CALL FOR PROPOSALS EACEA/45/2012

INTRA - ACP Academic Mobility Scheme

AFRICA (MWALIMU NYERERE) and the CARIBBEAN & PACIFIC

In case of doubts the English version should be used as a reference for all other

linguistic versions.

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1 INTRODUCTION / BACKGROUND ............................................................................................... 3

2 OBJECTIVE ........................................................................................................................................ 4

3 TIMETABLE ....................................................................................................................................... 4

4 BUDGET AVAILABLE ..................................................................................................................... 5

5 ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA ................................................................................................................. 5

5.1 FORMAL CRITERIA ............................................................................................................................. 6 5.2 ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES ......................................................................................................................... 6 5.3 ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP AND INDIVIDUALS ......................................................................................... 7 5.4 ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES........................................................................................................................ 10

6 EXCLUSION CRITERIA ................................................................................................................ 15

7 SELECTION CRITERIA ................................................................................................................. 17

7.1 OPERATIONAL CAPACITY ................................................................................................................. 17 7.2 FINANCIAL CAPACITY ...................................................................................................................... 17

8 AWARD CRITERIA ........................................................................................................................ 18

9 FUNDING CONDITIONS ................................................................................................................ 19

9.1 CONTRACTUAL PROVISIONS AND PAYMENT PROCEDURES ............................................................... 19 9.2 GUARANTEE .................................................................................................................................... 20 9.3 DOUBLE FINANCING ........................................................................................................................ 21 9.4 FUNDING METHOD ........................................................................................................................... 21

10 PUBLICITY ....................................................................................................................................... 24

11 DATA PROTECTION ...................................................................................................................... 24

12 PROCEDURE FOR THE SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS ........................................................ 25

12.1 PUBLICATION .............................................................................................................................. 25 12.2 GRANT APPLICATION FORM ......................................................................................................... 26 12.3 SUBMISSION OF THE GRANT APPLICATION ................................................................................... 26 12.4 RULES APPLICABLE ..................................................................................................................... 27 12.5 CONTACTS .................................................................................................................................. 27

GLOSSARY ................................................................................................................................................ 28

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1 INTRODUCTION / BACKGROUND

The programme is rooted in the context of two highly political and important

commitments of the European Union (EU) vis--vis the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific

(ACP) Group of States and the African Union (AU).

On the one hand, the Cotonou Agreement is the most comprehensive partnership

agreement between developing countries and the EU. Since 2000 (with its predecessor

agreements dating back as far as 1963 and Yaound I Convention) it has been the

framework for EU's relations with 79 countries from Africa, the Caribbean and the

Pacific. In this context, the ACP Group of States agreed with the EU to work together

and develop cooperation programmes to facilitate the access of students from Africa,

Caribbean and Pacific States to education and training.

On the other hand, the EU-Africa summit, held in December 2007 in Lisbon, cemented a

new Africa-EU Strategic Partnership, which marked a new era in relations between the

two continents. Consequently, the Joint Africa-EU Strategy provides an overarching

long-term framework for Africa- EU relations, while its first action plan (2008-2010)

specifies concrete proposals, structured along 8 Africa-EU strategic partnerships of which

partnership seven (Migration, Mobility and Employment) aims inter alia to "strengthen

the quality of local tertiary-level education, revitalise African universities and promote

the training of high-level technical and professional manpower, including through the

Nyerere programme".

The programme is in line with the EU's commitments to improve quality of education

and to favour regional integration as spelled out by the EU Agenda for Change and

therefore it complements existing regional initiatives in the higher education sector such

as the Pan-African University flagship programme of the African Union Commission

(AUC).

The programme is part of the Intra-ACP Strategy for the period 2008-2013, which was

agreed upon between the EU and the ACP Group of States and which foresees the

support to student mobility within the ACP countries through strengthening the AUC

Mwalimu Nyerere Scholarship Scheme, as well as setting up a similar scheme for the

Caribbean and Pacific regions.

The funds allocated to the programme amount to 45 million and comprise 40 million

allocated under the Intra-ACP Strategy as well as 5 million from the South Africa

allocation of the Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) in support of the African

component. The South Africa contribution is an acknowledgement of the need of South

African institutions and individuals to fully participate in the AUC Mwalimu Nyerere

Scholarship Scheme.

Consequently, this Call for Proposals is divided into two lots:

Lot 1 African component - which aims to support and fully expand the

Mwalimu Nyerere Scholarship Scheme of the AUC in the context of which

academic mobility will take place within Africa;

Lot 2 - Caribbean and Pacific component - that will support regional and/or

inter-regional academic mobility in the Caribbean and Pacific.

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The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), hereinafter "the

Agency" will be in charge of the implementation and follow-up of this programme with

the support of the AUC and ACP secretariat. Measures will be put in place by the AUC

to strengthen its internal capacity with the aim of managing the Mwalimu Nyerere

mobility programme in the future.

2 OBJECTIVE

The general objective of the programme is to promote sustainable development and

poverty alleviation by increasing the availability of trained and qualified high-level

professional manpower in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

The programme's specific objective is to strengthen cooperation between Higher

Education Institutions (HEIs) in the African, Caribbean and Pacific region in view of

increasing access to quality education that will encourage and enable African, Caribbean

and Pacific students to undertake postgraduate studies, and to promote student retention

in the region along with mobility of staff (academic and administrative) while increasing

competitiveness and attractiveness of the institutions themselves.

More specifically the programme aims to:

a) provide access to higher education for students including those from

disadvantaged groups;

b) facilitate cooperation on recognition of studies and qualifications;

c) contribute to the improvement of the quality of higher education through the

promotion of internationalisation, and harmonisation of programmes and

curricula within participating institutions;

d) enhance the international cooperation capacity of HEIs in African, Caribbean

and Pacific countries;

e) promote cooperation between sending and host institutions;

f) enable students, academics and staff to benefit linguistically, culturally and

professionally from the experience gained in the context of mobility to another

country;

g) enhance, in the medium-term, the political, cultural, educational and economic

links between the participating countries.

3 TIMETABLE

The deadline for submission of grant applications is 10 June 2013 as evidenced by the

postmark or the date of the deposit slip. In the case of hand-deliveries, the deadline for

receipt is at 16:00 local time as evidenced by the signed and dated deposit slip. Any

application received after the deadline will automatically be rejected. Please read

carefully Section 12 of this Call for Proposals concerning the procedures for submitting

applications.

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The intention is to inform successful and unsuccessful applicants on the results by

October 20131.

4 BUDGET AVAILABLE

The total budget available for the co-financing of projects is estimated at 23.45 million

for the following geographical windows and should allow around 800 mobility flows.

This Call for Proposals is divided into two lots:

Lot Geographical windows Indicative

Global

Amount

Indicative number

of projects

expected to be

funded

Maximum

grant per

partnership

Lot 1 Africa 17.85

million

7 2.55 million

Lot 2 Caribbean and

Pacific

5.6

million

2 to 3 2.8 million

for inter-

regional

projects

1.4 million

for regional

projects2

The size of the grants depends on the number of individuals participating in the mobility

activities, the duration and the type of student mobility (master, doctorate) and the

number of visiting staff.

The EU financial contribution will take the form of lump sums and/or flat rates, as

detailed in Section 9.4 of this Call for Proposals.

The Agency reserves the right not to distribute all the funds available.

5 ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

In this section the overall eligibility requirements for the partnerships are described.

Applications which do not comply with the following criteria will be excluded.

1 Article 128(1a) of the Financial Regulation), the applicants should be informed of the outcome of the

evaluation of their application within 6 months from the final date for the submission of the proposals. 2 If the Partnership includes HEIs from both Caribbean and Pacific regions (inter-regional projects), the

maximum grant which can be requested per partnership is 2.8 million . If the partnership involves HEIs

from only one of the two regions (Caribbean or Pacific) and plans mobility within that region (regional

projects), the maximum grant which can be requested per partnership is 1.4 million in order to guarantee

a balanced geographical coverage.

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5.1 Formal criteria

Only proposals submitted in English or French using the official application form,

completed in full, signed (original signatures or equivalent required) and received by the

specified deadline, will be considered.

The application form must be accompanied by an official letter from the applicant

organisation, as well as all the other annexes and documents referred to in the application

form.

5.2 Eligible countries

The eligible countries for each lot are presented in the tables below.

5.2.1. Lot 1 - Africa

ACP countries

Regions Countries

Southern Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Western Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone

and Togo

Central Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Congo (DRC), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and So Tom and Principe

Eastern Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania

Non - ACP countries

Regions Countries

Northern Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Morocco

5.2.2. Lot 2 - Caribbean and Pacific

ACP countries

Regions Countries

Caribbean Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Commonwealth of Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts &

Nevis, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad &

Tobago

Pacific Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, East Timor, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa,

Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu

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5.3 Eligible partnership and individuals

The call is opened to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and individuals will benefit by

the mobility activities planned by these HEIs.

5.3.1 Partnership general conditions

The partnership must be constituted of a minimum of three HEIs (including the

applicant). In order to ensure a sound management of the partnership by the applicant, the

maximum size of the partnership is limited to twelve HEIs, including the Applicant, and

a Technical Partner if any. However, in each partnership no more than four HEIs from

any one eligible country are allowed.

The partnership should be composed of the following members:

Applicant/coordinating HEI

The applicant/coordinating HEI must:

(a) Be a legal person ("legal entity"): in order to demonstrate its existence as a legal

person, the applicant must be legally established for more than 3 years and must

provide a Legal Entity Form, duly completed, signed, and accompanied by the

relevant documents3; and

(b) Be a Higher Education Institution (private or public). In order to be eligible as a

higher education institution, applicants must provide courses at the graduate

and/or doctoral level of higher education leading to a qualification recognised by

the competent authorities in their own country; they may be called a

University or bear other relevant name (e.g. Polytechnic, College,

Institute, etc); they must be accredited by relevant national authorities in an

ACP country; and

(c) Be nationals and registered in one ACP country (see section 5.2 above).

Branches of HEIs from outside those countries are not eligible4.

Full Partners

Full partners must:

3The Legal Entity form is annexed to the Grant Application Form and it is downloaded from the following website:

http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/legal_entities/legal_entities_en.cfm, It must be accompanied

by the following documents:

for Public-law entity

bank details form annexed to the Grant Application Form, duly completed and signed,

legal resolution or decision established in respect of the public company, or other official document

established for the public-law entity.

for Private company, association, etc.

bank details form annexed to the Grant Application Form, duly completed and signed, extract from the

official gazette/trade register, and certificate of liability to VAT (if in certain countries, the trade register

number and VAT number are identical, only one of these documents is required). 4 Any legal entity whose statutes have been established in another country cannot be considered an eligible local

organisation, even if the statutes are registered locally or a "Memorandum of Understanding" has been concluded.

http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/legal_entities/legal_entities_en.cfm

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(a) Be a legal person ("legal entity"): in order to demonstrate its existence as a legal

person, the Full Partner must be legally established for more than 3 years and

must provide a Legal Entity Form, duly completed, signed, and accompanied

by the relevant documents5; and

(b) Be a Higher Education Institution (private or public). In order to be eligible as a

higher education institution, partners must provide courses at the graduate and/or

doctoral level of higher education leading to a qualification recognized by the

competent authorities in their own country; they may be called a University or

bear other relevant name (e.g. Polytechnic, College, Institute, etc.); they

must be accredited by relevant national authorities in one of the eligible

countries (see section 5.2 above); and

(c) Be nationals and registered in one of the eligible countries (see section 5.2

above). Branches of HEIs from outside those countries are not eligible. 6

In addition, the partnership may involve:

Technical Partner

In duly justified cases the partnerships might involve one HEI as technical partner from

the EU Member States having been awarded an Erasmus University Charter7, or from one

of the eligible countries covered by any of the two lots.

The technical partner should provide support in the management of the project and

especially in the organisation and implementation of the mobility. For that reason, the

technical partner must have a strong experience in management of international mobility.

They may receive funding from the grant. However, they can neither host nor send

student or/and staff. Applicants will need to justify the need for involving the technical

partner in the application as well as the nature and cost of the service to be provided.

Associated Partner

Other types of organisations from other countries can be involved in the project. Such

associates play an active role in the action but they are not considered beneficiaries and

they cannot receive funding from the grant. Associate partners do not have to meet the

applicant and full partners' eligibility criteria.

5The Legal Entity form is annexed to the Grant Application Form and it is downloaded from the following website:

http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/legal_entities/legal_entities_en.cfm, It must be accompanied

by the following documents:

for Public-law entity

bank details form annexed to the Grant Application Form, duly completed and signed,

legal resolution or decision established in respect of the public company, or other official document

established for the public-law entity.

for Private company, association, etc.

bank details form annexed to the Grant Application Form, duly completed and signed, extract from the

official gazette/trade register, and certificate of liability to VAT (if in certain countries, the trade register

number and VAT number are identical, only one of these documents is required). 6 Any legal entity whose statutes have been established in another country cannot be considered an eligible local

organisation, even if the statutes are registered locally or a "Memorandum of Understanding" has been concluded. 7 The Erasmus University Charter provides the general framework for all the European cooperation activities, which a

higher education institution may carry out under the Lifelong Learning Programme (LLP). For more information on the LLP, you can consult the following address: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/llp/index_en.php

http://ec.europa.eu/budget/contracts_grants/info_contracts/legal_entities/legal_entities_en.cfmhttp://eacea.ec.europa.eu/llp/index_en.php

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The associates have to be mentioned in the application, and the role they play in the

context of the proposed project has to be described. It is expected that they contribute to

the transfer of knowledge and results, and assist in the promotion, implementation,

evaluation and sustainable development of the project.

Some types of associates which could be particularly relevant for the objectives and

activities of this programme are: enterprises, chambers of industry and commerce, local,

regional or national public entities as well as research centers, etc.

5.3.2 Partnership conditions ruling the individual geographical windows

Lot 1 - Africa

HEIs from a minimum of three African regions must be represented in any partnership.

HEIs from the Northern Africa can host all types of mobility (students and staff).

However, mobility from Northern Africa HEIs concerns only staff. Mobility within

Northern African HEIs is not allowed.

Lot 2 - Caribbean and Pacific

Partnerships including HEIs from both Caribbean and Pacific regions are strongly

encouraged.

Partnerships may propose to involve HEIs from only one of the two regions (Caribbean

or Pacific) and to plan mobility within this region. In this case, the maximum grant per

partnership is 1.4 million in order to guarantee a balanced geographical coverage.

5.3.3 Individuals

Students

To be eligible, master students as well as doctoral candidates referred as students must:

(a) Be a national and resident in any of the ACP countries covered by the relevant

lot; and

(b) Be registered/admitted at the time of the application for a scholarship at one of

the HEIs within the Partnership or having obtained a degree by one of these

HEIs (Target Group I); or be registered/admitted in a HEI (not included in the

partnership) of a country of the lot or having obtained a HEI degree (or

equivalent) by an institution of a country concerned by the lot (Target Group II);

and

(c) Have sufficient knowledge of the language of the courses in the host countries.

In order to encourage brain-gain, partnerships may target students from "diaspora",

who are national of the ACP countries covered by the relevant lot but are not resident in

these countries.

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Academic and Administrative Staff

In order to be eligible, academic and administrative staff, hereafter referred as "staff",

must:

(a) Be a national and resident in any of the eligible countries covered by the relevant

lot; and

(b) Work in or be associated with an HEI within the partnership (Target Group I).

In addition mobility assignments must be based on agreements between the members of

the partnership. The home and host HEIs and the individual staff must agree on the

programme of lectures to be delivered by the visiting staff, on the research activities, on

the type of training to be followed or on type of administrative cooperation to develop.

5.4 Eligible activities

5.4.1 General provisions

The project will entail the organisation and implementation of student and staff mobility

in high quality master and doctoral programmes as well as the provision of

education/training and other services to foreign students, teaching/training, research

assignments and other services to staff from the countries covered by the project .

Mobility must take place in the eligible countries covered by this Call for Proposals (see

Section 5.2). Mobility flows for students and staff between the two lots are not eligible.

The duration of the project must be between 48 and 60 months, based on planned

activities. In general, the first six months are dedicated to the promotion of the project

and activities related to the organisation of mobility (see below "Organisation of

mobility").

Eligible activities, including preparatory activities, may start as from 1st November 2013,

provided that the grant agreement has been signed between the Agency and the

beneficiary. If the applicant can demonstrate the need for starting the action prior to

signature of the grant agreement, certain preparatory activities may start before the grant

agreement is signed. Under no circumstances can the eligibility period start before the

date of submission of the grant application. Mobility may not start before a selection

process, on the basis of the selection procedures set up by partners, has been completed.

All activities must take place within the eligibility period as defined when signing the

grant agreement with the Agency. However, if during the implementation of the project it

becomes impossible for the beneficiary, for fully justified reasons beyond his control, to

complete the activities within the scheduled period, an extension to the agreed eligibility

period may be granted.

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5.4.2 Thematic fields of study

This Call for Proposals is open to the following fields of study8:

(a) Agriculture

(b) Energy

(c) Engineering

(d) Governance and Social Sciences

(e) Medical Sciences

Project proposals shall identify existing high quality master courses and doctoral

programs according to these thematic fields at the partner HEIs.

The master courses and doctoral programs should provide appropriate professional career

development opportunities beyond academia towards a wider employment market. They

should contribute to reinforcing the links between HEIs, research organisations and

industries. The students can enroll for a short term-study (leading to the academic

recognition of the study period spent abroad) as well as for the whole duration of the

course/program (leading to the award of a degree after the successful completion of their

studies). The applicants should note that the quality of master and doctoral programs is

very important in order to maximize the professional benefit for the students.

The master courses and doctoral programs included in the application must have been

recognised and accredited by relevant authorities when the application is submitted. An

official proof of this accreditation has to be provided for all the programs included in the

application.

5.4.3 Organisation of mobility

The organisation of mobility activities aims at creating optimal conditions, through

quality support measures, for students and staff to undertake periods of

study/teaching/research/training at partner HEIs in a different country than the one of

nationality.

In order to organise the mobility the partnership must:

(a) Draw up a Memorandum of Understanding among the partners with the

objective to reach sound management of the partnership and address all the

aspects linked to the organisation of the mobility scheme. The Memorandum of

Understanding should establish the role of the partners, and their individual

involvement in the organisational activities (visibility activities, communication

strategy, preparatory academic activities, as well as others); procedures and

8 For more information on the thematic fields/subject description, please refer to the Communication from

the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee

and the Committee of the Regions "Increasing the impact of EU Development Policy: an Agenda for

Change", as well to the Erasmus subject and the UNESCO International Standard Classification of

Education (ISCED) subject descriptions available under the reference documents at the following address:

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/intra_acp_mobility/funding/2013/call_eacea_45_12_en.php

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/intra_acp_mobility/funding/2013/call_eacea_45_12_en.php

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criteria for the selection of candidates (e.g. centralised selection mechanisms

applied by all partners. These mechanisms will take account of the different

criteria to be applied for different target groups); definition of specific academic

arrangements (e.g. for students: agreed examination criteria, academic

recognition of study periods abroad; for staff: the inclusion of courses taught in

the regular programme of the host HEI; arrangements for student and course

assessment, training programs etc.). The Memorandum of Understanding should

also include financial rules and procedures to be followed during the

organisation of mobility and related to the scholarship payment;

(b) Develop a clear promotion and visibility strategy for the partnership including,

in particular, a dedicated partnership website referring explicitly to the "Intra-

ACP academic mobility scheme" and providing all necessary information about

the partnership from the academic, financial and administrative points of view.

This must include a solid networking strategy reaching as many HEIs in the

African, Caribbean and Pacific countries as possible;

(c) Set up procedures and criteria for the selection of students and staff to take part

in the individual mobility activities. Partnerships must guarantee a minimum

duration of at least 45 days following the launch of the Call for expression of

interest for the submission of candidates' applications for mobility scholarships.

The candidates' application procedure and deadline should be designed in such a

way that it provides the candidate with all the necessary information well in

advance and with enough time to prepare and submit his/her application;

(d) Put in place a mechanism for the selection of students and staff that guarantees

the transparency of the selection process and an equitable treatment of the

individual applications;

(e) Tackle cross-cutting issues like gender-balance, equal opportunities and the

participation of disadvantaged groups (disabled students, economically

disadvantaged students);

(f) Provide adequate linguistic support;

(g) Offer the necessary facilities to students (e.g. international office, housing,

coaching, assistance with visas and residence permits etc.), including where

necessary services for family members of grantees and grantees with special

needs;

(h) Put in place an insurance scheme that guarantees that students are adequately

covered in case of accident, injury, illness, etc. while participating in the

programme;

(i) Set up agreements with students on an individual work programme and on the

workload required to pass any examinations or other forms of assessment (i.e.

learning agreements);

(j) Facilitate academic recognition of periods of study, training, research and

teaching through agreed mechanisms between partner HEIs with a view to

favouring the creation and/or implementation of Common Areas of Higher

Education. In this sense, it is a minimum requirement for all partners to consider

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the study period abroad as an integral part of the study programme. Full

academic recognition will be given by the home HEI for the study period

(including examinations or other forms of assessment) spent in the host HEIs. At

the end of the period of study abroad, the host HEI will provide the incoming

student as well as the sending HEI with a transcript of study results confirming

that the programme has been completed. An award of a diploma supplement is

also recommended;

(k) Draw up agreements with academics on the lecture hours to be taught by the

visiting academic, that should form part of courses which are assessed as part of

a degree/diploma offered by the host institution; as well as agreements on

mobility of administrative staff between home and host HEIs;

(l) Foresee arrangements for the monitoring of outgoing students;

(m) Set up internal evaluation and quality assessment mechanisms;

(n) Develop a sustainability strategy explaining in which way these mobility

exchanges can favour the creation of durable links among the institutions and

how they can respond to the social, economic and political needs of their

countries.

5.4.4 Individual mobility for students and staff

There are two target groups and three different types of individual mobility:

Target

Group

Participants Types of

mobility

Minimum/

Maximum

duration

Countries of

individuals

participating

in mobility

Target

Group 1

Students registered in or

having obtained a degree by

one of the HEIs that is a

member of the partnership

Master,

Doctorate

6/ 24 months

6/ 48 months

ACP

countries of

the lot

Staff working in or being

associated with one of the

HEIs that is a member of the

partnership

Staff

exchange

1/ 6 months ACP and

non-ACP

countries of

the lot

Target

Group 2

Students registered in a HEI

that is not included in the

partnership, or who have

obtained a degree or

equivalent from an ACP HEI

Master,

Doctorate

6/ 24 months

6/ 48 months

ACP

countries of

the lot

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Please note that:

Target Group 1 must represent at least 40 % of the individual mobility covered

by the project;

The different types of individual mobility and their distribution must respect

the following ranges:

Type of mobility Distribution

Master 50-70%

Doctorate9 20-30%

Staff 10-30%

Students from "diaspora" must represent maximum the 5% of the total

individual mobility covered by the project (if applicable).

The partnerships are strongly encouraged to ensure that the mobility (students and staff)

from any one eligible country may not represent more than 10% of the total individual

mobility covered by the project.

Moreover, the distribution of mobility flows among the partners HEIs should be balanced

taking into account the technical and operational capacity of the partners to manage the

mobility (host and send capacities).

Student mobility

Partnerships can organise student mobility in several cohorts (if necessary),

according to the following timeline:

First cohort the mobility covered by scholarships must start by 30

September 2015 at the latest. Any long-term mobility (i.e. 48 months) must

start early in the first cohort, in order to ensure that the end date falls inside

the eligible period (see Section 5.4.1 in this Call for Proposals)

Second cohort the latest date for starting mobility must be 30 September

2016.

Student mobility may include a placement period (max 3 months) in the same

country of the host HEI partners; provided that it is preceded by a minimum

period of study abroad of six months and that it is recognised as an integral part of

the students programme. The placement should be agreed by all partners

concerned and a close monitoring of the students should be ensured.

Students can benefit only from one scholarship for the same type of mobility

under this academic mobility scheme.

9 The Doctorate provision will also include possibilities for sandwich programmes (see "Glossary" below)

with a minimum duration of six months.

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Staff mobility

Staff mobility can start at any time within the project duration and must end

within the project eligibility period. The mobility of staff should contribute to

strengthen the international co-operation capacity of higher education institutions,

with the production of new teaching material, as well as their management

capacity. It should aim to consolidate and extend links between departments and

faculties and to prepare for future cooperation projects between the HEIs. The

staff mobility is also expected to lead to progress in the application of systems for

recognition of studies in the partner institution(s).

The mobility of administrative staff should be agreed by home and host HEIs and

should contribute to the internalisation process of the HEIs involved. Through

mobility the exchange of experience and acquirement of skills in management of

international projects is expected.

Applicants should note that if their proposal is approved, they will need to submit to the

Agency prior to the start of the first mobility, the lists (main and reserve list) of the actual

students and staff selected to benefit from a scholarship for mobility activity, indicating

the name, gender, target group, nationality, sending and host institution, field of study,

mobility type and duration. In addition, information on the number of rejected candidates

per mobility type, country of origin and gender has to be provided. The list per type of

mobility must be submitted at the latest 15 days before the start of the first mobility and

the complete list at the latest on the 1st April 2015. If there is a second cohort, the same

procedure should be followed and the complete list must be submitted at the latest on the

1st April 2016.

6 EXCLUSION CRITERIA

Applicants and (co-)beneficiaries must state that they are not in any of the situations

described in Articles 106(1), 107 and 109 of the Financial Regulation applicable to the

general budget of the Union. 10

Applicants will be excluded from participating in this Call for Proposals procedure if they

are in any of the following situations:

(a) they are bankrupt or being wound up, are having their affairs administered by the

courts, have entered into an arrangement with creditors, have suspended

business activities, are the subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or

are in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in

national legislation or regulations;

(b) they or persons having powers of representation, decision making or control

over them have been convicted of an offence concerning their professional

conduct by a judgment of a competent authority of a Member State which has

the force of res judicata;

10 This provision does not apply for grants which are lower than or equal to EUR 60 000. Article 131 (4)(a).

16

(c) they have been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means

which the contracting authority can justify including by decisions of the EIB and

international organisations;

(d) they are not in compliance with their obligations relating to the payment of

social security contributions or the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal

provisions of the country in which they are established or with those of the

country of the responsible Authorising Officer or those of the country where the

grant agreement is to be performed;

(e) they or persons having powers of representation, decision making or control

over them have been have been the subject of a judgment which has the force of

res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation, money

laundering or any other illegal activity, where such illegal activity is detrimental

to the Union' financial interests;

(f) they are currently subject to an administrative penalty referred to in Article

109(1) of the Financial Regulation.

Applicants will not be granted financial assistance if, in the course of the grant award

procedure, they:

(a) are subject to a conflict of interests;

(b) are guilty of misrepresentation the information required by the Agency as a

condition of participation in the grant award procedure, or fail to supply that

information;

(c) find themselves in one of the situations of exclusion, referred to in in Article 106

(1) of the Financial Regulation.

In accordance with Article 109 of the Financial Regulation, administrative and financial

penalties may be imposed on beneficiaries or affiliated entities where applicable who are

guilty of misrepresentation or are found to have seriously failed to meet their contractual

obligations under a previous contract award procedure.

To comply with these provisions, applicants for a grant exceeding EUR 60.000 must sign

a declaration on their honour certifying that they are not in any of the situations referred

to in Articles 106(1) and 107 of the Financial Regulation11

.

11 Article 106(3) FR Article 197 RAP. The Authorising Officer may, depending on his risk analysis, request

the evidence referred to in art 143 RAP.

17

7 SELECTION CRITERIA

Applicant must have stable and sufficient sources of funding to maintain their activity

throughout the period during which the action is being carried out or the year for which

the grant is awarded and to participate in its funding. They must have the professional

competencies and qualifications required to complete the proposed action or work

programme12

.

Applicants must submit a declaration on their honour, completed and signed, attesting to

their status as a legal person and to their financial and operational capacity to complete

the proposed activities13

.

7.1 Operational capacity

In order to allow an assessment of their operational capacity, organisations must submit,

together with their applications:

a summary of the CVs of persons responsible within the coordinating institution,

full and technical partner institutions showing their professional experience

relevant to the project activities;

a list of international cooperation projects (in the relevant field) already

managed/under managing by the applicant/by the partners.

7.2 Financial capacity

In order to allow an assessment of their financial capacity, applicants must submit,

together with their applications:

an external audit report produced by an approved external auditor, certifying the

accounts for the last two years available for which the accounts have been

closed. This report shall certify the profit and loss accounts of the applicant

organisation, together with the balance sheet and give an assessment of the

financial viability of the applicant.

Subject to the examination of the applicant's financial capacity, the Agency may:

reject the application

require a guarantee (see section 9.2 "Guarantee")

The verification of financial capacity shall not apply to natural persons in receipt of

scholarships nor to public bodies, or to international organisations.

For the purpose of this Call for Proposals, the verification of financial capacity shall not

apply also to HEIs which have received over 50 % of their annual revenues from public

sources over the last two years, or which are controlled by public bodies or their

representatives. These applicants are nevertheless required to sign a declaration of honour

stating that they comply with the conditions mentioned above. The Agency reserves the

right to request additional documentation to prove the veracity of this declaration.

12 Article 132 (1) FR; Article 202 IR

13 This declaration is included in the grant application form.

18

8 AWARD CRITERIA

The selection of partnerships will be a competitive process organised by the Agency and

based on the assessment of the quality of the proposal from the academic and

organisational points of view. All applications will undergo assessments by external

independent experts according to the three award criteria listed below.

Criteria Weight

1.Relevance 20%

2. Quality 70%

2.1 Academic quality 15%

2.2 Partnership composition and cooperation mechanisms 20%

2.3 Organisation and implementation of the mobility 20%

2.4 Students/staff facilities and follow-up 15%

3. Sustainability 10%

Total 100%

1. Relevance (20% of the final mark)

Under this criterion the applicant needs to state the relevance of their proposal in relation

with the Programme's objectives (section 2), and how the expected results contribute to

fulfill its requirements.

2. Quality (70% of the final mark)

Under this criterion the applicant needs to explain the measures undertaken to ensure a

qualitative organisation and implementation of the mobility. It will focus on the expertise

of the partnership proposed to achieve the project's objectives, strategies/procedures and

activities in order to organise and implement the mobility, the services and facilities

offered to enrolled students as well as the way the partnership intends to ensure efficient

participation of these students in the mobility scheme.

2.1 Academic quality (15% of the final mark)

Under this criterion applicants will have to present a list of identified master and doctoral

programs; provide a description from an academic point of view; and demonstrate that

these programs are qualitative and fully accredited by appropriate national body under the

national law.

2.2 Partnership composition and cooperation mechanisms (20% of the final mark)

Under this criterion applicants need to explain cooperation mechanisms, the involvement

of partners in the project, the balance of their operational capacity and expertise in order

to achieve the project's objective.

2.3 Organisation and implementation of the mobility (20% of the final mark)

Under this criterion the applicants need to focus on the way the partnership intends to

manage the mobility in order to ensure its efficient and effective implementation. The

19

applicants have to provide concrete measures to attract the appropriate number of

students and staff, methodology to ensure impartial and transparent selection process,

agreed mechanisms for ensuring recognition of the period of study abroad, evaluation

strategy etc.

2.4 Student / staff facilities and follow-up (15% of the final mark)

Under this criterion particular attention will be paid to the services and facilities offered

to enrolled students/staff as well as to the way the partnership intend to ensure efficient

participation of these students/staff in the partnership activities.

3. Sustainability (10% of the final mark)

This criterion focuses on the measures taken by the partnership to ensure the appropriate

dissemination and exploitation of the project's results, as well as the impact and

sustainability of these results in the long term (financially, institutionally) beyond the

funding period.

Following the evaluation and for each of the geographical lots, a list with the best

proposals will be established. Within the available financial envelope, the list of selected

project(s) per lot will be established as well as a reserve list.

9 FUNDING CONDITIONS

An EU grant is an incentive to carry out activities that would not be possible without the

support of the Union. It is based on the principle of co-financing. The EU grant

supplements the applicant organisations own financial involvement and/or any national,

regional or private support it may have obtained.

Acceptance of an application by the Agency does not constitute an undertaking to award

a grant equal to the amount requested by the beneficiary. Furthermore, under no

circumstances may the amount awarded exceed the amount requested.

The award of a grant does not establish an entitlement for subsequent years.

9.1 Contractual provisions and payment procedures

9.1.1 Grant agreement

In the event of definitive approval by the Agency, a Grant Agreement, drawn up in euro

and detailing the conditions and level of funding, will be sent to the Beneficiary. The

legal representative of the beneficiary institution signs the Grant Agreement with the

Agency and is therefore legally responsible for the administration of the grant in

accordance with the plans presented in the application and the terms of the Grant

Agreement awarded.

The two copies of the original agreement must be signed by the Beneficiary and returned

to the Agency immediately. The Agency will be the last to sign them.

20

9.1.2 Payment of the grant

The grant will be paid to the Beneficiary in three pre-financing installments intended to

provide the beneficiary with a float as follows:

A pre-financing payment of 50% will be transferred to the beneficiary within 30

days of the date when the last of the two parties signs the Grant Agreement,

provided all possible guarantees are received;

A second prefinancing payment of 30% of the total amount will be made within

60 days after the Agency receives a request for payment accompanied by a

progress report and by a mobility list on the actions implementation, provided

the Agency approves the report. This second prefinancing payment may not be

made until at least 70% of the previous prefinancing payment has been used up.

Where the consumption of the previous pre-financing is less than 70%, the

amount of the new pre-financing payment shall be reduced by the unused

amounts of the previous pre-financing;

A third prefinancing payment of 20% of the total amount will be made within 60

days after the Agency receives a request for payment accompanied by a progress

report and by a mobility list on the actions implementation, provided the

Agency approves the report. This third prefinancing payment may not be made

until at least 70% of the previous prefinancing payment has been used up. Where

the consumption of the previous pre-financing is less than 70%, the amount of

the new pre-financing payment shall be reduced by the unused amounts of the

previous pre-financing.

The account or sub-account indicated by the Beneficiary must make it possible to identify

the funds transferred by the Agency.

The Agency will establish the amount of the final payment to be made to the beneficiary

on the basis of the final report submitted upon the conclusion of the project.

9.2 Guarantee

The Agency may require any organisation which has been awarded a grant to provide a

guarantee, in order to limit the financial risks linked to each pre-financing payment.

The purpose of this guarantee is to make a bank, a financial institution, third party or the

other beneficiaries stand as irrevocable collateral security for, or first-call guarantor of,

the grant beneficiary's obligations.

This financial guarantee, in euro, shall be provided by an approved bank or financial

institution established in one of the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries which the

authorising officer responsible considers offering equivalent security and characteristics

as those offered by a bank or financial institution established in a Member State.

The guarantee may be replaced by a joint and several guarantees by a third party or by a

joint guarantee of the beneficiaries of an action who are parties to the same Grant

Agreement.

The guarantee shall be released as the pre-financing is gradually cleared against the final

payment, in accordance with the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement.

21

This requirement does not apply to public bodies and international organisations under

public law established by inter-governmental agreements.

9.3 Double financing

Applicants may receive only one grant for action for the same application from the

budget of the European Union.

To ensure this, they must give details in their application form of any other grant requests

which they have submitted or intend to submit to the European Institutions stating in each

case, the budgetary year, the budget heading, the European Union programme and the

amount requested.

9.4 Funding method

The financing is based on the application of lump-sum and unit costs established in the

respect of the principle of co-financing. The grant awarded can be used to cover the costs

incurred for the implementation of eligible activities as described under 5.4 of this Call

for Proposals and will be divided as follows:

9.4.1 Calculation of the grant

The grant is calculated using the lump sums and unit costs amounts specified below. The

grid for calculation of the grant is an annex to the application form (Annex 1).

Here is a summary table of the lump sums and unit costs:

Type of

mobility

Subsistence

allowance

Duration14

Participation

costs per year

Insurance Maximum

allowance15

Lot 1 Africa

Master 600 Max 24 months 3 500 75 23 800

Doctorates 900 Max 48 months 4 000 75 63 700

Staff 1 000 Max 6 months 75 6 450

Lot 2 Caribbean and Pacific

Master 600 Max 24 months 4 500 75 25 800

Doctorates 900 Max 48 months 5 000 75 67 700

Staff 1 000 Max 6 months 75 6 450

The grant is calculated on the basis of the costs related to the organisation of the mobility

and the costs related to the implementation of the mobility.

14 The minimum duration for master and doctorate is one academic semester and for staff one month.

15 The maximum allowance includes one month scholarship as settling allowance for master and doctorate

levels.

22

The sum of the two amounts corresponds to the potential maximum grant request after

the rules governing the maximum amount of funding and other conditions have been

applied.

a) Costs related to the organisation of the mobility

The part of the grant awarded to cover the costs incurred by the HEIs for the organisation

of the mobility will be calculated on the basis of lump-sum amounts. For the whole

duration of the project the lump sum amount will be equivalent to 15 000 multiplied by

the number of institutions within the partnership plus 20 000 for a technical partner if

applicable.

Since the maximum partnership composition is of 12 partners including the applicant,

plus a technical partner -where applicable, the maximum possible amount to be granted

for the organisation of mobility is 200 000 .

b) Costs related to the implementation of the mobility

EU support for individual mobility of students and staff will contribute to cover the

subsistence allowances, insurance costs travel and visa expenses, and, where applicable,

participation costs for mobile students and staff. The grant amount allocated for the

coverage of these costs will be calculated on the basis of unit-costs detailed in the table

above.

Subsistence allowances

Participating HEIs must provide the totality of the subsistence allowance specified in the

table above to the visiting students/staff. A part should be provided upon arrival to cover

installation costs and the remaining part must be provided on a regular basis. A settling

in allowance will be provided to the students and will consist of an extra month

subsistence allowance.

Participation costs

Participating HEIs must cover the participation costs incurred by all students /staff

independently of the length of the mobility. The participation costs may cover tuition

and/ or registration fees, additional library, student unions, laboratory consumable costs,

residence permit, language courses costs etc. on an equal basis to that charged to local

and international students. The participating HEIs should apply a fee waiver policy for

mobility less than 10 months. Students from partner HEIs will continue paying their

tuition and/or registration fees in their HEI of origin but the hosting HEI must apply a fee

waiver policy .In order to avoid double imposition of fees, in those cases where the

hosting HEI requires the payment of the registration/tuition fees the students must not be

charged any fees by the HEIs of origin.

In order to cover the participation costs for incoming students a unit cost (see table

above) for master and doctorate studies will be granted per academic year. For mobility

less than 10 months no participation costs are granted.

Under no circumstances may participating higher education institutions claim

participating costs from visiting students beyond the amounts indicated in the previous

paragraph or retain the funding foreseen as subsistence allowance to cover such costs.

23

Insurance costs

Participating HEIs must take a full insurance coverage16

(health, travel, accident) to cover

the incoming students and staff participating in the individual mobility activities.

In order to cover the insurance costs, a unit costs of 75 per month for students and staff

participating in the mobility activities will be granted.

Travel and visa costs

Travel costs

Participating HEIs must cover the travel costs incurred by students and staff participating

in the mobility.

In order to cover travel costs for students and staff participating in the mobility a unit cost

will be granted. The following unit costs are applied for return tickets for the direct/linear

distance ("as the crow flies")17

:

For Target Group 1, on the one side the location of the sending HEI and on the

other side the hosting HEI premises;

For Target Group 2 and students from "diaspora", on the one side the location of

origin of the student and on the other side the hosting HEI premises.

On the basis of the below rates, HEIs will cover the travel expenses for students and staff

participating in the individual mobility flows.

Distance (km) Fixed-amount ()

< 500 250

500 1 000 500

>1 000 1 500 750

>1 500 2 500 1 000

>2 500 5 000 1 500

>5 000 10 000 2 000

>10 000 2 500

Visa costs

Participating HEIs must cover costs related to the visa delivery for the students and staff

participating in the individual mobility. In order to accelerate and facilitate the procedure

for obtaining the visa for the selected students and staff, the selected partnerships are

strongly advised to contact and liaise with the Consulates and the Embassies in the

concerned countries as soon as they receive the official confirmation of being selected.

Under no circumstances may participating HEIs claim visa costs from visiting students or

retain the funding foreseen as subsistence allowance to cover such costs.

16 See the minimum requirements for insurance coverage on the Intra-ACP mobility website:

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/intra_acp_mobility/beneficiaries/index_en.php 17

For calculating the distance please refer to: www.mapcrow.info

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/intra_acp_mobility/beneficiaries/index_en.phphttp://www.mapcrow.info/

24

9.4.2 Calculation of the final payment

The Agency will calculate the final payment on the basis of the information in the final

report submitted upon the conclusion of the project. It is based on a calculation using

lump sums and unit costs amounts specified in the financial conditions. If the final grant

amount calculated by the Agency is lower than anticipated, the Beneficiary will, where

applicable, be required to repay any excess amounts already transferred by the Agency

under the pre-financing payment.

In the event of non-execution or clearly inadequate execution of an activity planned in the

application attached to the funding decision/agreement, the final grant will be reduced

accordingly, and where applicable, the beneficiary will be required to reimburse any

excess amounts paid by the Agency in the form of pre-financing.

10 PUBLICITY

All grants awarded in the course of a financial year must be published on the Internet site

of the European Union institutions during the first half of the year following the closure

of the budget year in respect of which they were awarded. The information may also be

published using any other appropriate medium, including the Official Journal of the

European Union.

The beneficiary authorises the Agency to publish the following information in any form

and medium, including via the Internet:

the beneficiary's name and the address,

the subject and purpose of the grant,

the amount awarded and rate of funding

Upon a reasoned and duly substantiated request by the beneficiary, the Agency may agree

to forgo such publicity, if disclosure of the information indicated above would threaten

the safety of the beneficiaries or harm their business interests.

Beneficiaries must clearly acknowledge the European Unions contribution in all

publications or in conjunction with activities for which the grant is used.

Furthermore, beneficiaries are required to give prominence to the name and logo of the

European Commission, African Union Commission and the ACP Secretariat on all their

publications, posters, programs and other products realised under the co-financed project.

The logo of the programme will be provided by the Agency.

If this requirement is not fully complied with, the beneficiarys grant may be reduced.

11 DATA PROTECTION

All personal data (such as names, addresses, CVs, etc.) will be processed in accordance

with Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of

18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of

25

personal data by the European Union institutions and bodies and on the free movement

of such data.18

Unless marked as optional, the applicant's replies to the questions in the application form

are necessary to evaluate and further process the grant application in accordance with the

specifications of this Call for Proposals. Personal data will be processed solely for that

purpose by the department or Unit responsible for the Union grant programme concerned

(entity acting as data controller). Personal data may be transferred on a need to know

basis to third parties involved in the evaluation of applications or in the grant

management procedure, without prejudice of transfer to the bodies in charge of

monitoring and inspection tasks in accordance with European Union law. The applicant

has the right of access to, and to rectify, the data concerning him or her. For any question

relating to these data, please contact the Controller. Applicants have the right of recourse

to the European Data Protection Supervisor at any time. A detailed Privacy statement,

including contact information, is available on EACEA's website:

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/about/documents/calls_gen_conditions/eacea_grants_privacy_st

atement.pdf

Applicants and, if they are legal entities, persons who have powers of representation,

decision-making or control over them, are informed that, should they be in one of the

situations mentioned in:

the Commission Decision of 16.12.2008 on the Early Warning System (EWS)

for the use of authorising officers of the Commission and the executive agencies

(OJ, L 344, 20.12.2008, p. 125), or

the Commission Regulation of 17.12.2008 on the Central Exclusion Database CED (OJ L 344, 20.12.2008, p. 12),

their personal details (name, given name if natural person, address, legal form and name

and given name of the persons with powers of representation, decision-making or control,

if legal person) may be registered in the EWS only or both in the EWS and CED, and

communicated to the persons and entities listed in the above-mentioned Decision and

Regulation, in relation to the award or the execution of a procurement contract or a grant

agreement or decision.

12 PROCEDURE FOR THE SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

12.1 Publication

This Call for Proposals is being published in the Official Journal of the European Union

and on the internet site of the EACEA at the following address:

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/intra_acp_mobility

18 Official Journal L 8, 12.1.2001.

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/about/documents/calls_gen_conditions/eacea_grants_privacy_statement.pdfhttp://eacea.ec.europa.eu/about/documents/calls_gen_conditions/eacea_grants_privacy_statement.pdfhttp://eacea.ec.europa.eu/intra_acp_mobility

26

This Call for Proposals has to be read in conjunction with the grant application form and

its annexes as well as the model of Grant Agreement which will be published at the same

address.

12.2 Grant application form

The grant application form must be downloaded from the Agency website and saved on a

local disk. It must be drawn up in English or French using the form specifically designed

for this purpose. Please note that only typed applications will be considered.

The form can be obtained on the internet at the following address:

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/intra_acp_mobility

12.3 Submission of the grant application

The Applicant/coordinating institution should submit the grant application form on behalf

of the partnership.

At the moment of the application, applicants must submit partnership statements (signed

and stamped) from partner institutions (full and technical partners) confirming their

participation (original documents will be required when signing the Grant Agreement, if

the project is selected).

Only grant applications submitted on the correct form and accompanied by its annexes,

duly completed will be accepted. The grant application has to be dated and signed in

original (or equivalent required) by the person authorised to enter into legally binding

commitments on behalf of the applicant organisation.

All additional information considered necessary by the applicant can be included on

separate sheets.

The duly completed grant application and its annexes must be sent by 10 June 2013 as

evidenced by the postmark or the date of the deposit slip. In the case of hand-deliveries,

the deadline for receipt is at 16:00 local time as evidenced by the signed and dated

deposit slip. Only applications submitted by the deadline and in accordance with the

requirements specified on the application form will be accepted.

The grant applications must be sent to or hand-delivered at the following address:

Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency

Call for proposals EACEA/45/2012 "Intra- ACP academic mobility scheme"

BOUR 02/29

Avenue du Bourget, 1

B-1140 Brussels, Belgium

The grant application must be sent also by electronic version at the following mailbox:

EACEA-INTRA-ACP@ec.europa.eu

Applications submitted by fax or email only will not be accepted.

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/intra_acp_mobilitymailto:EACEA-INTRA-ACP@ec.europa.eu

27

No changes to the application file can be made after the application has been submitted.

However, if there is a need to clarify certain aspects, the Agency may contact the

applicant for this purpose.

Applicants will be informed of the receipt of their proposal within 15 working days.

Only applications that fulfill the eligibility criteria will be considered for a grant. If an

application is deemed ineligible, a letter indicating the reasons will be sent to the

applicant.

All unsuccessful applicants will be informed in writing.

12.4 Rules applicable

Regulation (EU, EURATOM) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the

Council of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the

Union (therein referred to as the "Financial Regulation").

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1268/2012 of 29.10.2012 on the rules of

application of Regulation (EU) No 966/2012 of the European Parliament and of the

Council on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union.

Cotonou Agreement - Council Decision (2003/159/EC) of 19 December 2002,

concerning the conclusion of the Partnership Agreement between the African Caribbean

and Pacific Group of States, of the one part, and the European Community and its

Member States, of the other part, signed in Cotonou on 23 June 2000 (OJ L 65,

8.3.2003).

10th

EDF Intra-ACP Strategy paper and Multiannual Indicative Programme (2008-2013) -

Decision No 1/2006/EC of the ACP-EC Council of Ministers of 2 June 2006 specifying

the multi-annual financial framework for the period 2008-2013 and modifying the revised

ACP-EC Partnership Agreement (OJ L 247, 9.9.2006).

12.5 Contacts

If you have any questions, please contact: EACEA-INTRA-ACP@ec.europa.eu

mailto:EACEA-INTRA-ACP@ec.europa.eu

28

GLOSSARY

Diploma Supplement the Diploma Supplement model was developed by the European

Commission, Council of Europe and UNESCO/CEPES. The purpose of the supplement

is to provide sufficient independent data to improve the international transparency and

fair academic and professional recognition of qualifications (diplomas, degrees,

certificates etc.). It is designed to provide a description of the nature, level, context,

content and status of the studies that were pursued and successfully completed by the

individual named on the original qualification to which this supplement is appended. It

should be free from any value judgments, equivalence statements or suggestions about

recognition (http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/doc1239_en.htm)

Doctoral programme (third cycle) a research-related programme of higher education

study and research that follows a higher education degree and leads to a fully recognised

doctorate degree, offered by higher education institutions.

Grant EU financial contribution to cover the costs related to the organisation of the

mobility and the individual scholarships for students and staff.

Grant Agreement - if the proposal is selected, the Agency will issue a Grant Agreement,

drawn up in euro and detailing the conditions (Special and General Conditions) and

financial contribution. The Grant Agreement will cover the financial contribution for the

organisation of the mobility scheme as well as the individual scholarships allocated to

students and staff. This Grant Agreement will be signed between the Agency and the

Beneficiary and its duration will vary up to 60 months.

Learning Agreement - basic document that, along with the transcript of records, ensures

the recognition of the period of studies abroad by the home institution.

Master programme (second cycle) a second cycle higher education programme that

follows a first degree or equivalent level of learning and that leads to a master degree

offered by a higher education institution and recognised as such by the relevant

authorities of the country where the master degree is delivered.

Memorandum of Understanding a document that describes all the agreements

reached between the partners with regards to all aspects related to the management of the

partnerships and organisation of the mobility. It outlines the role and responsibility of the

partners within the organisation of mobility activities, the procedure and criteria for the

selection of candidates as well as the foreseen measures to tackle specific programme

objectives such as recognition, quality assurance, prevention of brain drain and

sustainability. It must also contain specific provisions in terms of financial management

of the grant.

Project plan for implementing activities in accordance with the objectives of the

programme concerned. The project has a starting date, specific goals and conditions,

defined responsibilities, a budget, a planning, a fixed end-date and multiple partners

involved.

Sandwich doctorate a programme where the doctoral candidate carries out his/her

research and studies alternately in his/her home/host institution, following a schedule set

http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/doc1239_en.htm

29

in advance and under joint supervision. The doctorate degree is obtained at the home

HEI.

Student Agreement an agreement signed by the partnership and the student

participating in the mobility explicitly indicating any academic, financial and

administrative modalities related to the students obligations and rights.

Transfer of Credit System a student-centred system aimed at facilitating students'

mobility between different HEIs and based on the student workload required to achieve

the objectives of a programme, objectives preferably specified in terms of the learning

outcomes and competences to be acquired.