Cooperation partnerships

1.   Eligible countries: as described in the Call document.

EU Member States take part in the Erasmus+ Programme. In addition, in accordance with article 16 of the Erasmus+ Regulation, the following third countries are associated to the programme (15 Subject to the signature of the Association Agreements between the European Union and those countries):

 - members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) which are members of the European Economic Area (EEA): Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein;

 - acceding countries, candidate countries and potential candidates: Republic of North Macedonia, Republic of Turkey and Republic of Serbia;

The EU Member States and the above mentioned third countries associated to the programme will be hereafter called “EU Member States and third countries associated to the Programme”.

In addition, in accordance with article 17 of the Regulation, entities from other third countries non-associated to the Programme can be eligible in Erasmus+ actions in duly justified cases and in the Union interest (hereafter called “third countries not associated to the Programme”).

2.   Eligibility and admissibility conditions: as described in the Call document.

ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS

Who can apply?

Any participating organisation established in an EU Member State or third country associated to the Programme can be the applicant. This organisation applies on behalf of all participating organisations involved in the project.

Which types of organisations are eligible to participate in the project?

Any public or private organisation, established in an EU Member State or third country associated to the Programme or in any third country not associated to the Programme of the world (see section “Eligible Countries” in Part A of this Guide) can participate in a Cooperation Partnership (Any higher education institution (HEI) established in a EU Member State or third country associated to the Programme and wanting to participate in a Cooperation Partnership must hold a valid Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE). An ECHE is not required for participating HEIs in third countries not associated to the Programme, but they will have to sign up to its principles. For the purpose of this Action, informal groups of young people are not to be considered as an organisation, and are therefore not eligible to participate (neither as applicants nor as partners). Organisations established in EU Member States and third countries associated to the Programme can either participate as the coordinator of the project or as a partner organisation.

Organisations in third countries not associated to the Programme cannot participate as project coordinators. Irrespective of the field impacted by the project, Cooperation Partnerships are open to any type of organisation active in any field of education, training, youth, sport or other socio-economic sectors as well as to organisations carrying out activities that are transversal to different fields (e.g. local, regional and national authorities, recognition and validation centres, chambers of commerce, trade organisations, guidance centres, cultural and sport organisations).

Depending on the priority and the objectives addressed by the project, Cooperation Partnerships should involve the most appropriate and diverse range of partners in order to benefit from their different experiences, profiles and specific expertise and to produce relevant and high quality project results.

Participation of associated partner organisations

In addition to the organisations formally participating in the project (the coordinator and partner organisations), Cooperation Partnerships may also involve other partners from the public or private sector that contribute to the implementation of specific project tasks/activities or support the promotion and sustainability of the project. Within an Erasmus+ project, these partners will be called “associated partners”. For eligibility and contractual management aspects they are not considered to be project partners, and they do not receive any funding from the Programme as part of the project. However, in order to understand their role within the partnership and have a global picture about the proposal, their involvement in the project and in the different activities needs to be clearly described.

Number and profile of participating organisations

A Cooperation Partnership is a transnational project and involves minimum three organisations from three different EU Member States and third countries associated to the Programme. There is no maximum number of participating organisations in one partnership. All participating organisations must be identified at the time of applying for a grant. As a general rule, Cooperation Partnerships target the cooperation between organisations established in EU Member States and third countries associated to the Programme. However, organisations from third countries not associated to the Programme can be involved as partners (not as applicants), if their participation brings an essential added value to the project and as long as the minimum participation from three organisations from three different EU Member States and third countries associated to the Programme is fulfilled.

Priorities addressed

To be considered for funding, Cooperation Partnerships must address either: at least one horizontal priority and/or at least one specific priority relevant to the field of education, training, youth and sport that is mostly impacted. For projects in the field of sport only one priority (horizontal or specific) can be addressed.

Venue of the activities

All the activities of a Cooperation Partnership must take place in the countries of the organisations participating in the project, either as full or as associated partners. In addition, if duly justified in relation to the objectives or implementation of the project: Activities can also take place at the seat of an Institution of the European Union (Seats of the Institutions of the European Union are Brussels, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Strasbourg, and The Hague), even if in the project there are no participating organisations from the country that hosts the Institution. Activities involving sharing and promotion of results can also take place at relevant thematic transnational events/conferences in Programme or third countries not associated to the Programme.

Duration of project

Between 12 and 36 months. The duration has to be chosen at application stage, based on the objectives of the project and on the type of activities planned over time. The duration of a Cooperation Partnership may be extended, upon justified request by the beneficiary and with the agreement of the National or Executive Agency, (provided that the total duration does not exceed 36 months). In such a case, the total grant will not change.

ADMISSIBILITY CONDITIONS

Applications must be sent no later than the deadline for submitting applications as indicated in the call.

- For actions managed by the Executive Agency, applications must be submitted electronically via the Funding & Tenders Portal Electronic Submission System: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/home. Applications (including annexes and supporting documents) must be submitted using the forms provided in the Submission System. Applications are limited to 40 pages for calls for low value grants (EUR 60 000 or below); and 70 for other calls. Evaluators will not consider any additional pages.

The applications must be readable and accessible.

Applications must be complete containing all parts and mandatory annexes. Only clerical errors can be corrected after the submission deadline upon request of the managing agency.

FUNDING RULES

The proposed funding model consists of a menu of 3 single lump sums, corresponding to the total grant amount for the project: 120 000 EUR, 250 000 EUR and 400 000 EUR. Applicants will choose between the 3 pre-defined amounts according to the activities they want to undertake and the results they want to achieve.

When planning their projects, the applicant organisations - together with their project partners - will need to choose the single lump sum amount more appropriate to cover the costs of their projects, based on their needs and objectives. If the project is selected for funding, the requested lump sum amount becomes the overall grant amount.

Proposals must describe the activities that applicants commit to carry out with the lump sum amount requested and must satisfy the principles of economy, efficiency and effectiveness.

The choice of the lump sum amount to be requested should be based on the applicant’s own estimate for the overall cost of the project. Starting from this estimate, applicants must choose the single lump sum amount that suits best their needs while ensuring an efficient use of the funds and the respect of the co-financing principle (i.e. project budgets are expected to be complemented with other funding sources, therefore the expected overall cost of the project shall be higher than the fixed lump sum amount requested).

In case of doubts between two amounts, applicants can: a) reduce the cost of their project, for instance by finding more cost-effective ways to achieve similar results or by adapting the number/scale of the project activities to the budget; b) increase the scale of their project, for instance by aiming to reaching more participants with their activities, increasing the number of activities or producing additional project outputs.

The adequacy of the number, scope and complexity of the proposed project activities to the amount requested, together with their relevance for the project objectives, will be important elements of the quality assessment, in line with the award criteria described above.

3.   Evaluation

Evaluation criteria, scoring, threshold and process are described in the Call document.

Relevance (maximum score 30 points)

The extent to which:

• the proposal is relevant for objectives and priorities of the Action. In addition the proposal will be considered as highly relevant if: it addresses the priority "inclusion and diversity";
• the profile, experience and activities of the participating organisations are relevant for the field of the application;
• the proposal is based on a genuine and adequate needs analysis;
• the proposal is suitable for creating synergies between different fields of education, training, youth and sport or it has potentially a strong impact on one or more of those fields;
• the proposal is innovative;
• the proposal is complementary to other initiatives already carried out by the participating organisations;
• the proposal brings added value at EU level through results that would not be attained by activities carried out in a single country.

Quality of the project design and implementation (maximum score 20 points)

The extent to which:

• the project objectives are clearly defined, realistic and address needs and goals of the participating organisations and the needs of their target groups;
• the proposed methodology is clear, adequate and feasible:
  • the project work plan is clear, complete and effective, including appropriate phases for preparation, implementation and sharing project results;
  • the project is cost-effective and allocates appropriate resources to each activity;
  • the project proposes appropriate quality control, monitoring and evaluation measures to ensure that the project implementation is of high quality, completed in time and on budget;
• the activities are designed in an accessible and inclusive way and are open to people with fewer opportunities.
• the project incorporates the use of digital tools and learning methods to complement their physical activities, and to improve the cooperation between partner organisations.
  • If Erasmus+ online platforms are available in the field(s) of the participating organisations: the extent to which the project makes use of Erasmus+ online platforms (School Education Gateway, eTwinning, EPALE, European Youth Portal, EU Youth Strategy Platform) as tools for preparation, implementation and follow-up of the project activities.
• The project is designed in an eco-friendly way and incorporates green practices in different project phases.

If the project plans training, teaching or learning activities:

• the extent to which these activities are appropriate for the project's objectives and involve the appropriate profile and number of participants;
• the quality of practical arrangements, management and support modalities in learning, teaching and training activities;
• the quality of arrangements for the recognition and validation of participants' learning outcomes, in line with European transparency and recognition tools and principles.

Quality of the partnership and the cooperation arrangements (maximum score 20 points)

The extent to which:

• the project involves an appropriate mix of participating organisations in terms of profile, including grassroots organisations, past experience in the Programme and expertise to successfully complete all project objectives;
• the project involves newcomers and less experienced organisations to the Action
• the proposed allocation of tasks demonstrates the commitment and active contribution of all participating organisations;
• the proposal includes effective mechanisms for coordination and communication between the participating organisations, as well as with other relevant stakeholders.
• If applicable, the extent to which the involvement of a participating organisation from a third country not associated to the Programme brings an essential added value to the project (if this condition is not fulfilled, the participating organisation from a third country not associated to the Programme will be excluded from the project proposal at assessment stage).

Impact (maximum score 30 points)

The extent to which:

• the project proposal includes concrete and logical steps to integrate the project results in the regular work of participating organisations;
• the project has the potential to positively impact its participants and participating organisations, as well as their wider communities;
• the expected project results have the potential to be used outside the organisations participating in the project during and after the project lifetime, and at local, regional, national or European level;
• the project proposal includes concrete and effective steps to make the results of the project known within the participating organisations, to share the results with other organisations and the public, and to publicly acknowledge the European Union funding;
• if relevant, the extent to which the proposal describes how the materials, documents and media produced will be made freely available and promoted through open licences, and does not contain disproportionate limitations;
• the project proposal includes concrete and effective steps to ensure the sustainability of the project, its capacity to continue having an impact and producing results after the EU grant has been used up.

To be considered for funding, proposals must score at least 60 points. Furthermore, they must score at least half of the maximum points in each of the categories of award criteria mentioned above (i.e. minimum 15 points for the categories "relevance of the project" and "impact"; 10 points for the categories "quality of the project design and implementation" and "quality of the partnership and the cooperation arrangements").

For Cooperation Partnerships managed by the Executive Agency, in ex aequo cases, priority will be given to highest scores for "relevance of the project" and then “impact”.
 

4.   Indicative timetable for evaluation and grant agreement: as described in the Call document.

Publication of the call:    November 24, 2021

Deadline for submitting applications:              March 23, 2022 17:00 (Brussels Time)

Indicative timeline for notification of the grant award decision and signature of the grant agreement:

The notification of the award decision will take place, indicatively, 6 months after the submission deadline and the signature of the grant agreement will take place, indicatively, 9 months from the submission deadline.