The new Erasmus+ programme 2022 has been just published. The total budget earmarked for this call for proposals is estimated at EUR 3 179 million!
In this blog we will share some general information with you on KA1 deadlines and give practical tips on how to plan your work on project preparation. In the final part we present an example answer for one of the application form questions.
Erasmus+ is an excellent tool to help educational organisations with overall development. KA1 aims to give your people chances to work on their personal and professional growth by, attending inspiring courses, meeting new people, visiting other countries and organisations, and working together on European level. So If you would like to send your staff or learners for free to courses like the ones we offer in Ireland or Poland you have more than 2 months!
The crucial deadlines for project submissions in KA1 are as follows:
| Mobility of individuals in VET, school education and adult education fields | 23 February at 12:00* |
| Erasmus Accreditations in VET, school education and adult education | 19 October at 12:00 |
| Erasmus Accreditations in the field of youth | 19 October at 12:00 |
| Mobility of individuals in the field of youth | 23 February at 12:00 |
| Mobility of individuals in the field of youth | 4 October at 12:00 |
*all deadlines are set in Brussels time
Detailed information about the programme can be found in the updated Erasmus+ Programme Guide.
People come to our courses from all over the Europe to learn about project management, creativity and work-life balance methods. With our support, they implement the new tools and skills they have learned through our courses in their organisations.
The good news is that Erasmus+ funding covers 100% of travel and course expenditures. There is even a small budget available for project management and promotion. However, the challenge is that you need to work hard to get the funding. By work hard, I mean not only filling out and submitting a project application before the 23rd of February 2022, but also defining the project proposal. This should be a process in which the organisation management board and staff are very closely linked. Erasmus+ funding is only reasonable if you seriously want to work on people development. This is not a programme for traveling and visiting interesting countries (of course indirectly it is) but to enhance the professional growth of your organisation. To write a good application you should take the following steps:
- Organisation needs analysis – in our Guide you can find the example of an internal workshop that you can carry out with your people. You need to find out where the gap between your strategic objectives and your staff/teachers/trainers abilities lies. You may also want to ask your people about the direction they would like the organisation to take – this type of approach builds employee engagement and empowerment.
- Erasmus+ possibilities overview – once you know what your needs are you will need to confront these findings with Erasmus+ eligible activities. It is possible that only part of your needs will be covered with the programme however that is normal and looks very convincing in your project justification.
- Finding a partner – Erasmus+ is based on international cooperation. It helps organisations carry out different types of projects, in this case, fund a person to participate in training, study or job shadow abroad. You therefore need an international partner to host your staff or to organise exchange projects (depending on the sector and/or activity you choose). You can read about how to find a good partner in one of our blogs: How to prepare a collaboration model for an international project?
- Writing an application form – when you have the satisfying results of the previous steps you will need about 2 weeks to develop a good application form. The work includes; answering the given questions, verifying the project logic and consistency, consultation with partners and staff, approving project by your management. Afterwards, you are ready to submit!
The application form is divided into several sections: Context, Participating Organisations, Background, Project objectives, Activities, Quality Standards, Follow-up, Project Summary. Each consist of couple of question you need to give coherent and convincing answer.
To help you and the rest of our community we have developed Erasmus+ KA1 Guide. We have created two fictional organisations and used them as an example to show you how to answer questions in the application form. The first one is an NGO Avalon, and the second one is a primary school. Below we have presented an example of how to describe the activities our fictional NGO would like to implement. They come from the results of the needs analyses and answer the challenges Avalon would like to overcome thanks to Erasmus + funding.
Remember, this is only an example! Your actual answers should be your own and may vary from organisation to organisation.
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SECTION: ACTIVITY Description Please provide some basic information about your plans for this type of activities (e.g. courses and training). If you plan to organise more than one activity of this type, your answers should cover all of the planned activities. Please briefly describe the content of the activities you plan to organise (max 3000 characters)
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Answer: The project duration is one year. It will consist of three stages: 1.) international training in Ireland and Spain with M-Powered Projects, the host organisation 2.) implementation of new knowledge and processes in Avalon . 3.) internal training of an additional 20 employees and volunteers in Avalon. In August, M-Powered Projects will conduct a thorough needs analysis of the project participants and will assess their language skills. They will also evaluate Avalon’s current project management processes and teaching methods. M-Powered will prepare a list of a recommended literature and a glossary of key terms needed for participation in their courses. In September 2022, six key Avalon employees (trainers and social workers) will take part in the first international course in Spain, “Life Balance for Educators and Students”. The course programme will include such topics as: – Work Life Balance: Meaning, best practice, and strategies – Individual Work Life Balance – Values Map: How values determine our choices – What WLB means to me: How can I plan and effectively adjust balance over time? – A Toolbox of WLB Time Management Tools – Work Life Balance Solutions for Educational Organisations – Design Thinking Jam: Brainstorming WLB solutions for education organisations – WLB Strategies: Action planning
In November 2022, the management team of Avalon will take place in the “Successful Team = Successful Project” course in Ireland. They will acquire knowledge on: – European projects, programmes, and portfolios – Project life cycle and timeline – Project Management Handbooks – What are geographically dispersed teams? – Task delegation – Team building techniques In June 2023, an additional 20 people will be trained internally on WLB, mindfulness, empowerment methods and project management in Avalon. The final evaluation of project results will take place in July and August 2022. |
We wish you good luck with your Erasmus+ project. If your organisation needs support with project development, please do not hesitate to contact us: marzena@m-powered.eu, kasia@m-powered.eu.
