# C_2017416EN.01001101.xml

| 6.12.2017 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 416/11 |
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6.12.2017

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 416/11

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CALL FOR PROPOSALS — EACEA/28/2017

under the Erasmus+ programme

Key Action 3: Support for policy reform — Initiatives for Policy Innovation

European policy experimentations in the fields of Education and Training led by high-level public authorities

(2017/C 416/03)

1.   Description, Objectives and Priority Themes

Description, Objectives and Priority Themes

European policy experimentations under ‘Erasmus+ Key Action 3 (Support for policy reform) — Initiatives for policy innovation’ (1) are transnational cooperation projects supporting the implementation of the European Union policy agendas on Education and Training, including sector-specific agendas such as the Bologna and Copenhagen processes.

1

The general objective of this call for proposals is to promote the improvement of the effectiveness and efficiency of education and training systems through the collection and evaluation of evidence on the systemic impact of innovative policy measures. This call requires the involvement of high-level public authorities of the eligible countries and the use of sound and widely recognised evaluation methods based on field trials (experimentation).

The specific objectives of this call are to:

| — | Promote trans-national cooperation and mutual learning among public authorities at the highest institutional level of the eligible countries in order to foster systemic improvement and innovation in the education and training fields, |
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Promote trans-national cooperation and mutual learning among public authorities at the highest institutional level of the eligible countries in order to foster systemic improvement and innovation in the education and training fields,

| — | Enhance the collection and analysis of substantive evidence to ensure the successful implementation of innovative measures, |
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Enhance the collection and analysis of substantive evidence to ensure the successful implementation of innovative measures,

| — | Facilitate the transferability and scalability of innovative measures. |
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Facilitate the transferability and scalability of innovative measures.

The priority themes for this call are:

| — | Promoting social inclusion and shared EU values through formal and non-formal learning |
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Promoting social inclusion and shared EU values through formal and non-formal learning

| — | Mainstreaming and further developing multilingual pedagogies in school education (e.g. working in multilingual classrooms/with bilingual children) and supporting teachers and their training to deal with diversity in classrooms; |
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Mainstreaming and further developing multilingual pedagogies in school education (e.g. working in multilingual classrooms/with bilingual children) and supporting teachers and their training to deal with diversity in classrooms;

| — | Digital assessment: identifying best practices across educational sectors and countries and scaling up of best practices and experimentation; |
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Digital assessment: identifying best practices across educational sectors and countries and scaling up of best practices and experimentation;

| — | VET teachers and trainers in work-based learning/apprenticeship (VET); |
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VET teachers and trainers in work-based learning/apprenticeship (VET);

| — | Implementation of Upskilling Pathways for adults without an upper secondary qualification or equivalent; |
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Implementation of Upskilling Pathways for adults without an upper secondary qualification or equivalent;

| — | Policies and incentives to support innovative teaching and pedagogical training in higher education, including through open and digital education; |
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Policies and incentives to support innovative teaching and pedagogical training in higher education, including through open and digital education;

| — | Creation of a European-wide hub for online learning, blended/virtual mobility, virtual campuses and collaborative exchange of best practices. |
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Creation of a European-wide hub for online learning, blended/virtual mobility, virtual campuses and collaborative exchange of best practices.

2.   Eligible applicants

Eligible applicants

Applicants considered eligible to respond to this call are:

| a) | Public authorities (Ministry or equivalent) responsible for education and training at the highest level in the relevant national or regional context (corresponding to NUTS codes 1 or 2; for countries where NUTS codes 1 or 2 are not available, the highest NUTS code available applies (2)). Responsible public authorities for sectors other than education and training (e.g. employment, finance, social affairs, home affairs, justice, health, etc.) are considered eligible as long as they demonstrate that they have a specific competence in the area in which the experimentation is to be carried out. Public authorities can delegate to be represented by other public or private organisations, as well as by legally established networks or associations of public authorities, provided that the delegation is in writing and makes explicit reference to the proposal being submitted. |
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a)

Public authorities (Ministry or equivalent) responsible for education and training at the highest level in the relevant national or regional context (corresponding to NUTS codes 1 or 2; for countries where NUTS codes 1 or 2 are not available, the highest NUTS code available applies (2)). Responsible public authorities for sectors other than education and training (e.g. employment, finance, social affairs, home affairs, justice, health, etc.) are considered eligible as long as they demonstrate that they have a specific competence in the area in which the experimentation is to be carried out. Public authorities can delegate to be represented by other public or private organisations, as well as by legally established networks or associations of public authorities, provided that the delegation is in writing and makes explicit reference to the proposal being submitted.

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| b) | Public or private organisations or institutions active in the fields of education or training or other relevant fields. |
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b)

Public or private organisations or institutions active in the fields of education or training or other relevant fields.

| c) | Public or private organisations or institutions carrying out cross-sector activities linked to education and training in other socioeconomic sectors (e.g. NGOs, information or guidance services, public authorities, agencies or services responsible for: education, training, youth, employment, social affairs, home affairs, justice, quality assurance, recognition and/or validation; career guidance, chambers of commerce, business and social partners, trade organisations, civil society, cultural or sport organisations, evaluation or research entities, media etc.). |
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c)

Public or private organisations or institutions carrying out cross-sector activities linked to education and training in other socioeconomic sectors (e.g. NGOs, information or guidance services, public authorities, agencies or services responsible for: education, training, youth, employment, social affairs, home affairs, justice, quality assurance, recognition and/or validation; career guidance, chambers of commerce, business and social partners, trade organisations, civil society, cultural or sport organisations, evaluation or research entities, media etc.).

Only proposals from legal entities established in the following programme countries are eligible:

| — | the 28 Member States of the European Union, |
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the 28 Member States of the European Union,

| — | the EFTA/EEA countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, |
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the EFTA/EEA countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway,

| — | EU candidate countries: Turkey, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. |
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EU candidate countries: Turkey, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Minimum partnership composition requirement

The minimum partnership composition requirement for this call is: 4 entities representing 3 eligible countries. Specifically:

| — | At least three public authorities (Ministries or equivalent) or delegated bodies (as described in Section 2a) each from a different programme country, or a legally established network/association of public authorities representing at least three different programme countries. The network or association must have a delegation from at least 3 responsible public authorities (as described in Section 2a)) to operate on their behalf for the specific project proposal.
  Partnerships must include at least one responsible public authority as indicated under Section 2a) from a Member State of the European Union. |
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At least three public authorities (Ministries or equivalent) or delegated bodies (as described in Section 2a) each from a different programme country, or a legally established network/association of public authorities representing at least three different programme countries. The network or association must have a delegation from at least 3 responsible public authorities (as described in Section 2a)) to operate on their behalf for the specific project proposal.

Partnerships must include at least one responsible public authority as indicated under Section 2a) from a Member State of the European Union.

| — | At least one public or private entity with expertise in counterfactual analysis and policy impact evaluation (‘researcher’). Such entity shall be responsible for the methodological aspects and the field trial protocols. The partnership can involve more than one such entity, as long as the work is coordinated and consistent. |
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At least one public or private entity with expertise in counterfactual analysis and policy impact evaluation (‘researcher’). Such entity shall be responsible for the methodological aspects and the field trial protocols. The partnership can involve more than one such entity, as long as the work is coordinated and consistent.

researcher

A project proposal can only be coordinated and submitted – on behalf of all applicants — by one of the following:

| — | A public authority as described under Section 2a); |
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A public authority as described under Section 2a);

| — | A legally established network or association of public authorities as described under Section 2a); |
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A legally established network or association of public authorities as described under Section 2a);

| — | A public or private entity delegated to reply to the call by a public authority described under Section 2a). Delegated entities must have an explicit endorsement in writing by a public authority as described under Section 2a), to submit and coordinate the project proposal on their behalf. |
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A public or private entity delegated to reply to the call by a public authority described under Section 2a). Delegated entities must have an explicit endorsement in writing by a public authority as described under Section 2a), to submit and coordinate the project proposal on their behalf.

Applications must be submitted by the legal representative of the coordinator on behalf of all applicants. Only organisations that are in a position to demonstrate their existence as a legal person for at least 3 years (3) on the date of the deadline for submission of pre-proposals referred to in Section 6 are considered eligible as ‘coordinator’ for the purpose of this call.

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Natural persons may not apply for a grant.

3.   Eligible activities and duration

Eligible activities and duration

Eligible activities should be in line with Annex 1 of the guidelines for applicants. The field trials must take place at least in three countries whose public authorities as described under Section 2a) (or delegated entities) are involved in the project.

Activities must start between 1 January 2019 and 28 February 2019.

4.   Award Criteria

Award Criteria

Proposals will be submitted and evaluated in two stages, involving a pre-proposal (Stage I) and a full proposal (Stage II).

Eligible pre-proposals will be assessed on the award criterion ‘Relevance of the project’ (maximum 20 points). Eligible applicants reaching the minimum threshold of 12 points on the score for the award criterion ‘Relevance of the project’ will be invited to submit a full proposal which will develop in an elaborate and comprehensive way the outline provided in the pre-proposal.

All applicants having submitted pre-proposals will be notified by email about the pre-selection results and will receive a summary evaluation of their pre-proposal.

Full proposals will be assessed on the basis of eligibility, exclusion, selection, and the three remaining award criteria: ‘quality of the project design and implementation’, ‘quality of the partnership and cooperation arrangements’, and ‘impact, dissemination, and sustainability’.

The Agency will verify that the eligibility of full proposals is confirmed in the second stage and, where appropriate, is supported by the required documentation (Section 14.3.2 of the Guidelines for applicants).

The award criteria (see Section 9 of the Guidelines for applicants) for the funding of a proposal are:

| 1. | Relevance of the project (maximum 20 points); |
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1.

Relevance of the project (maximum 20 points);

| 2. | Quality of the project design and implementation (maximum 30 points); |
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2.

Quality of the project design and implementation (maximum 30 points);

| 3. | Quality of the partnership and cooperation arrangements (maximum 20 points); |
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3.

Quality of the partnership and cooperation arrangements (maximum 20 points);

| 4. | Impact, dissemination, and sustainability (maximum 30 points). |
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4.

Impact, dissemination, and sustainability (maximum 30 points).

The calculation of the total score for the full proposal will include the score obtained for ‘Relevance of the project’ at pre-proposal stage. Only full proposals having reached at least the threshold of 60 points of the total score (i.e. score on the award criterion ‘Relevance of the project’ assessed in the first stage plus scores on the other three award criteria assessed in the second stage) will be considered for EU funding.

All applicants having submitted full proposal applications will be notified by email about the final selection results and receive an evaluation report.

5.   Budget

Budget

The total budget available for the co-financing of projects under the present call is EUR 10 000 000.

The financial contribution from the EU cannot exceed 75 % of the total eligible costs.

The maximum grant per project will be EUR 2 000 000.

The Agency reserves the right not to distribute all the funds available.

6.   Procedure for Submission and Deadlines

Procedure for Submission and Deadlines

The submission and selection of proposals will take place in two stages: pre-proposal stage and full proposal stage.

Applicants are requested to read carefully all information about the call for proposals and the submission procedure, and to use the documents forming part of the application (Application Package) at: https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/funding/key-action-3-initiatives-for-policy-innovation-european-policy-experimentation-eacea-282017_en

The Application Package must be submitted online using the correct e-form, duly completed and containing all relevant and applicable annexes and supporting documents. The application forms are available on the internet at the following address: https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/PPMT/

Application forms which do not include all the necessary information and which are not submitted online by the deadline will not be considered.

Grant applications must be written in one of the official EU languages.

Submission deadlines:

Submission deadlines:

| — | Pre-proposals: 10 April 2018 — 12.00 noon CET |
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Pre-proposals: 10 April 2018 — 12.00 noon CET

10 April 2018

| — | Full proposals: 25 September 2018 — 12.00 noon CET |
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Full proposals: 25 September 2018 — 12.00 noon CET

25 September 2018

7.   Further information

Further information

For more details, please refer to the Guidelines for Applicants.

The Guidelines for applicants and the Application Package are available on the following website:

https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/funding/key-action-3-initiatives-for-policy-innovation-european-policy-experimentation-eacea-282017_en

E-mail contact details: EACEA-Policy-Support@ec.europa.eu

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(1)  Regulation (EU) No 1288/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2013 establishing ‘Erasmus+’: the Union Programme for education, training, youth and sport and repealing Decisions No 1719/2006/EC, No 1720/2006/EC and No 1298/2008/EC (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 50), in particular Articles 9 and 15 — Support for policy reform — constitutes the legal basis for the present call.

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(2)  http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/nuts/overview

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(3)  ‘Date main registration’ in the legal entity form: http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/legal_entities/legal_entities_en.cfm#en

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