Strand 3 Capacity-building at structural level

In addition to what is common to all capacity-building projects, a project in this strand is about bringing lasting and substantial reform to education systems at a national and political level. This in turn should help to form the basis for a knowledge-driven economy.

To succeed in this, projects must emphasise: 

• regional collaboration
• strengthening the links between, education, research and innovation
• increasing the employability of graduates and widening access to higher education

Scope and duration

The project must last three or four years.

Participants

• At least one higher education institution (HEI) from a minimum of two Erasmus+ countries, i.e., one HEI from each of the two countries (EU, EFTA, Turkey, North-Macedonia and Serbia). 
• At least two HEIs from a non-Erasmus+ country.
• The number of HEIs from Erasmus+ countries must not be higher than the number of HEIs from non-Erasmus+ countries. This means that if more HEIs from Erasmus+ countries are to be included, the number of HEIs from non-Erasmus + countries must also increase.
• If your project is to include more non-Erasmus+ countries, the requirement for the number of HEIs will increase. 
• Additional criteria also apply to non-Erasmus+ countries in specific EU-defined regions of the world. 
• Organisations, companies, research institutes and others may also participate.
• You or your academic group can be the coordinator, a partner or associate partner in the project. 
• Associate partners, such as stakeholder organisations that contribute user perspectives and help disseminate the project, do not receive any funding through Erasmus+. The inclusion of these is, however, recommended to ensure a wider impact and better quality of activities within the project. 
• Public authorities in the education sector must participate in the project (not as associate partners).

You apply under Strand 3 for projects involving one or more countries within the same region, or across regions.

You can apply for funding to part-finance various activities that support the objectives of the project. These can be project meetings, information material, network meetings, workshops for employees and/or students, developing curricula, organising seminars, carrying out interviews, and more.

Budgeting

You need to write a budget based on actual costs. The costs must relate to the activities you are planning and the goals you want to achieve.

The budget is organised into work packages. Typical work packages include 'project management', 'training', 'organisation of events', 'communication and dissemination', 'quality assurance', 'equipment', 'mobility preparation and implementation' etc.

Estimated costs may include travel and accommodation, salary, equipment, translation and publishing expenses and more.

If the application is successful, you will receive a grant set within the limits of a project in this strand: EUR 800,000–1,000,000.

Erasmus+ funding is only intended to part-finance projects. You can only receive funding to cover up to 90 per cent of the costs. The remaining costs must be covered by the unit at which you work and by the partner institutions. 

• Calls for proposals are published once a year, usually in October. 
• The call will as a rule only be adjusted from year to year so that it is possible to start work on the application well in advance. 
• The application deadline is usually in February of the following year. 
• The coordinating institution applies for funding by the application deadline on behalf of the consortium (partnership). 
• If you wish to develop a project application for a call for an Erasmus+ capacity-building project, you can apply to the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HR-dir) for project establishment support (erasmuspluss.no).
• See the HK-dir website for more information about the call for proposals and the application process (erasmuspluss.no). 
• We recommend attending HK-dir's applicant seminar, especially if you intend to coordinate a project application.
• Fill in information about OsloMet in the application. 
• Register your application in P360.
• We recommend starting the process well in advance, at least one year before the application deadline.
• The application will be evaluated in a two-step process. 

For more information, please contact the Erasmus+ team at the Department of Academic Affairs.