THEPS Newsletter #22: Top 10 Simple Rules for Your Erasmus+ Project
Hello,
We chose our European anthem on Saturday. Did you enjoy the ESC this year? We loved it! The quality of the songs and presentations was unmatched. Congrats to Dara from Bulgaria and the BANGARANGA banger!
As we already know from our survey, we have hundreds of followers that are NGOs, universities, VET centres and even start-ups. Some are more experienced than others, so we thought it’d be a good idea to list 10 very simple rules, think of them as the very basic rules for writing a project.
We also have:
- Quick News
- Top 10 Simple Rules
- What the Future Holds
Quick News
The European Commission wants a single, EU‑wide rail ticketing system so you can book your entire trip in one place, with proper passenger rights, automatic rebooking, and compensation that doesn’t require a PhD in bureaucracy. If this reform passes, the Erasmus students will finally be able to:
- travel across Europe without needing 7 tabs open,
- rebook automatically if a train is late,
- avoid losing half their grant on a missed connection, and
- choose trains over planes without sacrificing their sanity
Also, artists, performers, and cultural workers will be able to:
- tour across borders without logistical nightmares,
- move equipment and teams more easily,
- plan multi‑country events,
- reduce emissions while still showing up on time for rehearsals.
And what about us, the staff? This is huge for:
- youth exchanges,
- training courses,
- volunteering,
- cross‑border meetings,
- project kick‑offs and final conferences.
We can easily plan our trips! And they will be greener, less stressful, not to mention that mobility will go up, it will be cheaper and safer!
Top 10 Simple Rules for Your Erasmus+ Project (or any really)
Rule 1: Start early
As in, start now. The next deadline is in October. Write the outline now, start working on your partnership, needs analysis and draft. We know it’s May.
Rule 2: Read the Programme Guide
Actually, scratch Rule 1 because this one should be Rule 1. Read the whole thing, even the sections that might not usually apply to you and your organisation. You never know what you might have missed or draw inspiration from!
Read the guide here.
Rule 3: Build a REAL partnership
This is not the playground. While we should all be friendly, there is no place for your friends in a project where you will be paid to do work, especially if they will be useless (everyone! can! be! responsible! for! the! dissemination! WP! but who will do the serious work?). Be professional about it, this is not a joke! You must complement one another.
Rule 4: Do a proper needs analysis
“Young people in rural areas need more opportunities for digitalisation.”
We all know this… This is a terrible, and we mean it - a terrible way to justify your target groups. We are going to teach you how to write your full needs analysis soon, but in general, the introductory sentence should look something like this: “In Region X, 62% of youth lack access to structured learning opportunities, leading to low engagement and limited mobility.”
Rule 5: Use simple language
As in, easy to understand. This is not a language test, there's no need for long sentences and difficult words. Keep it at B2 level. Make lists, keep the paragraphs short, no “feelings” adjectives!
Rule 6: Be logical
One problem → one logic → one solution.
Why is there a hackathon in a beekeeping project? If you insist on it, justify it with logic. You’re not going to solve poverty with pottery, either.
Rule 7: Show the actual impact
“We’re going to promote the project through Instagram,” or even worse… “We will disseminate widely.”
You’re not an influencer selling ice to Iceland. Be a serious partnership that will say something in the lines of “We will reach 1200 youth workers through 4 national events, 1 toolkit, and 1 policy brief sent to the ministries of countries X, Y and Z.”
Rule 8: Budget wisely
You’re an adult. Presumably, a millennial. You can do this. Use the aforementioned Programme Guide, use the daily rates, but take into account current social events. Your budget should be in accordance with the work that will be done by each partner, and not so much on you being generous.
Rule 9: Be a real content creator
We mean it this time. Explain to the evaluator what the actual content of your course, toolkit, etc., will be. “We will have 6 topics about blockchain”, won’t cut it. Make a simple list. Unit 1 will be about this, unit 2 will be about that. You can change this while working, it’s totally normal. But the evaluators are not experts, they evaluate the way you have justified your idea.
Rule 10: Seek help
This is a partnership, not a dictatorship. Don’t gatekeep your project. Your partners must know what they will actually work on. Let them read the project, because the partners always find ways to make the proposals better.
What the Future Holds
The Big Survey comes out next week. But in the meantime, we should all be BANGARANGA BANGARANGA BANGARANGA!
