However, since TREIO aimed to offer key stakeholders responsible for the EIO implementation a sound and update-to-date training framework, resources and tools were developed and adapted to the changing needs of the practitioners with regards to the 2020-2023 strategic and legislative landscape of EU level. Moreover, TREIO schedule and organization of training activities relied heavily on the effective timing of the e-Evidence Digital Exchange System roll-out.
TREIO extrapolated on
- the research done on mapping stakeholders’ needs and the design of TREIO training methodology;
- the initial feedback of the competent authorities on the practitioners’ profiles for training purposes;
- the delays in the eEDES development leading to a pilot launch in Q2/2022 limited only to a number of Member States with a short list of competent authorities to take part;
- the still ongoing at the time COVID-19 pandemic; and
- the eEDES-related EU funding available in recent years.
Thus, TREIO changed its training approach and adopted a cascading one in 2021. In a cascade model, a first group of trainers is trained in a specific subject and after that they are considered proficient trainers. This first group then become the trainers to a second group or generation of trainees. It was expected that this approach would maximize the overall effectiveness of the training activities on EU-level.
The official series of trainings under Stage 1 ‘Training for Master Trainers’ took place in the November – December 2021 period, while three additional (ad hoc) trainings for Master Trainers were conducted between May 2022 and January 2023 (for further details, see here). A total of 52 professionals from 11 MSs (Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain) completed the training for Master Trainers obtaining the relevant knowledge under the training reference framework developed by the project.
Stage 1 trainings showed positive yet varying interest in the project training activities. While the training methodology and content were highly appreciated, participants expressed practical concerns related to the eEDES launch on national level (e.g., time-related concerns regarding the national implementation of eEDES, lack of clarity on the approach to be undertaken on national level, training strategies, etc.). This led to yet another change in the overall TREIO approach. The awareness and dissemination activities to support the implementation of the core project actions and the future use of eEDES for EIO/MLA/ITN exchanges adopted a more conservative approach – the aim was to ensure first and foremost the adoption of the TREIO reference training framework by the competent authorities (rather than individual professionals) before going public and engaging openly with practitioners. Instead of limiting the work to the piloting Member States in the first stages of the project, the awareness and dissemination efforts expanded to all Member States with increased number of 1:1 engagement and ad hoc interventions within the judicial community compensating for the lower communication efforts towards the general public and end-users.
As a result, Stage 2 ‘Cascading Train the Trainer Events’ was initiated in the beginning of 2022 and aimed to serve the needs of the Member States rather than the task description. The TREIO Team focused on facilitating as many national trainings as possible in as many interested Member States as possible without strict timeline or sequence to be followed. This allowed for continuous efforts in offering national trainings to all MSs until the very end of the project.
Competent authorities were given the opportunity to choose between these modalities (one or more) depending on their eEDES launching strategy, related/existing training strategy (if any), the number of trainings they were interested in, the number of participants to be trained per training, the experience of the audience and/or their availability in terms of time, etc. The TREIO Team engaged with all MSs and delivered a total of 15 national trainings across 11 MSs (Bulgaria, Croatia, Finland, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, and Sweden). A total of 360 practitioners were trained under a variety of training set ups.
Further, several international sessions were organized as an opportunity to get trained professionals together to discuss cross-border specifics in an open manner having in mind the benefits of eEDES to (partially) solve a number of issues and gaps in the application of the EIO procedures. They took place in the final trimester of the project as a get-together exercise discussing best practices and cross-border issues including through the prism of the experience gained in the TREIO Project (applying the reference training framework and using eEDES for EIO exchanges). 92 practitioners participated live in the international sessions, while additional 48 received the recordings of these sessions and all materials.
You can find an overview of the training framework, including the trainings that took place, in the all-round presentation of the project outcomes available herein.