Erasmus+: Knowledge Alliances and Sector Skills Alliances Infoday 23 November 2015 María-Luisa García Mínguez, Renata Russell (EACEA) 1
How to submit a proposal María Luisa G. Mínguez, Renata Russell Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency 2
Purpose of the presentation 1. Identifying important issues in the application, selection procedures 2. Locating essential information and using it 3. Having better understanding of the selection process 4. Receiving some advice/tips for preparing your application 3
What to do in order to submit an application? Register in the Participant Portal Check the compliance with the Programme criteria for the relevant Action/field Check the financial conditions Fill in and submit the application package 4
Registration in Participant Portal Only needed if you do not have a PIC number already. 1. ECAS - European Commission Authentification Service https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/cas 5
Registration in Participant Portal 2. Register in Participant portal and get PIC http://ec.europa.eu/education/participants/portal/desktop/en/organisati ons/register.html 6
PIC for the Applicant and Partners NO OBLIGATION TO BEGIN VALIDATION PROCESS OF PIC AT REGISTRATION/APPLICATION STAGE 7
Erasmus Charter in Knowledge Alliances Applications http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmusplus/actions/erasmus-charter_en 8
Participating Countries - Programme Countries (p. 22) Member States of the European Union (EU) Belgium Greece Lithuania Portugal Bulgaria Spain Luxembourg Romania Czech Republic France Hungary Slovenia Denmark Croatia Malta Slovakia Germany Italy Netherlands Finland Estonia Cyprus Austria Sweden Ireland Latvia Poland United Kingdom Non EU Programme Countries: Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Turkey 9
Participating Countries Partner countries (p.23) Countries which do not participate fully in the Erasmus+ Programme, but which may take part (as partners or applicants) in certain Actions of the Programme. The list of Erasmus+ Partner Countries is described in Part A of the Programme Guide, section 'Who can participate in the Erasmus+ Programme'. 10
Important reference documents and tools A. VALOR dissemination platform http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/projects/ B. Partner Search Tool Open until deadline 26/2/2016 https://infodaykassatool.teamwork.fr/ 11
Identifying and locating essential information and using it Orientation Step 1 Understand Erasmus+ (general, specific issues) Step 2 Locate key information and register in Participant portal Step 3 Complete the application package Step 4 Send the application package Step 5 Prepare for the next stage (after approval of application) 12
Step 1 Understand general issues on Erasmus+ A. Project content B. Importance of criteria - Transnational impact General (for Erasmus+) - Programme objectives - Exclusion criteria - Selection criteria - Organisational capacity C. Selection management - Financial capacity - Selection methodology Specific (for Knowledge Alliances - Equal treatment and Sectors Skills Alliances) - Eligibility criteria - Award criteria 13
Step 1 Understand specific issues on Erasmus+ EACEA web page Call Link to ECAS Link to Participant Portal Application package Instructions for completing the application package Partner Search Tool Programme Guide Programme Guide Knowledge Alliances: p125-133 Sector Skills Alliances: p134-147 Start date Maximum duration Objectives Maximum grant Minimum consortium Type of organisations in consortium Target groups Scope and type of activity Eligibility and award criteria 14
Step 1 Understand specific issues on Erasmus+ Programme Guide 15
Step 2 Locate key information Directorate General Education and Culture (DG EAC) Policy documents VET - Vocational education and training: http://ec.europa.eu/education/policy/vocational-policy/index_en.htm Higher education: http://ec.europa.eu/education/policy/higher-education/index_en.htm 16
Step 2 Locate key information Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) Non-policy documents (application, etc.) http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/ erasmus-plus/funding_en FAQs 17
Step 2 Locate key information Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency's (EACEA) web Results of selection 18
Step 3 Complete the application package What - Application package = eform + Attachments/Annexes Detailed project description (Word) Budget and Gantt chart (Excel) Declaration of honour How - eform User Guide - Instructions for completing the Application Package 19
Step 3 Complete the application package Detailed project description (Word) 20
Step 3 Complete the application package Detailed project description (Word) Part 0. Summary of the application and involvement in previous relevant projects Please provide a short summary of the main features of your project Involvement in previous projects! Use clear and concise language 21
Step 3 Complete the application package Detailed project description (Word) Part I. Project relevance Why has the consortium decided to undertake this project? Analysis of the subject area (current state of the art) and innovative character Aims, objectives and expected results European added value KA contribution of and benefits for the HE KA- contribution of and benefits for the business SSA- lot 1 and lot 2 have some specificities 22
Step 3 Complete the application package Detailed project description (Word) Part II. Quality of the project design and implementation Methodology Overall project management Quality assurance, evaluation and monitoring Recognition and validation (when appropriate) Budget and cost effectiveness 23
Step 3 Complete the application package Detailed project description (Word document) Part III. Quality of the partnership, the team and the cooperation arrangements Composition of the consortium Rationale for setting-up the partnership Description of the partners (aims, roles, capacity) Cooperation arrangements across the partnership Partner country participation (where applicable) 24
Step 3 Complete the application package Detailed project description (Word) Part IV. Impact, dissemination, exploitation, and sustainability Target groups Sustainability and impact / results and outcomes (indicators!) Dissemination and exploitation strategy Open access to the educational resources Part V. Additional project information (if applicable) Part VI. Work plan and work packages Part VII. Specific arrangements regarding mobility (only for KA) 25
Step 3 Complete the application package (How) Instructions for completing the Application Package, the eform and its User Guide will be available soon: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/actions/key-action-2- cooperation-for-innovation-and-exchange-good-practices/knowledgealliances/knowledge-alliances-sector-skills-alliances-2016_en 26
Step 4 Send the application package (eform and annexes) Deadline: 26 February 2016 12 midday Brussels time. Online submission only. If you experience technical difficulties with the submission of your eform - contact the helpdesk (eacea-helpdesk@ec.europa.eu) by email BEFORE the submission deadline, explaining the nature of the problem. If you face technical problems CLOSE TO THE SUBMISSION DEADLINE, please ALSO send a screenshot of the submission error message and time of occurrence, as well as a copy of the eform and attachments. 27
Submission Problems Most problems happen on the last day in the last hour Importance of proof of problems (screen shots) Most problems can be solved if instructions and manuals are read carefully Information provided after the deadline 28
In case of multiple submissions of the same application in the same selection round to the same National Agency or the Executive Agency, the National or Executive Agency will always consider valid the last version submitted before the deadline has expired. Applications sent by post, courier service, fax or email will not be accepted. 29
Step 5 Prepare for the next stage (after approval of application) Month (approximately)/2016 Action July/August Communication of selection results September Collection of additional documents (e.g. Mandate letters from partners) September/October EACEA will send you a contract 1 November 2016 or 1 January 2017 (KA only) Start date of the projects 30
Selection of applications A. Formal check (Eligibility, Selection, Exclusion criteria) B. Quality check (Award criteria - independent evaluators) C. Selection (Ranking list) 31
Selection of applications Quality check (Award criteria - 2 independent evaluators) Experts Common briefing 2 Individual assessments Consensus Feedback to applicants Experts have access to same information as applicants (no secret documents) 32
Selection of applications Quality check (Award criteria - 2 independent evaluators) Award criteria Title Maximum points Threshold Relevance 25 13 Quality of project design and implementation Quality of project team and cooperation arrangements 25 (KA) 30 (SSA) 30 (KA) 25 (SSA) 13 (KA) 16 (SSA) 16 (KA) 13 (SSA) Impact and dissemination 20 11 TOTAL 100 70 33
At the end of the evaluation procedure the Executive Agency decides on the projects to be granted on the basis of: the ranking list proposed by the evaluation committee the budget available for the action 34
Work Programme 2016 http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/more_info/awp/docs/c-2015-6151.pdf 35
Non-cumulative award - Identical or very similar applications submitted by the same applicant or by other partners of the same consortium will be subject to specific assessment - Applications submitted twice or more times by the same applicant or consortium will all be rejected 36
For completing the form Have the project idea firmly in mind in advance of starting to complete the form Take time to understand how the form is constructed Ensure that partner involvement (work packages and budget) has been fully discussed and agreed 37
Allow time for drafting and reviewing and redrafting the texts Test your draft application on someone outside the partnership The time required is variable (a few weeks to more than a year from concept to finalisation) Partners who provide low quality input to the drafting of the application may not provide high quality input into the project! It is a time-intensive process and will require dedicated staff time Don t wait until the last minute of the last day before submitting the eform 38
A strong proposal/application is Coherent (problems, solutions, target groups, activities, budget, ambitions/resources/competence) Simple (objectives, approach) Evidence based (ex-ante needs analysis, state of art) Clear (identifying the need for such a proposal, solutions, and outputs) Rigorous in its planning (which activities, when, for how long, and with what resources) Explicit (do not take for granted any information, if it is not in the application it cannot be taken into account) Circumscribed (a proposal is not about solving the world s problems, but about solving a specific issue) 39
Assistance - HelpDesk Assistance EACEA-EPLUS-SSA@ec.europa.eu concerning Sector Skills Alliances EACEA-KNOWLEDGE-ALLIANCES@ec.europa.eu concerning Knowledge Alliances HelpDesk HelpDesk e-mail address: eacea-helpdesk@ec.europa.eu HelpDesk phone: +32 2 299 0705 40