Erasmus+ Strategic Partnerships for
Digital Education Readiness and Creativity
About this Call
The COVID-19 pandemic has limited the ways people can interact with each other and carry out their work. It has also had a significant impact on the regular delivery of education, training and youth policies, and seriously affected the cultural and creative sectors. As a direct response to these challenges, the European Commission have funded two new types of Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership projects. Almost €2.5 million is now available to organisations in Ireland, to support the recovery process from the COVID-19 pandemic, to build digital and creative readiness, and to ease the impact of the crisis on some of the hardest-hit sectors.
Organisations established in Ireland can apply to lead, or be partners in:
- Partnerships for Digital Education Readiness, open to organisations active in School Education, Vocational Education and Training, and Higher Education.
- Partnerships for Creativity, open to organisations active in Adult Education, School Education and Youth.
The deadline for applications is 11.00 am Irish time on Thursday 29 October 2020.
Strategic Partnerships for Digital Education Readiness
School Education, VET or Higher Education* organisations
This funding can help your organisation to:
- Use digital tools and methods to deliver quality and inclusive education through online or virtual means - this can include blended teaching, training and learning
- Help learners, teachers and trainers adapt to online or distance learning
- Teach and promote safer and more responsible use of digital technology
- Explore how best to incorporate digital online technology into subject-specific teaching, training and learning, including work-based learning.
These Partnerships should ultimately help organisations manage the challenges of the sudden shift to online, distance and blended learning; support teachers and trainers to develop digital competences; and safeguard the inclusive nature of digital learning opportunities.
For complete details, and to understand the programme priorities, download the Second Corrigendum to the Erasmus+ 2020 Programme Guide (pdf) from the European Commission website.
Looking for inspiration? These previous Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership projects might help:
- SCOPE - Skills Recognition, Capacity Building, and Professional Education, a five-country partnership building skills among third sector staff and volunteers. Led by Irish organisation The Wheel.
- Re-Evaluating Digital Technology to Enhance Learning, a six-country partnership focusing on effective use of digital technology in the vocational classroom. Led by Cork Education and Training Board.
- How Erasmus+ can be a Changemaker, blog post by teacher Liz Mulry from Eglish National School in Galway.
*See note for Higher Education organisations in Who Can Apply.
Support: Workshops and WebinarsWho Can Apply
What You Can Do
How to Apply
When to Apply
Deirdre O'Brien
Senior Support & Development Officer - School Education
If your project is in the field of School Education contact Deirdre.
Siobhan Wallace
Senior Support & Development Officer - Vocational Education & Training
If your project is in the field of Vocational Education and Training contact Siobhán.
Strategic Partnerships for Creativity
Adult Education, School Education or Youth organisations
This funding can help your organisation to:
- Develop skills and competences to reinforce creativity in education and youth work
- Promote active citizenship and social inclusion through arts, especially among young people
- Develop learning tools, resources, or training that foster creativity, culture and multiculturalism
- Carry out artistic and cultural initiatives with an educational dimension, or that raise awareness on societal issues and European matters (for example theatre plays, exhibitions, music performances, and so on)
- Establish or reinforce virtual networks and collaboration models to stimulate intercultural engagement and encourage creative mind-sets, particularly among young people
- Send staff or learners to other countries to promote learning opportunities in creative spaces and cultural heritage sites. This can include creative residencies for artists and creators active in non-formal or formal education, or youth work.
- Adapt to using digital ways of creating, managing, and delivering creative products, cultural goods and events.
These Partnerships should ultimately help equip young people and adults to develop creative and innovative solutions to unprecedented risks, and to societal issues nationally and across Europe.
For complete details, and to understand the programme priorities, download the Second Corrigendum to the Erasmus+ 2020 Programme Guide (pdf) from the European Commission website.
Looking for inspiration? These previous Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership projects might help:
- Creative Inclusion in Adult Education, which helped adult learners with a disability to access creative and inclusive learning. Partners include the Cope Foundation.
- Wires Crossed, a European-wide community participation project revolving around the art of tightwire walking. Led by Galway Community Circus
- Developing Creative Partnerships in Europe, blog post by director Peter Hussey from Crooked House Theatre
You may also like to read the Creativity and Culture chapter of the Youth Wiki.
Support: Workshops and WebinarsWho Can Apply
What You Can Do
How to Apply
When to Apply
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Denise Shannon
Senior Support & Development Officer - Youth & Adult Education
If your project is in the field of Adult Education or Youth contact Denise.
Deirdre O'Brien
Senior Support & Development Officer - School Education
If your project is in the field of School Education contact Deirdre.
Support Workshops and Webinars
We have online workshops and webinars to help you develop your project ideas, guide you through the application process, and get advice from our staff.
- Application Workshop, 22 September 2020 (watch on YouTube)
- Webinar Wednesday Four: Digital Education, 10.30-11.30am, 30 September 2020 (watch on YouTube)
- Webinar Wednesday Five: Creativity for Change, 10.30-11.30am, 7 October 2020 (watch on YouTube)
- Budget and Finance Workshop, 12 October 2020
- Open House, 22 October 2020 - this is a one-to-one consultation about your project with a Léargas staff member
Who can apply
Partnerships for Digital Education Readiness are open to public or private organisations active in School Education, Vocational Education and Training, or Higher Education*.
Partnerships for Creativity are open to public or private organisations active in School Education, Adult Education, or Youth.
Organisations that carry out activities across different education and youth sectors may also apply. This could include local and regional authorities, recognition and validation centres, chambers of commerce, trade organisations, guidance centres, or cultural organisations.
Participating organisations can be established in any Erasmus+ Programme Country or in any Partner Country of the world. Partner countries must bring an essential added value to the project.
Organisations can lead their own project, or be a partner in a project with others. Only the lead organisation applies for funding. Lead organisations active in Adult Education, School Education, VET or Youth that are established in Ireland must apply for funding through Léargas.
*Erasmus+ Higher Education is managed in Ireland by the Higher Education Authority (HEA). Lead organisations active in Higher Education that are established in Ireland must apply through the HEA.
What You Can Do
Your project must involve at least three organisations from three different Programme Countries. Strategic Partnerships for Digital Education Readiness can last between 12 and 24 months.
Strategic Partnerships for Creativity projects can last between 12 and 24 months if led by Adult Education or School Education organisations. Projects can last between six and 24 months if led by Youth organisations.
Successful applicants can begin their projects between 1 March and 30 June 2021.
There is a specific emphasis on ‘virtual cooperation’ in these Partnerships. Partners are encouraged to use existing online EU platforms to work together throughout their projects – in particular, eTwinning, the School Education Gateway, and EPALE.
Partnerships can include transnational learning, teaching and training for participants if it is relevant to the project’s objectives. This can include blended mobility, combining physical travel with virtual participation from home.
How to Apply
Before you apply, make sure to join or watch a Léargas application webinar:
Application Webinar, 22 September 2020
You should also read the Second Corrigendum to the Erasmus+ 2020 Programme Guide (pdf) and Annex I of the 2020 Erasmus+ Programme Guide.
You can then complete the full online application form. Describe your project idea, project timeline, the partners you intend to work with, and your proposed budget in detail. It can take several weeks to develop and write a project application, so give yourself plenty of time.
Read more about how to apply in our blog post, How to submit your Erasmus+ application.
If you don't already have one, you will need to set up your ‘Organisation Identification’ (OID) to show your organisation is authentic and eligible to receive funding. You need to register your details online and then submit supporting documents. Both stages must be completed before you apply, so start early!
Download our complete Organisation ID Guide to get set up.
When to Apply
You must submit your completed application online by 11.00am Irish time on Thursday 29 October 2020.
This is a very strict deadline and we cannot accept late applications. The only exception is if there is a technical problem on the side of the European Commission, not of the applicant. We strongly urge you to submit your application at least one day before the deadline for this reason.
Download the Corrigendum to the 2020 Erasmus+ Programme Guide
Before you apply, make sure to read the Corrigendum to the 2020 Erasmus+ Programme Guide. This has all the information about the new Strategic Partnership types and explains the details. Consult this along with Annex I of the Erasmus+ Programme Guide.
FAQs
Strategic Partnerships are one of the types of projects funded by Erasmus+. Organisations across Europe can work with each other to develop and use innovative methods in teaching, training, and youth work, and to share these results with the wider community.
Read the 'who can apply' section above carefully, and check the Corrigendum to the 2020 Erasmus+ Programme Guide. If you are still not sure if you can apply, contact one of our team.
The form is available from https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-applications/screen/home/.
You will need an EU Login account to see the form. If you don't have one, follow the instructions on that site to set one up.
