Call for proposals - EACEA/32/10: Tempus IV - Reform of higher education through international university cooperation

The fourth phase of the Tempus programme covers the period from 2007 to 2013. Its overall objective is to contribute towards facilitating cooperation in the field of higher education among EU Member States and partner countries in the surrounding area. In particular, the programme will help promote voluntary convergence with EU developments in the field of higher education, deriving from the Europe 2020 Strategy, the Strategic Framework for European Cooperation in Education and Training (ET 2020) and the Bologna process.

The purpose of this call for proposals is to promote multilateral cooperation among higher education institutions, authorities and organisations from EU Member States and partner countries with the focus on the reform and modernisation of higher education.

In order to be eligible for the award of a grant, applicants must be legal persons, legally established for more than five years in the EU or Tempus partner countries.
Applicants for Joint Projects must be State-recognised, public or private higher education institutions or associations, organisations or networks of higher education institutions dedicated to the promotion, improvement and reform of higher education.
Applicants for Structural Measures must be legal entities as stipulated above for Joint Projects or national or international rector, teacher or student organisations.

Institutions and organisations which may participate as partners/co-beneficiaries in the Tempus Programme range from higher education institutions and organisations through to non-academic institutions and organisations such as non-governmental organisations, companies, industries and public authorities.

These institutions and organisations have to be based in one of the following four groups of eligible countries:
- the EU Member States
- the Western Balkan region (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo)
- the Southern and Eastern neighbouring area of the EU (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, the occupied Palestinian territory, Syria, Tunisia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, the Russian Federation, Ukraine)
- the Central Asian Republics (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan)

The two principal instruments for cooperation through this Tempus call for proposals are:

- Joint Projects: projects with a 'bottom-up' approach aiming at modernisation and reform on an institutional (university) level. Joint Projects aim at transferring knowledge between universities, organisations and institutions from the EU and from the partner countries as well as between partner country entities as appropriate,

- Structural Measures: projects seeking to contribute to the development and reform of higher education systems in partner countries, as well as to enhance their quality and relevance and to increase their voluntary convergence with EU developments. Structural Measures will be interventions designed to support structural reform of higher education systems and the strategic framework development at national level.

This call will finance both national and multi-country projects.

National projects must adhere to national priorities which are established in close dialogue between EU Delegations and the relevant authorities in the partner countries.
- For national projects, proposals must be submitted by groupings of institutions involving:
- at least three higher education institutions from a partner country (for Montenegro and Kosovo, one university will be sufficient),
- at least three higher education institutions from the EU, each from a different EU Member State.

Multi-country projects must comply with regional priorities which are based on the EU's policy for cooperation with the partner countries' regions as identified in its strategic documents concerning the neighbouring countries, those for pre-accession to the EU and those in Central Asia. They are common to all partner countries within a specific region or they address a national priority which is common to each of the participating partner countries.
- For multi-country projects, proposals must be submitted by groupings of institutions involving:
- at least two higher education institutions, from each of the participating partner countries (minimum two partner countries) involved in the proposal (with the exception of Kosovo and Montenegro where the requirement is one higher education institution from each),
- at least three higher education institutions, each from a different EU Member State.
For Structural Measures, there is an additional condition: the Ministry/ies responsible for higher education in the partner country/ies must be involved as partner/s in a Structural Measures project.

The maximum duration of projects is 24 months or 36 months. The period of eligibility of costs is expected to start on 15 October 2011.

The indicative budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects under this call amounts to €48.7 million. The financial contribution from the EU will not exceed 90% of the total eligible costs. A co-financing of a minimum of 10% of the total eligible cost is needed.
The minimum grant for both Joint Projects and Structural Measures will be €500,000. The maximum grant will amount to €1.5 million. For national projects in Kosovo and Montenegro the minimum grant for both project types is set at €300,000.

The deadline for applications is 15 February 2011,

Furthe information can be found on the Tempus website.

Reference: 2010/C 278/12

(Added 2010-10-15)