Guidelines

"Partecipa Ca' Foscari" Platform

Preamble

Through “Partecipa Ca' Foscari” anybody working or studying at Ca' Foscari can submit project proposals and contribute to improving the University.

1 - Project proposals

1 This platform is not the place to express complaints of any kind. Complaints must be expressed according to the existing channels and procedures within your personal area of the University website.

2 Proposals must have as a goal that of improving the lives of the various components of the University. Proposals should cover any of the following topics: sport; culture; sustainability; solidarity; shared spaces; health; improvement of the University’s premises; citizenship, etc… Projects submitted and voted for by the Ca’ Foscari community must comply with the eligibility criteria listed below:

a) Submitted projects must:

• Comply with the Statute, Codes and Internal Regulations of Ca' Foscari University of Venice;
• Fall within the fields of competence and mission of Ca' Foscari University of Venice;
• Comply with the laws in force;
• Address at least one of the following topics: sport; culture; sustainability; solidarity; space management; health; improvement of the University’s venues and spaces; citizenship, or other topics that may have a positive impact on University life;
• Envisage activities taking place in one or more venues of Ca' Foscari University of Venice;
• Envisage activities that can be completed over a relatively short time (e.g. one/two years);
• Have limited costs. Expenses generated by approved projects should mainly be connected to the purchase of sustainable materials. Expenses for the implementation of basic/ordinary university services is not eligible.

b) Inadmissibility criteria

The following project proposals cannot be admitted:

• Projects that have previously received funding made available by/with the participation of Ca' Foscari University of Venice;Projects that do not respect the principles and values that are the foundations of Ca' Foscari University of Venice, as set out in the Statute, in the Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct of the University and substantiated in the basic rules of "common living" such as: tolerance; non-discrimination; independence from any political, philosophical, religious, economic influence;
• Projects that do not respect the founding principles and values of Ca' Foscari University of Venice, set out in the University's Statute and Code of Ethics and Conduct. Such principles and values are embodied in Ca’ Foscari’s basic rules of "common living", i.e. tolerance; non-discrimination; independence from all political, philosophical, religious and economic influencesProjects entailing very high costs and/or generating mainly non-sustainable expenditure for the purchase of materials and/or classifiable as expenditure necessary for the implementation of basic/ordinary university services;
• Projects revolving around training and teaching (purchase or printing of teaching materials and/or publication of brochures relating to teaching courses; forums aimed at finding jobs or internships) or directly linked to research (with the exception of proposals which focus on improving the administrative management of funded research projects);Projects submitted by entities not included among those indicated in point 2 of the Guidelines prepared and/or managed by entities not eligible to submit projects, i.e. by non-individuals with an unive.it account;
• Very expensive projects, and/or projects implying purchase of non sustainable materials, or expenses that are related to everyday/ordinary university services;Inaccurate and not very detailed projects that do not allow accurate financial, legal and technical estimates by the competent offices of Ca' Foscari University of Venice;
• Projects that aim to create large infrastructures;
• Projects submitted by parties not included in the list at point 2 of the Guidelines, prepared and/or managed by parties ineligible to submit projects;
• Projects that are already ongoing at Ca' Foscari University Venice;
• Inaccurate and scarcely detailed projects, that do not allow accurate financial, legal and technical estimates by the relevant Ca' Foscari University of Venice offices;
• Projects in conflict of interest with the person submitting them.

2 – Who can submit projects

1 Proposals can be submitted by students enrolled at Ca' Foscari University of Venice, or by members of the University staff, regardless of their role.

2 Proposals may be drafted by individuals or groups (for example informal groups or associations), but they must be submitted by a single person, in possession of unive.it credentials and duly registered on the “Partecipa Ca' Foscari” platform, who will become the project contact person.

3 Each project contact person may submit up to a maximum of two project proposals.

4 Upon submitting the project proposal on the platform, the project contact person waives to the University any intellectual property rights over the proposal, and does so free of charge.

5 After the proposal has been submitted, changes can be made until a deadline which will be communicated (coinciding with Phase One as described at Point 10 below). After the deadline, no further changes can be made.

3 – Help in preparing your project proposal

The University supports the platform users in various ways:

• It makes available dedicated staff, ready to answer your questions regarding the use of the platform;
• It monitors the submission of comparable projects, so as to suggest and facilitate possible merging of proposals;
• If necessary, it provides technical help and expertise in drafting the proposals.

4 – Expressing your opinion

In addition to the final vote, all members of the Ca’ Foscari community are invited to express their opinion on the various proposals and ideas through the platform's "support" tool and "comments" section ("like"; "neutral"; "dislike").

5 - Pre-selection of Project Proposals

1 Ca’ Foscari staff involved in the participatory process will rule on the admissibility of project proposals in accordance with these Guidelines. If a proposal is deemed inadmissible, motivations will be communicated in writing. The outcome of submissions will be communicated to the relevant project contact persons and then made publicly available on the “Partecipa Ca' Foscari” platform.

2 During the pre-selection, projects that present conspicuous similarities will be identified and a possible merger will be suggested. The contact persons of the projects involved have the right to turn down the merger.3 For the purposes of paragraphs 1 and 2 above, the project proposals to be taken into consideration are those that receive the most votes in a participatory process.

3 In accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 above, the selected project proposals are those that receive the most votes in a participatory process.

6 - Composition of the Evaluation Commission

1 The Director General appoints the projects’ assessment committee. The committee:

• is chaired by a Head of Commission;
• is composed by an odd number of members;
• guarantees gender equality;
• its members are in office for three years.

2 The Commission can be supported by external members if specific competences are deemed useful in light of the project being assessed.

3 The technical support to the project proposals, as set forth in point 3 of these Guidelines, shall involve the Administrative Areas of the University that are deemed most suitable for the specific needs of the various proposals.

7 - Project Feasibility Check

1 The feasibility of the project proposals is assessed by the competent offices of Ca' Foscari University of Venice. The impact on the university community and the financial sustainability/technical feasibility will be assessed.

2 Decisions on whether a proposal is "Accepted" or "Declined" will be justified in writing. The outcome of submissions will be communicated to the relevant project contact persons and then made publicly available on the “Partecipa Ca' Foscari” platform.

3 Project proposals that are marked as "Accepted" acquire the status of "projects" and begin their administrative implementation phase.

8 - Implementation of projects

1 Ca' Foscari University Venice, through the competent offices, shall generally start the implementation of the Accepted projects in the first upcoming year.

2 The timetable for the implementation of the projects shall in any case be defined by the Administration of the University in compliance with the regulations in force.

3 The University can invite its community to take part in the implementation of the projects through the creation of participatory workshops, i.e. events where people wishing to participate meet and work together.

4 People in charge of the participatory process will regularly update platform users about the progress of the projects and will issue an annual progress report.

5 Special signs will indicate that implemented projects were carried out with the participation of the University community within the framework of "Partecipa Ca' Foscari".

6 If a project cannot come to its natural conclusion for any objective reason, the University reserves the right to interrupt that project and allocate any remaining funds to other selected projects.

9 - Online Platform

The online platform is available at: https://partecipa.unive.it/

On the online platform you can:

• find useful information about “Partecipa Ca’ Foscari” and download the Guidelines;
• submit a project proposal;
• comment and exchange ideas about submitted proposals;
• support or comment on the proposals;
• vote your favourite proposals;
• follow the implementation of approved projects;
• apply for the participatory workshops.

10 - Timeline

The participatory process will develop as follows:

Phase 1: Project proposals are designed and collected through the platform.

Phase 2: Platform users vote for their favourite projects among those submitted in Phase 1.

Phase 3: Ca’ Foscari administrative offices check the feasibility of the submitted projects.

Phase 4: Accepted proposals are announced, and the timeline of their implementation is set out.

Phase 5: Project implementation begins.

11 - Final provisions and disclaimer of liability of the University

1 Ca' Foscari University of Venice reserves the unquestionable right to change the dates, to interrupt, modify and even cancel - in whole or in part - the object of these Guidelines, at any time and without any prior notice (for example, if participation in Phase 1 is too low).

2 The assessment as to whether participation is too low is at the discretion of the University. In this case, the University will assume no responsibility and participants will not hold any claim against it.