Do Donot
Do Donot
Do Donot
Applicants
Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education in
Erasmus+
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Examples of an Intellectual Output .................................................................... 13
Results that are not considered Intellectual Outputs .................................. 13
Important hints .......................................................................................................... 13
Multiplier Events......................................................................................................... 14
Learning/teaching/training activities ................................................................. 15
Exceptional costs ....................................................................................................... 15
Special needs support .............................................................................................. 15
Proportionality of activities and budget ................................................................ 16
Explanations for optimal use of e-form ................................................................ 16
Important hints .......................................................................................................... 16
Contact Information of your National Agency ................................................ 17
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KA2 Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education – Do’s and
Don’ts
This document has been created in order to give applicants in the area of
Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships for Higher Education some tips for the
successful submission of their project proposal. It has been developed by a
working group of nine National Agencies for Erasmus+ (Archimedes Foundation
Estonia, CIMO Finland, Agence Erasmus+ France/Education Formation, NA DAAD
Germany, Erasmus+ National Agency/INDIRE Italy, NA Erasmus+/ EP NUFFIC
Netherlands, Foundation for the Development of the Education System Poland,
OAPEE Spain, British Council United Kingdom). The document is considered as an
additional help to check if your application is well-written but does by no means
replace the official documents provided by the EU-Commission such as the EU
Call 2015 and the Programme Guide 2015. We strongly advise to carefully read
all relevant documents (see section ‘Where to find the relevant documents’).
Please note: A Strategic Partnership is a new action within the field of Higher
Education. Make sure your project really fits the goals and priorities of Strategic
Partnerships. Do not use ‘old’ action types of LLP. A Strategic Partnership is
neither an Intensive Programme nor two or three Intensive Programmes
combined in one project nor the running of a Erasmus Mundus Programme, or a
Thematic Network. Do not confuse Strategic Partnerships with other actions in
Erasmus+. For example, a project focused on individual mobility can only be
funded within Erasmus+ KA1.
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be achieved by a single institution. The project must also be sustainable and its
European added value has to be mentioned explicitly.
Important hints
Applicants should be realistic and demonstrate their ability to undertake such
projects. The subject should be clearly related to the priorities of Strategic
Partnerships and to the project aims.
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Policy reference documents
Before you start, please be aware that you need time to develop a project idea
for your Strategic Partnership. You need to contact suitable partners and make
cooperation arrangements with them and within your own institution. You and
your partners need enough time to write the proposal, read the documents and
fill in the e-form. Maybe you need permission within your institution to develop a
project and you will need support of other units in your own institution as well as
signatures from the president of your university.
Important hints
Make sure that all partners are involved in the preparation of the project (design,
development, writing, etc.). It is recommended not to finish the application at
the very last minute before the deadline. Also, make sure to let an external
person read your application to be as coherent as possible.
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Call 2015: deadline for Strategic Partnerships (KA2) 31.03.2015,
12:00h Brussels time.
-"Fields" refer to the sectorial field of the project (Higher education, School
education, VET, Adult education). It has to be chosen on the very 1st page of the
application form. If your project mainly addresses issues related to higher
education you should choose "Strategic partnership for higher education".
- "Priority" refers to the link between your project and the priorities of
Erasmus+ for Higher education. It has to be chosen in section "C" of the
application form. Before choosing a priority from the drop down menu, please
check the ones addressing higher education in the Erasmus + 2015 Guide. You
have to choose at least one horizontal or one field-specific priority. However, you
are recommended to choose at least one horizontal AND one field-specific
priority” (max. three of each).
- "Topics" refers to the more concrete themes that are addressed by your
project. It has to be chosen in section "E" of the application form and should be
in direct line with the specific objectives of your project. Be as specific as
possible and do not list too many topics, only the core ones should be selected (2
or 3) e.g. access for disadvantaged, Entrepreneurial learning - entrepreneurship
education, EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy.
Academic subject:
- E.g. ‘Educational Network on Soil and Plant Ecology’
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Examples of combination of academic subjects and
horizontal/transversal subjects:
Cross-sectoral projects
Please be aware that in the 2015 application form cross-sectoral projects can be
defined as such only by the means of description of the project, the partnership
composition, chosen priorities and target groups. There is no separate
application form any longer!
Important hints
Please be aware that the involvement of organizations from different fields
is not a sufficient element in order to highlight the cross-sectoral character
of the project.
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Cross-sectoral projects are expected to benefit different target groups in
order to be considered for funding.
Please be aware that a project between one educational sector and
enterprises is not cross-sectoral by itself (e.g. university-enterprise
cooperation is NOT cross-sectoral but belongs to SP in Higher Education)
You will be required to give detailed information concerning the partner country's
role in the project in order to prove the essential European added value for its
participation.
The added value of a partner country participation depends on the special
expertise of the organization concerned with respect to the project outcomes,
provided that no other programme countries have the skills to give such a
contribution.
Is this partner really unique?
Can it be replaced by a European partner?
Would all the outputs, results in the project be achieved without the
Partner country partner?
Important hints
Please be aware that your project will not be considered for selection if the
European added value of the partner country institution is not clearly justified!!!
The applicant must provide all the evidences when justifying the partner
country’s role in the project e.g. unique contribution, analysis, comparative
studies, etc.
The following questions (analogue to the award criteria in the Programme Guide)
have been developed to help you understand the assessment aspects and give
you a better idea what the experts seek in your project proposal. Make sure
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you have paid enough attention to these questions and fully described the
content of your project activities, management and implementation, as the
independent experts will only evaluate what you have written.
Please read the Award Criteria (Guide for Experts pp. 51 ff)!
Put yourself in the shoes of the assessor: Is the information clear, concise and
complete? Is the evidence convincing and realistic?
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• Do your partners have enough human, financial and organizational
resources to implement the project efficiently, effectively and
professionally?
• Did you agree upon financial arrangements with your partners? Did you
describe that in the application (Application Form section F.1.)?
• Did you describe all the aspects of project management mechanism
(effective communication, promotion, problem solving, monitoring,
evaluation etc.)?
• If applicable: Have you provided convincing evidence to participation of a
Partner Country organization?
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Important hints
Before submitting your application form, make sure all partners in the proposed
project have read and agreed the content and budget of the project! We also
recommend “experts” outside the consortium to read your project proposal and
to give their opinion – is everything clear, concise and logical.
For this part please see application form sections F. Project Management and G.
Implementation
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Budget Modules - additional hints
You can combine the modules according to the needs of your project. It is not a
must to apply for all budget categories. However please be aware that
Intellectual Outputs and Multiplier Events are linked to each other. For a detailed
explanation of each module please consult the Programme Guide (pp. 117 ff.)
Intellectual Outputs
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- Be proportional to the objectives of the project
- Include tangible deliverables and elaborated materials related to the
project
- Be substantial in quality and quantity to qualify for this kind of grant
support
- Be an output that goes beyond the results and deliverables regularly
produced by the participating organisations, as part of their regular
activities/business
- Contain the element of innovation
- Show potential impact within the organizations and if relevant within other
sectors and levels (local, regional, national, etc.) in order to exploit and to
disseminate it to a wider public
- have open access for the public: it has to be made freely available and
promoted through open licences and not contain disproportionate
limitations
Considering that an Intellectual Output must deliver results which go beyond the
regular activities of the participating organizations, the following results are not
considered Intellectual Outputs in the framework of Strategic Partnerships for
higher education:
leaflet, website, needs analysis, blogs, wikis, newsletters, small scale
learning/teaching/training materials, virtual cooperation and local project
activities (e.g. (master) class-room project work with learners is a
learning/teaching/training activity), organization and mentoring of embedded
learning/training activities, etc., information, promotion and dissemination (e.g.
brochures, , web information, etc.), comparative reports, surveys and guidelines
intended for internal use for the project, face-to-face trainings, organization of
events/transnational meetings, any learning/training/teaching activities.
Important hints
- A “normal” project website must be funded through Project Management
and Implementation budget! Publication material (leaflet, brochures, etc)
related to the project can be funded through Project Management and
Implementation budget. On the other hand, for instance, the creation/
adaptation of a collaborative platform can perfectly fit into Intellectual
Outputs.
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- You cannot apply for Multiplier Events, if they are not directly related to an
Intellectual Outputs. If you fail to finalize the Intellectual Output then your
Multiplier Events will not be funded.
- You cannot apply for Multiplier Events, if they are not directly related to an
Intellectual Outputs. If you fail to finalize the Intellectual Output then your
Multiplier Events will not be funded.
- The beneficiaries shall not subcontract any activities funded from the
budget category Intellectual Outputs.
- e-form: There are 5.000 characters within the field “output description”
please use them and be as clear and detailed as possible! Describe the
different stages of the output (e.g. preparation, implementation, follow-up
including dissemination).
Multiplier Events
- Can take place in a partner country AND a programme country that is part
of the partnership. The need to organize a Multiplier Event in a partner
country has to be clearly justified
- Must be linked to an Intellectual Output.
- The grant amount for organising the Multiplier Event (catering, location,
technical equipment, etc.) is based on unit costs calculated ONLY for
external participants who are attending the event and not project
partners.
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- Members of the partnership can take part in the Multiplier Event, but
receive no funding from this budget heading. However, they can combine
their Transnational Project Meeting with a Multiplier Event or use Project
Management and Implementation funds.
Learning/teaching/training activities
- In general: can only take place in programme countries
- They have to bring added value to the project
- Students from partner countries can participate but don’t receive any
funding
- Staff from partner countries teaching in Intensive Study Programmes can
participate and receive funding
- Joint staff training events in partner countries or staff coming from partner
countries attending to joint staff training events in programme countries
can participate and receive funding
- Students and teachers from programme countries can participate and
receive funding
- One day before and one day after the activity can be used for travelling
(must be justified through activity programme)
- Intensive Study Programmes have to support the aims of the project
- Distance Band: the unit cost is calculated on the basis of one way
distance; however, the related grant is a contribution to the expenses for
travelling in both directions.
Exceptional costs
- Some examples: high quality translations of modules, translator for a
Multiplier Event, sign language translator within an Intensive Study
Programme, specific related project equipment, domain of a website;
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Proportionality of activities and budget
The e-form is the most relevant document for convincing the external evaluators
about your application. Therefore, make sure to be as concise and yet detailed as
possible. Many fields will only pop up if you click + or choose ‘yes’ from the
dropdown menu.
Important hints
- Email address of contact person: it will be used for official communication
between NA and coordinating unit (no general email address of the
International Relation Office but the personal email address!). Later on,
this email address will be used to log into Mobility Tool+ ;
- The Name of the Legal Representative: the President, the Rector of a
University (not a professor who is in charge of international affairs) or CEO
of an institution if not a university. The Legal Representative must sign the
Declaration of Honour and the Mandates;
- You have to print and upload all the pages of the Declaration of Honour;
- You have to upload the Gantt Chart as timetable;
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- Please try to provide the signed mandates together with the electronic
application form at application stage (at the latest before contracting);
- All HEIs from programme Countries (partner or coordinator) must hold a
valid ECHE; partners from partner countries do not
- Keep a saved copy of your application;
- In Strategic Partnerships the term ‘Work packages’ don’t exist (like it did
in other projects under LLP)
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