, improve relations in the workplace, promote efficiency of team work, etc.

 

Our trainers have experience with training in over 40 countries and working with international partners.

The training courses we offer are designed to meet specific needs and requests of the client. We then adapt the methodology, length of the training course and its dates. Communicating in advance with the client, we are able to pick specific subtopics and combine them as requested by the client.

For those who prefer so, we provide accredited training courses whose structure meets the accreditation provided by the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic.

Forms of training

Interactive training courses include practical exercises, case studies, role plays and workshops in which active participation is expected. Presentation of case studies, screening of video samples, and analysis of video-recordings are also used. Participants work in small groups during certain parts of the program to increase the impact of the skill-specific exercises. For each topic, participants receive 15 to 60 pages of written educational materials, depending on previous agreement. Training usually runs for eight hours per day.

The following methods are being used most frequently in our training courses:

• Discussion methods – discussions, problem solving with follow-up review, discussions with a guest – an expert on theory or a practitioner experienced in the given topic
• Experiential methods – methods and games using experienced and its reflection as a learning tool (frequently including also element of learning about oneself)
• Role-playing methods – simulations of various situations, different forms of role-plays designed to allow participants to practice principles and use skills in a secure environment of a training course
• Learning by doing – learning through activities planned in real life within the organization (such as strategic planning or development of a communication strategy). In addition to gaining knowledge or acquiring skills, participants take home from the training also a specific outcome usable in real life in their organization
• Individual guidance by a professional – individual mentoring and couching of a pre-defined scope (for international participants, mentoring is conducted via e-mail and Skype communication)
• Presentations and lectures
• Feed-back methods – peer mentoring, analysis of video- or audio recordings, direct feedback, use of various questionnaires and tests followed by reflection and discussion of the results.

Specific methods are always adapted to the specific characteristics of the training group. Also the overall composition of methods to be used is determined by participants’ needs and attitudes. In order to ensure that transfer of information and acquisition of skills is diversified, we also combine various methods and seek to bring the training topics closer to the participants.

Examples of training courses conducted by us recently include:

• In 2007, we conducted one training session in Cairo, Egypt at a workshop designed to consider implementation of democratic practices in Arab countries. The workshop was held by the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Research and we contributed also one chapter for the resulting publication.
• In 2007 we conducted a training within “Summer school in community development” in Constanta, Romania. 35 Bulgarian and Rumanian community development practitioners have participated. The Summer school was part of the project “Dialogue on community development: discourse and practice in Central and Eastern Europe” managed by Workshop for Civic Initiatives Foundation.
• In 2006 we conducted a series of three training courses in Afghanistan within a project by the People in Peril nonprofit organization. We provided training on three topics ‘Civil Organization Development and Civic Advocacy’, ‘Participation in Communities’ and ‘Community Projects’ to members of women’s organization AWRC from Kabul and representatives of local governments and nonprofit organizations in Kapisa and Parwan provinces. The training courses were quite dynamic in the culturally differentiated environment.
• In 2005 one remarkable and very enriching experience was the series of three one-week-long training courses given in Yemen on topics of conflict resolution and cooperative planning for local sheiks, local government officials and representatives of NGOs. In the culturally different environment, and with interpretation into Arabic, the training courses were unusually dynamic.
• In the past years we have done trainings and long-term consultations abroad in 32 countries undergoing transformation, on such topics as organizational development, citizens participation and community development, coalitions and advocacy, and strategic planning. Training was provided in partnership with major international institutions (e.g. Freedom House, Counterpart, IREX, Amnesty International, World learning, ABA CEELI, ICNL, NDI, OSI, etc.) and very often in cooperation with local trainers and consultants.

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If you organize an event, which requires not just the help of a moderator but also effective use of time to achieve planned goals, we are able to offer you professional facilitation services. An experienced facilitator is familiar with the topic of the meeting, aware of principles of group dynamics and able to provide guidance to event participants.

We also provide moderation services at events with high media exposure, facilitation meetings for teams of experts or of the public.

Upon request we help you design program of an event, using a wide selection of well-tested facilitation tools in order to achieve desired outcomes, help secure constructive participant feedback on presented materials or facilitate group decision-making.

PDCS has years of experience in facilitating and moderating various types of meetings both nationally and internationally. We are skilled in organizing and facilitating Open Space seminars, public discussions, roundtable discussions, cooperative planning meetings at local level, as well as national or international conferences.

Examples of our facilitation services

• In 2007 conducted two Open Space meetings at the request of the Social Development Fund for over 60 field social workers. In small-size discussion groups the participants explored trends in their profession, what worked best/worst for them, and what challenges they faced.
• The Open Space seminar “Trends in Informal Education in Slovakia” which we facilitated in April 2007 was attended by over 100 participants from public, non-profit, and business sectors.

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PDCS has many years of experience performing various types of evaluation. We are ready to design and conduct the following types of evaluation:

• Formative evaluation is evaluation performed during project’s implementation. It provides feedback to project managers and allows them to improve or modify the project so as to increase its impact or effectiveness. This kind of evaluation is most meaningful in long-term programs.

• Summative evaluation is conducted after program’s completion and typically it provides comprehensive information on the effectiveness and impact of implemented activities.

• Impact evaluation measures the degree to which goals have been achieved. It indicates all intended and not intended consequences of a program and if they have been positive or negative. Impact evaluation is important for making decisions on program continuation or its funding.

• Needs and feasibility assessment is performed before a program is started. Needs assessment identifies needs/demand for new (public) services or gaps in existing ones. Identified needs help define goals, program activities, program structure and resources needed. Needs assessment is focused on feasibility of proposed activities and assessment of whether it is realistic to achieve the proposed goals. In EU programs, such evaluation falls within the wider group of ex ante evaluation.

• Ex ante evaluation looks at expected impact of a policy or a program before they are implemented.

Examples of evaluation we performed include

• In 2004 - evaluation of the program "Strengthening Local Democracy in the Stability Pact Region." The purpose was to provide an external assessment of the training program for trainers of local governments and its impact. The program was realized in nine countries/provinces of the Balkan region (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia).
• In 2002 we performed evaluation of the Via Foundation’s program Places and People in the Czech Republic. The evaluation was designed to assess effectiveness of the program, the needs of program-supported organizations, and future opportunities for model projects. Formative evaluation also provided material for further discussions of the foundation programming team in their strategic planning process for Via Foundation.

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Drawing from many years of experience, PDCS is able to offer you the following consultation and advisory services further customized to meet the needs of individual client/organizations.

• long-term strategic planning processes for nonprofit organizations and public administration institutions
• consultation assistance in formulating organizational development strategies and resource identification
• facilitation of working meetings such as decision-making meetings and large-scale sessions, e.g. at the municipal level
• evaluation of organizations, programs, or a major cross-sector initiatives and the development of educational plans
• advisory service to local governments and NGOs for involving citizens in public decision-making
• designing and evaluating educational plans
• individual couching for leaders of organizations
• mediation (out-of-court settlement achieved by agreement in areas of community disputes or conflicts among organizations)

Examples of consultation processes we conducted include

• In 2007 we consulted and facilitated in strategic planning processes for organizations such as the Regional Development Support Nonprofit Organization Košice (ARR), VIA IURIS, International Youth Foundation Slovakia (NDS), or the Association of Asylum Seekers in Slovakia.
• PDCS consultants provide methodological guidance to the PrieStory Program of Ekopolis Foundation. The program aims to provide grants and consultancy assistance to projects using participative approach to construction of public spaces such as children playgrounds, parks, or small squares. PDCS provides training, consultancy, and facilitation support to grantees of Ekopolis Foundation in their planning, and implementation of public space projects with the involvement of citizens in the respective town or city.

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