CALL FOR PROPOSALS - EACEA/02/2019 GUIDELINES FOR APPLICANTS - Erasmus+ Programme KA1 - Learning Mobility of Individuals Erasmus Charter for ...
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CALL FOR PROPOSALS – EACEA/02/2019
Erasmus+ Programme
KA1 – Learning Mobility of Individuals
Erasmus Charter for Higher Education
Selection year 2020
GUIDELINES FOR APPLICANTS
1Table of Contents
1. INTRODUCTION – BACKGROUND .......................................................................... 3
2. OBJECTIVES ................................................................................................................. 3
3. TIMETABLE .................................................................................................................. 4
4. ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................... 5
5. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA .............................................................................................. 5
6. EXCLUSION CRITERIA ........................................................................................... 6
6.1. Exclusion from participation ............................................................................. 6
6.2. Rejection from the award procedure ................................................................. 8
6.3. Supporting documents ....................................................................................... 9
7. AWARD CRITERIA .................................................................................................... 10
7.1. Adherence to the ECHE principles ................................................................. 10
7.2. "Pressure points" among the ECHE principles ............................................... 10
7.3. Quality of the Application ............................................................................... 12
8. PUBLICITY .................................................................................................................. 12
9. DATA PROTECTION .................................................................................................. 12
10. PROCEDURE FOR THE SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS................................... 13
10.1 Publication ....................................................................................................... 13
10.2 Registration in the Participant Portal............................................................... 13
10.3 Submitting the Application ............................................................................. 13
10.4 Rules applicable .............................................................................................. 14
10.5 Contacts ........................................................................................................... 14
ANNEX. GUIDELINES TO APPLICANTS FOR SUBMITTING PROPOSALS ......... 15
1. General Provisions ................................................................................................ 15
2. Registering your PIC ............................................................................................. 15
3. Creating and Completing the eForm ..................................................................... 15
3.1. General information – context ........................................................... 15
3.2. Part A: Applicant organisation, Legal representative and
Coordinator ........................................................................................ 16
3.3. Part B: Erasmus Policy statement – Overall strategy ........................ 16
3.4. Part C: Statistics ................................................................................ 17
3.5. Part D: General organisation of Programme activities ...................... 17
3.6. Part E: Endorsing the application ...................................................... 18
3.7. Part F: Annex to be attached to the application form and
submission ......................................................................................... 18
21. INTRODUCTION – BACKGROUND
This call for proposals is based on Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing 'Erasmus+': the Union
programme for education, training, youth and sport and repealing Decisions No
1719/2006/EC, No 1720/2006/EC and No 1298/2008/EC (Official Journal of the European
Union L 347/50 of 20.12.2013).
In higher education, Erasmus+ aims to support the EU's renewed agenda for higher
education. The Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE) sets out the fundamental
principles and the minimum requirements with which higher education institutions (HEIs)
must comply when applying for and implementing activities under Erasmus+. Holding an
ECHE is a pre-requisite for all Higher Education Institutions located in an eligible country
and willing to participate in the learning mobility of individuals and/or cooperation for
innovation and good practices in the programme.
By signing the ECHE, the HEI confirms that its participation in Erasmus+ is part of its
strategy for modernisation and internationalisation. This strategy acknowledges the key
contribution of student and staff mobility and of participation in international cooperation
projects, to the quality of its higher education programmes and student experience. The
charter aims to reinforce the quality of student and staff mobility and guide how the
programme is monitored.
A call for proposals for the award of the ECHE is launched annually by EACEA (the
Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency). If awarded, the Charter is valid
for the entire duration of the Erasmus+ Programme. The conditions for applying to
receive an ECHE are described on the Executive Agency's website.
All applicants have to fill in the application form providing accurate and detailed
information. This application form needs to be carefully and thoroughly completed as it
will be used for selection and monitoring how the HEI implements the ECHE principles
under Erasmus+ (see also the ECHE monitoring guide for Erasmus+ National Agencies).
Period of validity of the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE)
Once approved by the European Commission and signed by the HEI's legal
representative, the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education remains valid for the full
duration of the Erasmus+ programme, until the end of the academic year 2020-2021.
How well the HEI complies with the ECHE principles will be monitored by the National
Agency through visits, reporting, participant reports, etc. HEIs must respect all of the
ECHE principles. Violating the ECHE principles and commitments may lead to withdrawal
by the European Commission.
When non-compliance is identified, an action plan will be agreed between the HEI and
the National Agency to solve any problems. If the action plan is not satisfactorily
implemented by the HEI within the agreed timeline, this will be reported to the European
Commission and may lead to the charter's withdrawal.
2. Objectives
Through the Call, HEIs located in Programme Countries can be accredited to take part in
Erasmus+ activities, such as learning mobility of individuals and/or cooperation for
innovation and good practices.
3The Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE) provides the general quality
framework within which an HEI may carry out Erasmus+ European and international
cooperation activities. The award of an Erasmus Charter for Higher Education is a pre-
requisite for all HEIs located in one of the countries listed below and wanting to apply
and participate in learning mobility of individuals and/or cooperation for innovation and
good practices under the Erasmus+ Programme. For HEIs located in other countries, the
ECHE is not required, and the quality framework is established through inter-institutional
agreements between HEIs, which include the obligation to observe ECHE principles. The
Charter is awarded for the full duration of the Erasmus+ Programme. The charter's
implementation will be monitored and violation of any of its principles and commitments
may lead to its withdrawal.
3. Timetable
Stages Indicative dates
Publication of the Call 01/02/2019
29/03/2019 – 12:00 (midday Brussels time
Deadline for submitting eForm applications
- CET)
Evaluation period:
April-September 2019
Eligibility & exclusion criteria
Selection & award criteria
Award Decision End of September 2019
Written result notification to applicants &
sending of the Charter to successful October 2019
applicants
44. Admissibility Requirements
Applications must comply with the following:
they must be sent no later than 29/03/2019 (12:00 midday Brussels time - CET);
they must be submitted by using the online application form (eForm);
they must be written in one of the 24 official languages of the EU
the "Endorsement of the application" (part E) must bear the signature of the legal
representative of the institution and, if required, the stamps or seals of the
institution.
For the Call - EACEA/02/2019, applicants must use the online ECHE application form
(eForm) and its attachments. For more details, please see the annex of these guidelines
where the submission process is fully explained.
Please note that only typed applications will be considered.
Failure to comply with those requirements will lead to the rejection of the application.
In order to submit an application, applicants must provide their Participant Identification
Code (PIC) in the application form. The PIC can be obtained by registering the
organisation in the Unique Registration Facility (URF) hosted in the Education,
Audiovisual, Culture, Citizenship and Volunteering Participant Portal. The Unique
Registration Facility is a tool shared by other services of the European Commission. If an
applicant already has a PIC that has been used for other programmes (for example the
Research programmes), the same PIC is valid for the present call for proposals.
The Participant Portal allows applicants to upload or update the information related to
their legal status and attach the requested legal and financial documents.
See section 2 of the Annex for more information.
5. Eligibility Criteria
HEIs established in one of the following countries are eligible to apply for an
Erasmus Charter for Higher Education:
a) the 28 Member States of the European Union;
b) the EEA countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway;
c) the EU candidate countries: the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Serbia and Turkey.
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 European Union during the grant period without concluding an agreement with
the European Union 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;
5 Applicants must be considered a 'higher education institution' in their country, as
defined in Article 2 of the Erasmus+ legal base1:
a) any type of higher education institution which, in accordance with national
law or practice, offers recognised degrees or other recognised tertiary level
qualifications, whatever such establishment may be called;
b) any institution which, in accordance with national law or practice, offers
vocational education or training at tertiary level;
After all applications are submitted, National Authorities shall confirm which
Higher Education Institutions who applied are eligible to participate in learning
mobility of individuals and/or cooperation for innovation and good practices under
Erasmus+, in their respective territories.
The application is not submitted by a consortium.
For further information on the eligibility of institutions, please contact your National
Agency for Erasmus+.
For further information on who can participate in Erasmus+, please consult part A
"Participants" in the Erasmus+ Programme Guide.
6. Exclusion Criteria
6.1. Exclusion from participation
The authorising officer shall exclude an applicant from participating in call for proposals
procedures where:
a) the applicant is bankrupt, subject to insolvency or winding-up procedures, where
its assets are being administered by a liquidator or by a court, where it is in an
arrangement with creditors, where its business activities are suspended, or where
it is in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for under
national laws or regulations;
b) it has been established by a final judgment or a final administrative decision that
the applicant is in breach of its obligations relating to the payment of taxes or
social security contributions in accordance with the law of the country in which it
is established, with those of the country in which the authorising officer is located
or those of the country of the performance of the contract;
c) it has been established by a final judgment or a final administrative decision that
the applicant is guilty of grave professional misconduct by having violated
applicable laws or regulations or ethical standards of the profession to which the
applicant belongs, or by having engaged in any wrongful conduct which has an
impact on its professional credibility where such conduct denotes wrongful intent
or gross negligence, including, in particular, any of the following:
fraudulently or negligently misrepresenting information required for the
verification of the absence of grounds for exclusion or the fulfilment of
selection criteria or in the performance of a contract, a grant agreement or
a grant decision;
1
Official Journal of the European Union L347/50 of 20th December 2013
6entering into agreement with other applicants with the aim of distorting
competition;
violating intellectual property rights;
attempting to influence the decision-making process of the Agency during
the award procedure;
attempting to obtain confidential information that may confer upon it
undue advantages in the award procedure;
d) it has been established by a final judgment that the applicant is guilty of any of
the following:
fraud, within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention on the
protection of the European Communities' financial interests, drawn up by
the Council Act of 26 July 1995;
corruption, as defined in Article 3 of the Convention on the fight against
corruption involving officials of the European Communities or officials of
Member States of the European Union, drawn up by the Council Act of 26
May 1997, and in Article 2(1) of Council Framework Decision
2003/568/JHA, as well as corruption as defined in the law of the country
where the contracting authority is located, the country in which the
applicant is established or the country of the performance of the contract;
participation in a criminal organisation, as defined in Article 2 of Council
Framework Decision 2008/841/JHA;
money laundering or terrorist financing, as defined in Article 1 of Directive
2005/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council;
terrorist-related offences or offences linked to terrorist activities, as
defined in Articles 1 and 3 of Council Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA,
respectively, or inciting, aiding, abetting or attempting to commit such
offences, as referred to in Article 4 of that Decision;
child labour or other forms of trafficking in human beings as defined in
Article 2 of Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the
Council;
e) the applicant has shown significant deficiencies in complying with main obligations
in the performance of a contract, a grant agreement or a grant decision financed
by the Union's budget, which has led to its early termination or to the application
of liquidated damages or other contractual penalties, or which has been
discovered following checks, audits or investigations by an authorising officer,
OLAF or the Court of Auditors;
f) it has been established by a final judgment or final administrative decision that
the applicant has committed an irregularity within the meaning of Article 1(2) of
Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95.
g) for the situations of grave professional misconduct, fraud, corruption, other
criminal offences, significant deficiencies in the performance of the contract or
irregularity, the applicant is subject to:
facts established in the context of audits or investigations carried out by
the Court of Auditors, OLAF or internal audit, or any other check, audit or
7control performed under the responsibility of an authorising officer of an
EU institution, of a European office or of an EU agency or body;
non-final administrative decisions which may include disciplinary measures
taken by the competent supervisory body responsible for the verification of
the application of standards of professional ethics;
decisions of the ECB, the EIB, the European Investment Fund or
international organisations;
decisions of the Commission relating to the infringement of the Union's
competition rules or of a national competent authority relating to the
infringement of Union or national competition law.
decisions of exclusion by an authorising officer of an EU institution, of a
European office or of an EU agency or body.
h) a person who is a member of the administrative, management or supervisory
body of the applicant, or who has powers of representation, decision or control
with regard to that applicant (this covers the company directors, members of the
management or supervisory bodies, and cases where one person holds a majority
of shares), is in one or more of the situations referred to in points (c) to (f) above.
i) a natural or legal person that assumes unlimited liability for the debts of that
applicant is in one or more of the situations referred to in point (a) or (b) above.
If an applicant is in one of the situations of exclusion listed above, it should indicate the
measures it has taken to remedy the exclusion situation, thus demonstrating its
reliability. They may include e.g. technical, organisational and personnel measures to
prevent further occurrence, compensation of damage or payment of fines. The relevant
documentary evidence which illustrates the remedial measures taken must be provided
in annex to the declaration. This does not apply for the situations referred in point (d) of
this section.
In the cases provided in (c) to (f) above, in the absence of a final judgement or where
applicable a final administrative decision, the Agency may exclude an applicant
provisionally from participating in a call for proposals where their participation would
constitute a serious and imminent threat to the Union's financial interests.
6.2. Rejection from the award procedure
The authorising officer shall not award a grant to an applicant who:
a) is in an exclusion situation established in accordance with the above section 7.1;
b) has misrepresented the information required as a condition for participating in the
procedure or has failed to supply that information;
c) was previously involved in the preparation of a call for proposals where this
entails a distortion of competition that cannot be remedied otherwise.
Rejection from this procedure and administrative sanctions (exclusion or financial
penalty) may be imposed on applicants or affiliated entities where applicable, if any of
the declarations or information provided as a condition for participating in this procedure
prove to be false.
8The applicants should be informed that the Agency may publish on its internet site the
following information related to the exclusion and, where applicable, the financial penalty
in the cases referred to in points (c), (d), (e) and (f) of the section 7.12:
a) the name of the applicant concerned;
b) the exclusion situation;
c) the duration of the exclusion and/or the amount of the financial penalty.
In case of a preliminary classification in law (i.e. absence of a final judgement or a final
administrative decision), the publication shall indicate that there is no final judgement or
final administrative decision. In those cases, information about any appeals by the
applicant, their status and their outcome, as well as any revised decision of the
authorised officer, shall be published without delay. Where a financial penalty has been
imposed, the publication shall also indicate whether that penalty has been paid.
The decision to publish the information is taken by the Agency either following the
relevant final judgement, final administrative decision or preliminary classification in law,
as the case may be. That decision shall take effect three months after its notification to
the economic operator.
The information published shall be removed as soon as the exclusion has come to an
end. In the case of a financial penalty, the publication shall be removed six months after
payment of that penalty.
In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001, where personal data is concerned, the
Agency shall inform the applicant of its rights under the applicable data protection rules
and of the procedures available for exercising those rights.
6.3. Supporting documents
Applicants must sign a declaration on their honour certifying that they are not in one of
the situations referred to in the above sections 7.1. and 7.2, filling in the relevant form
attached to the application form accompanying the call for proposals. If applicable, the
relevant documentary evidence which appropriately illustrates any remedial measures
taken should be provided in annex to this declaration.
The declaration is available at https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-
plus/funding/erasmus-charter-for-higher-education-2014-2020-selection-2020_en
2
This information shall not be published in any of the following circumstances:
(a) where it is necessary to preserve the confidentiality of an investigation or of national judicial proceedings;
(b) where publication would cause disproportionate damage to the applicant concerned or would otherwise be
disproportionate on the basis of the proportionality criteria and to the amount of the financial penalty;
(c) where a natural person is concerned, unless the publication of personal data is exceptionally justified, inter
alia, by the seriousness of the conduct or its impact on the Union's financial interests. In such cases, the decision
to publish the information shall duly take into consideration the right to privacy and other rights provided for in
Regulation (EC) No 45/2001.
97. Award Criteria
Each eligible application is evaluated by two external higher education experts who have
to agree on whether or not to recommend that the institution is awarded the charter.
The experts evaluate applications against the following criteria:
7.1. Adherence to the ECHE principles
The principles are explained in the Annotated guidelines. All ECHE holders must adhere to
all of the principles. There are some aspects of the charter principles which must be in
place before the award of the charter. Institutions elaborate on these points in the
application form.
7.2. "Pressure points" among the ECHE principles
Each charter holding institution must comply with all of the ECHE principles. However,
three particular "pressure points" have been identified. Compliance with these points
significantly affects how Erasmus+ mobility is implemented.
In order to assure proper implementation of Erasmus+ individual mobility prior to the
award of the charter, the external higher education experts will look at the following
three "pressure points":
Course Catalogues:
“Publish and regularly update the Course Catalogue on the website of the institution well
in advance of the mobility periods, so as to be transparent to all parties and allow mobile
students to make well-informed choices about the courses they will follow.”
This ensures transparency regarding learning / teaching opportunities for mobile
students. This also implies that the HEI's offer is presented in a timely manner and
includes all the necessary information according to the ECTS Users' Guide (2015).
Applicants must provide:
a link to the course catalogue which presents the HEI's offer in a timely
manner and includes all the necessary information.
Recognition:
“Ensure full recognition for satisfactorily completed activity of study mobility and, where
possible, traineeship in terms of credits awarded (ECTS or compatible system).”
“Ensure that student … mobility for education or training purposes is based on a learning
agreement for students … validated in advance between the home and host institutions
or enterprises and the mobile participants.”
“Accept all activities indicated in the learning agreement as counting towards the degree
provided these have been satisfactorily completed by the mobile students.”
“Provide incoming mobile participants and their home institutions with transcripts
containing a full, accurate and timely record of their achievements at the end of their
mobility period.”
10Recognising learning abroad is a complex process, which relies on the learning
agreement. The learning agreement must be carefully filled out by the student, with
support from the receiving institution's course catalogue and agreement from the
sending institution on how learning abroad will be recognised upon return. The learning
agreement must be signed by all three parties before the start of the mobility.
At the end of the mobility, the receiving institution must send a transcript of records, in a
timely manner, including information on:
learning outcomes;
volume of workload (credits);
grades and information necessary to interpret them.
The learning agreement should provide a clear and easy path for recourse in case there
are difficulties in recognising learning outcomes.
ECHE applicants must provide evidence that:
learning agreements will be used correctly;
transcripts of records will include appropriate information on learning outcomes;
volume of workload (credits); grades; and the information necessary to interpret
them, in a timely manner.
proof of recognition of credits and grades (where appropriate) are given after
outgoing mobility;
there is a clear and easy path for students to have recourse in case there are
difficulties in recognition.
ECTS grade distribution tables:
Using ECTS grade distribution tables is not specifically referred to in the charter
principles. However, the ECTS Users' Guide (2015) outlines how to use such tables, and
provides full and accurate information on the grading system and grade transfer used.
This helps sending institutions to recognise learning done abroad in an appropriate way.
Full information on grading systems and grade transfer should be included in inter-
institutional agreements. Grade distribution tables should be provided with the transcript
of records (table C of the learning agreement). HEIs which do not provide grade
distribution tables with transcripts of records, should inform the partner HEIs where
information for grade conversion / transfer can be found on their website / course
catalogue. Countries that do not use numerical grades should provide full information
about their system so that their partners can calculate how grades should be converted.
Full information on grading practice will help students to understand from the beginning
how their grades will be recognised.
Applicant institutions must provide evidence that:
their inter-institutional agreements shall include full information on the grading
system;
grade distribution tables will be provided with transcripts of records (table C of the
learning agreement). Countries that do not use numerical grades should provide
full information about their system so that their partners can calculate how grades
should be converted.
117.3. Quality of the Application
Qualitative aspects are also evaluated by the experts:
Clarity and completeness of the answers: applicants must provide relevant and
complete information on how they fulfil the principles. In case a question is not
relevant for the applicant organisation, this must be justified.
How the ECHE principles covering mobility and cooperation will be fulfilled by the
HEI.
Clarity of the Erasmus Policy Statement and how coherent the institution's profile
and priorities are with mobility and cooperation under Erasmus+ Applicants
should complete their application form with accurate and detailed information. The
Erasmus Policy Statement (EPS) needs to be specific to the institution and may
not be copied from a "model" or a general framework.
The final decision on awarding the charter will be taken by the European Commission on
the recommendations of the ECHE Evaluation Committee, composed of a panel of
European Commission and Executive Agency officials.
Application forms will not only be used for awarding the ECHE, but also for monitoring
the HEI's activities under Erasmus+. This monitoring will be done by relevant National
Agency for Erasmus+.
8. Publicity
Beneficiaries should continuously promote Erasmus+ activities and their results.
Beneficiaries are required to display the charter and their Erasmus Policy Statement
prominently on their website.
9. Data Protection
All personal data (such as names, addresses, CVs, etc.) will be processed in accordance
with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of
18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of
personal data by the European Community institutions and bodies and on the free
movement of such data. 3
Unless marked as optional, the applicant's replies to the questions in the application form
are necessary to evaluate and further process the grant application in accordance with
the specifications of the call for proposals. Personal data will be processed solely for that
purpose by the department or Unit responsible for the Union grant programme concerned
(entity acting as data controller). Personal data may be transferred on a need to know
basis to third parties involved in the evaluation of applications or in the grant
management procedure, without prejudice of transfer to the bodies in charge of
monitoring and inspection tasks in accordance with European Union law. In particular, for
the purposes of safeguarding the financial interests of the Union, personal data may be
transferred to internal audit services, to the European Court of Auditors, to the Financial
Irregularities Panel or to the European Anti-Fraud Office and between authorising officers
of the Commission and the executive agencies. The applicant has the right of access to,
and to rectify, the data concerning him or her. For any question relating to these data,
please contact the Controller. Applicants have the right of recourse to the European Data
3
Official Journal L 8, 12.1.2001.
12Protection Supervisor at any time. A detailed Privacy statement, including contact
information, is available on EACEA's website:
https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/sites/eacea-site/files/privacy_statement-eacea_grants.pdf
Applicants and, if they are legal entities, persons who are members of the administrative,
management or supervisory body of that applicant or who have powers of
representation, decision or control with regard to that applicant, or natural or legal
persons that assume unlimited liability for the debts of that applicant, are informed that,
their personal data (name, given name if natural person, address, legal form and name
and given name of the persons with powers of representation, decision-making or
control, if legal person) may be registered in the Early Detection and Exclusion System
(EDES) by the Authorising Officer of the Agency, should they be in one of the situations
mentioned in the Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 2018/1046 of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 18 July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget
of the Union, amending Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No
1303/2013, (EU) No 1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No
223/2014, (EU) No 283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation
(EU, Euratom) No 966/2012 PE/13/2018/REV/1 (OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1–222).
10. PROCEDURE FOR THE SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS
10.1 Publication
The call for proposals is being published in the Official Journal of the European Union and
on the Internet site of the EACEA Agency at the following address:
https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/funding/erasmus-charter-for-higher-education-
2014-2020-selection-2020_en
10.2 Registration in the Participant Portal
Before submitting an electronic application, applicants will have to register their
organisation in the Education, Audiovisual, Culture, Citizenship and Volunteering
Participant Portal and receive a Participant Identification Code (PIC). The PIC will be
requested in the application form.
The Participant Portal is the tool through which all legal and financial information related
to organisations will be managed. Information on how to register can be found in the
portal under the following address:
http://ec.europa.eu/education/participants/portal
The tool also allows applicants to upload different documents related to their
organisation. These documents have to be uploaded once and will not be requested again
for subsequent applications by the same organisation.
10.3 Submitting the Application
Applications must be submitted in accordance with the admissibility requirements and by
the deadline set out under Section 4.
13Applications must be submitted online in one of the official EU languages, using this
online form (eForm). Part B, the "Erasmus Policy Statement", must be translated into
English, French or German, if it is not already written in one of these three languages.
Applications must be submitted by the deadline mentioned in the call for proposals and in
Section 5 of these guidelines; 29 March 2019 before 12:00 CET (midday, Brussels time),
using the online application form.
Applicants should note that no applications submitted after 12.00 CET on the deadline
will be accepted. They are very strongly encouraged not to wait until the final day to read
the User Guide and submit their application.
Please note that this is the only way to submit an application. Applications submitted in
any other way will be automatically rejected. No exceptions will be made.
Applicants will have to make sure that they have officially submitted their electronic
application form and that they have received an e-mail acknowledging receipt of their
submission, including a project reference number.
10.4 Rules applicable
Regulation (EU, Euratom) 2018/1046 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18
July 2018 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union, amending
Regulations (EU) No 1296/2013, (EU) No 1301/2013, (EU) No 1303/2013, (EU) No
1304/2013, (EU) No 1309/2013, (EU) No 1316/2013, (EU) No 223/2014, (EU) No
283/2014, and Decision No 541/2014/EU and repealing Regulation (EU, Euratom) No
966/2012 PE/13/2018/REV/1 (OJ L 193, 30.7.2018, p. 1–222).
Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 of the European Parliament and the Council of 11
December 2013 establishing 'Erasmus+': the Union programme for education, training
youth and sport, (OJEU L 347/50 of 20-12-2013).
10.5 Contacts
In case of questions, please contact:
Ms Alba Prieto González
Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency
Unit A2 – Erasmus+: Higher education – Knowledge Alliances, Bologna support, Jean Monnet
Avenue du Bourget 1
B-1049 Brussels
Email: EACEA-ECHE@ec.europa.eu
14ANNEX. GUIDELINES TO APPLICANTS FOR SUBMITTING
PROPOSALS
1. General Provisions
The section offers guidance on the eForm's content and the application procedure.
Please note that these instructions should be read together with the specific "eForm User
Guide" that gives guidance on the technical aspects of completing and submitting the
eForm.
The eForm ensures that applicants have a good chance of submitting an eligible
application. Submission is impossible unless all mandatory fields are completed.
Applicants can fill in this eForm by either:
clicking inside a text field to enter data;
clicking to select options from dropdown lists or checkboxes;
pointing and clicking with the mouse to select a specific field.
2. Registering your PIC
Participants who already have a PIC code should use the same code to apply for the
charter instead of creating a new one. You can find your PIC in the Participant Portal.
Participants who do not yet have a PIC code will have to register their organisation in the
Education, Audiovisual, Culture, Citizenship and Volunteering Participant Portal to receive
a Participant Identification Code (PIC) to submit an application. The PIC is needed for
generating the application form.
You cannot apply without a PIC code.
The Participant Portal stores all legal and financial information related to applicants.
Information on how to register can be found in the portal.
Documents related to the organisation can also be uploaded in the portal.
3. Creating and Completing the eForm
Once you have a PIC, you can create the eForm.
You will need to input the following information:
3.1. General information – context
In this section you need to indicate in which language you want to display the on-line
tool (English, French or German) and in which language you will submit the application
form (from the official EU languages).
The application must be submitted in one of the 24 official languages of the European
Union: Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French,
German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish,
Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Slovakian, Slovenian or Swedish.
15Translation into English, French or German is required for questions related to the
Erasmus Policy Statement (EPS) – Overall Strategy in section B of the application form (if
the language of the application is not one of these three).
3.2. Part A: Applicant organisation, Legal representative and
Coordinator
Information on the organisation is automatically provided through the PIC code. The
applicant is requested to provide names and contact details of the legal representative
and of the Erasmus+ coordinator.
3.3. Part B: Erasmus Policy statement – Overall strategy
In order to help evaluate the application, applicants have to declare which activities will
be undertaken by the institution and which are part of the current Erasmus Policy
Statement. To this end, please fill in the first part of Section B by clicking on the relevant
boxes.
Then, in section B2, Erasmus Policy Statement (EPS) sets out the institution's overall
modernisation and internationalisation strategy. In particular, the applicant organisation
is expected to:
Describe its mobility target groups and geographical scope (within and beyond the
Programme Countries).
Under the Erasmus+ Programme, the following types of higher education
individual learning mobility can be funded:
o student credit mobility at short cycle, Bachelor, Master and Doctoral levels
between Programme Countries, and to and from Partner Countries, for
studies and/or traineeships (work placements) in enterprises.
o HEI staff (academic and non-academic staff) mobility within HEIs or to
other relevant organisations in Programme and Partner Countries, to teach
and/or to be trained. Staff from enterprises can also be supported to teach
or deliver training courses or workshops in HEIs.
o Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters degrees for double/multiple/joint master
programmes of outstanding quality, delivered by consortia of HEIs from
Programme Countries (with the possible participation of HEIs from Partner
Countries) to foster student degree mobility at Master level, and attract the
best students to Europe.
Describe which types of cooperation projects for innovation and good practices it
intends to implement, if any.
The following types of cooperation projects relevant for higher education can be
funded:
o Strategic Partnerships to foster intense, structured and long term
cooperation among HEIs and with key stakeholders (e.g. enterprises such
as SMEs; local/regional authorities; other education and research
institutions; social partners; youth organisations and other relevant actors)
to contribute to achieving the objectives of the renewed EU Agenda for
Higher Education and the European Education Area, while promoting
sectorial cooperation with the other educational sectors.
16o Knowledge Alliances between higher education institutions and enterprises
promoting creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship by offering relevant
learning opportunities.
o International cooperation and capacity building projects including Erasmus
Mundus Joint Master Degrees between HEIs in the Programme Countries
and the Partner Countries with the objective to support the modernisation
and internationalisation of higher education in Partner Countries.
Explain the expected impact of the HEI's participation in Erasmus+ on its
modernisation and internationalisation.
The applicant has to demonstrate awareness of the possible actions to be funded
under Erasmus+ and highlight its priorities. Please note that the planned
institutional activities do not have to include/respond to all actions supported
under Erasmus+, but they must be realistic and answer institutional needs.
The Erasmus Policy Statement has to be published on the HEI's website within one
month of the ECHE being awarded by the European Commission. If the
organisation decides to update the Erasmus Policy Statement during the
Erasmus+ Programme lifecycle to reflect its evolved involvement in Erasmus+, it
has to amend the Erasmus Policy Statement on its website and inform its National
Agency for Erasmus+.
The future website link where the EPS will be published has to be provided in the
application as the web link will be available through the Erasmus+ Project Results
Platform.
3.4. Part C: Statistics
The purpose of these statistics is to put into context the actions and strategies the
institution is asked to present in sections B and D. The statistics will help to estimate
whether what is planned in sections B and D is realistic considering the institution's
profile and its operational capacity.
The information required concerns higher education only. The applicant should not
include data on any other levels of education provided by the institution.
3.5. Part D: General organisation of Programme activities
General organisation
Section D1 must describe the administrative and academic structures in place for
European and international mobility.
This section should also describe how tasks and responsibilities for international mobility
are divided among staff, and explain workflows and communication channels.
Section D1.1 is optional and it should be used only by institutions that do not have their
own legal entity and are thus obliged to use their umbrella institution's PIC e.g.
foundation, COMUE etc. The concerned institutions must describe their legal status and
give information on other entities which may use the same PIC for the ECHE, especially if
they also provide higher education or vocational training.
Fundamental Principles
Section D2 (on respecting the ECHE fundamental principles) consists of tick boxes. Some
are followed by questions to be answered in an open comments space.
17For detailed information on the principles and objectives of the Erasmus Charter for
Higher Education, see the Annotated Guidelines of the ECHE (Part 4 of this document).
For more information related to specific activities under Erasmus+, please refer to the
Programme Guide.
On award of the ECHE, the institution commits to adhere to all ECHE principles regardless
of the types of activities the institution will actually apply for under Erasmus+. Since the
ECHE is necessary in order to participate in any Erasmus+ activities, the applicant
organisation must tick every box, whether or not it plans on undertaking the specific
activities listed. For more information on the principles, please refer to the ECHE
Annotated Guidelines below.
If the tick box is followed by questions, answers have to be provided in the space
provided for explanations. Filling in such boxes is compulsory, unless preceded by "if
possible".
It is compulsory to answer all questions in this section. A clear justification has to be
provided in case a question is not relevant to the applicant organisation. Information
provided has to be in line with the Erasmus Policy Statement (section B of the application
form).
3.6. Part E: Endorsing the application
The organisation has to complete this section, print it, sign it and add the organisation's
stamp or seal if required.
3.7. Part F: Annex to be attached to the application form and
submission
The organisation has to attach a scan of section E with the signature of the legal
representative and, if required, the stamp or seal of the institution.
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