Erasmus+ is the EU’s funding programme for education, training, youth and sport.
Erasmus+ at a Glance
Erasmus+ is well-suited for newcomers to EU funding due to simplified applications and lump-sum budgets
Erasmus+ provides funding for staff/learner exchanges through Mobility Projects
Erasmus+ also funds Cooperation Projects for organisations to build their EU network and create innovative resources and tools with EU partners
Aims & Objectives
Erasmus+ aims to:
provide support for lifelong learning
contribute to building a European Education Area
promote learning mobility in education, training, youth, and sport
improve the quality of education and training systems
strengthen European identity and active citizenship
What does it support?
Erasmus+ supports projects that address sector-specific priorities in the programme’s strands:
Adult Education
Higher Education
School Education
Sport
Vocational Education and Training
Youth
Erasmus+ projects must also address one (or more) of the programme’s four key horizontal priorities:
Inclusion and diversity
Digital transformation
Environment and the fight against climate change
Participation in democratic life
Erasmus+ projects take the form of the following Key Actions:
Key Action 1: Learning Mobility for Individuals
Key Action 2: Cooperation Among Organisations and Institutions
Key Action 3: Support to Policy Development and Cooperation
Who can apply?
In general, any public or private organisation in a Erasmus+ Programme country can apply if they are a legal entity. Sole traders cannot apply for Erasmus funding.
Here are examples of the types of organisations who apply by programme strand:
Adult Education
Organisations providing formal, informal and non-formal adult education
Local and regional public authorities, coordination bodies and other organisations with a role in the field of adult education
Organisations whose aim is to educate the general public on a specific topic or issue
Higher Education
Students
Staff
Higher Education Institutions
School Education
All schools - pre-primary, primary and post-primary
Teachers
Learners – individuals or groups/classes
School Education staff
Sport
Public bodies in charge of sport at local, regional or national level
Sport organisations at local, regional, national, European or international level
National Olympic Committees or National Sport confederations
Organisations representing the 'sport for all' movement
Organisations active in the field of physical activity promotion
Organisations representing the active leisure sector
Organisations active in the field of education, training or youth
Vocational Education and Training
Organisations providing initial or continuing vocational education and training
Local and regional public authorities, coordination bodies and other organisations with a role in the field of vocational education and training
Companies and other public or private organisations hosting, training or otherwise working with learners and apprentices in vocational education and training
Organisations creating training and/or educational materials for staff, volunteers or other professionals
Youth
Young people
Youth workers
Organisations that work directly with and/or advocate for youth
The programme has a total budget of €26.2 billion for 2021-2027.
Project Example
MENSY: Menstruation, Empowerment and Sustainability
VOICE Ireland is a partner in the Erasmus+-funded project “MENSY: Menstruation, Empowerment and Sustainability.” Delivered by 8 partners in 8 EU countries, The aim of the MENSY project is to create a comprehensive suite of training resources on menstruation and sustainability, incorporating proven elements from existing programmes and scaling them for use across Europe and beyond. Learn more about MENSY on VOICE Ireland’s website.
National Contact Point in Ireland
Léargas is the National Contact Point in Ireland for Adult Education, School Education, Vocational Education and Training, and Youth strands as well as Erasmus+ Sport Mobility funding.
