15.6.2012

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 169/19

---

Call for proposals — EACEA/20/12

under the Lifelong Learning Programme

Implementation of the European strategic objectives in education and training (ET 2020) (stakeholder cooperation, experimentation and innovation)

2012/C 169/08

Part A —

Support to national implementation and awareness-raising of the objectives of European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020)

Part B —

Support to implementation of innovative learning environments using ICT (called ‘creative classrooms’) in the frame of transnational cooperation in the development and implementation of transversal education and training policy issues linked to the priorities set out in Europe 2020 and ET 2020

1.   Objectives and description

The general objective of the call for proposals is:

to promote the implementation of the four strategic objectives of the ‘Strategic framework for European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020)’ (lifelong learning and mobility; quality and efficiency; equity, social cohesion and active citizenship; creativity and innovation) and the strategic priorities agreed for 2012-14 through activities improving institutional commitment, coordination and partnership with all relevant stakeholders at national/regional/local levels, by:

—	supporting awareness-raising and institutional commitment, coordination and partnership with all stakeholders, with a focus on the role of education and training in preventing and reducing youth unemployment (part A),

—

supporting trans-national co-operation (policy experimentation, joint policy development, exchange of good practice and innovation) in the development and implementation of innovative policy approaches in line with the priorities set out in Europe 2020 and ET 2020, with a focus on ‘creative classrooms’ (part B).

Transnational cooperation may occur at national, regional or local level; it may cover different types (formal, non-formal, informal) and levels (pre-school, primary, secondary, tertiary, adult, initial and continuing vocational education and training) of learning and may include links to other sectors (e.g. employment and business).

2.   Eligible organisations

This call is open to organisations established in the countries participating in the Lifelong Learning Programme.

Applications must be submitted by a legal person having the legal capacity. Natural persons may not apply for a grant.

Beneficiaries can be national or regional ministries in charge of education and training and lifelong learning policies, and other authorities/bodies and stakeholders’ organisations active in the development and implementation of lifelong learning policies. Stakeholders’ organisations include European, national and regional associations or organisations whose main activities or core responsibilities are directly linked to any education and training sector, in particular social partner organisations and other national or regional associations that represent the interests of a societal group in the establishment and implementation of lifelong learning policies.

For the purpose of this call, all higher education institutions accredited by Member States (participating countries), and all institutions or organisations providing learning opportunities which have received over 50 % of their annual revenues from public sources over the last two years (other European Union grants for an action excluded), or which are controlled by public bodies or their representatives, are considered to be public bodies. Such organisations are required to state in a signed declaration of honour (included in the application package) that their organisation complies with the abovementioned definition of public body. The Agency reserves the right to request documentation to prove the veracity of this declaration.

Part A.1 —   Support to national implementation and awareness-raising of the objectives of European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020) focused on involvement of public authorities

Applications for funding may be made by one or more national or regional authorities from the same country responsible for education and training and lifelong learning policies (pre-primary, schools, VET, higher education and adult learning), or other bodies and stakeholders’ organisations designated by such authorities to reply to the call. Signed designation letter(s) from the involved authority must be sent with the paper version of the proposal.

Part A.2 —   Support to national implementation and awareness-raising of the objectives of European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020) focused on involvement of stakeholder organisations

Applications for funding may be made only by national partnerships composed of at least three organisations directly involved in the development and implementation of lifelong learning policies.

Part B —   Support to implementation of innovative learning environments using ICT (called ‘creative classrooms’) in the frame of transnational cooperation in the development and implementation of transversal education and training policy issues linked to the priorities set out in Europe 2020 and ET 2020

Applications for funding may only be made by a national or regional ministry directly involved in the development and implementation of lifelong learning policies, or another organisation designated by such a ministry to reply to the call.

The transnational partnerships must be composed of at least five organisations involving three or more eligible countries. At least one partner by country must be a national or regional ministry directly involved in the development and implementation of lifelong learning policies or another organisation designated by such a ministry to reply to the call.

Signed designation letter(s) from the delegating ministry(ies) must be sent with the paper version of the proposal.

Applications may be submitted by organisations (including all partner organisations) established in countries participating in the Lifelong Learning Programme:

—	the 27 EU Member States,

—	the three EEA/EFTA countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway,

—	candidate countries: Croatia, former Yugoslave Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey,

—	Switzerland.

Third country participation is not allowed for this action.

At least one country of the partnership must be an EU Member State (applies only to part B of this call).

3.   Eligible activities

Part A.1 —   Support to national implementation and awareness-raising of the objectives of European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020) focused on involvement of public authorities

The activities to be financed under this part of the call include (specific objectives):

—

awareness-raising activities supporting national debates and dialogue linked to the implementation of the four strategic objectives of ET 2020 (such as national or regional conferences, seminars or workshops), with a focus on how to use lifelong learning tools and services for young people to obtain the right skills and competences for the labour market,

—

the establishment of stakeholders fora and other activities which will contribute to better coherence and coordination at national level in the process of establishing and implementing coherent and comprehensive national lifelong learning strategies, with a focus on equipping young people with the right skills and competences for the labour market,

—

dissemination and awareness-raising activities under ET 2020 of tools or reference material (e.g. information activities, including media campaigns, publicity events, etc.), with a focus on the lifelong learning tools and services that enhance the capacity of alternative learning pathways for young people and low-qualified adults to attain right skills and competences for the labour market through, for example, validation of non-formal and informal learning, career guidance, qualifications frameworks, mobility, etc.,

—	follow-up actions linked to existing national programmes aiming at establishing and implementing the Education and Training Open Method of Coordination activities under the ET 2020 strategy at national level, with a special focus on young people and adults with low or no qualification.

Part A.2 —   Support to national implementation and awareness-raising of the objectives of European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020) focused on involvement of stakeholder organisations

The activities to be financed under this part of the call include (specific objectives):

—

awareness-raising activities supporting national debates and dialogue linked to the implementation of the four strategic objectives of ET 2020 (such as national or regional conferences, seminars or workshops), with a focus on how to use lifelong learning tools and services for young people to obtain the right skills and competences for the labour market,

—

the establishment of stakeholders fora and other activities which will contribute to better coherence and coordination at national level in the process of establishing and implementing coherent and comprehensive national lifelong learning strategies, with a focus on equipping young people with the right skills and competences for the labour market,

—	follow-up actions linked to existing national programmes aiming at establishing and implementing the Education and Training Open Method of Coordination activities under the ET 2020 at national level, with a special focus on young people and adults with low or no qualifications.

Part B —   Support to implementation of innovative learning environments using ICT (called ‘creative classrooms’) in the frame of transnational cooperation in the development and implementation of transversal education and training policy issues linked to the priorities set out in Europe 2020 and ET 2020

The activities to be financed under this part of the call include (specific objectives):

—

policy experimentations by transnational partnerships, involving relevant authorities, stakeholders and research institutions. Actions will not address broad topics, but target concrete common policy concerns. Appropriate importance has to be given to developing a robust evidence base and involving reliable monitoring, evaluation and reporting procedures of the multiple experimentations of ‘creative classroom’ settings,

—	jointly designing and testing innovative tools and practices through experimentations involving a sufficiently high number of educational establishments to reach a representative critical mass,

—

actions aiming at analysing from a policy point of view the effectiveness, efficiency and conditions of generalisation of the experimentations, as well as transnational transfer of the lessons learned and good practice (peer learning) which may include analyses, conferences and seminars, aimed at directly supporting policy-making and implementation,

—	actions to ensure systematic dissemination at national and international level and foster transferability between different education and training systems and policies.

For parts A and B:

Activities must start between 1 March 2013 and 31 May 2013.

The mandatory duration of projects is 12 months for part A and 24 months for part B. No applications will be accepted for projects scheduled to run for a different period than that specified in this call for proposals.

No extensions to the eligibility period beyond the maximum duration will be granted. However, if after the signing of the agreement and the start of the project it becomes impossible for the beneficiary, for fully justified reasons beyond his control, to complete the project within the scheduled period, an extension to the eligibility period may be granted. A maximum extension of three additional months may be granted for part A and six additional months for part B, if requested before the deadline specified in the agreement. The maximum duration will then be 15 months for part A and 30 months for part B.

Consortia must allow in their budgets and planning provision for two meetings in Brussels during the project lifetime: an inception meeting bringing together all the successful projects, and a further monitoring meeting (could be required by the Agency during the lifetime of the project). It is expected that each consortium will be invited to send maximum two representatives.

4.   Award criteria

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

Part A —   Support to national implementation and awareness-raising of the objectives of European cooperation in education and training (ET 2020)

1.   Relevance: based on the call for proposals, the objectives are clear, realistic and address relevant issues and target groups, including a wide range of key stakeholders at all levels concerned by the establishment and implementation of lifelong learning strategies, including policy and decision makers, practitioners, providers, social partners, representatives of civil society and learners (30 %).

2.   Quality of the plan of actions: the organisation of the work is clear and appropriate to achieving the objectives; tasks/activities are defined in such a way that the results will be achieved on time and to budget (10 %).

3.   Quality of the methodology: the tools and practical approaches proposed are coherent and appropriate to address the identified needs for clearly identified target groups (10 %).

4.   Quality of the project team: the project team includes all the skills, recognised expertise and competences required to carry out all aspects of the plan of actions, and there is an appropriate distribution of tasks across its members (10 %).

5.   The cost-benefit ratio: the grant application demonstrates value for money in terms of the activities planned relative to the budget foreseen (10 %).

6.   Impact: the foreseeable effects of the project's activities on target groups and systems concerned are clearly defined and consistent with the objectives set; measures are planned to ensure that those effects can be achieved. The results of the activities are likely to be significant (20 %).

7.   Quality of the valorisation plan (dissemination and exploitation of results): the extent to which the planned dissemination and exploitation activities will ensure optimal use of the results beyond the participants in the proposal, during and beyond the lifetime of the project (10 %).

Part B —   Support to implementation of innovative learning environments using ICT (called ‘creative classrooms’) in the frame of transnational cooperation in the development and implementation of transversal education and training policy issues linked to the priorities set out in Europe 2020 and ET 2020

1.   Relevance: based on the call for proposals, the objectives are clear, realistic and address relevant issues and target groups, including a wide range of key stakeholders at all levels concerned by the establishment and implementation of lifelong learning strategies including policy and decision makers, practitioners, providers, social partners, representatives of civil society and learners (30 %).

2.   Quality of the plan of actions: the organisation of the work is clear and appropriate to achieving the objectives; tasks/activities are distributed among the partners in such a way that the results will be achieved on time and to budget (10 %).

3.   Quality of the methodology: the tools and practical approaches proposed are coherent, innovative and appropriate to address the identified needs for clearly identified target groups (10 %).

4.   Quality of the consortium: the consortium includes all the skills, recognised expertise and competences required to carry out all aspects of the plan of actions, and there is an appropriate distribution of tasks across the partners (10 %).

5.   the cost-benefit ratio: the grant application demonstrates value for money in terms of the activities planned relative to the budget foreseen (10 %).

6.   Impact and European added value: the foreseeable effects of the project activities on target groups and systems concerned are clearly defined and consistent with the objectives set; measures are planned to ensure that those effects can be achieved. The results of the activities are likely to be significant and the benefits of and need for European cooperation (on top of national, regional or local approaches) are clearly demonstrated (20 %).

7.   Quality of the valorisation plan (dissemination and exploitation of results): the extent to which the planned dissemination and exploitation activities will ensure optimal use of the results beyond the participants in the proposal, during and beyond the lifetime of the project (10 %).

5.   Budget

The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects amounts to EUR 3,8 million.

Financial contribution from the European Union cannot exceed 75 % of the total eligible costs.

The maximum grant per project will be EUR 120 000 for part A (A.1 and A.2) and EUR 800 000 for part B.

The Agency intends to allocate the amount available according to the following indicative proportion: EUR 1 500 000 for part A and EUR 2 300 000 for part B. However, the final allocation depends on the number and quality of the proposals received for parts A and B.

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

6.   Deadline for submission

Only applications submitted on the correct form, duly completed, dated, showing a balanced budget (revenue/expenditure), submitted online (original) and signed by the person authorised to enter into legally binding commitments on behalf of the applicant organisation will be accepted.

Deadline: Monday 1 October 2012 12.00 noon (Central European Time)

Applications which do not include all the stipulated documents and which are not submitted before the deadline will not be considered.

A complete application consists of the following:

—	one original application package (eForm and its four attachments). To be submitted online as instructed in the eForm User Guide. This version, including its attachments, is considered to be the master version,

—

one paper version to be sent immediately after the deadline containing: — copy of the application package: submitted eForm (with received reference number) with its attachments (including the originally signed declaration on honour), — for parts A1 and B (when applicable): duly signed designation letter from public authority/ministry must be sent with the paper version of the proposal. The letters must use the models provided. Signed fax or scanned versions of the designation letters will be accepted at proposal stage, but originals will have to be available at the moment of establishing the agreement. If no designation letter is provided, the proposal could be declared ineligible, — mandate letters from all partners (for all multi-beneficiary agreement, i.e. when more than one participant is involved). The letters must use the models provided. Signed fax or scanned versions of the mandate letters will be accepted at proposal stage, but originals will have to be available at the moment of establishing the agreement, — proof of legal existance (copy of articles of associations and/or legal registration documents), — annual account for the most recent financial year, — financial capacity form (only for private organisations), — financial identification form, — VAT registration (when applicable).

The paper version must be sent by ordinary or registered mail immediately after the online submission to the following address:

Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency

Unit P9 — Lifelong Learning: Eurydice and Policy Support

Key Activity 1 — ECET

Call for proposals EACEA/20/12 — Part A.1/Part A.2/Part B (please specify)

BOU2 01/055

Avenue du Bourget/Bourgetlaan 1

1140 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

Applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered.

Applications sent by fax or only by e-mail will not be accepted.

7.   Further information

Detailed guidelines of the call for proposals and the application package are available on the following website:

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/llp/funding/2012/call_ecet_2012_en.php

Applications must be submitted using the forms provided and contain all the attachments, annexes and information as required in the detailed guidelines.

---