Organisations wishing to bid for funding in 2014 through Erasmus+, the European Union's new programme for education, training, youth and sport, can start to prepare their grant applications from today. The new Erasmus+ Programme Guide, which provides detailed information on how to apply, is available here. The programme is open to organisations in the field of education, training, youth or sport. They can apply online for funding from the end of January. Individuals cannot apply directly for grants; instead they should contact their university, college or organisation, which makes the application.

"The process for launching Erasmus+ is now at the final stage and we are ready for the implementation phase. I encourage organisations to study the Programme Guide carefully to ensure that they are fully prepared once the online application process gets underway. The 40% increase in the Erasmus+ budget means that more than 4 million people, including students, trainees, teachers and volunteers, will benefit from grants over the next seven years," said Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth.

In total, €1.8 billion in funding will be available from Erasmus+ in 2014 to:

• Promote mobility opportunities for students, trainees, teachers and other educational staff, young people on youth exchanges, youth leaders and volunteers. The deadline for applications for learning mobility projects is 17 March 2014.

• Create or improve partnerships between education, training and youth institutions and organisations with the world of work. The deadline for applications is in April 2014.

• Support dialogue and evidence-building needed to deliver reform in education, training and youth systems.

Consortia, coordinating organisations and groups can submit a single application on behalf of a number of organisations.

As well as universities and training institutions, new innovative partnerships will also be funded for the first time: the so-called 'Knowledge Alliances' and 'Sector Skills Alliances' will build synergies between education and the world of work by enabling higher education institutions, training providers and enterprises to promote innovation and entrepreneurship, and to develop new curricula and qualifications to tackle skills gaps.

In sport, the focus is on transnational projects supporting grassroots sport and tackling cross-border challenges such as match-fixing, doping, violence and racism, as well as promoting good governance, gender equality, social inclusion and physical activity for all.

Background

The Erasmus+ Programme Guide provides details on objectives, priorities, funding opportunities for each action, including technical information on grant applications and the selection process, as well as the financial and administrative provisions linked to the award of grants.

Erasmus+ combines all the EU's current funding schemes for education, training and youth, including the Lifelong Learning Programme (Erasmus, Leonardo da Vinci, Comenius, Grundtvig), Youth in Action and five international cooperation programmes (Erasmus Mundus, Tempus, Alfa, Edulink and the programme for cooperation with industrialised countries). It also introduces support for sport for the first time. The integrated programme will make it easier for applicants to understand the grant opportunities available, while other simplifications will also facilitate access.

Erasmus+ is being launched at a time when nearly six million young people are unemployed in the EU – with levels above 50% in some countries. At the same time, there are over 2 million vacancies and a third of employers report difficulties in recruiting staff with the skills they need. This demonstrates a significant skills gap in Europe. Erasmus+ will address this gap by providing opportunities for people to study, train, gain work experience or volunteer abroad.

The quality and relevance of Europe's education, training and youth organisations and systems will be increased through support for improvements in teaching and learning methods, new curricula, and the professional development of education staff and youth workers, including through greater cooperation between the worlds of education and work.

The €14.7 billion budget for 2014-2020 takes account of future estimates for inflation and represents a 40% increase on current levels. Additional funds are expected to be allocated for higher education mobility and capacity building involving non-EU countries; these negotiations will be finalised in 2014.

Next steps

Interested organisations are encouraged to read the Programme Guide to find out more about the different funding opportunities. Organisations are invited to submit their application (in most case online) to the National Agency in their country or the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency.

Download here the Programme Guide and call for proposals

For more information:

Erasmus+ on Facebook

Joint the conversation on Twitter #ErasmusPlus

Commissioner Vassiliou's website

Follow Androulla Vassiliou on Twitter @VassiliouEU