Erasmus+ Programme Guide

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Small Collaborative Partnerships

What are the aims of a small Collaborative Partnership?

Small Collaborative Partnerships will allow organisations to develop and reinforce networks, increase their capacity to operate at transnational level, exchange good practices, confront ideas and methods in different areas relating to sport and physical activity. Selected projects may also produce tangible outputs and are expected to disseminate the results of their activities, although in a way that is proportional to the aim and scope of the project. Small Collaborative partnerships  involve various organisations including in particular public authorities at local, regional and national levels, sport organisations, sport-related organisations and educational bodies. Small Collaborative Partnerships will in particular aim at ensuring the continuity of Preparatory actions 2013 and are, in particular, projects aimed to:

  • Encourage social inclusion and equal opportunities in sport;
  • Promote European traditional sports and games;
  • Support the mobility of volunteers, coaches, managers and staff of non-profit sport organisations;
  • Protect athletes, especially the youngest, from health and safety hazards by improving training and competition conditions;
  • Promote education in and through sport with special focus on skills development.

Small Collaborative Partnerships should promote the creation and development of transnational networks in the field of sport. The EU can thereby provide opportunities for strengthened cooperation among stakeholders, which would not have existed without EU action. Small Collaborative Partnerships should also foster synergy with, and between, local, regional, national and international policies to promote sport and physical activity and to address sport-related challenges.

Small Collaborative Partnerships should include at least one local or regional sport club.

The Commission, through its Executive Agency, will carry one selection round over the year.

 

Which Activities are supported under this Action?

Erasmus+ offers a large flexibility in terms of activities that Small Collaborative Partnerships can implement, as long as a proposal demonstrates that these activities are the most appropriate to reach the objectives defined for the project. Small Collaborative Partnerships may typically cover a broad range of activities, such as for example:

  • networking among stakeholders;
  • promotion, identification and sharing of good practices;
  • preparation, development and implementation of educational and training modules and tools;
  • awareness-raising activities on the added value of sport and physical activity in relation to the personal, social and professional development of individuals;
  • conferences, seminars, meetings, events and awareness-raising actions underpinning the aforementioned activities.

 

Who can take part in a Small Collaborative Partnership?

Small Collaborative Partnerships are open to any type of public institutions or organisations active in the field of sport and physical activity. Depending on the objective of the project, Small Collaborative Partnerships should involve an appropriate and diverse range of partners in order to benefit from different experiences, profiles and expertise and to produce relevant and quality project results.

Small Collaborative Partnerships target the cooperation between organisations established in Programme Countries.

A Small Collaborative Partnership should be composed of:

  • applicant/coordinator: organisation that submits the project proposal on behalf of all the partners. When the project is granted, the applicant/coordinator will become the main EU grant beneficiary and will sign a beneficiary grant agreement. Please consult Part C of this Guide for more information on financial and contractual arrangements. Its coordinating role stands for the following duties:
  • represents and acts on behalf of the participating organisations vis-à-vis the European Commission;
  • bears the financial and legal responsibility for the proper operational, administrative and financial implementation of the entire project;
  • coordinates the Collaborative Partnership in cooperation with all other project partners;
  • receives the EU financial support from the Erasmus+ Programme and is responsible for distributing the funds among partners involved in the project.
  • partners: organisations that contribute to the preparation, implementation and evaluation of the Small Collaborative Partnership.

 

What are the criteria used to assess a Small Collaborative Partnership?

The list hereafter includes the formal criteria that a Small Collaborative Project must respect in order to be eligible for an Erasmus+ grant:

 

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible participating organisations

Any organisation or public body, with its affiliated entities (if any), active in the field of sport, established in a Programme Country or in any Partner Country of the world (see sec-tion "Eligible Countries" in Part A of this Guide).

For example, such organisation can be (non-exhaustive list):

  • a public body in charge of sport at local, regional or national level;
  • a National Olympic Committee or National Sport confederation;
  • a sport organisation at local, regional or national, level;
  • a national sports league;
  • a sport club;
  • an organisation or union representing athletes;
  • an organisation or unions representing professionals and volunteers in sport (such as coaches, managers, etc);
  • an organisation representing the 'sport for all' movement;
  • an organisation active in the field of physical activity promotion;
  • an organisation representing the active leisure sector;

 

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.

Number and profile of participating organisations

A Small Collaborative Partnership is transnational and involves at least three organisations from three different Programme Countries. There is no maximum number of partners. However, the budget for project management and implementation is capped (and equivalent to 5 partners). All participating organisations must be identified at the time of applying for a grant.

Duration of project

From 12 to 24 months. The duration must be chosen at application stage (12, 18 or 24 months), based on the objective of the project and on the type of activities foreseen over time.

Venue(s) of the activity

Activities must take place in the countries (one or more) of the organisations involved in the Small Collaborative Partnership.

Where to apply?

To the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency, located in Brussels.

When to apply?

Applicants have to submit their grant application by 2 April at 17:00 (Brussels time) for projects starting on 1 January of the following year.

How to apply?

Please see Part C of this Guide for more details on how to apply.

 

Applicant organisations will be assessed against the relevant exclusion and selection criteria. For more information please consult Part C of this Guide.

 

Award criteria

Within these categories, projects will be assessed against the following criteria:

Relevance of the project

(maximum 30 points)
  • The relevance of the proposal to:
  • the objectives of European policies in the field of sport;
  • the objectives and the priorities of this Action (see section "What are the aims of a Collaborative Partnership").
  • The extent to which:
  • the proposal is based on a genuine and adequate needs analysis;
  • the objectives are clearly defined, realistic and address issues relevant to the participating organisations and target groups;
  • the proposal is innovative and/or complementary to other initiatives already carried out by the participating organisations;
  • the proposal brings added value at EU level through results that would not be attained by activities carried out solely in a single country .

Quality of the project design and implementation

(max 20 points)
  • The clarity, completeness and quality of the work programme, including appropriate phases for preparation, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and dissemination;
  • The consistency between project objectives, methodology, activities and budget proposed;
  • The quality and feasibility of the methodology proposed;
  • The existence and quality of management arrangements (timelines, organisation, tasks and responsibilities are well defined and realistic);
  • The existence and relevance of quality control measures to ensure that the project implementation is of high quality, completed in time and on budget;
  • The extent to which the project is cost-effective and allocates appropriate resources to each activity.

Quality of the project team and the cooperation arrangements

(maximum 20 points)
  • The extent to which:
  • where appropriate, the project involves an appropriate mix of complementary participating organisations with the necessary profile, experience and expertise to successfully deliver all aspects of the project, including the necessary profile and expertise of their capacities in the field of sport policy and practice;
  • the distribution of responsibilities and tasks demonstrates the commitment and active contribution of all participating organisations;
  • If applicable, the extent to which the involvement of a participating organisation from a Partner Country brings an essential added value to the project.

Impact and dissemination

(maximum 30 points)
  • The quality of measures for evaluating the outcomes of the project;
  • The potential impact of the project:
  • on participants and participating organisations, during and after the project lifetime;
  • outside the organisations and individuals directly participating in the project, at local, regional, national and/or European levels.
  • The quality of the dissemination plan: the appropriateness and quality of measures aimed at sharing the outcomes of the project within and outside the participating organisations;
  • If relevant, the extent to which the proposal describes how the materials, documents and media produced will be made freely available and promoted through open licences, and does not contain disproportionate limitations;
  • The quality of the plans for ensuring the sustainability of the project: its capacity to continue having an impact and producing results after the EU grant has been used up.

 

To be considered for funding, proposals must score at least 60 points. Furthermore, they must score at least half of the maximum points in each of the categories of award criteria mentioned above (i.e. minimum 15 points for the categories "relevance of the project" and "impact and dissemination"; 10 points for the categories "quality of the project design and implementation" and "quality of the project team and the cooperation arrangements").

 

What are the funding rules?

The budget of the project must be drafted according to the following funding rules (in euro):

Maximum grant awarded for Small Collaborative Partnerships: 60 000 EUR

 

Eligible costs

Financing mechanism

Amount

Rule of allocation

Project management and implementation

Project management (e.g. planning, finances, coordination and communication between partners, etc.); small scale learning/teaching/training materials, tools, approaches etc. Virtual cooperation and local project activities; information, promotion and dissemination (e.g. brochures, leaflets, web information, etc.).

Contribution to unit costs

Contribution to the activities of the coordinating organisation:
500 EUR per month

Maximum 1.500 EUR per month

 

 

Based on the duration of the Small Collaborative Partnerships and on the number of participating organisations involved

Contribution to unit costs

Contribution to the activities of the other participating organisations:
250 EUR per organisation per month

Transnational project meetings

Participation in meetings between project partners and hosted by one of the participating organisations for implementation and coordination purposes. Contribution to travel and subsistence costs

Contribution to unit costs

For travel distances between 100 and 1999KM:
575 EUR per participant per meeting

 

For travel distances of 2000 KM or more:
760 EUR per participant per meeting

 

Conditional: applicants must justify the need for the meetings in terms of number of meetings and participants involved. Travel distances must be calculated using the distance calculator supported by the European Commission.

Eligible costs

Financing mechanism

Amount

Rule of allocation

Exceptional costs

Contribution to real costs related to subcontracting or purchase of goods and services.

Real costs

80% of eligible costs
Maximum of 10.000 EUR per project (excluding costs for providing a financial guarantee)

Conditional: subcontracting has to be related to services that cannot be provided directly by the participating organisations for duly justified reasons. Equipment cannot concern normal office equipment or equipment normally used by the participating organisations.

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