Stages · 03/10
Project design
Stage 3 of 10 in the grant lifecycle: 14 knowledge base articles on programmes, rules and terms for this step.
Programme sections9
- CBHE: capacity building in higher education Capacity Building in Higher Education is the Erasmus+ action built around universities outside the EU, which makes it the most important one in the programme for Ukrainian institutions. It has three strands, with grants from €200,000 to €1,000,000 and durations from 24 to 48 months. Erasmus+
- Circular Economy and Quality of Life The circular economy and quality of life sub-programme holds €1.345 billion for 2021–2027. It funds waste management, resource efficiency, water and air quality, noise reduction and chemical safety, and the co-financing rate here is 60%. LIFE
- Clean Energy Transition: a rate of up to 95% The clean energy transition sub-programme holds €997 million for 2021–2027 and carries the highest co-financing rate in LIFE, up to 95%. It funds not equipment but the removal of non-technological barriers: policies, skills, financing schemes and the preparation of investment projects. LIFE
- Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation The climate change mitigation and adaptation sub-programme holds €947 million for 2021–2027. It funds cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, the adaptation of territories to the effects of climate change and climate governance, at a co-financing rate of 60%. LIFE
- EIC Pathfinder: the earliest stage of a breakthrough technology EIC Pathfinder funds research into a breakthrough technology at the earliest stage, when no market prospect is yet visible. The 2026 budget for the strand is around €262 million, grants reach €4 million, the funding rate is 100% and the model is a lump sum. Horizon Europe
- EIC Transition: from a result to market readiness EIC Transition funds taking an existing scientific result to a state fit for market entry. The 2026 budget for the strand is around €100 million, grants reach €2.5 million, and the entry ticket is a result from Pathfinder, ERC Proof of Concept or another eligible project. Horizon Europe
- Jean Monnet: modules, chairs and centres of excellence Jean Monnet Actions fund teaching and research on European integration. It is the most accessible strand of Erasmus+ for a single institution: one university applies with no consortium, and the grant is up to €35,000 for a Module, up to €60,000 for a Chair and up to €100,000 for a Centre of Excellence. Erasmus+
- Key Action 2: cooperation partnerships Key Action 2 funds joint projects between organisations rather than trips for individuals. Cooperation Partnerships come in three fixed lump sums – €120,000, €250,000 and €400,000 – and Small-scale Partnerships in two, €30,000 and €60,000, the latter designed as the entry point for organisations with no EU project experience. Erasmus+
- Nature and Biodiversity: the largest sub-programme Nature and Biodiversity is the largest LIFE sub-programme, with €2.143 billion for 2021–2027. It funds the restoration of habitats and species populations, the build-out of the Natura 2000 network and the implementation of EU nature legislation, and the co-financing rate here reaches 75%. LIFE
Glossary5
- Institutional support: a grant for the organisation, not a project Institutional support is a grant for the running of the organisation itself rather than a single project: permanent staff, office, strategy, audit, capacity development. In EU terms it is an operating grant; foundations call it core funding. The donor assesses not a project idea but strategy, governance and financial transparency, so preparation starts long before the call.
- Logical Framework Matrix (LSM / Logframe) The logical framework matrix describes a project as a verifiable chain: activities lead to outputs, outputs to an outcome, the outcome to impact, with an indicator, a source of verification and the external conditions stated at every level. Donors use it to see the whole logic of a project at once and check whether it holds together.
- Outputs vs Outcomes vs Impact Three levels of project results: outputs are what you produce directly; outcomes are the changes in behaviour or capacity of those the project reaches; impact is the broader long-term change to which the project only contributes. Confusing them is the most common reason for a weak impact section.
- TRL (Technology Readiness Level) Technology Readiness Level is a nine-level scale of technological maturity, running from observation of basic principles at level 1 to a system proven in an operational environment at level 9. The individual topic states which level your project has to move the technology from and to. Horizon Europe
- WP (Work Package) A work package is a self-contained part of the project work plan with its own tasks, lead partner, budget and deliverables. Work packages are how a proposal is structured and how effort is shared between participants, and in lump sum grants they are also the unit on which payments are calculated. Horizon Europe
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