While research is more and more dependent on project-based funding, researchers or support staff are not necessarily qualified to write proposals. The ENCARE project aims at increasing the capacity of research office staff and researchers of Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS) in successfully developing, writing and managing EU-funded projects. This will improve the access to funding, increase interinstitutional cooperation at EU level as well as the overall quality of applied research.

To achieve its objective ENCARE will work on developing and piloting specialised trainings and relevant materials to support capacity building of UAS staff and researchers with a specific focus on digital work forms, but also trickle-down training capacities (train the trainers). ENCARE will therefore further deliver hybrid trainings to various target groups within and outside the project partnership. Partners will also ensure dissemination and transfer of their activities.

The project aims at delivering two specific strands of trainings and materials, one aiming at research office staff to increase their own capacity and train others. The second strand will focus on researchers. Both strands will take into account digitalisation and hybrid forms of work. Results will consists of training materials and blueprints. In addition ENCARE will deliver best practices on integrating EU-funded projects in curriculum (project-based learning approaches).

For the staff of Turku UAS, the project offers project preparation training opportunities regardless of the starting level. ENCARE also trains trainers to share the already accumulated know-how with others in project trainings as part of an international working group.