28.10.2014

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 382/1

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CALL FOR PROPOSALS — EACEA/31/2014

Erasmus+ Programme, Key Action 3 — Support for Policy Reform

Civil Society Cooperation in the field of Education and Training and Youth

(2014/C 382/01)

INTRODUCTION

Cooperation with civil society organisations in the fields of education, training and youth is essential to create a broad sense of ownership in relation to lifelong learning strategies and policies, and to take into consideration stakeholders' ideas and concerns at all levels. It is important for raising awareness about the Europe 2020 strategy for growth and jobs, the Strategic Framework for European cooperation in Education and Training (ET2020), specific policy agendas such as the Bologna process in Higher Education or the Bruges-Copenhagen process in Vocational education and training (VET), as well as the EU Youth Strategy. It is vital for securing the active involvement of stakeholders in the implementation of policy reforms in the different countries, for promoting their participation in the Erasmus+ Programme and other European programmes and for disseminating policy and programme results and good practice through their extensive membership networks.

In this framework, the present Call for proposals will provide funding through the two following Lots:

1. Civil Society Cooperation in the field of Education and Training (Lot 1) 2. Civil Society Cooperation in the field of Youth (Lot 2)

Please note that an organisation can submit only one application under this Call for proposals, either for Lot 1 or Lot 2, but not for both.

COMMON ELEMENTS APPLICABLE TO BOTH LOTS

1.   General objectives

The objective of the present Call is to provide structural support, referred to as operating grant, to European non-governmental organisations (ENGOs) and EU-wide networks active in the field of education and training or in the field of youth and pursuing the following general aims:

—	raise stakeholder awareness of European policy agendas in education, training and youth, in particular Europe 2020, Education and Training 2020, specific policy agendas such as the Bologna or the Bruges-Copenhagen processes, as well as the EU Youth Strategy.

—	increase stakeholder commitment and cooperation with public authorities for the implementation of policies and reforms in the fields of education and training and of youth, such as of the country-specific recommendations issued in the framework of the European Semester;

—	boost stakeholder participation in the field of education, training and youth;

—	boost stakeholder involvement in the dissemination of policy and Programme actions and results and of good practice among their membership and beyond.

These aims should be clearly embedded in the work plans, activities and deliverables of the applicant organisations.

2.   Eligibility

2.1.   Eligible applicants

This Call is open to two categories of bodies:

—   Category 1: European non-governmental organisations (ENGO) in the field of education and training or in the field of youth;

—   Category 2: EU-wide networks in the field of education and training or in the field of youth.

An organisation may submit only one application, either for category 1 or for category 2.

To be eligible, applicants must:

—	be non-governmental;

—	be not-for-profit-making;

Please refer to the detailed definitions of the two categories of eligible applicants provided under each Lot.

Neither Erasmus+ National Agencies nor organisations having overwhelmingly Erasmus+ National Agencies as members (2/3 or more) are eligible organisations under this Call.

2.2.   Eligible countries

Applications from legal entities established in one of the following countries are eligible:

—	EU Member States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, 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;

—	The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries which form part of the European Economic Area (EEA): Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway;

—

Candidate countries for which a pre-accession strategy has been established, in accordance with the general principles and general terms and conditions laid down in the framework agreements concluded with those countries with a view to their participation in EU Programmes: Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey.

3.   Funding Arrangements

The present call for proposals offers the opportunity to apply for

—	Framework Partnership Agreements (for Lots 1 and 2) and for

—	Annual Operating Grants (Lot 2 — Youth only). In this case, an organisation may submit only one application, either for aFramework Partnership Agreement or for an Annual Operating Grant.

3.1.   Framework Partnership Agreement

Framework Partnership Agreements cover long-term cooperation at European level. This kind of agreement formalises a partnership for three years.

Applications for a Framework Partnership Agreement must include:

—	a detailed 12-month work programme (annual work programme) for 2015 together with the information needed to calculate the grant (see the Applicants' Guidelines, section 11.2);

—	a three-year action plan covering the period 2015-2017.

The three-year action plan should set out a strategy including objectives, expected results and deliverables for the period 2015-2017, both globally and for each of the three years, as well as the actions to be implemented to guarantee their achievement.

The annual work programme must be based on the action plan set out for the period 2015-2017 and will be the basis for awarding a specific annual operating grant for each of the three budgetary years concerned. The consistency and complementarity between the multiannual and the annual elements of the programme should be clearly demonstrated.

3.2.   Annual Operating Grant (only applicable for Lot 2 — Youth)

Annual Operating Grants focus on short term cooperation at European level.

Applications for Annual Operating Grants must contain a detailed 12-month work programme (annual work programme) for 2015 together with the information needed to calculate the grant.

4.   Award criteria

The quality of eligible applications will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria (1):

—	relevance (maximum 30 points);

—	quality of the work plan's design and implementation (maximum 20 points);

—	profile, number of participants and countries involved in the activities (maximum 20 points);

—	impact, dissemination and sustainability (maximum 30 points).

To be considered for funding, proposals must score

—	at least 60 points overall and

—

at least half of the maximum points in each of the award criteria mentioned above (15 points for the criteria 'Relevance' and 'Impact, dissemination and sustainability', 10 points for the criteria 'Quality of the work plan's design and implementation' and 'Profile, number of participants and countries involved in the activities').

5.   Budget

The present Call for proposals aims at the selection of organisations for the conclusion of annual operating grant agreements covering the budget year 2015.

The total budget allocated in the year 2015 for the present call (Lots 1 and 2) is EUR 6 300 000.

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

6.   Submission of applications

Applications must be submitted using an online grant application form (eForm).

The eForm is available in English, French and German at the following internet address:

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/funding/eacea312014-civil-society-cooperation_en

and must be duly completed in one of the official languages of the EU.

The e-Form duly completed must be submitted online by 17/12/2014, 12.00 (midday, Brussels time) and include the relevant annex (2):

—	Declaration of honour.

Compulsory additional annexes (3) must be sent by e-mail to the Agency by the same deadline.

7.   Additional information

Applications must comply with the provisions contained in the Applicants' Guidelines — Call for proposals EACEA/31/2014, available on the internet at the following address:

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/funding/eacea312014-civil-society-cooperation_en

SPECIFIC ELEMENTS

LOT 1

Civil Society Cooperation: Education and Training

1.   Specific objectives

The organisations active in the field of education and training are expected to develop and implement innovative, targeted and creative strategies and activities to support the effective implementation of reforms and actions in the following areas:

Promoting excellence and innovation,through formal, non-formal and informal learning approaches and learner-centred provision of basic and transversal competences, including languages, digital and entrepreneurship competences; raising awareness of innovative educational approaches such as Open Educational Resources (OER) and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs); creating open learning environments and cross-sector stakeholder partnerships;

Tackling the low-skills trap byfacilitating efficient and sustainable investment in education and training; promoting analyses and debates at European, national and regional level to explore or develop innovative funding approaches; increasing attainment levels and minimising drop-out rates; improving the attractiveness of learning environments, facilitating transitions and flexible or alternative learning pathways; developing quality Vocational Education and Training (VET) involving work-based learning, traineeships or apprenticeships, aligning policies to economic development strategies; new qualification paths in potential growth areas or areas with competence shortages; enhancing equal opportunities for access to quality education and training, including for learners with disadvantaged backgrounds; promoting innovative guidance and counselling approaches;

Supporting a new generation of educators by enhancing the professional profile of teachers, trainers, teacher educators and school leaders, by improving selection, recruitment and retention, effective initial education, early career support, career-long professional learning and development, pedagogical feedback and incentives; stimulating peer learning and learning communities; enhancingdata collection and analyses on education and training;

Recognising and valuing competences through European tools for transparency and the recognition of prior learning — including non-formal and informal learning outcomes — and of experience; equipping people in all age groups with better and more relevant competences through lifelong learning, including updating and improving the competences of low-skilled adults; course design, delivery and evaluation taking account of competence and growth projections and employment data; development of interdisciplinary learning paths.

The work plan should clearly demonstrate the organisation's potential and capacity to generate concrete impacts in at least two of these areas.

2.   Applicant bodies

Only bodies corresponding to the definitions below will be considered as eligible under Lot 1:

Category 1: European non-governmental organisation (ENGO)

In the context of Lot 1, ENGOs must:

—

be active in the implementation of the Strategic Framework for European cooperation in Education and Training (ET2020), in at least one of the following sectors — early childhood education and care, school education, higher education, vocational education and training, adult learning — or in at least one key cross-sector area such as ICT, languages, entrepreneurship education, etc.

—	represent at least one major stakeholder group such as students, teachers/trainers/school leaders, learning providers, parents, etc.

—

operate through a formally recognised structure, composed of a) European body/secretariat (the applicant) legally established for at least two years in an Eligible Country on the date of submission of the application and of b) national organisations/branches (4) in at least twelve Eligible Countries having a statutory link with the European body/secretariat.

—	Be independent of public authorities, of political parties and commercial organisations.

—	Have at least one salaried member of staff (full-time equivalent).

Category 2: EU-wide network (formal network)

In the context of Lot 1, an EU-wide network is an umbrella organisation of European non-governmental organisations (ENGOs as defined in category 1). The specificity of such a EU-wide network is that its members are themselves NGOs at European level. A European umbrella organisation thus represents a very large number of European stakeholders and covers a wide range of policy domains. It must:

—	be composed of legally autonomous ENGOs as defined in category 1 and be active in the implementation of the Strategic Framework for European cooperation in Education and Training (ET 2020);

—

fulfil the three following requirements: (a) represent more than one representative stakeholder group — such as: learners (at all levels of education and training), the teaching profession (including teachers, trainers and school leaders), parents, etc. and (b) be activein all the following sectors: — early childhood education and care — school education, — higher education — vocational education and training — adult learning and (c) be active in more than one major cross-sector area (such as ICT education, language learning, entrepreneurship education, etc.) involving one or more representative stakeholder groups as described above.

—

Be formally established, i.e. have legal personality and have been legally registered for at least two years in an Eligible country on the date of submission of the application (applicants must submit a copy of the applicant's organisation's articles of association and official certificate of registration);

—	Have a minimum of 20 member organisations (ENGOs as defined in category 1);

—	Be independent of public authorities, of political parties and commercial organisations;

—	Have at least one salaried member of staff (full-time equivalent).

3.   Activities

Eligible activities must be directly linked to the general and specific objectives of the present Call and must be detailed in an annual work programme.

The following is an indicative, non-exhaustive list:

—	Activities facilitating access and participation of stakeholders in the implementation of EU policy priorities in the field of education and training;

—	Exchanges of experience and good practice; networking and partnerships with other stakeholders;

—	Capacity-building for the member organisations, including peer learning, training, advisory, guidance and coaching activities to improve the effectiveness of policy actions;

—	Initiatives and events for developing the membership of the ENGO/EU-wide network;

—	Thematic and country-specific studies, analyses, surveys and reports on EU education and training priorities, in particular in the framework of the Europe 2020 strategy (European Semester, Country-specific Recommendations) and of the ET 2020 strategic framework;

—

Awareness-raising, information, dissemination and promotion activities (seminars, workshops, campaigns, meetings, public debates, consultations, etc.) on EU policy priorities in the field of education and training and on EU funding instruments (European programmes — in particular Erasmus+, European Structural and Investment Funds) to support these priorities. Activities establishing synergies between Erasmus+ and other EU or national/regional funding sources are encouraged;

—	Cooperation projects to increase policy impact on target groups and/or systems.

Activities may be performed at European, cross-border, national, regional or local level

4.   Budget

The total EU budget in 2015 for the co-financing of civil society cooperation in the field of education and training is EUR 2 500 000.

By way of indication:

—	Bodies under category 1 (ENGOs) will account for about 90 % of the Education and Training strand budget available;

—	Networks of ENGOs under category 2 will account for about 10 % of the Education and Training strand budget available.

The maximum annual operating grant in 2015 under a three-year Framework Partnership Agreement will be:

Category 1: European non-governmental organisation (ENGO) — EUR 125 000

Category 2: EU-wide networks — EUR 200 000

LOT 2

Civil Society Cooperation: Youth

1.   Specific objectives

The organisations active in the field of youth that will be supported under this Call are expected to carry out activities that aim to:

—	Promote the employability of young people, notably through activities that foster the development of competences and skills through non formal education;

—	Foster the empowerment of young people in society, and foster their participation in the decision-making processes;

—	Contribute to the personal, socio-educational and professional development of young people in Europe;

—	Contribute to the development of youth work at European, national, regional or local levels;

—	Contribute to the debate on/development of policy issues affecting young people and youth organisations at European, national, regional or local levels;

—	Promote intercultural learning, the respect of diversity, and the values of solidarity, equal opportunities and human rights among young people in Europe;

—	Promote the inclusion of young people with fewer opportinities in society.

2.   Applicant bodies

In the context of civil society cooperation in the field of youth, the following definitions apply:

Category 1: A European non-governmental organisation (ENGO) must: — Operate through a formally recognised structure, composed of a) European body/secretariat (the applicant) legally established for at least one year in a Eligible Country on the date of submission of the application and b) national organisations/branches (4) in at least twelve Eligible Countries having a statutory link with the European body/secretariat; — Be active in the field of youth and run activities that support the implementation of the fields of action of the EU Youth Strategy; — Involve young people in the management and governance of the organisation.

Category 2: An EU-wide network (informal network) must: — Be composed of legally autonomous non-profit organisations active in the field of youth and running activities that support the implementation of the fields of action of the EU Youth Strategy; — Operate through an informal governance setting, composed of a) an organisation legally established for at least one year on the date of submission of the application in a Eligible Country with functions of coordination and support to the network at European level (the applicant); and b) other organisations established in at least twelve Eligible Countries; — Involve young people in the management and governance of the network.

3.   Activities

The applicant bodies must present a consistent work plan integrating non-profit making, youth-led activities which are suitable of pursuing the objectives of the Call.

Notably:

—	Non-formal and informal learning and activity programmes targeted at young people and youth workers;

—	Activities for the qualitative development of youth work;

—	Activities for the development and promotion of recognition and transparency tools in the field of youth;

—	Seminars, meetings, workshops, consultations, debates of young people on youth policies and/or European matters;

—	Consultations of young people feeding into the Structured Dialogue in the field of youth;

—	Activities for the promotion of young people's active participation in democratic life;

—	Activities for the promotion of intercultural learning and understanding in Europe;

—	Media and communication activities and tools on youth and European matters.

4.   Budget

The total EU budget for the co-financing of civil society cooperation in the field of youth is EUR 3 800 000.

By way of indication:

—	Bodies under category 1 (ENGOs) exclusively dedicated to youth will account for about 70 % of the youth strand budget available;

—	Bodies under category 1 (ENGOs) having a broader scope but including a section dedicated to youth will account for about 10 % of the youth strand budget available;

—	Bodies under category 2 (EU-wide networks) exclusively dedicated to youth will account for about 20 % of the youth strand budget available.

The maximum annual operating grant will be:

Category 1: European non-governmental organisation (ENGO) — EUR 50 000 for Framework Partnership Agreements applications — EUR 35 000 for Annual Operating Grants applications

Category 2: EU-wide networks — EUR 50 000 for Framework Partnership Agreements applications — EUR 35 000 for Annual Operating Grants applications.

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(1)  For more details on the award criteria please refer to Section 9 of the Applicants' Guidelines.

(2)  Any other administrative document required in the Applicants' Guidelines must be sent by e-mail to the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency by 17/12/2014 (midday, Brussels time) at the following e-mail address: Lot 1: EACEA-CIVIL-EDU@ec.europa.eu — Lot 2: EACEA-Youth@ec.europa.eu.

(3)  For more details on the annexes to submit please refer to Section 14 of the Applicants' Guidelines

(4)  The ENGO must provide proof that all national organisations/branches have statutory links with the European body/secretariat.

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