2020 Erasmus accreditation in the fields of adult education, vocational education and training, and school education

Date de clôture : 29 oct. 2020  
APPEL À PROJET CLÔTURÉ

The call for Erasmus accreditations is launched in preparation of the European Union 2021-2027 Programme for education, training, youth and sport proposed by the European Commission on 30 May 2018 (hereafter: ‘the Programme’).1

2. Description

Erasmus accreditation is a tool for organisations in adult education, vocational education and training (VET), and school education that want to open up to cross-border exchange and cooperation. Award of the Erasmus accreditation confirms that the applicant has set up a plan to implement high quality mobility activities as part of a wider effort to develop their organisation. This plan is called an Erasmus Plan and it is a key part of the application for Erasmus accreditation.

Applicants can apply for an individual Erasmus accreditation for their organisation, or for an Erasmus accreditation for mobility consortium coordinators, as explained in Section 6 of these Rules. Previous experience in Erasmus+ (2014-2020) is not required to apply.

In addition, organisations currently holding a valid Erasmus+ VET Mobility Charter can transfer their accreditation to the future Programme by applying to this Call. These organisations may apply for a specific light procedure according to the criteria described in Section 9 of these Rules. All other applicants will undergo a standard application procedure described in Sections 4-8.

As part of this Call, the current VET Mobility Charter holders may also be awarded an excellence label to recognise their past work and dedication to quality. For more information, please see Section 12.

Accredited Erasmus organisations will gain simplified access to Key Action 1 funding opportunities under the future Programme (2021-2027), as described in Section 14 of these Rules.

1 The 2021-2027 EU Programme for education, training, youth and sport proposed by the European Commission on 30 May 2018 (hereafter the Programme) has not yet been adopted by the European legislators. However, this call for accreditation is published to facilitate the application of potential beneficiaries of Union grants as soon as the legal basis is adopted by the European legislators.

This Call for accreditation does not legally bind the European Commission. In case of a substantial modification of the legal basis by the European legislators, the present Call might be modified or cancelled and other Calls for accreditation with different content and appropriate deadlines for reply may be launched.

More generally, any action flowing from this Call for accreditation is subject to the following conditions, whose implementation is beyond the Commission’s control:

— the adoption by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union of the final text of the legal basis establishing the Programme,
— the adoption of the 2021 and subsequent annual work programmes and the general implementation guidelines, criteria and procedures of selection, after referral of the committee of the Programme, and

— the adoption of the 2021 and subsequent budgets of the European Union by the budgetary authority.

The proposed 2021-2027 EU Programme for education, training, youth and sport is based on Articles 165 and 166 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and on the subsidiarity principle.

May 2020

3. Objectives

This action supports the following objectives:

3.1 In all three fields

Strengthening the European dimension of teaching and learning by:

•   promoting values of inclusion and diversity, tolerance, and democratic participation

•   promoting knowledge about shared European heritage and richness in diversity

•   supporting development of professional networks across Europe

3.2 In the field of adult education

Increasing the quality of formal, informal and non-formal adult education in Europe by:

•   improving the quality of the adult education offer through professionalisation of its staff and building capacity of adult education providers to implement high quality learning programmes

•   increasing the quality of teaching and learning in all forms of adult education, and making it relevant to the needs of the society at large

•   improving the provision of adult education for key competences as defined by the EU framework (2018), including basic skills (literacy, numeracy, digital skills) and other life skills

3.3 In the field of vocational education and training:

Increasing the quality of initial and continuing vocational education and training (IVET and CVET) in Europe by:

Contributing to the creation of the European Education Area by:

•   building the capacity of adult education providers to carry out high quality mobility projects

•   raising the participation of adults of all ages and socio-economic background in adult education, especially by fostering participation of organisations working with disadvantaged learners, small adult education providers, newcomers to the Programme, and community-based grassroots organisations

•   strengthening key competences and transversal skills, in particular language learning

•   supporting the development of job specific skills needed in the current and future labour market

•   sharing best practices and promoting the use of new and innovative pedagogical methods and technologies, and supporting the professional development of teachers, trainers, mentors and other staff in VET

Contributing to the creation of the European Education Area by:

•   building the capacity of VET providers to carry out high quality mobility projects, and their ability to form quality partnerships while developing their internationalisation strategy

•   making mobility a realistic possibility for any learner in IVET and CVET, and increasing the average duration of mobility for VET learners to increase its quality and impact

•  fostering the quality, transparency and recognition of learning outcomes of mobility periods abroad, especially by using European tools and instruments for this purpose

3.4 In the field of school education

Increasing the quality of teaching and learning in school education by:

•   supporting professional development of teachers, school leaders and other school staff

•   promoting the use of new technologies and innovative teaching methods

•   improving language learning and language diversity in schools

•   supporting the sharing and transfer of best practices in teaching and school development

Contributing to the creation of the European Education Area by:

•   building capacity of schools to engage in cross-border exchanges and cooperation, and carry out high quality mobility projects

•   making learning mobility a realistic possibility for any pupil in school education

•   fostering recognition of learning outcomes of pupils and staff in mobility periods abroad

   

4. How to submit an application?

Application form

Applications must be submitted using the official electronic application form:

https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-applications/screen/home

Where to submit an application?

Applications must be submitted to the National Agency of the country where the applicant organisation is established.

Organisation registration

Applicants must have an Organisation ID (OID) to apply for this Call.

Applicants that have already participated in Erasmus+ (2014-2020) should use their existing OID and should not register again.

Applicant that have previously used a PIC number (Participant Identification Code) should not register again. These applicants have automatically received an OID and are able to find it in the Organisation Registration System by following the link below.

Applicants that have never participated in Erasmus+ (2014-2020) must register for an OID through the Organisation Registration System: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-esc/organisation- registration/screen/home

Language of the application

Applications must be written in one of the official EU languages or official languages of eligible non-EU countries. Exact languages admissible in each country will be defined by the relevant National Agency.

Submission deadline

29 October 2020 at 12:00 (midday Brussels time)

Erasmus quality standards

Applicants for Erasmus accreditation must subscribe to Erasmus quality standards defined in Annex I of these Rules. Erasmus quality standards may be updated during the validity period of the accreditation. In that case, agreement of accredited organisations will be asked before they can apply for their next grant.

Number of applications

An organisation can apply once in each of the three fields covered by this call: adult education, vocational education and training, and school education. Organisations applying for more than one field need to submit separate applications for each field.

Types of applications

Applicants can apply as an individual organisation or as a coordinator of a mobility consortium. It is not possible to apply for both types of accreditation in the same field.

Erasmus accreditation for mobility consortium coordinators

A mobility consortium is a group of organisations from the same country

implementing mobility activities as part of a joint Erasmus Plan. Each mobility consortium is coordinated by one lead organisation: an accredited mobility consortium coordinator.

An accredited mobility consortium coordinator may organise activities themselves (same as any organisation with an individual accreditation), and in addition they can provide mobility opportunities to other member organisations in their consortium.

Without prejudice to the text of the applicable yearly calls, in the future Programme, an Erasmus accreditation will be required for all mobility consortium coordinators, but it will not be required for consortium members.

Applicants for mobility consortium coordinators will be required to describe the purpose and planned composition of their consortium in the application. All planned consortium member organisations must be from the same country as the mobility consortium coordinator. However, an exact list of consortium members is not required at this stage.

Further rules on participation in mobility consortia will be defined in yearly calls for proposals published by the European Commission.

5. Eligibility criteria

Only applicants possessing legal status defined by the current Erasmus+ Regulation (2014-2020)2 may apply for this Call. Further eligibility criteria described below will apply in each of the three fields.

Who can apply?

Eligible applicant organisations

In the field of adult education:

(1) Organisations providing formal, informal and non-formal adult education3

(2)Local and regional public authorities, coordination bodies and other organisations with a role in the field of adult education

(1)Organisations providing initial or continuing vocational education and training

(2)Local and regional public authorities, coordination bodies and other organisations with a role in the field of vocational education and training

(3) Companies and other public or private organisations hosting, training or

In the field of vocational education and training:

2 Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing 'Erasmus+': the Union programme for education, training, youth and sport repealing Decisions No 1719/2006/EC, No 1720/2006/EC and No 1298/2008/EC

3 Without prejudice to definitions established by the competent National Authority, please note that organisations providing vocational education and training to adult learners are typically considered to be vocational education and training providers, and not adult education providers. For further information, please consult the applicable definitions in the website of your National Agency.

otherwise working with learners and apprentices in vocational education and training

In the field of school education:

(1)Schools providing general education at pre-primary, primary or secondary level

(2)Local and regional public authorities, coordination bodies and other organisations with a role in the school education field

Eligibility of organisations under condition (1) will be determined based on educational programmes and activities they are providing. An organisation can be eligible in more than one field if it is providing various educational programmes and activities.

The competent National Authority in each country will define:

 the educational programmes and activities that enable organisations to be eligible under condition (1), and

 organisationseligibleundercondition(2).

The applicable definitions and examples of eligible organisations will be published in the website of the responsible National Agency.

Applicable definitions and principles in all three fields

Eligible countries

Applicant organisations must be established in one of the following countries:

 Any European Union Member State
 Third countries associated to the Programme, as set out in the legal basis4

Supporting organisations

All other organisations active in education and training may participate as supporting organisations to accredited beneficiaries. The role and obligations of supporting organisations must be formally defined between them and the accredited beneficiary. All contributions of supporting organisations must comply with the Erasmus quality standards. Further rules on participation for supporting organisations will be defined in yearly calls for proposals published by the European Commission.

6. Exclusion criteria

Applicants must submit a signed declaration on their honour in the meaning of Article 137 of the EU Financial Regulation5, certifying that:

•   they are not in any of the situations referred to in Articles 136(1) and 141 of the same Regulation,

•   the submitted Erasmus Plan contains original content authored by the applicant organisation, and that no other organisations or external individuals have been paid for drafting the application.