tenders and grants

partnership

ERASMUS —HIGHER EDUCATION
Important notice: The application procedure for the Erasmus institutional contract will change substantially for the application roundof 1 November 2002. Further information and the new application forms will be available on the Europa website, the website of the Socrates, Leonardo and Youth technical assistance office and from the national agencies (see Sections V and VI).

For all Erasmus activities, particular emphasis will be given to projects that:
—ensure a European dimension in issues on the political agenda in the fields of higher education and research, as well as to those that contribute to lifelong learning and employment, to sustainable development (in particular its environmental aspects), to enlargement, to combating racism and xenophobia and to reinforcement of democracy in Europe,
—contribute to the realisation of the European higher education area (‘Bologna process ’), aiming at greater compatibility and comparability of the systems of higher education and enhancing the attractiveness and competitiveness of highereducation institutions,
—respond to the increasing role of the universities in the knowledge society. Specific attention is given to: mediation on European level between the new skills demanded on the labourmarket and the highereducation curricular developments at large, closing of the numeracy gap and the potential of highereducation institutions as platforms for transfer of knowledge, skills and values between generations and cultures,
—focus on the use of information and communication technologies, in line with the e-Learning initiative. This applies in particular to innovative combinations of physical and virtual mobility, the impact of the educational use of ICT on structures and methodologies in higher education institutions and the creation of new learning environments with a European dimension.

ERASMUS 1: CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS (CD)
Special attention will be given to projects that
—integrate ethics into one of the following subject areas: business, engineering, medical sciences, natural sciences, communication and information sciences,
—respond to the future skills needs in the area of communication and information sciences taking into account the impact of the developments of the ICTs,
—promote intercultural dialogue and understanding between Europe and its neighbouring regions,
—develop a European dimension in study programmes on genomics and biotechnologies for health;
—projects that focus on the development of complete first and second cycle programmes, in line with the Bologna process, which
-include student and teachermobility among the partner institutions as an integral part of the study programme and
-award students with a degree recognised in the countries participating in the project;
—projects that will present links and synergies with other Erasmus activities, especially the thematic network action (see Erasmus 3 below), or projects supported by the framework programmes for research and technological development.

ERASMUS 1: INTENSIVE PROGRAMMES (IP)
Particular emphasis will be given to projects that :
—respond to the future skills needs in the area of communication and information sciences taking into account the impact of the development of the ICTs,
—aim at a multidisciplinary approach to entrepreneurship,
—integrates ethics into one of the following subject areas: business, engineering, medical sciences, natural sciences, communication and information sciences,
—promote intercultural dialogue and understanding between Europe and its neighbouring regions,
—deal with issues linked to genomics and biotechnologies for health;
—projects that respond to new needs and challenges emerging at European level and present a strong multidisciplinary approach;
—projects that
—constitute test cases for future CD projects and are implemented in close cooperation with experts and socioeconomic partners,
—will present links and synergies with other Erasmus activities, especially the thematic network action, or projects supported by the framework programmes for research and technological development.

ERASMUS 3: THEMATIC NETWORKS
Special attention will be given to:
—applications aiming at study areas which are not addressed so far by projects in this action (see the Europa website),
—applications that relate to two or more study areas in a cross-and multi-disciplinary approach,
—applications aiming at analysing ‘transversal ’themes linked to the changing role of universities in a knowledge-driven society, such as ‘universities and local/regional partnerships ’; ‘university-industry cooperation ’, ‘education-research partnerships ’, ‘universities and communication and transfer of knowledge ’, etc. ,
—applications for the dissemination of results of thematic network projects,
—applications that aim at facilitating transparency, innovation and quality assurance of higher education through the identification of essential competencies of European graduates in one or more subject areas,
—applications that will present links and synergies with other Socrates activities, especially curriculum development and intensive programmes, Comenius and Grundtvig networks and/or projects supported by the Leonardo da Vinci programme, the framework programmes for research and technological development.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT
The Socrates decision states in Annex IV. B. 2 that: ‘The Community contribution will not normally exceed 75 %of the total cost of any specific project, except in the case of accompanying measures ’. Participating institutions/organisations are therefore expected to commit other resources to the project and to declare such other sources of funding. The Commission may award a grant of less than the amount requested by the applicant. Grants will not be awarded for more than the amount requested. The rules governing eligible costs are explained in the application forms which are available from the addresses listed in Section V.
The guidelines for applicants provide information on the financial support available within the programme, where the amount of support provided is likely to remain stable. Generally speaking, the level of grants awarded is likely to vary considerably, depending on the type of project, the number of countries involved and so on. The following indications may be useful for developing project proposals:
Erasmus
Intensive programmes: The grants are calculated on the basis of the number of participating institutions and persons. In 2001/2002, the average grant for an IP was around EUR 17 000 with an average number of nine institutions involved.
Curriculum development: The level of support depends strongly on the number of partners. Because of differences in the scope of activities, the amount for a ‘study programme ’-type project will, in general, be higher than that for a ‘module ’-type project. In 2001/2002, the average grant for a CD project was of the order of EUR 23 000, with an average number of seven partners per project. The level of support for implementation/dissemination projects will be based on the activities proposed. Within the context of the reform of institutional contracts, grants are expected to rise.
Thematic networks: The level of financial support will depend on the size and scope of the project. In 2001/2002, the average grant was of the order of EUR 150 000 pernetwork perannum.

(1 )In the following countries, earlier deadlines apply:
—Germany: dates vary between the different Länder , the earliest being 1 February 2003. Full details of the dates for all the Länder are available from national agencies in all participating countries,
—Greece: 1 February 2003 school partnerships, 15 January 2003 expression of interest to receive a Comenius language assistant,
—Spain: 1 February 2003,
—Italy: 1 February 2003,
—Finland: 1 February 2003,
—United Kingdom: 1 February 2003,
—Romania: 1 February 2003. (2 )In the following country, an earlier deadline applies:
—Spain: 1 February 2003.

APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCEDURES
Application and selection procedures in Socrates vary, depending on whether the action concerned is managed centrally by the European Commission or on a decentralised level by the national agencies designated by participating countries. This information is given in detail in the guidelines for applicants.
The application forms to be used, the guidelines for applicants and further details on the programme are available:
—from the national agencies for the programme, the list of which appears in Section VI and at the central website for Socrates below,
—from the central website for Socrates at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/socrates.html
—from the Socrates, Leonardo and Youth technical assistance office (TAO), rue de Trèves/Trierstraat 59-61), B-1000 Brussels, tel. (32-2)233 01 11, fax (32-2)233 01 50, e-mail: info@socrates-youth.be , which provides the European Commission (Directorate-General for Education and Culture)with technical assistance in implementing the programme.

For several of the actions within the programme, contact seminars are being organised to help people find suitable partner institutions in other participating countries and to establish projects. Details of these events are available from national agencies on request.
Applicants will be informed of the result of the selection procedures in writing. The Commission will endeavour to ensure that the selection decisions are made known to applicants at the latest five months after the closing date for submission of applications. For projects selected in accordance with the two-phase procedure, this will only refer to the second stage of the selection (full project proposals).

LIST OF SOCRATES NATIONAL AGENCIES
http://europa.eu.int/comm/education/socrates/nat-est.html