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© Proceedings of the Ruhuna Quality Assurance Sessions 2021 (RUQAS 2021)
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21 September 2021

more than three responses under the criteria “needs improvement”. Moreover, the balance between
project monitoring and control activities and the administrative burden on partners is rated under

“needs improvement” according to results. However, this criterion did not receive a particularly low

score in the average performance assessment, suggesting that the view that it needs improvement is not
widely held. Furthermore, there was a response that assesses the project performance is poor with

regard to the effectiveness of project events and activities. From further comments, it was understood
that this assessment relates to the quality reduction in events as a consequence of all events being

online due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Annual project reporting from each partner shows that all work
packages have commenced, substantial progress has been achieved, have been completed, or are

proceeding accordingly. Therefore, amidst the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the project can be

considered to be proceeding well in most of the areas. The absence of studies in laboratories and
fieldwork can be a possible reason for low impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on project activities.

Figure 1: Comparison chart of meeting evaluations

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Except for the kick-off meeting, the 2 and 3 steering committee meetings of the project were held
using online platforms. Figure 1 shows a comparison of the average evaluations from each of the 3

meetings held during the first year. Further, it depicts that evaluation levels for most of the criteria
have decreased with time. Furthermore, results from the participants’ evaluations show that quality

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indicators of 2 and 3 steering committee meetings were not highly evaluated as much as the kick-
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off meeting. The decline in participants’ satisfaction from the 2 to 3 meeting as shown in Figure 1
was reflected by comments from participants as well. For instance, participants pointed out that having
to do increasingly complex and interconnected project operations solely online is a major reason for
the growing dissatisfaction. Furthermore, reduction in participants’ tolerance for technical glitches and

sub-optimal use of online communication platforms have been highlighted as a severe problem since
several issues arose during online meetings such as unclear sounds, repetition of contents, and

disturbances caused by unmuted microphones. According to the results, three areas were highlighted

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