Supporting European QA Agencies in meeting the ESG (SEQA-ESG) 2

This new project will build on the success of the SEQA-ESG 1 to provide such in-depth, targeted peer support to a further four countries that have already established a quality assurance agency. SEQA-ESG II is supporting Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Ukraine, all EHEA members outside the EU facing similar issues and challenges related to external QA.

The five agencies included in the project, currently ENQA affiliates, do not yet have operations fully aligned with the ESG and need support to reach ESG compliance.

Specifically, the project’s objectives are to achieve:

1. The establishment of legal frameworks in line with the ESG;
2. The alignment of the methodology and processes used in each of the countries to the peer-review method described in the ESG;
3. A connection of national/agency criteria with Part 1 of the ESG;
4. The creation of appropriate methods and criteria for the recruitment, selection, and training of peer review experts, including addressing issues of impartiality and independence of experts;
5. Adequate stakeholder involvement in external quality assurance.

To reach the objectives, the following four activities are implemented to address different needs appropriately, both at the legal framework level as well as within the agencies, and ensure that the four countries make fast progress in achieving ESG compliance.

• Peer counselling visits in the four countries, gathering national authorities, the agency and key stakeholders. The key outcome of the activity will be a national action plan for QA development.
• Peer support workshops on four key themes (QA methodology, QA criteria, review experts and stakeholders). The workshops target all core partners from the four countries.
• Staff exchanges between the 5 partner agencies, and
• Creation of agency action plans for a review against the ESG (five in total).