Following from the inaugural meeting of the project which took place on the January 2020, a process was set in motion to gather information and assess the current situation in the Baltic Region about the coaching development opportunities. This was facilitated by designing questionnaires which were distributed amongst each project partners` networks to cover broader segment thus obtaining a more objective insight.

In June, a meeting was organised in Valmiera, Latvia to assess the responses gathered from the designed questionnaires. A clear pain point emerged which showcased that coaches in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are keen to learn more and take their professional education further but given the lack of accessibility to such opportunities it was not possible which consequently resulted in decreased satisfaction level with the existing situation.

Such insights cemented the project partner belief that a centralised coaching network is required in order to gather the information systematically, allow it to be distributed in a more effective manner and cultivate the conversation and exchange of best practices between the coaches and functionaries. This topic led to multiple discussions at a July meeting in Elva, Estonia which fostered conversations about potential financial structure, exchange of information on the platform and the overall structure of the coaching network.

In July, considering the lessons learned from COVID-19 pandemic, a meeting was held in Liepaja, Latvia, where project partners unanimously agreed that in the light of minimised physical contact with fellow human beings, the gaps surrounding the key project topic was showcased explicitly thus accelerating the urge and need to create a platform which can act as an effective tool to communicate, learn and support the professional development of industry professionals around the Baltic States. Further on, partners exchanged views on content creation and its frequency, engagement between the users and content creators, more sophisticated and sustainable financial model and overall functionality of the platform.

Currently, the work towards providing a solution to the aforementioned problem is underway and various versions and functions of the platform are being tested in order to ensure that it can be presented to a wider audience. More updates to follow soon.