With more than forty members from different EU member states, Lifelong Learning Platform (LLLP) has become a prominent organisation in Brussels. The goal of the platform is straight-forward: to improve the European education and training landscape and stimulate opportunities for lifelong learning. The organisation strives to connect people of all ages and represents the interests of its members within the European Union. Andrei Frank, Policy and Advocacy Manager at LLLP, shares his experiences with political monitoring and explains how Polpo’s European monitor comes into play.
A Life Long of Learning
Due to its interdisciplinary nature, LLLP closely monitors many different themes within the EU. There are key policy areas, such as education, employment, and social affairs, that often overlap with each other. Andrei explains: “At LLLP, we’re particularly interested in finding the interconnections between these themes. With Polpo, we can map out all these EU policy areas and stay informed about the latest policy developments.”
From Insight to Impact
“Political monitoring helps us coordinate information effectively among both colleagues and members. By staying up to date with political processes and developments, we know when and where to collaborate efficiently.” These insights also help Andrei identify trends within the sector, supporting the mission of LLLP.
Andrei remarks: “Political monitoring is a balancing act between following the flow, understanding what is being discussed and how it is being discussed. This way, we know exactly what we can contribute to potential policies.” Monitoring also helps LLLP identify opportunities for influence within the European Union and its various institutions. It shows where advocacy can be effective and where it might not be. This way, policies and actions can be fine-tuned to ensure that all learners have access to quality and equitable education and training.
“With Polpo, we can easily stay on top of all our topics and follow what is happening within both the European Commission and the Parliament.” Manually tracking these diverse issues is a demanding task for LLLP, as information is often scattered across numerous sources and lacks clear connections between related themes. In addition, EU policymaking involves extensive and complex documentation. Yet, staying immediately informed about new developments is essential for effective advocacy. By bringing all this information together in one place, Polpo makes monitoring more efficient.
Enhancing monitoring through synergy and efficiency
Polpo bundles all relevant information for Andrei and his team, allowing them to use their time more efficiently. “Information from European documents is presented in a clear and structured way. This way, synergies between themes become visible and relevant stakeholders are mapped out. This gives us a quick, simple, and transparent overview.” Especially in the context of the EU, where the speed of information is quite demanding, Polpo advances Andrei by ensuring he is the first to know relevant updates. For example, with Polpo’s bookmarking feature, you can quickly find the relevant sections within documents. Since all sources are easily traceable, you can quickly adapt accordingly.
“While the interpretation of information remains a long-term challenge, Polpo helps keep everything organised,” Andrei emphasises. Thanks to Polpo’s newsletter feature, coordinating political monitoring has become much easier. It is a useful tool to improve both internal and external communication, making sure colleagues and stakeholders are always well informed.
Polpo Agent: AI summaries
In addition to the newsletter module, which provides a solid structure for internal and external communication, the newest Polpo features are also very helpful. Andrei elaborates: “The AI summaries make the information digestible. The importance of long pieces immediately becomes visible, which makes our advocacy work much more efficient.”
Thanks to AI summaries and smart functionalities, LLLP can react faster, identify interconnections and support their advocacy strategies with up-to-date information. This way, LLLP stays well-informed and can confidently pursue its mission.