Logistic preparation
Where and when is it best to purchase the necessary materials?
If the project takes place in a large city, there is no major problem, because the materials and food for coffee breaks can be purchased at any time and only one person (preferably someone with a motorized vehicle) can be responsible for it: their task will be to monitor the stocks and, if necessary, refill them on a regular basis. However, the most important materials (those that won’t spoil) should be purchased in advance, e.g. via the Internet.
If the project takes place in a medium-sized city, we can behave in a similar way as the aforementioned. However, remember that we will have to order some equipment or materials via the Internet in advance (preferably to the address of the center, after a prior arrangement with the manager), because you will not always find a suitable shop or company in a given city which has all the things that we may need.
If the project takes place in a small town or outside the city, where the only larger shop is located several kilometers away, then you must prepare a list of everything very carefully, even the smallest purchases, at least 2 weeks before the project. It is very important that all workshop materials are ordered in time so that they are in place when they are needed. In this case, we recommend ordering materials, especially those with larger dimensions, to the address of the center. If you decide on a project in such a place, you should definitely have someone among the organizers who owns a car and may be responsible for stocking up every now and then. Another option is to “get along” with your local store to order the products you need from your supplier, which you will undertake to buy from them. This is especially important in the context of shopping for coffee breaks – we have to supply milk, fruits or other snacks on a regular basis.
What materials to buy? (What is obligatory and what is additional?)
The types of materials we buy depend largely on the topic of the project, so it is difficult for us to advise anything. However, here is a list of things without which we cannot imagine any project:
- flipcharts,
- A4 color sheets,
- photocopying (plain white A4) paper,
- post-it notes,
- pens,
- pencils,
- folders for documents,
- tape (normal and painting one),
- colored markers,
- scissors.
We recommend that you have access to a printer, if possible. If you don’t have it, it is worth considering the option of borrowing it or to cooperate with the center. It often turns out to be beneficial – when printouts are needed “right now” – and allows you to save some money that you would have to spend on printing services.
You can also finance promotional gadgets from the project money, such as: badges, promotional banners, roll-ups, stickers with the project logo or other that come to your mind and correspond to the topic of the project or may contribute to a better-quality visual identification of the project. It should be noted that they should contain logos of partner organizations, your logos, but also information about the co-financing of subjects from the European Union and the Erasmus+ Program.