Finding good, reliable partners who will deliver is one of the most important tasks in writing a successful project. The last thing you want is to be stuck in a partnership that just does not work for a two or three-year project.

A good relationship with your partner organisation leads to easy project implementation!

At M-Powered we’re all about building partnerships. We’ve seen firsthand how European partnerships can deliver cutting-edge innovation, all while fostering lasting, respectful and fruitful professional collaborations that transcend borders, languages, and culture. This is the beauty of European cooperation and it’s a big part of what we love about these projects.

M-Powered is partnering with Access Europe to help build partnerships between Irish NGOs and public bodies, and other organisations throughout the EU. We’re organising an Erasmus+ KA2 partnership building OPEN SPACE for adult education, vocational education and training & youth.

This FREE online event will take place on 5 May 2021, 5.00 – 6.30 pm CET. Places are limited! So if you’re looking for partners or would like to join a new project, register here today: https://forms.gle/ExoJtmEN9qQgbZTSA

By joining this partnership building event, you get:

• An overview of Erasmus+ KA2 opportunities
• A chance to introduce your OWN PROJECT IDEA and to meet potential partners from Ireland and other countries
• The opportunity to be recruited as a project partner by applicant organisations
• Time and space to meet and collaborate in an international arena

Get the chance to meet potential partners and share your ideas in this OPEN SPACE!

About the Erasmus+ programme

Erasmus+ is the EU Programme in the fields of education, training, youth and sport for the period 2021-2027.The Programme has an overall indicative financial envelope of more than 26 billion EUR of the EU Budget for the seven years.

GENERAL OBJECTIVE

The general objective of the Programme is to support, through lifelong learning, the educational, professional and personal development of people in education, training, youth and sport, in Europe and beyond, thereby contributing to sustainable growth, quality jobs and social cohesion, to driving innovation, and to strengthening European identity and active citizenship.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

The Programme has the following specific objectives:

• promote learning mobility of individuals and groups, as well as cooperation, quality, inclusion and equity, excellence, creativity and innovation at the level of organisations and policies in the field of education and training;
• promote non-formal and informal learning mobility and active participation among young people, as well as cooperation, quality, inclusion, creativity and innovation at the level of organisations and policies in the field of youth;
• promote learning mobility of sport staff, as well as cooperation, quality, inclusion, creativity and innovation at the level of sport organisations and sport policies.

PRIORITIES OF THE ERASMUS+ PROGRAMME

• Inclusion and Diversity
• Digital Transformation
• Environment and fight against climate change
• Participation in democratic life

You can find a summary of KEY ACTION 1 here

KEY ACTION 2 – COOPERATION AMONG ORGANISATIONS AND INSTITUTIONS

Types of projects:

Partnerships for Cooperation, including:

• Cooperation Partnerships: The primary goal of Cooperation Partnerships is to allow organisations to increase the quality and relevance of their activities, to develop and reinforce their networks of partners, to increase their capacity to operate jointly at transnational level, boosting internationalisation of their activities, and through exchanging or developing new practices and methods as well as sharing and confronting ideas.
• Small-scale Partnerships: this action aims at widening access to the programme to small-scale actors and individuals who are hard to reach in the fields of school education, adult education, vocational education and training, youth and sport. With lower grant amounts awarded to organisations, shorter duration and simpler administrative requirements compared to the Cooperation Partnerships, this action aims at reaching out to grassroots organisations and newcomers to the Programme and less experienced organisations, reducing entry barriers to the programme for organisations with smaller organisational capacity.

Partnerships for Excellence, including:

• European Universities: This action supports the emergence of bottom-up networks of higher education institutions, which will bring cross-border cooperation to the next level of ambition, through the development of joint long-term strategies for top-quality education, research and innovation, based on a common vision and shared values;
• Centres for Vocational Excellence: This initiative supports the development of transnational platforms of centres of vocational excellence closely integrated in local and regional strategies for growth, innovation and competitiveness, while supporting overall structural changes and economic policies in the European Union;
• Erasmus+ Teacher Academies: The overall objective of this action is to create European partnerships of teacher education and training providers to set up Erasmus+ Teacher Academies that will develop a European and international outlook in teacher education. These Academies will embrace multilingualism and cultural diversity, develop teacher education in line with the EU’s priorities in education policy and contribute to the objectives of the European Education Area.
• Erasmus Mundus Action: This action aims at fostering excellence and world-wide internationalisation of higher education institutions via study programmes – at master course level – jointly delivered and jointly recognised by higher education institutions established in Europe, and open to institutions in other countries of the world.

Partnerships for Innovation, including:

• Alliances for Innovation: This action aims at fostering strategic cooperation between key players in higher education and vocational education and training, business and research – the “knowledge triangle” – to foster innovation and modernisation of education and training systems in identifying and supplying the right set of skills, knowledge and competences to match the future labour market demand in sectors and fields that are strategic for Europe’s sustainable growth and competitiveness;
• Forward-looking Projects: This action will aim to foster innovation, creativity and e-participation, as well as social entrepreneurship in different fields of education, training, youth and sport. It will support forward-looking ideas based around key European priorities, and that have the potential of becoming mainstreamed and giving input for improving education and training, youth and sport systems, as well as to bring a substantial innovative effect in terms of methods and practices to all types of learning and active participation settings for Europe’s social cohesion.

Capacity Building projects in the field of youth: this action supports cooperation and exchange in the field of youth between Programme and Partner Country organisations and covers non-formal learning activities, with a focus on raising the capacity of organisations working with young people outside formal learning, while ensuring the active participation of young people.

Not-for-profit sport events: This action will support the preparation, organisation and follow up of not-for-profit sport events, organised either in one single country or in several countries by not-for-profit organisations or public bodies active in the field of sport. These events will aim at increasing the visibility of the Erasmus+ sport actions as well as raise awareness on the role of sport in promoting social inclusion, equal opportunities and health-enhancing physical activities.

 The most important features of KA2 cooperation partnerships and small-scale partnerships

Official application rules are here.

COOPERATION PARTNERSHIPS

Who can apply?
Any participating organisation established in a Programme Country can be the applicant. This organisation applies on behalf of all participating organisations involved in the project.

Which types of organisations are eligible to participate in the project?
Any public or private organisation, established in a Programme Country or in any Partner Country of the world.

Number and profile of participating organisations
A Cooperation Partnership is a transnational project and involves minimum three organisations from three different Programme Countries.

Duration of Project
Between 12 and 36 months.

When to apply

• For Partnerships in the fields of education, training and youth: 20 May at 12:00:00 (midday Brussels time) for projects starting between 1November of the same year and 28 February of the following year.
• For Partnerships in the field of sport and for Partnerships in the fields of education, training and youth submitted by European NGOs: 20 May at 17:00:00 (Brussels time)
• For Partnerships in the field youth a possible additional deadline: 3 November at 12:00:00 (midday Brussels time) for projects starting between 1 March and 31 May of the following year.

Budget:

• For Cooperation partnerships proposals in the field of education training and youth managed by the Erasmus+ National Agencies: minimum of 100 000 EUR and maximum of 400 000 EUR
• For Cooperation partnerships proposals in the field of Sport, or education training and youth submitted by a European NGO, managed by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) in Brussels: The proposed funding model consists of a menu of 3 single lump sums, corresponding to the total grant amount for the project: 120 000 EUR, 250 000 EUR and 400 000 EUR. Applicants will choose between the 3 pre-defined amounts according to the activities they want to undertake and the results they want to achieve.

SMALL-SCALE PARTNERSHIPS

Who can apply?
Any participating organisation established in a Programme Country can be the applicant. This organisation applies on behalf of all participating organisations involved in the project.

Which types of organisations are eligible to participate in the project?
Any public or private organisation120, established in a Programme Country

Number and profile of participating organisations
A Small-scale Partnership is transnational and involves minimum two organisations from two different Programme Countries.

Duration of Project
Between 6 and 24 months.

When to apply
For Small-scale Partnerships in the fields of vocational education and training, school education, adult education and youth:

• by 20 May at 12:00:00 (midday Brussels time) for projects starting between 1 November of the same year and 28 February of the following year.
• by 3 November at 12:00:00 (midday Brussels time) for projects starting between 1 March and 31 May of the following year.

For Small-scale Partnerships in the field of sport: by 20 May 2021 at17:00:00(midday Brussels time)

Budget
The proposed funding model consists of a menu of two possible lump sums, corresponding to the total grant amount for the project. Applicants will choose between the two pre-defined amounts according to the activities they want to undertake and the results they want to achieve:

Single lump sum amounts:

• 30 000 EUR
• 60 000 EUR

For other KA2 actions check the programme guide here.