The development project  "Regionales Berufsbildungszentrum Dortmund" [Dortmund Regional Vocational Training Centre] is being scientifically monitored on behalf of the Ministry of Schools and Education of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The role of scientific monitoring can be described in terms of three functions:

• Given the complexity of the project, independent observation and documentation of activities constitute a task in its own right – it can only be carried out in collaboration with the project office, the leaders of the quality circles and selected contact persons with regard to specific objectives.
• The evaluation of selected activities with regard to target indicators and the acceptance of those involved – this requires prior clarification of the indicators and the establishment of access to data collection.
• Advising and supporting the project management on issues of steering and in the selection of key areas of work.

These functions combine formative and summative elements of academic project support. The University of Cologne guarantees continuous support for the duration of the project, which is intended above all to enable ongoing publications on activities and experiences gained throughout the project period, including observations on changes over time.

• Report on activities in the first project year 2013/2014 from the perspective of the academic support team (German)
• Report on activities in the second project year 2014/2015 from the perspective of the academic support team (German)
• Report on activities in the third project year 2015/2016 from the perspective of the academic support team (German)
• Report on activities in the fourth project year 2016/2017 from the perspective of the academic support team (German; not published yet)
• Further development of the eight municipally-run vocational colleges into a regional vocational training centre ‘Acht plus’ – Final report on the development project 2012–2018 (German)

In terms of content, the various perspectives of the stakeholders address issues relating to organisation, educational administration and regional studies, the unifying core of which is vocational education and training as a specific link between parts of the education system and parts of the economic system. In this context, the project should not be approached primarily from a disciplinary perspective by the academic support team, but must instead incorporate various areas of expertise and situate them within the project context of vocational education and training. In this regard, ‘Dortmund-specific’ trends in regional vocational education and training and ‘Dortmund-specific’ challenges faced by the vocational colleges serve as representative examples of issues that are transferable to other regions. It is therefore the methodology and approach in the scientific sense that are significant here, rather than the specific conditions of the Dortmund region and the city’s vocational colleges. Consequently, the perspective of the scientific support is shaped both by the examination of the specific conditions in Dortmund and by the investigation of the typical and comparable characteristics associated with them.