Support for the Implementation of the Entrepreneurship Competence Framework - COS-ENTRECOMP

Deadline: Aug 22, 2019  
CALL EXPIRED

1.1. Introduction

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) play a crucial role in reaching the objectives of the Europe 2020 Strategy1. Whereas they are considered as crucial engines for growth and job creation, their competitiveness is affected by a limited exploitation of international opportunities and innovation prospects in the Single Market and beyond.

In this context, the Programme for the competitiveness of enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (2014-2020)2, (COSME), aims to promote growth and to strengthen the competitiveness and sustainability of enterprises in the European Union.

The Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises3 (hereinafter referred to as "EASME" or the "Agency") is entrusted by the European Commission with the implementation, inter alia, of parts of the COSME programme.

In this respect, this call for proposals, managed by EASME, implements parts of the COSME Work Programme 20184.

1.2. Policy Context

The European Union, as a society and economy, is confronted with an unprecedented pace of change. Europe needs citizens who take their future into their own hands and shape that future for the common good.

People need to develop knowledge, skills and attitudes that open doors to fulfilment, active citizenship and career opportunities in times of uncertainty and rapid change.

People need an entrepreneurial mindset. Entrepreneurship is not only about new businesses or self- employment. It should be understood as the ability to turn ideas into action. It is a competence that can be learnt. Entrepreneurship education helps young people to develop the ability of spotting and pursuing opportunities.

Building a widespread entrepreneurial culture requires public policy, systems and supports that embrace innovation, creativity, competitiveness and inclusiveness and have a clear understanding of the entrepreneurship competence.

The Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan recommends Member States to offer all young people a practical experience of entrepreneurship before leaving secondary school.5

 

Regulation (EU) No 1287/2013 of 11 December 2013 (Official Journal of the European Union L 347/33 of 20.12.2013).

EASME was set up by Commission Implementing Decision 2013/771/EU of 17 December 2013 establishing the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and repealing Decisions 2004/20/EC and 2007/372/EC (Official Journal of the European Union L 341/73 of 18.12.2013).

Commission Implementing Decision C (2018)6983 final of 26.10.2018 amending Implementing Decision C(2017)7293 on the adoption of the work programme for 2018 and on the financing of the Programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises.

 

The European Commission has sought to support and to co-operate with EU Member States and stakeholders on many aspects of entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurship more generally.

In 2016, the Commission published the European Entrepreneurship Competence Framework (EntreComp)5. EntreComp is a reference framework that offers a comprehensive description of entrepreneurial competences, defined as:

The capacity to act upon opportunities and ideas, and transform them into value for others. The value that is created can be financial, cultural or social.

EntreComp identifies 15 competences that describe what it takes to be entrepreneurial and outlines how these competences can be described and mapped from the most basic up to advanced levels. Since its publication, EntreComp has had an important task in opening up conversations and understanding of what it means to be entrepreneurial in all aspects of life. EntreComp can be used across sectors, disciplines and systems to enable people to develop entrepreneurial competences in individuals, as well as groups. It has been well-received by policy makers, experts, educators, and employment services across the EU – whether for establishing national level approaches to the entrepreneurship competence, designing curricula and entrepreneurial learning, assessing individuals’ competences for education or employment. A recently published user guide6 describes over 70 use cases, which illustrate the potential for EntreComp.

Overview of EntreComp and of its 15 competences:

Figure 1: Entrepreneurship Competence Framework 7 5https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/eur-scientific-and-technical-research-reports/entrecomp-entrepreneurship-competence-framework. 6https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/publication/eur-scientific-and-technical-research-reports/entrecomp-action-get-inspired-make-it-happen-user-guide-european-entrepreneurship-competence . 7jrc109128_entrecomp_into_action_-_final.pdf.

 

Entrepreneurship as an activity, entrepreneurial skills and entrepreneurial education are often associated solely with commercial activity, start-ups and the world of business. EntreComp proposes a shared, comprehensive understanding of entrepreneurship as a competence.

An entrepreneurial Europe is, of course, key to more business start-ups, self-employment and better labor market participation, including for disadvantaged or underrepresented groups, but is also key to a more active participation of people in society, where they can contribute through any type of value creation. Entrepreneurship is a transversal competence, which applies to all spheres of life.

Importantly in fact, anyone can be entrepreneurial in any setting, respond to challenges, seize opportunities and become an actor of change. The entrepreneurial competence is not a narrow set of skills that only applies to the world of work and business, but a key competence that promotes self- development and needs to be developed continually throughout life and requires a comprehensive and systematic approach within policy and practice across sectors.

The goal of entrepreneurship education is to help people build and acquire the skills, knowledge and attitudes to act in an entrepreneurial way as of school age. To achieve this, entrepreneurship education has evolved into a concept for both the content and methods of teaching and learning. Entrepreneurship can be approached not only as a course or subject, but also as a theme and a method that can be embedded in all subjects.

In recent years, most countries in Europe have significantly increased their efforts in the area of entrepreneurship education8. However, the reality is that the entrepreneurial competence is unevenly incorporated in education and training systems and curricula, while support such as coaching and guidance is not always available to those looking for opportunities in self- employment or entrepreneurial activities during their lives.

Cooperation among policy-makers and stakeholders in the fields of education, employment, industry, innovation and youth needs to be pursued as a lever for success.

This will encourage a system level use of EntreComp to support development of entrepreneurial competence in Europe, within a lifelong learning perspective, involving stakeholders and actors from across different sectors, including target beneficiaries relevant to specific contexts. The call seeks to support a holistic approach to the development of entrepreneurial competence using EntreComp, from education of young people to subsequent support for upskilling and learning for adults to ensure entrepreneurial competences are developed throughout life. Further, this will encourage innovation and new approaches to entrepreneurship competence development in different learning settings, the involvement of new stakeholders, in particular employers from the private, public and third sector alike, and also to encourage responses to the changing nature of labour market and education and training due to digital technology.

 

2. OBJECTIVE(S) – THEME(S) – ACTIVITIES – OUTPUTS

2.1. Objective of the call

The New Skills Agenda for Europe9 adopted by the European Commission in June 2016 presented the Entrepreneurship Competence Framework (EntreComp)10. This framework proposes a shared definition of entrepreneurship as a competence, with the aim to raise consensus among all stakeholders, to support the design new entrepreneurship education actions and to establish a bridge between the worlds of education and work. In particular, EntreComp develops 15 broad competences along an 8-level progression model, and proposes a comprehensive list of 442 learning outcomes.

EntreComp is going to be a central instrument for the promotion and uptake of entrepreneurship education across Europe. EntreComp formed the basis for the revised definition of Entrepreneurship Competence in the recently adopted Council Recommendation on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning11.

This initiative aims to bring together relevant players in a number of countries to create a collaborative community that will explore how the framework can function as a catalyst and a tool, to foster the entrepreneurial skills of young people and citizens in general. It is essential to help public authorities, educational institutions and the private sector to use EntreComp’s findings in a collaborative way.

The goal is to bring together key stakeholders (at EU, national, regional or local level) for interactive discussions around the Entrepreneurship Competence Framework (EntreComp), with the objective to build collaborations between education and training providers, enterprises and other stakeholders and to actively involve the target user groups in a co-design process.

Members of the collaborative community will act as a steering group for the promotion of the entrepreneurship competence – and of EntreComp as a supporting tool – in their area of responsibility. They will discuss, conceptualise and suggest action to explore fully the potential of EntreComp and to support the development and assessment of entrepreneurship competences in their country, region or city. The goal is to have a broader exchange of knowledge, experience and lessons learnt across countries and regions participating in the awarded project(s).

The specific objectives of this call for proposals include:

•   Encouraging system-level development of support for the entrepreneurship competence, including for instance new policy strategies and initiatives, the establishment of durable national, regional or local collaborative communities, high level curricula reform, strategic partnerships between different sectors etc.;

•   Using EntreComp, to develop a holistic set of learning opportunities, education and training programmes and support services for the development of the entrepreneurial competence throughout life;

•   Engaging with employers and employment services to support the development and assessment of entrepreneurial competences in job seeking, in the work place and during working life;

•   Encouraging innovation and new approaches to entrepreneurship competence development in different learning settings (including formal, non-formal and informal settings) and the involvement of new providers, companies, NGO, intermediaries;

•   Using EntreComp to form responses to the changing nature of labour market and education and training, due for instance to digital technology, to support citizens’ innovation and creativity.

•   Disseminating lessons learnt to stakeholders and policy makers from other regions and countries;

•  Bringing countries (and/or regions, cities) together to exchange experiences and good practices in building a coherent methodology to support the development of entrepreneurial skills at national and local level.

2.2. Activities

Activities supported by this call for proposals aim to encourage a systemic use of the Entrepreneurship Competence Framework (EntreComp) in order to support the development and assessment of entrepreneurial mindsets and skills, and to facilitate further progress in the spread and effectiveness of entrepreneurship education and training.

Importantly, the overall goal of this call for proposal is to turn EntreComp as an idea into action to bring value to communities of users at local, regional national level. As such, the competences described in EntreComp can be applied through all stages of the design and delivery of the various activities within the Activities as set out below. The EntreComp model presents learning outcomes that – particularly at proficiency levels 7 and 812 - intend to generate transformation, innovation and growth. Therefore, competences and learning outcomes described in EntreComp can be used as a guiding framework to perform the tasks required by this call for proposals. In this sense, the entire project can become an explicit entrepreneurial experience that can be run, documented and especially communicated as such, by explaining how key competences and learning outcomes in EntreComp have been adapted to the context to deliver project results (notably this element could be highlighted as part of peer-learning activities mentioned in Activity 2).

Activities supported by this call for proposals are described below. All activities are obligatory.

Activity 1: Establishment of national, regional or local collaborative communities

This Activity sets the foundations for the actions described in the following Activities. It concerns the establishment of cross-sectoral collaborative communities to support the development and the assessment of entrepreneurial skills in identified target groups by using EntreComp.

Each collaborative community must be grounded locally and involve all relevant actors with an interest in the development and assessment of the entrepreneurship competence. Such communities may have a national, regional or city dimension. When active at a local level, collaborative communities should reflect the specific contexts they want to capture, such as those of a rural or urban perspective, an industrial district, a cultural cluster or a distinct social fabric, etc.

Each national or local collaborative community must include at least one public authority (on national, regional or local level) responsible for education, employment or entrepreneurship policy and activities, and at least one representative body from the world of business or employment (e.g. Chamber of Commerce, employers’ organisation, trade union, professional association, etc.).

In addition, collaborative communities should include appropriate representation from:

•  education and training (educational institutions, learning and teaching experts, researchers, experts in use of digital technology for learning and upskilling);

•   employment and labour market actors (employers, employment and recruitment services, career guidance; training organisations, chambers of commerce, business associations);

•   public authorities responsible for education, training, employment, enterprise, youth and adults at national and/or local level;

•   any other appropriate actors such as the third sector (charitable sector, not-for-profit, social entrepreneurship), youth associations, organisations dealing with youth work, and parent associations.

Actions under this Activity will therefore focus on stimulating and expanding the collaborative communities as initially outlined in the application, including identification of additional mobilisers (networkers), ambassadors, champions and their role with respect to their own community.

Submitted proposals must include details on how the collaborative communities’ members and the final beneficiaries will be engaged in the entire process. The consortium must submit, at the moment of application, a completed form available in the Technical Annex 1 (Description of Action, DoA) detailing the indicative composition of the collaborative communities it intends to create.

Activity 2: Organization of workshops, roundtables, seminars and regular dialogues within the collaborative communities

The focus of this Activity is the organisation of events and mechanisms for collaborative discussion among members of each collaborative community at EU, national, regional or local level to achieve the objectives of the project.

Initially, within each national, regional or local collaborative community, a number of meetings, seminars and workshops will be organised, comprising both standing members of the collaborative community and any additional stakeholders or experts, where relevant, to discuss ideas and methods on how to use the EntreComp framework.

The first objectives of these events will be to undertake a full analysis and reflection on EntreComp, and to understand and define the potential role of each category of stakeholders in the usage of the Framework.

Also, discussions will concern identifying potential environments (e.g. formal education at school, VET and higher education, youth work, adult education, employment services, businesses, etc.) and target groups (e.g. learners, teachers and educators, women, young people, the unemployed, migrants, workers, etc.) that can be selected as priority for taking action around the development or assessment of entrepreneurship competences. Discussions may address adapting and updating EntreComp to local needs, or focusing only on some parts of it, taking into account the specific educational settings and cultures involved in the territory.

Following those preliminary steps, actors participating in the collaborative community will meet - or communicate by any other means - in order to conceptualise and implement strategies for shaping new learning opportunities, or for bridging the gap between education and the world of work by using EntreComp. Possible activities to be developed are described in the following Activities.

Consequently, to give this Activity a transnational dimension and enhance peer-learning between project partners of the same consortium located in different geographical areas, the beneficiaries will:

 Bring actors from countries (and/or regions, cities) together to exchange experiences and good practices in building a coherent methodology to support the development of entrepreneurial skills at national and local level;

 Disseminate lessons learnt to stakeholders and policy makers from other countries. Expenses related to the organisation of the workshop, roundtables, seminars are eligible.

Activity 3: Designing a Strategy for new learning opportunities and support services based on EntreComp

The strategy will include a concrete plan of actions, concerning for instance the design of new education and training curricula, the provision of support services for competence development (e.g. career guidance, coaching, teacher training, etc.), the assessment of entrepreneurial skills in different environments (in education, within youth work, for citizens in general, in the transition between education and work, at the work place, in apprentiship etc.). Importantly, the strategy should also outline the steps to be taken to achieve system-level buy-in and implementation of the strategy.

The collaborative communities will identify and outline a typical learning path for the selected target, and the necessary stages in developing, maintaining and updating entrepreneurship competences.

The collaborative communities will undertake a full analysis of the possible uses of EntreComp at each stage of the learning process and consider the settings, types of learning and upskilling, monitoring and support that would be required for the target groups. The analysis of EntreComp should lead to development of relevant education, training or other forms of learning or upskilling opportunities to meet the target groups’ needs.

Proposed strategies will use EntreComp and its accompanying tools as a source of knowledge and inspiration and as a concrete means to achieve the desired objectives. They should also pursue innovation, leading to actions that may not have taken place – or that would have taken place in a different way - if EntreComp had not been available.

The grant beneficiary and the established collaborative communities are expected to produce a replicable set of strategies, measures and actions that may support the implementation of similar packages by other stakeholders and potentially in other regions and countries.

Emphasis will be placed on the lifelong learning needs of individuals and on the need of transition between learning and work to ensure updated and relevant competences.

Any adaptation or particular use of EntreComp at each stage, considering the specific educational settings, stakeholders and cultures, should be identified and described.

Under this Activity, the possible translation of EntreComp and of the related User Guide from English to the national language of the grant beneficiaries will be also considered as an eligible cost.

Activity 4: Development of learning opportunities based on the learning outcomes in EntreComp

The collaborative community must translate the learning outcomes included in EntreComp into concrete learning opportunities (relevant education, training or other forms of learning) and supports (guidance, coaching, monitoring, self-assessment tools etc.) to be offered to the target groups in appropriate settings.

Under this Activity, opportunities for learning by creating value will be designed, based on the skills and learning outcomes described in EntreComp. These may take the form of new courses, or new curricula, as well as tweaks to established practice that allow learners to progress in the EntreComp competences development. These approaches, curricula and courses may address any level and type of formal education (primary and secondary school, vocational education and training, under-graduate and post-graduate tertiary education) as well as informal and non-formal settings outside the formal education environment (such as youth and voluntary work, training for the unemployed or re-skilling of workers, training in the work place, etc.).

Training for teachers, educators and coaches can be also designed and developed based on EntreComp.

It is essential that the learning opportunities created should be open, innovative and flexible, and meet the particular needs of target groups. The outcomes of each learning opportunity should support employability, personal development and the creation of economic, cultural and social value.

To ensure the full outreach and maximise the impact of the approach proposed, the role of enabling material and non material resources must be considered in full. Enabling resources may comprise practical support tools such as guidelines and assessment instruments, as well as support services, such as guidance services, communication for awareness raising, and any other resources to reach and provide support to the target audiences.

In particular EntreComp can be an important instrument for the assessment of entrepreneurial competences, either acquired through previous education and experience or as an outcome of new education and training activities, in any context or setting (such as in education, in job seeking, at the work place, etc.). In order to support the role of EntreComp in the assessment of entrepreneurship competences the Commission is expected to produce an entrepreneurship self- assessment tool for individuals in 2019 that is based on the skills and learning outcomes as defined in EntreComp. The usage of this tool for can be also part of the activities covered by this call for proposals.

Activity 5: Testing new approaches to developing and assessing the entrepreneurship competence

It is expected that the implementation of the package designed as part of Activity 4 is tested during the life of the awarded project(s).

Any pilot testing must demonstrate a collaborative, cross-sectoral nature, being the fruit of cooperation between different actors at national or local level involved in the process. Pilot testing must demonstrate innovative aspects and the potential to support the identified target groups and the system-level outcomes and buy-in from stakeholders.

Defining the scale and the methodology to be adopted in the testing phase is a responsibility of applicants and of actors involved, also based on the particular nature of the action to be tested and of the target groups addressed. The testing phase must generate evidence-based conclusions on the outcomes and effects of the strategy and designed new actions to learn from the experience and to propose a possible way forward for the improvement and scalability of activities.

Any piloting must assess results in terms of an improved development of entrepreneurship competence by the target groups as well as new forms of co-operation, approaches or tools for the development of entrepreneurial competences.

The outcomes and value of the learning programmes should be clearly communicated to the learners, employers and other audiences. Use of tools such as open badges, or digital credentials or other open ways to recognise the acquisition of such outcomes will be considered as added value to the proposal.

Based on the results of the testing, the grant beneficiary should produce a set of policy recommendations that would enable more effective implementation and sustainability of the activities and that, more generally, would suggest how EntreComp can be effectively used as a tool for implementing new initiatives in the area of skills (see also under Activity 6).

Activity 6: Communication and exchanges at European level

The main objective of this Activity is a comprehensive communication and dissemination strategy, which will be part of the work programme proposed by the applicant.

Project partners will widely disseminate, lessons learnt, success factors and good practice in the implementation of EntreComp. Results are expected to be transferable to other countries and regions, thus ensuring an important multiplier effect in the longer term.

As a part of this Activity, a European workshop will be organised by the project partners. It will bring together organisations and stakeholders from participating countries and regions, as well as relevant actors (including public authorities) and experts from a broader group of countries that may be interested in learning and discussing how EntreComp could be used to promote learning opportunities in their territories.

Expenses related to the organisation of the European workshop are eligible The objectives of the European workshop will be:

•   to inform a broader audience of the outcomes of this activity;

•   to present lessons learnt around the usage of EntreComp at local, regional or national level;

•   to propose a possible model and methodology to bring together a dedicated community and to use EntreComp as a catalyst for change, which could be transferred, adapted and replicated in other contexts and geographical areas;

•   to discuss follow-up and future activities, encouraging cooperation at European level in the use of EntreComp and more generally in developing joint activities in the areas of entrepreneurship education, competence development and assessment.

A wide coverage of project activities and of their outcomes will be also ensured through social media.

The grant beneficiary will produce a Guide (between 10 and 15 pages) highlighting lessons learnt in using EntreComp for developing new activities on the ground around the entrepreneurship competence. The Guide will make concrete recommendations for an optimal and effective transposition of the EntreComp model into different realities and contexts, and for its concrete use in order to support entrepreneurship education, the development and assessment of entrepreneurial skills and a better cooperation between the worlds of education and employment around the entrepreneurship competence. Recommendations will address different types of actors (such as public authorities responsible for education and entrepreneurship, educational institutions, business support organizations, employers, etc.) and different levels of intervention (European, national, local).

2.3. Outcomes, outputs and deliverables
Activities supported under this call for proposals must result in:

•   The establishment and activation of collaborative communities with the mission of applying EntreComp to the development of entrepreneurship competences in their territories;

•   A mapping of possible uses of EntreComp in different contexts and for different target groups;

•   The creation of new entrepreneurship education and training opportunities (e.g. programmes,

  curricula, short courses), or the expansion and adaptation of existing ones;

•   Theset-upofnewmethodsandstrategiestoassessandvalidatetheentrepreneurshipcompetence of different target groups, in different contexts;

•   The experimentation of innovative solutions to increase cooperation between the world of work and employment and the world of education, and of new ways of engaging young people in local ecosystems around the entrepreneurship competence;

•   A replicable set of strategies, methods of cooperation and measures that may support the concrete use of EntreComp in other regions and countries beyond those participating in the EU- funded project;

•   The organization of transnational workshops, meetings and webinars;

•   The organisation of a European dissemination Workshop;

•   A Guide presenting an assessment of lessons learnt when using EntreComp as a foundation for strategies and actions to support the entrepreneurship competence, and a set of recommendations on how EntreComp can be effectively used as a tool for implementing new initiatives in the area of skills at European, national and local level.

Meetings:

•   1 kick-off meeting in Brussels with selected consortia. Presence of financial manager and the consortium coordinator is obligatory;

•   1 review meeting for the whole partnership (consortium) to be held in Brussels in Commission/EASME premises after receiving the periodic technical and financial report linked to interim payment;

•   1 inter-consortia meeting in Brussels for all partners of consortia funded by this call.

2.4. Project indicators

The success of this new initiative launched by EASME and the Commission will be measured by the following indicators:

1. The number of participating countries and public and private organisations;

2. The number of countries and regions where EntreComp was introduced and tested;

3. The creation of a replicable model for the actualisation of the EntreComp framework and for its use in any potentially interested country, region or city;

4. The number of educational institutions and public or private or third sector stakeholders that benefited from this measure;

5. The number of workshops, meetings, and webinars;

6. The number of participants and of countries represented in the final European dissemination Workshop;

7. The quality of the final Guide and of recommendations on how EntreComp can be concretely used in different contexts and for different target groups.

 

3. TIMETABLE

a) Deadline for submitting applications

22/08/2019 17:00 Brussels time

b) Evaluation period*

September 2019

c) Information to applicants*

October 2019

d) Signature of grant agreements*

December 2019

e) Starting date of the action

01/02/2020

* indicative

 

4. BUDGET AVAILABLE AND FUNDING OF PROJECTS

The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects is estimated at EUR 1.000.000. The maximum grant per project will be EUR 500.000.

EASME expects to fund two (2) proposals.
The grant is limited to a maximum reimbursement rate of 90% of eligible costs. EASME reserves the right not to distribute all the funds available.

 

5. ADMISSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

The following requirements must be complied with:

•   Applications must be submitted no later than the deadline for submitting applications referred to in section 3;

•   Applications must be submitted in writing, using the electronic system specified in section 16;

•   Applications must be drafted in one of the EU official languages.
  Failure to comply with those requirements will lead to the rejection of the application.

Incomplete applications may be considered inadmissible. This refers to the requested administrative data, the proposal description and requested grant amount, and any supporting documents specified in this call for proposals.

 

6. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

6.1. Eligible applicants
Applicants must be legal entities forming a consortium.

Such entities may include:

•   Public authorities and public administrations (at the national, regional or local level);

•   Chamber of commerce and industry or similar bodies;

•   Business associations and business support collaborative communities;

•   Training and educational institutions;

•   NGOs, non-profit organisations, associations and foundations;

•   Other public and private entities specialised in education, training or employment.

  Linked third parties, i.e. legal entities having a legal or capital link with applicants, which is neither limited to the action nor established for the sole purpose of its implementation, may take part in the action as applicants in order to declare eligible costs.

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

 EU Member States;

 countries participating in the COSME programme pursuant to Article 6 of the COSME Regulation13.

6.2. Eligible consortia

Applicants must set up a consortium with a designated coordinator.

An eligible consortium must fulfil the following criteria:

- The consortium must be composed of a minimum of six (6) legal entities located in at least three (3) EU member states or COSME participating countries:

13 The following groups of countries are eligible for participation in COSME according to Article 6 COSME Regulation:

1. European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries which are members of the European Economic Area (EEA), in accordance with the conditions laid down in the EEA Agreement, and other European countries when agreements and procedures so allow;

2. acceding countries, candidate countries and potential candidates in accordance with the general principles and general terms and conditions for the participation of those countries in the Union's programmes established in the respective Framework Agreements and Association Council Decisions, or similar arrangements;

3. countries falling within the scope of the European neighbourhood policies, when agreements and procedures so allow and in accordance with the general principles and general terms and conditions for the participation of those countries in the Union's programmes established in the respective Framework Agreements, Protocols to Association Agreements and Association Council Decisions.

The updated list of eligible third countries is available on the following webpage: http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/cosme/index_en.htm. Proposals from applicants in Article 6 countries may be selected provided that, on the date of award, agreements have been signed setting out the arrangements for the participation of those countries in the programme.

-The consortium must include, as a partner, per country:

1) at least one public authority at national, regional or local level responsible for education, employment or entrepreneurship policy and activities, and

2) at least one entity representing business or employment support entities, like chambers of commerce and industry, trade union, employers organisations, employment offices.

Consortia must verify and declare through their coordinator that none of their consortium members participates in another proposal within this same call for proposals. An explicit declaration will have to be submitted by the coordinator 14. If such a case is detected by the funding body, it will lead to the exclusion of the organisation concerned from all respective proposals. The respective consortia affected by the exclusion of (a) partner(s) must still fulfil the eligibility criteria as stipulated in sections 6.1 and 6.2 in order to be considered eligible.

6.3. For British applicants

Please be aware that eligibility criteria must be complied with for the entire duration of the grant. If the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU during the grant period without concluding an agreement with the EU ensuring in particular that British applicants continue to be eligible, you will cease to receive EU funding (while continuing, where possible, to participate) or be required to leave the project on the basis of Article 34.3.1(b) of the grant agreement.

6.4 Implementation period
The duration of projects is 36 months.

 

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