OBSERVAL-Net is a 2-year project coordinated by EUCEN and funded under the KA1 activity of the European Union’s Lifelong Learning Programme that intends to set up a stakeholder-centric network of organisations supporting the validation of non-formal and informal learning (VNIL) in Europe. The core of the network will lie in the formation of national working groups in the 8 participating countries. Each national working group will organise a series of national stakeholder forums, bringing together key stakeholders in VNIL and political decision-makers to coordinate policy implementation in the field.These national networks will be supplemented by a cross-national level of networking. It will be made up of three expert committees plus a policy group, which will examine:
1Bottom up approach - the role of grassroots initiatives in supporting VNIL, and strategies towards their mainstreaming.
2The VNIL profession - the competence profile required for VNIL advisors.
3Work-based competence - success factors in the implementation of VNIL in employment settings
Policy group. Representatives from 8 different European ministries comprise this group. These policymakers and some stakeholders representing other related VNIL initiatives are the peer-learning group for sharing strategies on VNIL at high level.