A Knowledge Alliance is a structured cooperation project between higher education institutions and businesses. It aims to strengthen Europe's innovation capacity by fostering innovation in higher education through knowledge exchange with enterprises. Key features include innovation in higher education through cooperation with businesses, sustainability of the university-business partnership, and impact beyond the lifetime and organizations involved. Eligible activities support boosting innovation, developing new learning methods, and stimulating student entrepreneurship skills. Successful proposals demonstrate strong commitments from both academic and business partners to achieve impact through knowledge sharing.

1. Erasmus+
Knowledge Alliances
Sofia, December 2018
Mirko Varano
varano@kth.se

2. What is a Knowledge Alliance?
• transnational, structured and result-driven projects, notably between higher
education and business.
• open to any discipline, sector and to cross sectorial cooperation.
• have a short and long-term impact on the wide range of stakeholders
involved, at individual, organizational and systemic level.
• target the cooperation between organizations established in Programme
Countries.
• organizations from Partner Countries can be involved as partners if their
participation brings an essential added value to the project.

3. Key features of a Knowledge Alliance:
• Innovation (as state of the artinitiative) in higher education and
innovation through higher education in enterprises and their socio-
economic environment
• Sustainability of university-business cooperation: strong and
committed partnership with a balanced participation from enterprises
and higher education institutions + the role and contribution of each
partner have to be specific and complementary.
• Impact going beyond the project's lifetime and beyond the
organizations involved in the Alliance: the partnership and activities
should persist and changes in higher education institutions and
enterprises have to be measurable. Results and solutions have to be
transferable and accessible to a broader audience.

4. What does it support?
A coherent and comprehensive set of interconnected activities which are flexible and
adaptable to different, current and future, contexts and developments across Europe.
Examples of activities:
• Boosting innovation in higher education, business and in the broader socio-economic environment;
• Jointly developing and implementing new learning and teaching methods (like new multidisciplinary
curricula, learner-centered and real problem-based teaching and learning)
• Organizing continuing educational programmes and activities with and within companies
• Jointly developing solutions for challenging issues, product and process innovation (students,
professors and practitioners together).

5. What does it support? ctd.
• Exemples of activities (cont.):
• Developing entrepreneurship mind-set and skills;
• Creating schemes of transversal skills learning and application throughout higher education
programmes developed in cooperation with enterprises aiming at strengthening employability,
creativity and new professional paths;
• Introducing entrepreneurship education in any discipline to provide students, researchers, staff and
educators with the knowledge, skills and motivation to engage in entrepreneurial activities in a
variety of settings;
• Opening up new learning opportunities through the practical application of entrepreneurial skills,
which can involve and/or lead to the commercialization of new services, products and prototypes,
to the creation of start-ups and spin-offs.

6. What does it support? ctd.
• Examples of activities:
• Stimulating the flow and exchange of knowledge between higher education and enterprises;
• Study field related activities in enterprises which are fully embedded in the curriculum,
recognized and credited;
• Set-ups to trial and test innovative measures;
• Exchanges of students, researchers, teaching staff and company staff for a limited period;
• Involvement of company staff teaching and research.
• Knowledge Alliances may organize mobility activities of students, researchers and staff in so far
as they support/complement the other activities of the Alliance and bring added value in the
realization of the project's objectives.

7. What does it support? ctd.
NB
• Knowledge Alliances may organise learning mobility activities of
students, researchers and staff in so far as they support/complement
the other activities of the Alliance and bring added value in the
realisation of the project's objectives.
• Mobility activities do not constitute the main activities of a Knowledge
Alliance; extending and scaling-up these activities would need to be
supported via the Key Action 1 of the Programme or other funding
instruments.

8. What are the goals of Knowledge Alliances?
• Strengthen Europe’s innovation capacity by fostering innovation in higher education via
balanced, two-way knowledge exchange with enterprises and across the broader socio-
economic environment.
• They implement a coherent and comprehensive set of interconnected activities through
transnational structured partnerships, Knowledge Alliances will:
• Develop new, innovative and multidisciplinary approaches to teaching and learning;
• Stimulate entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial skills of students, academics and
company staff;
• Facilitate the exchange, flow and co-creation of knowledge.

9. What are the goals of Knowledge Alliances? ctd.
• Priority is given to projects that contribute to the modernization of
Europe's Higher Education Systems as outlined in the 2011 EU
Communication on the Modernization Agenda for Higher Education.
• Knowledge Alliances aim to:
• Increase attainment levels;
• Improve the quality and relevance of higher education;
• Strengthen quality through mobility and cross-border cooperation;
• Make the knowledge triangle (research, education, innovation) work; improve
governance and funding

10. Who can benefit from it?
• A participating organization can be any public or private organization established in a
Programme Country or in any Partner Country of the world. For example, such an
organization can be:
• A higher education institution
• A public or private, small, medium or large enterprise (including social enterprises)
• A research institute
• A public body at local, regional or national level
• An organization active in the field of education, training and youth
• An intermediary or association which represents education, training or youth organizations
• An intermediary or association which represents enterprises
• An accreditation, certification or qualification body
Higher education institutions established in a Programme Country must hold a valid
Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE).

11. Partnership composition and the roles of the participating
organizations
• A minimum of 6 organizations from at least 3 Programme Countries, of which there must be a
minimum of 2 higher education institutions and a minimum of 2 independent enterprises as full
partners.
• Applicant/coordinator: a participating organization that submits the project proposal on behalf of all
the partners. The coordinator has the full responsibility to ensure that the project is implemented in
accordance with the agreement. Its coordinating covers the following duties:
• Represents and acts on behalf of the Alliance towards the European Commission;
• Bears the financial and legal responsibility for the proper operational, administrative and financial implementation of the
entire project;
• Coordinates the Alliance in cooperation with project partners.

12. Partnership composition and the roles of the participating
organizations ctd.
• Full partners: participating organizations which contribute actively to the
achievement of the Knowledge Alliance's objectives.
• Associated partners (optional): contribute to the implementation of specific project
tasks/activities or support the dissemination and sustainability of the Alliance. Their
involvement and role in the project and different activities have to be clearly
described.

13. What financial support is available?
• Maximum EU contribution awarded for a 2-year Knowledge
Alliance: 700 000 EUR
• Maximum EU contribution awarded for a 3-year Knowledge
Alliance: 1 000 000 EUR
• Financial contributions from the EU are calculated using
fixed scale of unit costs.
• Unit costs have been calculated in a way that the co-funding
is inherent to them, i.e. already incorporated.

14. What financial support is available? ctd.
Implementation support (such as project meetings, conferences, travel, tools,
analyses etc.):
Unit costs for Sweden (amounts in Euro per day)
Manager Teacher/Trainer
/Researcher/
Technician Administrative
staff
353 289 228 189
* Staff must have a signed contract with the employee and must be listed in the
application.
For other Programme and Partner countries please see Programme guide pp. 130-131

15. What financial support is available? ctd.
• Additional funding rules for mobility activities realized within a knowledge
alliance (optional funding);
• Travel:
 For distances between 100 and 1999 KM: 275 EUR per participant
 For distances of 2000 KM or more: 360 EUR per participant
• Subsistence costs for staff:
 Activities up to the 14th day of activity: 100 EUR per day per participant
 Between the 15th and 60th day of activity: 70 EUR per day per participant
• Subsistence costs for learners:
 Activities up to the 14th day of activity: 55 EUR per day per participant
 Between the 15th and 60th day of activity: 40 EUR per day per participant

16. How to write a successful proposal:
• Knowledge Alliances are a highly competitive part of Erasmus+. Common
attributes of successful proposals are:
• Reliable relations between higher education institutions and enterprises:
Knowledge Alliances have to demonstrate the commitment and added value
of all partners, whereby strong and balanced involvement from both the
business and higher education sectors is essential. A well designed proposal
is the result of close cooperation between the prospective partners;
• Their innovative and transnational character, visible across all criteria.
• A proper needs-analysis clarifies the rationale, influences the selection of
partners, makes the proposal specific, helps to raise the potential for impact
and ensures that end-user and target groups are well involved in the project
activities.

17. Tips – How to impress selection experts?
• Coherent issues, solutions, target groups, activities, budget.
• Evidence-based needs analysis.
• Clear objectives, solutions, outputs.
• Rigorous planning; what, when, how long, with what resources.
• Explicit; no information taken for granted.
• Concise; efficient, more is not always better!
• Circumscribe; focus on a specific issue

18. Tips
Recurrent weaknesses to avoid
• Objectives; lack of information on how the proposal is meeting the KA objectives. If they are there – they
should not come from the HEI only.
• Consortium composition; too few companies actively involved. Involved companies show too little
committment to be able to set up a long lasting alliance.
• Needs analysis; lack of adequate, detailed and convincing explanation.
• State-of-the-art innovation; lack of information on innovation. Information should not be based on the
lead partner’s own experience.
• Impact sustainability; don’t underestimate the importance of defining proper impact and a sustainability
strategy.
• Exploitation of results; should not be weak or undefined.
• Sustainability; don’t forget review of project results, update conclusions and maintain project web site.

19. Examples of selected projects
Country Applicant organisation Project title Maximum EU
grant €
ITALY UNIVERSITA DI PISA European Network of Design for
Resilient Entrepreneurship
695.277
CYPRUS GRANTXPERT CONSULTING LTD A European University-Business Alliance
aiming to foster young SCIEntists’
ENTrepreneurial spirit
991.778
FRANCE CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE ET
DE L'INDUSTRIE DE VAUCLUSE
European Foodbusiness Transfer
Laboratory for stimulating
entrepreneurial skills, for fostering
innovation and for business creation in
the Food Sector
999.888

20. Examples of selected projects
Country Applicant organization Project title Maximum EU
grant €
AUSTRIA UNIVERSITAET FUER
BODENKULTUR WIEN
European Food Studies & Training
Alliance
988.081
IRELAND LOUTH COUNTY ENTERPRISE
BOARD
SME and Higher Education Institutes in
Innovation Partnerships
563.362
AUSTRIA WIRTSCHAFTSUNIVERSITAT
WIEN
Competencies for A sustainable Socio
Economic development
909.418
FINLAND TURUN
AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU OY
Framework for Innovation
Competencies Development and Assessment
991.859

21. Examples of selected projects
Country Applicant organisation Project title Maximum EU
grant €
ITALY LINK CAMPUS UNIVERSITY Textile and Clothing Knowledge
Alliance. Future textile and clothing
managers for export, marketing,
innovation, sustainability and
entrepreneurship oriented companies.
620.431
LITHUANIA VILNIAUS UNIVERSITETAS PROMOTE - Promoting and Validating
Key Competences in Mobility and
Traineeships in Europe
699.913

22. How are propsoals selected?
• All project proposals are assessed by the Executive Agency receiving the application, exclusively on the basis of
the criteria described in the ERASMUS+ Programme Guide
• The assessment implies:
• A formal check to verify that the eligibility and exclusion criteria are respected
• A quality assessment to evaluate the extent to which the participating organisations meet the selection criteria
and the project meets the award criteria. Such quality assessment is carried out with the support of independent
experts.
• The quality of eligible applications will be assessed on the basis of the following criteria:
• Relevance of the proposal
• Quality of the project design and implementation
• Quality of the project team and the cooperation arrangements
• Impact and dissemination.

23. Grading of proposals
Max points Min threshold
Relevance of the proposal 25 13
Quality of the project design and
implementation
30 16
Quality of the project team and the
cooperation arrangements
25 13
Impact of the dissemination 20 11
Total 100 70
*Last year proposals in the range of 89-96 points were selected for funding

24. Award criteria - Relevance
• Purpose: the proposal is relevant to the objectives of the Action (see section
"What are the aims and priorities of a Knowledge Alliance");
• Consistency: the objectives are based on a sound needs analysis; they are
clearly defined, realistic and address issues relevant to the participating
organizations and to the Action;
• Innovation: the proposal considers state-of-the-art methods and techniques,
and leads to project-specific innovative results and solutions;
• European added value: the proposal demonstrates clearly the added value
generated through its trans nationality and potential transferability;

25. Award criteria - Quality of the project design and
implementation
• Configuration: the proposed Knowledge Alliance involves an appropriate mix of higher
education and business partners with the necessary profiles, skills, experience, expertise and
management support required for its successful realization;
• Commitment: each participating organization demonstrates full involvement corresponding
to its capacities and specific area of expertise;
• Partnership: contributions of higher education and business partners are significant,
pertinent and complementary;
• Collaboration/Team spirit: the proposal includes clear arrangements and responsibilities for
transparent and efficient decision-making, conflict resolution, reporting and communication
between the participating organisations;
• Involvement of Partner Countries: if applicable, the involvement of a participating
organization from a Partner Country brings an essential added value to the project (if this
condition is not fulfilled, the project will not be considered for selection).

26. Award criteria - Impact and dissemination
• Exploitation: the proposal demonstrates how the outcomes will be used by the partners and
other stakeholders. It provides means to measure exploitation within project lifetime and
after;
• Dissemination: the proposal provides a clear plan for the dissemination of results, and
includes appropriate activities, tools and channels to ensure that the results and benefits will
be spread effectively to the stakeholders and non-participating audience within and after the
project’s lifetime;
• Impact: the proposal shows societal and economic relevance and outreach. It provides
pertinent measures to monitor progress and assess the expected impact (short and long-
term);
• Open access: If relevant, the proposal describes how the materials, documents and media
produced will be made freely available and promoted through open licenses, and does not
contain disproportionate limitations;
• Sustainability: the proposal includes appropriate measures and resources to ensure that the
partnership, project results and benefits will be sustained beyond the project lifetime.

27. What else to know about Knowledge Alliances?
• Quality assurance must be an embedded project component to ensure that
Knowledge Alliances successfully deliver the expected results and achieve an impact
going far beyond the partner organisations themselves.
• Are required to accomplish targeted dissemination activities which reach out to
stakeholders, policy makers, professionals and enterprises.
• Along the way Knowledge Alliances should deliver publications such as reports,
handbooks, guidelines, etc.
• Should generate new ways and instruments to facilitate their collaboration and
ensure that the partnership between higher education and business persists.

28. Examples
http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/projects/

29. How to apply
https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/actions/key-action-2-cooperation-for-
innovation-and-exchange-good-practices/knowledge_en

30. eForm
It provides mainly administrative and general information on the project as follows:
• Part A: Identification of the Applicant and other organisations participating in the project: List
of participating organisations:
• A.1 Organisation
• A.2 Person responsible for the management of the application (Contact person)
• A.3 Person authorised to represent the organisation in legally binding agreements (Legal Representative)
• Part B: Description of the project
• B.1 Summary of the project
• B.2 Education area
• B.3 Dates
• B.4 Grant request (Grant requested and its distribution by organisation)
• Part C: Other
• C.1 Learning Mobility (optional)
• C.2 Key Results (outputs/outcomes)

31. Detailed project description
• Part 0.Project summary and involvement in previous relevant
projects
• Part I. Project relevance
• Part II. Quality of the project design and implementation
• Part III.Quality of the partnership , the team and the cooperation
arrangements
• Part IV. Impact, dissemination, exploitation and sustainability
• Part V. Specific arrangements regarding learning mobility (if
applicable)
• Part VI. Additional project information (if applicable)
• Part VII. Work plan and work packages

32. Budget tables
This document must be attached to the eForm before
submission.
The Excel file provides the details of all planned expenditures
and the overview and planning of all Work packages:
• Sheet 1: I and II. Overview
• Sheet 2: III. Project implementation support
• Sheet 3: IV. Learning mobility activities
• Sheet 4. V. Work packages overview