Thematic newsletters, RSS feeds, browsers: let’s find out the systems for keeping up to date with the latest news on europlanning from official sites.
An aid to getting up to speed
Many of our posts constitute an update on the main news in the field of europlanning, others provide tips on how to keep up to date through documents and multimedia content .
We recommend regular consultation not only of our Guide, but also of the main reference sites. However, there can be many sites to consult and limited time. Fortunately, some systems make it easier to bring the freshest and most important information to our attention.
Let’s find out together which ones.
Simple technical solutions
First of all, as we have already mentioned in a our previous post on this topic, special features of popular browsers can be used. Appropriate Firefox and Chrome add-ons such as. Update Scanner e Page Monitor , allow you to quickly and easily check if and what updates have been made to a web page.
By enabling this feature on certain key pages, such as the “Funding & Tenders” portal calls search page (like many others mentioned in our Guide) it is possible to view immediately and with some regularity everything that has been posted on the page since our last visit.
How does it work? Simply install an appropriate extension or add-on component, using (for the two mentioned above) the respective links. You can add web page addresses to be monitored and view updates through a simple interface.
RSS Feeds
RSS Feeds can be an additional (and in some ways, similar) updating system.
What is it all about? RSS is a specific format used for the dissemination of web content. Within RSS, site authors include anything that can be considered as a useful news and update, relative to a given web page. By using the RSS feed link on specific software that can read this format (RSS readers), it is then possible to regularly view news published on a website you wish to follow.
For example, this is the RSS Feed of the calls search page of the Funding & Tenders portal. . By copying and opening the link of this RSS Feed on an appropriate reader, you can regularly read what is new in the said portal. RSS Feed readers can collect many links and many pages, thus becoming useful “update binders” for regularly browsing through all the news from the sites of greatest interest quickly and easily.
Newsletter binders
Newsletters can be another very useful tool for receiving major news of interest directly to our inbox. The Europlanning Guide has also enhanced The use of the newsletter , which has become a true information and updating tool.
Newsletters are not only about websites but are a communication tool used by almost every organization in the world, from the largest to the smallest. For those involved in europlanning, it is very important to be subscribed to the newsletters most relevant to their field of activity, paying attention to both the thematic dimension (such as we have said here , a Europlanner needs to “cultivate” specific areas of interest) as well as the geographic dimension (it is important to know the main news at the European, national and local levels).
It is not possible here to range over all thematic and geographic areas, but there are a number of “newsletter binders” from community institutions that provide an excellent starting point for getting information on what is happening in Europe (on projects, but not only) in different areas.
Starting from this link it is possible to subscribe to the newsletters of the main DGs of the European Commission and other EU institutions (Council, Agencies and other institutions). The page also includes references for subscribing to the relevant RSS feeds, which we discussed above.
Starting from this link it is possible to view newsletters from different European Commission departments (DGs, agencies, but also subject areas or specific topics), register and arrange to receive them (or not) through a single interface. To do so, one must use EU login or, even more simply, request a temporary login link linked to one’s e-mail address, which can be directly activated from one’s mailbox.
The amount of sectoral and thematic newsletters offered is truly remarkable, particularly through the second link, which is a true registration platform for the European Commission’s newsletters. The sectors, sub-sectors and topics covered by the service take up everything that may be of interest to a Europrojector or expert on European issues in any field.
Many tools, many ideas, many projects
There is certainly no shortage of tools for finding information and circulating news and ideas. We hope that these tools and advice will help to bring quality projects to life in our areas. Happy update and happy europlanning to all!
