Call for Applications round 1 February 2021

Welcome to the 4th year of the present five-year programme period of Nordplus 2018-2022!

The Nordplus programme of the Nordic Council of Ministers invites Nordic and Baltic organisations working with or involved in education and training to apply for funding in the application round of 2021.

During 2021-2022, the Nordplus highlight will be a greener future. It is the new Nordic vision that the Nordic region will become the most integrated and sustainable region in the world by 2030, and this vision has decided the choice of highlight. The highlight entails that the Nordplus programme encourages organisations to engage in projects connected to environmental issues. See further information below.

If you – or your organisation – are working within the field of education and training, you can now apply for Nordplus funding for transnational student, pupil or teacher mobility, as well as joint project and network activities between educational organisations in Denmark, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden and Åland.The deadline for the applications round 2021 is Monday 1st of February and the total amount of available funds is about 9.5 million euro.

Flexibility of Nordplus rules 2021 due to Covid-19

To meet the challenges posed by Covid-19, the Nordplus administration approved a number of temporary changes to the Nordplus rules in 2020 . As long as the pandemic is rampant, these changes can be implemented.

Projects partners are however encouraged to plan for cooperation and activities as normal. These projects can then be adapted according to the restrictions which follow from Covid-19, for example postponing travels or replacing physical meetings with virtual ones.

The main elements of the temporary changes are:

The projects can change “regular mobilities” for , “digital/virtual mobilities”.
Approved funding for “digital/virtual activities” can be used for direct costs such as IT-support service or to purchase needed hardware and/or software or indirect costs such as training for participants.
In collaboration projects: Costs linked to on-line meetings replacing planned physical meetings in cooperation projects will normally be accepted.
Beneficiaries with open grant agreements will also have the option of extending the project period to be able to carry out postponed activities.
In special cases the “force majeure” rule can be implemented.

For more detailed information please consult the individual main administrators of the five sub-programmes.

The Nordplus programmes 2018-2020

Nordplus consists of five sub programmes covering the entire educational sector. Each sub-programme embodies the Nordic Council of Ministers’ objectives of increased quality and cooperation within the educations of the Nordic Baltic region. You can read more about these objectives in the Nordplus handbook.

Three of the programmes – Nordplus Junior, Nordplus Adult and Nordplus Higher Education – are focused on a sectoral approach, while Nordplus Horizontal and Nordplus Nordic Languages respectively focus on educational cross-domain activities and the co-operation within the Nordic languages across all sectors.

Through all Nordplus programmes, you can apply for funding for projects or networks, while Nordplus Junior, Nordplus Adult and Nordplus Higher Education also give you the opportunity of support and funding for mobility.

The five Nordplus programmes are:

Nordplus Junior – funds networks, projects and mobility for primary and secondary education, and preschooling
Nordplus Higher Education – funds networks, projects and mobility for the higher education sector
Nordplus Adult - funds networks, projects and mobility for institutions and organisations working with adult education and learning
Nordplus Horizontal - funds cross-sectoral projects and networks
Nordplus Nordic Languages – funds networks and projects aiming at strengthening the comprehension of the Nordic languages

New Nordplus Highlight for 2021-2022

In 2021 and 2022, Nordplus welcomes applications for the programme having the theme “Enhancing educational cooperation and preparing pupils, students and adults for a greener future”. This Nordplus highlight/emphasis relates to all Nordplus programmes and to all sectors within the field of education and training. The focus relates to themes, not only in a technical sense, but in a broad societal way. Integrated with this theme is also the Nordic competitiveness based on knowledge, innovation, mobility and digital integration.

Applications addressing the highlight on a greener future will be evaluated favourably. However initiatives on other themes or issues are also welcome in Nordplus. The bottom line is that the best projects are always funded irrelevant of the theme or highlight.

YOUR NEXT STEP

For help with your application process please visit Nordplus step-by-step guide.

The deadline for all areas of the Nordplus programmes is Monday February 1st 2021 at 23:59 hours (Central European Time).

THE NORDPLUS HANDBOOK

The Nordplus handbook is the applicants guide and here you will find specific information for each of the programmes on funding opportunities and requirements: The Nordplus handbook.

ESPRESSO - THE NORDPLUS APPLICATION SYSTEM

You can create and submit your application through Espresso, the online application system of Nordplus: Register and log on to Espresso

THE PARTNER SEARCH DATABASE

It is a pre-condition, that your application is a joint initiative involving institutions or organisations from several affiliate countries of the Nordplus constellation.

If you are looking for a partnering institution for your project, you can find and register in the Nordplus Partner Search Database: Visit the Partner Search Database

OBS! The Partner Search is currently under construction but will operating soon. If you have any questions, please contact your Nordplus national agency.

INFORMATION AND GUIDANCE IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY

There are Nordplus offices in each of the countries participating in the programme. If you have questions, please contact your local Nordplus office to get help with your application.

During the application period, the Nordplus offices will host national information meetings to guide and help applicants. Please keep an eye out for these at the website of your national Nordplus office.

You can also follow Nordplus on Facebook, and Instagram.

Nordplus grants fall under EU's regulations for state aid. From 2018, the schools under the Danish Schools Association of South Schleswig (Dansk Skoleforening for Sydslesvig) can participate in projects as partners funded by Denmark. Read more about this in the Nordplus handbook.

The implementation of this Nordplus Call is subject to the availability of the appropriations provided for in the draft budget. The final budget shall be adopted by the Ministers for Nordic Cooperation in the year prior to the budget year subject to the approval of national parliaments.