Erasmus+ - Key Action 2 - Knowledge Alliances - EAC/A03/2016

Deadline: Feb 28, 2017  
CALL EXPIRED

What does it support?

Examples of Knowledge Alliances activities

Boosting innovation in higher education, business and in the broader socio-economic environment:

• jointly developing and implementing new learning and teaching methods (like new multidisciplinary curricula, learner-centred and real problem-based teaching and learning)
• organising continuing educational programmes and activities with and within companies
• jointly developing solutions for challenging issues, product and process innovation (students, professors and practitioners together)

Developing entrepreneurial mind-set and skills:

• creating schemes of transversal skills learning and application throughout higher education programmes developed in cooperation with enterprises aiming at strengthening employability, creativity and new professional paths
• introducing entrepreneurship education in any discipline to provide students, researchers, staff and educators with the knowledge, skills and motivation to engage in entrepreneurial activities in a variety of settings
• opening up new learning opportunities through the practical application of entrepreneurial skills, which can involve and/or lead to the commercialisation of new services, products and prototypes, to the creation of start-ups and spin-offs

Stimulating the flow and exchange of knowledge between higher education and enterprises:

• study field related activities in enterprises which are fully embedded in the curriculum, recognised and credited
• set-ups to trial and test innovative measures
• exchanges of students, researchers, teaching staff and company staff for a limited period
• involvement of company staff into teaching and research

Knowledge Alliances may organise learning mobility activities of students, researchers and staff in so far as they support/complement the other activities of the Alliance and bring added value in the realisation of the project's objectives. Mobility activities do not constitute the main activities of a Knowledge Alliance; extending and scaling-up these activities would need to be supported via the Key Action 1 of this Programme or other funding instruments.

For detailed information on activities supported by a Knowledge Alliance project please refer to the Erasmus+ Programme Guide and to the Project compendia

Who can benefit from it

A participating organisation can be any public or private organisation established in a Programme Country or any Partner Country (see section "Eligible Countries" in Part A of the Erasmus+ Programme Guide).

For example, such an organisation can be:

• A higher education institution
• A public or private, small, medium or large enterprise (including social enterprises)
• A research institute
• A public body at local, regional or national level
• An organisation active in the field of education, training and youth
• An intermediary or association which represents education, training or youth organisations
• An intermediary or association which represents enterprises
• An accreditation, certification or qualification body

For the list of organisations that can apply, please refer to the tab 'who can apply'.

Timetable

Publication of the call for proposals: October 2016

Deadline for submission: 28/02/2017 (Midday CET)

Evaluation period: 5 months

Information to applicants: July 2017

Project start date: 01/11/2017 or 01/01/2018

The duration of the project must be chosen at the application stage. It can vary from 2 to 3 years.

In exceptional cases, the duration of a Knowledge Alliance may be extended, upon request by the beneficiary and with the agreement of the Executive Agency, of up to 6 months. In such a case, the total grant will not change.

What support is available

• Maximum EU contribution awarded for a 2-year Knowledge Alliance: 700 000 EUR
• Maximum EU contribution awarded for a 3-year Knowledge Alliance: 1 000 000 EUR
• Financial contributions from the EU are calculated using fixed scale of unit costs. These unit costs have been calculated in a way that the co-funding is inherent to them, i.e. already incorporated.

For detailed information on the funding rules please refer to the Erasmus+ Programme Guide. 

Who can apply

Any participating organisation established in a Programme Country. This organisation applies on behalf of all participating organisations involved in the project. To see the full list of participating organisation that can benefit from funding please refer to the tab 'who can benefit'.  

Knowledge Alliances involve a minimum of 6 independent organisations from at least 3 Programme Countries, out of which at least 2 higher education institutions and at least 2 enterprises.

Higher education institutions established in a Programme Country must hold a valid Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE). An ECHE is not required for participating HEIs in Partner Countries.

For more information on who can apply please refer to the Erasmus+ Programme Guide. 

How to apply

1.      Read the call for proposals.

2.      Read the guidelines for applicants carefully (these can be found under the tab 'guidelines' on the call for proposal page).

3.      Create an EU Login (formerly known as EULogin). All applicants must have an EU Login account. Once you have created an EU Login account you no longer need to do so again.

4.      Register in the Participant Portal and receive a Participant Identification Code (PIC). All organisations involved in the application must have a PIC. Once you have obtained a PIC there is no need to register again. The PIC will be requested in the application form.

5.      Fill in the official application form (also known as the eForm) (this can be found in under the tab 'eform' on the call for proposal page).

6.      Fill in and upload the legal entity form and financial identification form (required for the applicant organisation only) in the Participant Portal.

7.      Submit your application online before the specified deadline.

8.      Make sure you receive a confirmation email.

For more information on how to apply please refer to the Erasmus+ Programme Guide.

How are applications selected

All project proposals are assessed on the basis of the eligibility, exclusion, selection and award criteria described in the Erasmus+ Programme Guide.

For more information on how applications are selected please refer to the Erasmus+ Programme Guide.

Quality assessments are carried out with the support of external evaluators. For more information on the quality review, please consult the Guide for Experts.

What happens if your application is selected

All applicants will receive a written notification of the outcome of the selection procedure as well as feedback on the evaluation of their application.

If need be, successful applicants may be contacted to provide supporting documents or clarifications.

A grant agreement detailing all conditions with regard to the awarded grant will then be signed.

For more information please refer to the Erasmus+ Programme Guide. 

Contacts

Key Action 2 Knowledge Alliances is managed by the EACEA in Brussels.

If you do not find what you are looking for in the Programme Guide or on our website, please contact us at the following email address mentioning the action concerned (Knowledge Alliances) EACEA-KNOWLEDGE-ALLIANCES@ec.europa.eu

See also

Overview - Cooperation with Business