Capacity Building (CBHE) projects

Programmes
Higher education
Erasmus+ for higher education
Internationalisation

Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education supports the modernisation, accessibility and internationalisation of higher education in EU-external partner countries.

Photo: Unsplash

Objectives

Capacity Building projects are multilateral projects developing higher education between EU Member States and third countries associated to the Erasmus+ Programme and more than 150 third countries not associated to the Programme.

The projects and results of Capacity Building in Higher Education must benefit higher education institutions and higher education systems in partner countries.

Capacity Building projects support the relevance, quality, modernisation and resilience of higher education in issues such as the globalisation of the economy and increasing inequality. Capacity Building projects are aimed at improving the administration, management and innovations capacities of higher education institutions in partner countries, promote internationalisation and modernise education systems. At the same time, the projects also promote regional and interregional cooperation.

The action also promotes the general priorities of the European Commission, such as the Green Deal, digitalisation, sustainable growth, peace and security.

In Capacity Building projects, Finnish higher education institutions can through cooperation, their expertise and good practices contribute to the development of higher education in partner countries.

In Capacity Building projects, higher education institutions can participate in

improving the quality of higher education in partner countries and its relevance for the needs of the labour market and society
developing new and innovative education programmes to improve the competence, skills and employability potential of students
promoting inclusive education, equality, equity, non-discrimination and promotion of civic competences
improving the teaching and assessment mechanisms of staff and students of higher education institutions, quality assurance, management, administration, innovation, knowledge base, digital and entrepreneurial capacities, and the internationalisation of higher education institutions
supporting authorities in renewing education policies
improving teacher education and the continuous professional development of teachers
promoting cooperation, capacity building and exchange of good practices between higher education institutions
and promoting cooperation between different regions of the world.

Watch video about Erasmus+ Capacity Building projects

What is funding available for?

There are three kinds of Capacity Building projects:

Strand 1: Fostering access to cooperation in higher education	support the access of newcomer organisations such higher education institutions from the least developed countries and remote areas and less experienced higher education institutions improve the quality, administration and accessibility of education grant per project EUR 200,000–400,000 projects may last 24–36 months budget for the strand approximately 29,4 million euros.
Strand 2: Partnerships for transformation in higher education	aimed specifically at developing the operation of higher education institutions of partner countries grant per project EUR 400,000–800,000 projects may last 24–36 months budget for the strand approximately 43,4 million euros.
Strand 3: Structural reform projects	aimed at developing higher education at the national level in partner countries the authority responsible for higher education in the country in question must be involved in structural projects grant per project EUR 600,000–1,000,000 projects may last 36–48 months budget for the strand approximately 15,5 million euros.

Projects in Strands 1 and 2 must comply with regional priorities that have been determined for each region in conjunction with the call for proposals.

The budget for Capacity Building in call 2024 is approximately 98 million euros, which is allocated by strand and geographical region. Detailed budget distribution is available in the application portal.

Instructions for Centralized Actions' lump sum budgets

Who can participate?

EU Member States, third countries associated to the Programme and third countries not associated to the Programme from the following geographical regions can participate in capacity building projects: Western Balkans, Neighbourhood East, South-Mediterranean Countries, Asia, Middle East, Pacific, Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Caribbean (regions 1–11, not region 4 in the regional classification of the Erasmus+ programme).

The eligible countries and the budget reserved for each region are determined in more detail in the annual call for proposals.

Projects under Capacity Building in Higher Education include

national projects, i.e. projects involving higher education institutions from only one eligible third country not associated to the Erasmus+ programme
regional projects, i.e. multi-country projects within one single eligible region
cross-regional projects, i.e. multi-country projects involving more than one region and involving at least one country from each eligible region.

Projects focusing on countries in the Western Balkans, Latin America and the Caribbean cannot be national projects. Instead, they have to focus on at least two partner countries. Belarus is not an eligible country. Projects under Strand 3 cannot focus on Syria.

The projects are implemented by networks of higher education institutions. At least the following number of institutions must participate in capacity building projects:

2 higher education institutions from two EU Member States or third countries associated to the Programme
2 higher education institutions from each participating partner country
in a project, the number of institutions from partner countries must be at least as high as the number of institutions from programme countries
in addition, projects under Strand 3 must involve the ministry responsible for higher education in the partner country.

In addition, many other parties can participate in the projects (e.g., companies, ministries, NGOs, research institutes or different parties working with higher education).

Countries participating in the Erasmus+ programme

Application forms and instructions

The application process is managed by the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) of the European Commission. The organisation coordinating the Capacity Building project sends the application to EACEA, which will assess and select the projects.

Application deadline

A call for proposals is organised annually for the action.
The 2024 deadline for applications is 8 February 2024 18.00 Finnish time (17:00 CET).

The opening of the call will also be announced through EDUFI_HigherEd mailing list.

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Detailed instructions for applying and other important material

You will find detailed instructions for applying, the Programme Guide, the call for proposals and the guide for applicants in the Commission’s application portal:

Support for applicants

The Executive Agency EACEA is responsible for the call under Capacity Building projects. The Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI) provides advice and guidance to Finnish applicants.

Information on the guidance events for applicants organised by EACEA and EDUFI as well as materials are available on the event pages below.

We also provide guidance by email and over the phone. See our contact information at the bottom of the page!

Information and support for global co-operation

Twenty-seven partner countries in the EU’s neighbouring area have a National Erasmus+ Office (NEO). In the application stage NEOs can offer support for cooperation in the countries in question.

In addition, the Erasmus+ National Focal Points (ENFP) support participation in the Erasmus+ programme in 78 countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, the Middle East and America. Following the work of EU Delegations can also support the planning of your project.

Country-specific information on participation in the Erasmus+ programme globally is available on the Erasmus+ Factsheets pages.

Tips for applying

There must be a justified need for your capacity building project in the partner country. Familiarise yourself with the higher education development strategies in your partner country and with other already funded projects and adapt your own project to them.
Familiarise yourself with the country- and region-specific priorities of different project types under Capacity Building projects. To be selected, your project must fit into the priority areas determined by the European Commission.
Read the material carefully and reserve plenty of time for preparing the application.
Keep in mind that the application consists of an electronic application form and its many attachments. The most extensive part of the application is the appendix Detailed description of the Project.
Participate in EDUFI's application guidance sessions. Information on the sessions will be published on this website.
You can also familiarise yourself with the ongoing and already completed capacity building projects, which you can find below under Results of calls for proposals.