8 partners, 6 implementing countries, and one objective: addressing the shortcomings in national victim support frameworks across Europe by focusing on how information is given to victims, how their needs are assessed and how they are referred.
Under the coordination of Victim Support Europe (VSE), the partners of the EU-funded project Improving National Victim services through Transnational Unity and Strategy (INVICTUS) met for the first partnership meeting last January in Brussels. To ensure a smooth inception of the project based on a comprehensive understanding of its asks, the project partners discussed a variety of practical matters from project coordination, budget allocation and internal communication, to specific work packages on research, capacity building, and dissemination.
Additionally, partners took the occasion to start discussing existing practices of individual needs assessments, referral, and communication with victims in their countries, and potential challenges and related risk mitigation when it comes to engagement with national stakeholders. Overall, the meeting represented a fruitful opportunity to reaffirm the commitment behind the objective of enhancing existing victim support services in implementing countries, with feasibility, national adaptation, and stronger cooperation being deemed crucial elements for success.
Finally, during the meeting three committees (Research Advisory Group, Executive Committee, and Project Coordination Committee) were established and their members selected to ensure a seamless path forwards based on enhanced coordination and communication in all phases of the project.
While Research Advisory Group and Project Coordination Committee meet monthly, the Executive Committee differs in its coordination and oversight role being aimed at ensuring the effective implementation of the work plan agreed by partners and will meet every 6 months.
This first partnership meeting has been followed by two subsequent meetings in February and March, where partners could provide their inputs and finalize the partnership agreement with relevant guide provisions for the completion of the project, including on GDPR and data protection. Moreover, partners received relevant instructions and guidelines on the work packages 2, 3 and 5, on research, capacity building, and communications respectively. During the March meeting, the logo and the graphic identity of INVICTUS were also presented, clearly embedding the purpose of enhancing victim support services as a ‘superhero’.
