Frequently asked questions: Call for projects "International cooperation" 2024

1.  What does Movetia understand and promote by "international cooperation"?
In its international funding instruments, Movetia makes a fundamental distinction between "international mobility" and "international cooperation". Programs in the area of mobility promote stays abroad by individuals or groups, primarily to achieve an impact on an individual, e.g. to expand a person's foreign language, intercultural or professional skills. In addition, cooperation programmes promote collaboration between organizations and institutions. These cooperation projects are intended to have a positive impact on educational programs, educational institutions or the Swiss education system and thus contribute to the quality assurance and development of the Swiss education system.
A cooperation project may include a research component. However, no research projects without an application component in educational practice will be funded.

2. Newcomers: What is meant by this and why are they preferred?
For the Call 2024, the category Newcomer:in will be introduced in Movetia's "International Program". Newcomers are 1) organizations/institutions and 2) project coordinators who have never carried out an international cooperation project before. The aim of this new category is to diversify the project promoters. 

This evaluation criterion is applied if the requested funds exceed the available budget and for projects of comparable quality. A newcomer is not preferred a priori if the project quality is not convincing. 

Projects that have already received funding are listed on our website.

3.  Who can submit an application for an international cooperation project to Movetia?
The same rules apply to the "International Program" and the "Swiss Program for Erasmus+" (docking to Eramus+ cooperation projects): In particular, the following institutions and organizations in the education sector based in Switzerland are eligible to apply:

• Compulsory schools;
• Vocational schools;
• organizations in the world of work;
• general education schools at upper secondary level;
• higher technical colleges;
• universities;
• Institutions and organizations of non-formal education that provide continuing education courses;
• extracurricular youth work organizations.

An application is always submitted by a single coordinating Swiss institution. Several Swiss organizations (together with at least one foreign organization) can also participate in a project under the "International Programme". This often promises particular added value for Switzerland in terms of broad support for the project and dissemination of the results.

New organizations are generally eligible, but the foundation must have been completed by the time the application is submitted. Depending on the type of organization, you may have to submit additional documents (e.g. articles of association, balance sheet). Information on this can be found in the program guidelines. 
For Eramus+, a new regulation has been introduced for the 2024 call: Organizations must have been in existence for 2 years before they can apply for funds. This regulation does not affect associated partners, but there may be queries. Also new is the maximum number of project participations, which has been limited to 10, except for higher education.

4.  Which partner countries are eligible and can several partner institutions from the same country be involved in the project?
The "Movetia International Program" is open to institutions from all over the world. Several institutions from one country are also possible. When submitting an application, it is important to justify the choice of partner. It must be clear what added value the Swiss education system can derive from this partnership. 
When participating as an official or associated partner in Erasmus+, the Erasmus+ rules apply, which can be found in the Erasmus+ Guide.

5. When does the project start, what is the maximum project duration and can costs outside the project duration (especially preparatory work) be charged to the project?
For the "Movetia International Program", the project start must be set between 01.08. and 31.12. of the application year and the maximum project duration is 24 months. 
In the case of associated participation in an Erasmus+ project in the context of the "Swiss Erasmus+ program", the project period and duration are identical to the EU project. These provisions can be found in the Erasmus+ Guide. 

For both funding lines, only costs incurred within the contractually agreed project duration can be taken into account. This applies both to the Movetia grant awarded and to own and third-party funds used for the project.

6. What is the maximum funding amount from Movetia?
The maximum funding amount for the "Movetia International Program" is generally CHF 150,000, except in the areas of higher education and higher vocational education and training. In these areas, the maximum grant is limited to CHF 60,000. 

As part of the cooperation partnerships in the "Swiss Program for Erasmus+", institutions can apply to Movetia as associated partners for between CHF 15,000 and a maximum of CHF 150,000. Movetia pays attention to the proportionality of the Swiss amounts in comparison to the overall European project. 
No maximum amounts are defined for all other funding lines under the "Swiss Program for Erasmus+", although proportionality is also checked in this case.

7.  What opportunities do Swiss institutions have to participate in Erasmus+?
In most cases, e.g. cooperation partnerships, innovation alliances, centers of vocational excellence, etc. (see overview table ), Swiss institutions have two options for participating in Erasmus+. (see overview table), Swiss institutions have two options for participating in Erasmus+: either as a "Full Partner", in which they apply for funding via the EU funding application to Erasmus+, or as an "Associated Partner" (without applying for EU funding), with the option for the Swiss institution to apply to the Swiss program for Erasmus+ via Movetia. 

Official participation is only possible in certain Erasmus+ funding lines. You can find this information in the following overview table . The applicable rules can be found in the Erasmus+ Guide. 

In the case of associated participation in an Erasmus+ project, the applications must be submitted in parallel, i.e. in the same application round, to the responsible EU agency and to Movetia. Subsequent funding of an associated participation is not possible.

8. Is it possible for an application for funding within the framework of an associated participation in an Erasmus+ project to be rejected by Movetia?
Yes, this is possible in principle. There are three main reasons:

• If an Erasmus+ project is rejected at EU level, the Swiss application cannot be approved either. 
• If the added value of Swiss participation for Switzerland is not convincingly demonstrated, the project can also be rejected. 
• In principle, we expect significantly increased competition for Swiss funding for international educational cooperation, as promoted by Movetia, in the coming years. 

9. Can cooperation and mobility projects be combined?
Yes, cooperation and mobility projects can be combined, but funding for one project does not guarantee funding for the other. 

10. Does Movetia support participation in network meetings such as Transnational Cooperation Activities (TCA)?
Yes, Movetia generally supports participation in network meetings. If you are interested in participating, please contact Movetia by e-mail in good time to clarify the exact modalities.