# Presentation: 131345

## Model Projects

**Notes:**
Model Projects were first introduced into the TC Programme in 1994, well before the formulation of the full New Strategy for Technical Cooperation.

Model Projects thus led the way for the New Strategy, and, as seen in the previous section, are still perhaps the most important component.

What Model Projects are and their purpose will be discussed in detail in this section.    

The “End User” of transferred technology is an important idea in the Model Project approach.    End Users are defined and discussed in this section.

Ultimately, the goal of the New Strategy is that all, or essentially all, TC projects will have the basic characteristics of Model Projects.    It follows, that Member States should have the general characteristics of Model Projects clearly in mind even in the very early stages of project selection and formulation.

To assist in this, a checklist  based on both Model Projects and the New Strategy has been developed for use in the early project development, screening and selection phase.    This checklist is presented in this section and its use is illustrated.   

## Model Projects

- What is a Model Project?
- 	How can we recognize a “model” project?

- What is the purpose of having “Model Projects?”

**Notes:**

The section starts with consideration of  the two most basic questions about Model Projects.

## What is the purpose of having Model Projects?

- 1.		To provide examples of  the type of project the IAEA encourages
-   For this purpose there are Model Projects in virtually all technical areas
- 2.		To provide practical examples for Member States and IAEA staff
-   More than 120 Model Projects exist in an effort to give all Member States and all relevant staff opportunities to develop or participate in a project of the type being encouraged

**Notes:**

Model Projects were introduced in 1994, as the very first indication of the change in emphasis that was beginning.    Only 12 were introduced during that first year and nearly that many again in 1995.    These projects provided specific examples of the type of projects the new approach would emphasize.   They therefore served to illustrate how projects could address problems or opportunities in a wide variety of technical areas and achieve social and economic benefits, or impact.

Later, examples were needed for another purpose.    By 1997 the concept of  a Model Project was clear, but many individuals in Member States and within the Agency needed a chance to actually work with one first hand.    For this purpose many models were needed.    

By 1999 more than 120 Model Projects had been approved, including at least one in nearly two thirds of all developing Member States.   

## What is a Model Project?

- Two important forms of definition:
- 		1.  Concept is defined by:  “Criteria for    		      Model Projects”
- 		2.   Definition by example is provided by over 	      120 Model Projects approved and being 		       implemented
- Both are considered in this Section

**Notes:**

There are two important components of every definition.

The first is the more formal part - the definition itself.

The second is, in effect, an elaboration of the formal definition by way of examples.     Dictionaries, for instance, provide formal definitions of words and then illustrate the definition with several brief examples of usage.     

Both are very important for understanding what is being defined.    Both are considered in this section.

## Model Project Criteria	

- Respond to a real need or opportunity of a Member State
- Have the potential to produce significant economic or social impact through the end user
- Utilize distinct advantages of nuclear technology
- Attract strong Government commitment

**Notes:**

Model Projects are formally defined by these four criteria.      

Ideally, all Model Projects should meet all four criteria.   

Each of these criteria will be discussed in detail.

## Model Project Criteria	

- Respond to a real need or opportunity of a Member State
- Have the potential to produce significant economic or social impact through the end user
- Utilize distinct advantages of nuclear technology
- Attract strong Government commitment

**Notes:**

The highlighted portions of the criteria are most important and are emphasized in the discussion.

## “real need or opportunity”

- “real” is meant to indicate an “important” or “significant” need or opportunity
- Recognize that there are various degrees of needs and opportunities
- The question of which are the *most* important or significant is a matter of priority to be determined by the Member State

**Notes:**
All needs are real, and virtually all projects are “good”  in the sense of being useful. 

Model Projects address the most important or most significant of a Member State’s development needs, and in this first criteria the word “real” is used in this sense.

Which needs are the most important or significant is a matter of judgement or preference.    That judgement is the prerogative of the Member State.     In many cases, the Member State’s judgement may be influenced by the Agency’s experience with the new technology involved.    Thus a State might be cautioned that while a given technology may indeed address an important need, it is premature to introduce it into the country at this time.      Additional basic infrastructure might, for example, be required.    Nonetheless, the decision as to which activities are most and least important at a given time is the Member States decision.

All projects of potential interest to a Member State should be discussed together in the context of a Country Programme Framework.    It is only when the entire Country Programme is discussed that matters of priority can properly  be discussed.

## “the potential to produce significant social or economic impact”

- To “produce significant social or economic impact” means to produce results which are used and which benefit people in ways which can be demonstrated and counted
- “the potential to ..... impact” means projects for which specific applications are planned and for which impact is expected

**Notes:**
It is important to emphasize that the “potential” of a proposed project to produce significant social or economic impact is not to be left to chance.

All proposed projects no doubt have the potential to produce good results.    Otherwise they would not be proposed.

Often, however, a project is proposed with the expectation,  or even the assumption, that the results will be applied and used repeatedly, and thereby producing real benefits. But this rarely happens automatically.   Someone must make it happen.    The application must be planned and managed.

The situation is very much like that faced by a new business.   One can start a business on the basis of an expectation that people will buy the products offered.    Many, many  new businesses fail because this expectation is not met.   The investment in a business, or in a project, should not be done without a solid “market survey”  to be sure there is a demand for the products offered or the results produced, and a specific plan to reach that market with the product.

In a Model Project, the application or use of the results of a proposed project have been fully considered and planned, at least in principle, from the very beginning.    Application, and therefore impact,  is not left to chance.    It is a matter of  carrying out the plan.

## “..impact through the end user”

- What or who is the “End User?”
- The person or organization that applies the technology transferred by the project and thereby achieves the “impact”
- The person or organization that is both technically competent to apply the technology and technically responsible for safe and proper use of the technology

**Notes:**

The reader should take special note of the fact that this is an definition.    
This is the meaning of the term End User as it is used by the IAEA’s Department of Technical Cooperation.     

In  some other circumstance or general usage, the term end user might have a different meaning, but in the context of the TC Programme, the New Strategy and Model Projects, it is this definition that applies.

A project or programme only achieves impact through repeated application or use.     It is the End User who organizes and implements this repeated use of the technology for the benefit of many others.   

TC projects often involve technologies which can be harmful  if not  used appropriately and safely.    It is the End User who ensures that the technology is properly and safely used.   

A few slides further on  examples of specific types of projects are shown and the End User is identified.     In these examples the critical difference between the End User of the technology and the ultimate beneficiaries of the End User applying the technology is examined.

## End Use

-   Identification of the end use or application of the technology being transferred through a project will often help identify the End User

**Notes:**

This is sometimes helpful if identifying the End User seems to be difficult.

First identify the end use - the application that is planned  for the technology.    

Then apply the definition from the previous slide.

## Example of an End User

- Project establishes a radiotherapy centre
- End User is the clinic or hospital which provides the therapy treatment to patients
- The clinic or hospital *uses*, or applies, radiation technology to benefit cancer patients
- The patients are the *beneficiaries* of the project

**Notes:**

Note again that both of the defining criteria for an End User (two slides previous) apply to the clinic or hospital, and that neither of these criteria apply to the patients treated.

Patients do not “use,” or apply,  the radiation technology.   Patients do not prescribe radiation doses or set the controls of the equipment.    Patients, rather, receive the benefits of the technology and it is the vast numbers of them that so benefit from one centre taken together that constitutes the impact of the project.

A similar example would be a project which establishes a radiation facility for retarding food spoilage or for sterilizing medical products.    The End User of the technology, would be the operator of the facility.       Clients buy the services of such a facility and thereby benefit.     But such clients have no connection with the technology per se.    Food can be preserved and products can be sterilized by other means  - to the client the effect is the same.

## Example of an End User

- Project transfers electron beam technology which is used to purify flue gases from a coal-fired power plant
- End User is the utility which operates the power plant and which is responsible for emissions from the plant and appropriate radiation protection
- The ultimate beneficiary of the project is the general public which breathes clean air

**Notes:**

Similar comments apply for this example.

It would make no sense to speak of the general public, some of whom may be entirely unaware of how their power is produced, as the end user of  this technology.

## “Utilizes distinct advantages of nuclear technology”

- Does the technology transferred through the IAEA provide a distinct advantage over other technologies in addressing the need or opportunity?
- If other technologies are available and more effective or cost effective - they should be used instead

**Notes:**
Nuclear technology  provides a distinct advantage over other more conventional technologies for some applications.

Model Projects are projects which have been selected precisely to take advantage of such situations. 

If nuclear technology does not provide the best technical approach to a particular problem, not only would the project not be a Model Project, it should not be a  TC project at all.

Note that this particular Model Project criteria should be qualified.    Most projects apply a particular nuclear technology to solve a problem.    Most, but not all.     The regulatory and safety aspects of the use of nuclear technology are very important and many projects, including Model Projects, have to do with regulatory and safety matters.    Nuclear technology per se is not used directly in such projects, but nuclear technology is directly related to these projects.

In view of this, some may prefer to restate this criteria as follows:
“Utilizes, or is directly related to, the distinct advantages of nuclear technology.”

## Strong Government Commitment

- Strong Government commitment to a project is usually expressed in terms of 		Money,
- 		Staff positions,
- 		Physical space or facilities
- Key is that support is provided for project activities - not just salaries, space and budget already in place

**Notes:**
Model Projects are intended to produce impact.

Significant impact is generally only achieved over  a considerable length of time  during which the technology transferred through the project is applied over and over again.

In order to achieve such cumulative impact over time, the project must be sustained, that is it must remain vital even after direct support from the IAEA is ended.

This absolutely requires strong Government support.    

## Model Projects in Practice

- “Information Sheets”  providing detailed descriptions of 13 Model Projects, and short descriptions and budget allocations for all approved Model Projects are available for review either as reference materials for this Handbook or in the Additional Information section under Model Projects on the main page of the internet site for this Handbook.

**Notes:**
It was said earlier that, as with words in a dictionary, the formal definition of Model Projects is further elaborated through examples of real Model Projects.

The Information Sheets referred to are approximately 5 pages in length, and so provide a fairly detailed description of some of the early Model Projects, with particular emphasis on how they meet the Model Project criteria.   Information sheets for thirteen (13) Model Projects are provided as reference materials for this Handbook, or can be downloaded from the internet site for this Handbook.   Additional information on the present status of these projects, which have been in the implementation stage for several years, can be obtained through the appropriate Area Office in the Department of Technical Cooperation.

Brief descriptions of the more than 100 other Model Projects can be found in the  Project Summaries documents available to all Member States for the Programme years 1995-1996, 1997-1998 and 1999-2000.   More detailed information on these projects be obtained through the Area Offices in the Department of Technical Cooperation.

## From Model Projects to Good Projects

-   The ultimate goal of the New Strategy is that all TC projects would have the characteristics of Model Projects
-   A checklist has been developed based on Model Projects and the New Strategy which can be used during the early project screening and development phase to ensure a good project

**Notes:**
How can the criteria for Model Projects, and the philosophy and main elements of the New Strategy  be applied early in the process of selecting and formulating new projects?

To at least help with this process, a checklist consisting of 10 questions has been developed for use in the early stages of project formulation and selection.    This checklist  will be reviewed, and two examples discussed in detail.    In these examples, the answers to the checklist questions for two particular (actual) Model Projects are provided.    However, for maximum benefit from the exercise, the reader is asked to answer  the questions for at least one of these projects  independently before comparing them with answers provided.

It is not realistic to expect that  full, detailed and appropriate answers will be possible for all - or even most - proposed projects.    Nonetheless, projects for which most of the questions can be answered in a positive manner are certainly most likely to be the best projects.

## TC Project Screening Checklist -

- 1.	     What is the problem, need or opportunity?
- 2.     What priority does the institute or the Government assign to this problem, need  or opportunity, and what information is this based on?

**Notes:**

No doubt the most important step in developing projects which will bring real benefits to people is to identify important problems, needs or opportunities.   This question should always come first.

Second, the problem, need or opportunity must be seen as important not only to the person proposing the project but also the Government of the Member State concerned.      Selecting projects which address problems, needs or opportunities which are high on the Government’s priority list is the second most important question to ask as early as possible in the process of project development.

## TC Project Screening Checklist -

- 3.     What part of the problem, need or opportunity would the proposed project address?
- 4.     What would be the immediate result of the project itself?

**Notes:**
The New Strategy emphasizes the value of addressing real development problems, needs or opportunities to achieve impact through projects.  

It is not often, however, that a TC project can, by itself, completely solve a national problem or take full advantage of a major national opportunity.

In most cases, a national project will also be required.

Recall that the very best use of TC projects is to “remove constraints”  in national projects or programmes.    In such cases,  nuclear technology allows a national programme which is in some way stymied or seriously delayed to move forward again.    Question 3 is intended to identify the critical part in the national project or overall development problem that the project would address.

Question 4 is much more specific.    The immediate result of a project might, for example, be that a functioning analytical laboratory complete with appropriately trained staff, is established.       Question 5 is directly related to Question 4.

## TC Project Screening Checklist -

- 5.     Assuming success, what would the impact of the project be on the overall problem/ need/opportunity?
- 6.     What data or estimates support these impact projections?

**Notes:**
The “immediate results”  of a project must then be applied, or used, to achieve the intended impact.     Question 5 addresses this point.    Assuming that the immediate results are achieved  and applied what would the impact be on the broader problem or need addressed by the national programme?

Question 6 simply asks “how do you know?”     What solid data or information do you have to support the claim made in the answer to Question 5.   

## TC Project Screening Checklist -

- 7.     Would the proposed project be supported by the institute/Government?    If so, to what extent?

**Notes:**
The question is obviously one that must be considered.

Note that the second part of the question is critical.

It is very often the case that a Government is willing to support a proposed project by continuing to pay the salary of the staff and to provide the facilities which are already in place.     This is the weakest form of “Government support or commitment.”

The more important considerations are, for example:   
If key project personnel leave, would they be replaced?    Or would the 		Government be just as likely to use the funds elsewhere?
Would the Government be willing to hire new staff to support the added work of 	this project?
Would the Government be willing to provide additional operating funds for the 	activities of the project?

## TC Project Screening Checklist -

- 8.     Would the nuclear technologies available through the IAEA be the best means available to achieve the goal of the project?
- 9.     Who would be the “end user” in the proposed project, i.e. the person or body who would ultimately apply the technology to bring about social or economic impact?

**Notes:**

In  order to answer Question 8, one must consider at least the major alternative technologies that might be used.    A Member State should avoid using the limited  resources available through the Agency for projects that could more effectively and efficiently be accomplished by other means.

It is very important to identify the End User before a project is begun.    This is because an implied extension of Question 9 is:   is the proposed End User qualified to apply this sometimes hazardous technology  to achieve the desired impact?

If the End User of the technology to be transferred and the necessary qualifications to effectively and safely  apply that technology are not clear, the project should not be pursued.

## TC Project Screening Checklist - Early Planning Stage

- 10.     Is there - or is it expected that there might be - interest in this project in international development agencies or international institutes currently operating in the country?    What agencies or institutes?     What information indicates possible interest?

**Notes:**

As discussed in the section of this Handbook on the New Strategy, the shift in emphasis in the TC Programme from technology transfer to solving problems means that the IAEA and major development agencies now have overlapping goals and interests.

This means that it may be possible to drawn on the resources of these major development agencies, which are usually much larger than the resources available to the IAEA, to support the sustained application of the TC project.

This possibility must be examined as early as possible in the process, and this is the point of this last question.

## Application of the Checklist to a Model Project

- An Information Sheet is available on the Model Project GHA/6 /009, National Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine Network in Ghana
- Review the Information Sheet and complete the Checklist for this project.
- Compare your results with the answers provided on the next several screens

## TC Project Screening Checklist - (National Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine Network in Ghana)

- 1.     What is the problem/need/opportunity? What information/data is available regarding the scope of the problem?
*	**High incidence of cancer and extremely limited facilities for diagnosis and treatment, especially among the public hospitals.  Particularly true with regard to cancers that affect women.  Ghana has a population of 14.3 million and no public facilities for radiotherapy.*

**Notes:**

Clearly, more data on the nature and scope of the problem would be useful.

This might include quantitative information on the number of current cancer patients, the number of new patients annually, and recent trends.

Nonetheless, the basic point is made here that  with a population of over 14 million and no treatment facilities, the problem is real and substantial.

## TC Project Screening Checklist - (National Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine Network in Ghana)

- 2.     What priority does the institute/Government assign to this problem/need/opportunity, and what information is this based on?
*	**Government has identified establishment of public facilities for detection and treatment of cancer, especially among women, as a high priority.  Facilities established could also serve neighboring countries such as Togo,   Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso.  Government as established a national steering committee with the President’s wife as Chairperson.*

**Notes:**

The information given is again less complete than might be useful, but the evidence for real, high level Government interest and commitment is still significant   -   particularly for the early planning stage of a project.

## TC Project Screening Checklist - (National Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine Network in Ghana)

- 3.     What part of the problem/need/opportunity would the proposed project address?
*	**Proposed project would establish nuclear medicine and radiotherapy (brachytherapy and teletherapy) treatment facilities at three hospitals, one in the capital Accra, one in the second largest urban center, Kumasi, and the third in city in the north of the country, Tamale.     Facilities would serve at least most of the population of the country.*

**Notes:**
In  order to have a truly effective national cancer programme, it will be necessary for the country to put a serious effort not only into treatment but also, and in fact more importantly, into early diagnosis and prevention.

Unless a companion  effort focused on early diagnosis is established, many and possibly most cancer cases will not be diagnosed until the disease is well advanced and the chances of effecting a cure are low.      Even in such cases, the therapy  facility is useful since palliative care is a very important aspect of the quality of life of any patient.

The point is that the treatment facility only addresses part of the problem, but that part is well addressed in this plan.

## TC Project Screening Checklist - (National Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine Network in Ghana)

- 4.     What would be the immediate result of the project itself?
-    *A functioning therapy facility, with trained personnel, treatment protocols, quality assurance and appropriate radiation protection would be established.*
*	*

**Notes:**
It should be noted that this is a major project that will take several years to complete.

Training of a fully qualified medical doctor, for example, in the specialty of radiotherapy  can require as much as four years in a modern teaching hospital.    

Nonetheless, when the project is completed this will be the immediate result.

Note the significance here of the word immediate.    When the project is complete and everything is in place, how many patients have been treated?    How much impact has been achieved?     So far, it’s still all potential.

## TC Project Screening Checklist - (National Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine Network in Ghana)

- 5.     Assuming success, what would be the impact of the project on the overall problem/need/opportunity?
*	**Treatment would be available for thousands of patients every year.  In many cases the effect would be limited to palliation because of the lack of a programme of early detection.     In addition to the direct health effects, the facilities would give a boost to public morale and stability, and provide a highly visible example of the peaceful uses of nuclear technology.*
*   *

**Notes:**
Impact follows from putting the facility into service  -  along with all of the other medical services that are also necessary in treating cancer.    These include laboratories, surgical capabilities and even other treatment modalities such as chemotherapy.     Radiotherapy is not usually applied alone.

The real, full impact of the project will actually not be known for perhaps 10 years.     But in this case, and in most cases dealing with human health, very reasonable estimates of expected impact can be made.

## TC Project Screening Checklist - (National Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine Network in Ghana)

- 6.     What data or estimates support these impact projections?
*No estimates are available on the percentage of cancer cases that could be treated.*

**Notes:**

This was the actual situation when this project was proposed.  

Obviously, more complete information would be much better.  

## TC Project Screening Checklist - Early Planning Stage(National Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine Network in Ghana)

- 7.   Would the proposed project be supported by the institution/Government?  If so, to what extent?
*	**The Government will provide suitable infrastructure (building space, constructed if necessary)  Government will provide normal operating costs and establish a (graduated) fee structure to sustain the services after IAEA assistance ends.  Government will identify candidates suitable for advanced training as radiotherapists, medical physicists, radiation technologists, etc.*

**Notes:**

This is a very good indication of serious Government commitment to the project.

## TC Project Screening Checklist - (National Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine Network in Ghana)

- 8.     Would the nuclear technologies available through the IAEA be the best means available to achieve the goal of the project?
*	**Radiotherapy is clearly one of the essential means of cancer treatment.  No other international organization supports the purchase of radiotherapy equipment or the related nuclear medicine facilities and capabilities needed.*

**Notes:**

In this case the answer is easy.    It is not always so.

## TC Project Screening Checklist - (National Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine Network in Ghana)

- 9.     Who would be the “end user” in the proposed project, I.e. the person or body who would ultimately apply the technology to bring about social or economic impact?
*	**End User would be the three hospitals.  Technology (equipment, professional training, and expert services) would be provided to the three hospitals.  The result of the project would be operating facilities and trained personnel.  This result would immediately be applied by the hospitals by treating patients on a daily basis.*

**Notes:**

See slide number 11 in this section for discussion.

## TC Project Screening Checklist - (National Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine Network in Ghana)

- 10.     Is there - or is it expected that there might be - interest in this project in international development agencies or international institutes currently operating in the country?  What agencies or institutes?  What information indicates possible interest?
*	**WHO provides assistance in establishing early detection programmes, education programmes, cancer registries, etc.      Collaboration would be expected.*

**Notes:**
In  fact, major development agencies focus their support in the area of human health on primary health care.    This is because many more lives can be improved or saved by spending a given amount of money on primary care rather than on radiotherapy.

Therefore, the prospects of getting additional support from another development agency is quite limited in this case.

The IAEA is essentially the only major international organization providing substantive support in radiotherapy.

## Other examples of working with the Screening Checklist

- It is suggested that the Information Sheets for the projects ARG/5/005, Fruit Fly Eradication in the South Region, and/or URU/6/022, Early Diagnosis of Congenital Diseases in Children, be reviewed now
- Complete the Screening Checklist for these projects and compare answers with the completed checklists provided

**Notes:**
Completed Screening Checklists 

    ARG/5/005 
    GHA/6/009 
    URU/6/022 

## Using Model Projects as models	

- It is strongly recommended that counterparts:
- Thoroughly familiarize themselves with the existing Model Projects
- Mentally compare new project ideas and proposals to these models
- Review new project ideas and proposals using the Project Screening Checklist

## Summary

- Model Projects lead the way for the New Strategy for Technical Cooperation and are its most important component
- The ultimate goal of the New Strategy is that all, or essentially all, TC projects will have the basic characteristics of Model Projects