Erasmus+

Before you dive deeper into KA1 and KA2, it’s important to understand some basic Erasmus+ words you will see in calls, forms, and guidelines.Mobility

Mobility means people travel to another country to learn, train, teach, or take part in an activity. Mobility is at the core of KA1 projects. Examples:

• Young people joining a youth exchange abroad
• Youth workers attending a training course in another country
• Teachers going on a job shadowing visit to a partner school

Partnership: A partnership is a group of organizations from different countries that work together on one project. Partnerships are especially important in KA2 projects.

• Usually includes at least 2 or more organizations from different countries
• Each partner has a role and responsibility
• One organization is the coordinator (main applicant)

Sending & Hosting Organization: In mobility projects (KA1), you will see these two roles:

• Sending organization: The organization that prepares and sends participants abroad. (For example, your NGO that sends young people to a youth exchange.)
• Hosting organization: The organization in the other country that receives participants and runs the activities.
• Sometimes an organization can be both sending and hosting in different projects.

Accreditation: Accreditation is like a quality label given by the National Agency to organizations that want to work with Erasmus+ in the long term. If you are accredited:

• You don’t apply for a new full project each time
• Instead, you receive regular funding based on your approved long-term plan.
• New NGOs can apply for projects without being accredited, but accreditation can be a goal for the future.

Call for Proposals: A Call for Proposals is the official invitation to apply for funding.

• Published every year by the European Commission and National Agencies.
• Includes deadlines, priorities, and rules.
• You must always check the current call before applying.

Beneficiary: A beneficiary is the organization that receives the grant (funding) from Erasmus+.

• The beneficiary signs the grant agreement with the National Agency.
• Is responsible for managing the budget, activities, reporting and communication with the agency.

In many cases, this is the coordinating organization.

Project Cycle: The project cycle is the full “life” of a project from the first idea to the final report. It usually includes:

1. Needs analysis – understanding the problem you want to address.
2. Planning – defining objectives, activities, timelines, partners.
3. Application – writing and submitting the proposal.
4. Implementation – carrying out the activities.
5. Evaluation – checking what worked and what didn’t.
6. Dissemination & follow-up – sharing results and ensuring impact continues.

Impact: Impact means the positive change your project creates. Examples:

• Participants gain new skills, knowledge, and confidence.
• Your organization improves its quality of work.
• Your local community becomes more active, inclusive or green

You should think about impact at:

• Individual level (participants).
• Organizational level.
• Local, national, or European level.

Dissemination: Dissemination means sharing your project’s results with others so that more people benefit. Erasmus+ expects strong and realistic dissemination plans.

• Creating a project website or social media campaign.
• Organizing events to present your results.
• Producing videos, guides, or educational materials.
• Sharing resources with other organizations and networks.

Sustainability: Sustainability in projects means that the results and changes continue even after the funding ends. For example:

• Your NGO keeps using the tools, methods, or materials created.
• New partnerships and initiatives are born from the project.
• The project inspires policies or practices in your organization/school.

Inclusion & Diversity: Erasmus+ gives special importance to inclusion and diversity, meaning:

• Giving opportunities to people with fewer chances (economic, social, geographic, educational, health-related, etc.).
• Designing projects that are accessible and supportive for everyone.
• Projects that have a strong inclusion dimension are often valued very positively.