Initiatives for policy innovation' are a strand of Erasmus+ Key Action 3 - Support for Policy Reform1 . They support two different actions: European Policy Experimentations and Forward-Looking Cooperation Projects (FLCPs), which aim to support reforms and innovation in education, training and youth through trans-national cooperation projects.

Proposals submitted under the present call must address one of the priorities listed under this Section. Proposals not addressing any of the 5 call priorities will not be considered.

Priority 1 – Acquisition of basic skills by low-skilled adults The 2015 ET2020 Joint Report prioritises in the field of adult learning
Priority 2 – Promoting performance based approaches in VET
Priority 3 - Promoting innovative technology in the field of providing career guidance
Priority 4 - Professionalisation of staff (school education, including early childhood education and care)

Priority 5 - Achieving the aims of the renewed EU strategy for higher education

EU higher education policy supports the modernisation of higher education systems to make them more effective, innovative and inclusive. Further steps are needed to ensure higher education systems and institutions are properly configured to provide students with relevant knowledge and skills for rewarding careers and for life as active citizens. Universities need to be able to engage more with their local communities, and to play a leading role in meeting the economic and social challenges currently faced by Europe.

Three priority areas for reform emerged from the public consultation on the EU's modernisation agenda for higher education:
- addressing the mismatch between the knowledge and skills graduates have, and current and future needs of society,
-breaking down the barriers between higher education and the 'outside world' in local communities,
- bringing closer the separate worlds in which teaching and research often operate within higher education institutions.

Finally, removing obstacles and increasing the cost effectiveness of student and staff mobility also remains critical for embedding internationalisation in institutions. The projects under this priority should help meet the above-mentioned challenges, with an emphasis on testing and measuring approaches in the different fields.

Relevant stakeholders See "Results of the public consultation on the EU's modernisation agenda for higher education" (should propose new ways to address these gaps by developing innovative practices across higher education systems in Europe.
The aim is to address at least one of the three priority areas for change identified in the public consultation on the EU's modernisation agenda. Expected outcomes may include:

Identifying the factors (e.g. course design and content, incentives and resources, learning approaches) that determine how effective HE programmes – such as inter-disciplinary courses and courses in the arts and humanities – are in providing students with relevant learning outcomes preparing them for rewarding careers and active citizenship;

· Examining the scope for and impact of modularisation of learning provision in higher education, in particular for development of short-cycle programmes, e-learning, Continued Professional Development (CPD) and flexible learning paths;

· Improving the recognition and measurement of performance in higher education teaching, research and innovation, including balanced reward mechanisms (e.g. career incentives) for high-quality and relevant teaching and research;

· Increasing and focusing structural cooperation by higher education institutions in their locality or region for social and economic innovation, civic engagement, and skills development, for example through work-based learning;

· Promoting and extending best practices in the recognition of non-formal or informal learning in line with the guidelines of the ECTS Users’ Guide14, e.g. by promoting the awarding of ECTS credits for volunteering;

· Building synergies among existing local activities facilitating the integration of Erasmus+ and other incoming students in the receiving country's local community, such as engagement in social activities, to foster further cooperation and impact;

· Facilitating the continuous development of innovative ICT-based services to improve the cost effectiveness of learning mobility, allowing easy sharing, exchange or transfer of data, by further extending paperless approaches for digital student data portability to all Erasmus+ participants, building on the latest developments in this.

Deadline: 14 March 2017
Budget: total budget available EUR 8 Million. Maximum grant per project is EUR 500.000.

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