CALL FOR PROPOSALS — EACEA 37/2018

under the Erasmus+ Programme

KA3 — Support for Policy Reform

Networks and partnerships of Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers

(2018/C 401/09)

1.   Objective

The aim of this call is to support projects for the creation of transnational and national networks and partnerships of VET providers in initial and continuing VET with a view to supporting policy reflection at a European level, as well as promoting awareness and implementation of European VET policies at national and regional levels.

The overall objective of the call is to invite the submission of proposals for bottom up partnerships which should encourage the creation of transnational and national VET providers' networks and partnerships to work together at national and European level.

These projects should improve the quality and efficiency of VET, enhance its impact and relevance for learners and employers, and build cross-border cooperation for VET quality and attractiveness.

The proposals financed under this call should also foster communication, dissemination and support for implementation of the VET policy agenda at EU and national level, to exchange knowledge, feedback and experience of policy implementation and sharing of best practices on VET excellence.

Proposals should be submitted under one of the following two Lots:

—   Lot 1: National, regional or sectoral VET provider organisations

Projects supported under Lot 1 will establish or strengthen networks and partnerships among VET providers at a national, regional or sectoral level. These will be achieved through transnational projects aimed at capacity building and sharing of best experiences among these VET provider organisations, in particular for countries that have limited representation arrangements among VET providers.

—   Lot 2: European umbrella VET provider organisations

Projects supported under Lot 2 will foster cooperation among European umbrella organisations of VET providers, while supporting policy reflection at European level as well as outreach capacity to their national members or affiliates. The European umbrella organisations will also play a key role in raising awareness and supporting the implementation of European VET policies through the national, regional and sectoral VET provider organisations.

2.   Eligible partnerships

—   Lot 1: National, regional or sectoral VET provider organisations

The partnership shall include at least two national, regional or sectoral networks or associations of VET providers, from at least two different Erasmus+ Programme countries (at least one of which must be a Member State of the European Union). One of the partners above will be the coordinating organisation, applying for the Erasmus+ grant on behalf of the partnership.

In case of a network/association not yet legally established, the application can be submitted by a VET provider representing it.

Further composition of the partnership should reflect the specific activities of the call.

—   Lot 2: European umbrella VET provider organisations

The partnership shall include at least two European umbrella organisations of VET providers, each of them having members or affiliates in at least five Erasmus+ Programme countries (at least one of which must be a Member State of the European Union). One of the European umbrella organisations will be the coordinating organisation, applying for the Erasmus+ grant on behalf of the partnership.

Further composition of the partnership should reflect the specific activities of the call.

The Erasmus+ Programme countries are the following:

—   The 28 Member States of the European Union: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom (1);

—   The non EU Programme countries: Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Turkey, Serbia (2).

3.   Activities

Activities must start between 1 September 2019 and 1 November 2019.

The duration of the projects is 24 months.

The main goal of the activities is to support the establishment and/or reinforcement of VET providers' networks and partnerships, aimed at building capacity at grass root level for the effective implementation of European programmes, initiatives and priorities in the field of VET, including those agreed within the context of the Copenhagen process.

For both lots, the beneficiaries should undertake the following activity:

Strengthen cooperation among VET providers by engaging in mutual learning, peer counselling, and capacity building, aimed at raising the quality and attractiveness of VET provision. The networks and partnerships should also promote and foster the effective use of EU funding instruments, as well as support the implementation and dissemination of relevant EU tools and initiatives in the field of VET, whenever possible in national language(s). Projects should also aim at involving and reaching out to VET providers that do not yet contribute or benefit from European cooperation.

In addition, beneficiaries should undertake at least three of the following activities:

1.	Contribute to the European Vocational Skills Week, by organising coordinated innovative events and activities at country level, aimed at raising the attractiveness of VET, while reaching out to a wide audience, including parents, learners, teachers, companies, and in particular SMEs.

2.	Support the development of an internationalisation strategy at providers' level, fostering the mobility of leaders, staff and VET learners, as well as the establishment of cooperation partnerships.

3.

Increase the quality in VET through feedback loops to adapt VET provision, in line with the Recommendation on tracking of graduates and the Recommendation on the European Quality Assurance Reference Framework for Vocational Education and Training (EQAVET). Where relevant, develop graduate tracking systems by inter alia combining national or regional statistics with data collected by the VET providers or make use of data of graduate tracking systems for improving VET provision.

4.

Support for micro companies and SMEs in developing human capital, through upskilling and reskilling of employees. This could include identification of their skills needs and/or skills assessment, and/or validation and recognition of skills and/or tailored training offer, where relevant taking account of the conclusions of the 2016-2018 ET2020 Working Group on Adult Learning.

5.	Foster innovative learning of key competences in VET (for example, allow flexibility and adaptability to meet individual learning needs) by adapting programme design and assessment.

6.	Promote tools and opportunities for professional development of teachers, trainers, mentors and/or VET leaders to better equip them for future challenges (e.g. digitalisation), in line with the conclusions of the 2016-2018 ET2020 Working Group on VET.

4.   Award criteria

Eligible applications will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:

1.	Relevance of the project (Maximum 30 points – Threshold: minimum 16 points);

2.	Quality of the project design and implementation (Maximum 20 points – Threshold: minimum 11 points);

3.	Quality of the project consortium and cooperation arrangements (Maximum 30 points – Threshold: minimum 16 points);

4.	Impact and dissemination (Maximum 20 points – Threshold: minimum 11 points).

To be considered for funding, applications must score at least 60 points (out of 100 points in total), also taking into account the necessary minimum threshold for each of the four award criteria.

5.   Budget

The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects is estimated at a maximum of EUR 6 million with an indicative distribution of EUR 4 million for Lot 1 and EUR 2 million for Lot 2. The maximum EU co-financing rate will be 80 %.

Each grant will amount to between EUR 300 000 and EUR 500 000 for Lot 1 and between EUR 600 000 and EUR 800 000 for Lot 2.

The Agency reserves the right not to distribute all funds available.

6.   Deadline for submission of applications

Applications must comply with the following requirements:

—	They must be submitted no later than 31 January 2019, 12:00 noon (Brussels time).

—	They must be submitted online using the correct official application form (eForm);

—	They must be submitted in one of the official EU languages;

—	A detailed description of the project, a declaration of honour and a balanced estimated budget, presented on the official forms, must be annexed to the applications.

Failure to comply with those requirements will lead to the rejection of the application.

7.   Full details

The Applicants' Guidelines together with the application eForm are available at the following Internet address:

https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/funding/ka3-networks-and-partnerships-of-VET-providers_en

Applications must comply with all terms of the Guidelines.

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(1)  For British applicants: Please be aware that eligibility criteria must be complied with for the entire duration of the grant. If the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU during the grant period without concluding an agreement with the EU ensuring in particular that British applicants continue to be eligible, you will cease to receive EU funding (while continuing, where possible, to participate) or be required to leave the project on the basis of the relevant provisions of the grant agreement on termination.

(2)  The recognition of Serbia as an Erasmus+ Programme Country is subject to the following conditions:

i)	The availability of the appropriations provided for in the 2019 draft budget after adoption of the 2019 budget for Serbia;

ii)	An amendment to the Agreement between European Union and Serbia on the participation of Serbia in Erasmus+: the Union programme for education, training, youth and sport.