Please describe how the project benefited your organisation
International cooperation is indisputably beneficial to any organisation. And in particular for public body with limited financial resources. Municipalities do not make a profit, so qualified, motivated, experienced employees are the main assets of the institution. In particular, the project has a strong motivation for employees to gain new experience and knowledge from staff with a similar profile in other cities. As this project has a relatively small budget, the submission, organisation and reporting of its application is not complicated, so it is a very good practice for staff before submitting applications for larger projects. The main benefit of the project is that the search for partners in the Nordic countries has allowed us to find new contacts that we sharing with other departments, unrelated to the activities of our department as well. We share our existing contacts with our colleagues who are looking for partners for new projects, so we have become a bridge that can easily find and connect people with similar challenges and looking for solutions. We also share our knowledge with colleagues about the application and management of the project. Of course, in our direct work, we apply the innovations and experience of colleagues from foreign cities that we can apply in everyday solutions. The biggest benefit, however, is that we maintain friendly relations with our Nordic counterparts and we feel mutual understanding, support and willingness to cooperate. Please describe how the project benefited the Nordic-Baltic cooperation
We believe that the project is useful not only for our institution, our project partners, but also for future project participants. Essential framework for future collaboration has been investigated in order to maximise the success rate of future projects by making the administrative part of the process more structured. The exchange of know-how and new working methods is particularly important in the context of a rapidly changing global pandemic situation, where flexibility is needed to adapt to conditions and to take decisions quickly. Close contacts and knowledge sharing on innovative solutions strengthen the whole region through close international cooperation. Similar geographical location, climate, cultural similarities that can be explored through similar projects allow the knowledge obtained to be widely applied. Even though further work still needs to be done, we have set up a strong foundation for sharing the knowledge and working towards a robust collaboration system. Do you consider your mobility project valuable in terms of sharing experience?
Yes, for my home organisation Please give an example of experiences/values gained through the mobility project
We have benefitted mostly from establishing new contacts in Helsinki as well as the insights provided by the colleagues from all participating cities. Established contacts are useful not only directly to our division, but also to our colleagues from other departments. We have already managed to share experience in urban street management, care of stray animals, outdoor advertising and other areas. The continued work with all of the cities involved in the project means a more robust network for future cooperation efforts. Please describe briefly whether the Nordic-Baltic Mobility Programme for %s met your expectations
As expected, we have been able to share an experience with the representatives of Helsinki and partly with Reykjavik to discuss the international collaboration framework. Unfortunately, not all of the meetings could be completed in person, however, that does not take away from the fact that we have managed to pass on valuable experience to our colleagues in Vilnius. Contact: Lina Atkociute, project manager of the project "Sharing and Exchange of Know-How in the Organisation and Communication of International Cooperation"
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