Digital Education Content: success factors in decision making and use by teachers, trainers and school/institution leaders

The opportunity is a grant call under the Erasmus+ Programme, specifically titled ERASMUS-EDU-2026-POL-EXP, aimed at transnational cooperation projects focused on education and training. The call seeks to support innovative approaches in addressing key policy priorities across European countries. Eligible applicants typically include educational institutions, public authorities, research organizations, and private entities involved in the education sector, with a strong emphasis on consortium-based projects that foster collaboration among multiple organizations from different countries.

The funding type is an Erasmus Lump Sum Grant, with a total budget of €2,000,000 allocated for the specific topic of "Digital Education Content." This funding is intended to develop standards for quality digital education content, implement these standards in real school environments, build the capacity of educators, and connect various stakeholders including teachers, educational authorities, and digital content providers. The grant aims to create practical solutions and insights that improve educational practices.

Application processes are structured as single-stage submissions, with the call opening on January 6, 2026, and a submission deadline set for April 8, 2026. Key aspects of the application include the requirement for co-funding, the presentation of a complete proposal in compliance with specific guidelines, and adherence to a defined evaluation process. While exact success rates are not provided, past trends in similar programs typically indicate a competitive landscape.

Significant timelines include the call publication on December 22, 2025, an evaluation period from April to July 2026, results notification in October 2026, and grant agreements expected to be signed by January 2027.

Overall, the call is designed to advance European education policy through empirical testing and validation of frameworks that enhance the integration of digital content in educational settings.

The EU funding opportunity is the European Policy Experimentations under the Erasmus+ Programme, specifically the call ERASMUS-EDU-2026-POL-EXP. This call aims to support transnational cooperation projects that develop, implement, and test the relevance, effectiveness, potential impact, and scalability of activities addressing policy priorities across different countries. The projects should combine strategic leadership, methodological soundness, and a strong European dimension to enable mutual learning and support evidence-based policy at the European level.

The call includes multiple topics, each with a specific budget and focus:

ERASMUS-EDU-2026-POL-EXP-T01-DIGITAL-CONTENT: Digital Education Content success factors in decision making and use by teachers, trainers and school/institution leaders. This topic has a budget of 2,000,000 EUR. It focuses on promoting collaboration between teachers, digital content creators, and educational authorities to establish quality criteria for selecting, creating, adapting, using, and evaluating digital education content (DEC). Projects should apply these criteria in real contexts, provide capacity building to teachers and school leaders, and create connections between them and relevant educational authorities and content providers.

ERASMUS-EDU-2026-POL-EXP-T02-DIGITAL-ETHICSAI: This topic focuses on digital ethics and AI, with a budget of 6,000,000 EUR.

ERASMUS-EDU-2026-POL-EXP-T03-DIGITAL-BS: This topic focuses on digital basic skills, with a budget of 5,000,000 EUR.

ERASMUS-EDU-2026-POL-EXP-T04-MICRO-CRED: This topic focuses on micro-credentials, with a budget of 3,000,000 EUR.

ERASMUS-EDU-2026-POL-EXP-T05-SCHOOL-STEM: This topic focuses on STEM in schools, with a budget of 6,000,000 EUR.

ERASMUS-EDU-2026-POL-EXP-T06-SCHOOL-BS: This topic focuses on basic skills in schools, with a budget of 9,000,000 EUR.

ERASMUS-EDU-2026-POL-EXP-T07-VET-BS: This topic focuses on basic skills in vocational education and training (VET), with a budget of 5,000,000 EUR.

ERASMUS-EDU-2026-POL-EXP-T08-VET-QUALIFICATIONS: This topic focuses on VET qualifications, with a budget of 8,000,000 EUR.

ERASMUS-EDU-2026-POL-EXP-T09-ADULT-PS: This topic focuses on adult learning and personal skills, with a budget of 5,000,000 EUR.

ERASMUS-EDU-2026-POL-EXP-T10-ADULT-EMPOWER: This topic focuses on adult learning and empowerment, with a budget of 5,000,000 EUR.

All topics are Erasmus Lump Sum Grants (ERASMUS-LS) and follow a single-stage submission process. The planned opening date for the call is 6 January 2026, and the deadline for submitting applications is 8 April 2026, at 17:00 Brussels time.

Conditions for application include:

Admissibility Conditions: The proposal's Part B (Technical Description) is limited to 40 pages, including the list of relevant previous projects. The layout must adhere to the Important Notice available in the Submission System.

Eligible Countries: Eligibility is described in the call document.

Other Eligible Conditions: Eligibility is described in the call document.

Financial and Operational Capacity and Exclusion: These aspects are described in the call document.

Evaluation and Award:

Submission and Evaluation Processes: Described in the call document.

Award Criteria, Scoring, and Thresholds: Described in the call document.

Indicative Timeline:

Publication of the call: 22 December 2025.

Deadline for submitting applications: 8 April 2026.

Evaluation period: April - July 2026.

Information to applicants: October 2026.

Signature of grant agreement: by January 2027.

Legal and Financial Set-up: Not applicable (n/a).

Applicants should consult the call document and annexes for detailed information, including:

Call document

Application form templates (Standard application form for ERASMUS BB and LSII, Detailed budget table for ERASMUS LSII)

Guidance (Erasmus+ Programme Guide Part C)

Model Grant Agreements (MGA) including the Lump Sum MGA

Additional documents such as the Erasmus+ Work Programme, Erasmus Regulation 2021/817, EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509, Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment, EU Grants AGA, guidelines on managing lump sum grants, and the Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Terms and Conditions, and Privacy Statement.

Partner search announcements can be viewed and edited by LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants after logging into the portal. The submission system is planned to open on the date stated in the topic header.

For help, applicants can contact EACEA-POLICY-SUPPORT@EC.EUROPA.EU or consult the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ and IT Helpdesk.

In summary, this Erasmus+ call for European Policy Experimentations provides funding for transnational projects that aim to develop and test innovative approaches to address policy priorities in education and training across Europe. The call covers a range of topics, including digital education content, digital ethics in AI, digital basic skills, micro-credentials, STEM education, basic skills in schools and VET, VET qualifications, and adult learning. Applicants should carefully review the call documents and guidelines to ensure their proposals meet the eligibility and evaluation criteria. The projects are expected to contribute to evidence-based policymaking and promote mutual learning among participating countries.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated in the provided text. However, given the context of "European policy experimentations" and the Erasmus+ Programme, eligible applicants are likely to include a range of organizations involved in education and policy development. This could include universities, research institutes, educational institutions (primary, secondary, vocational), public authorities, NGOs, and other relevant organizations. The requirement for transnational cooperation suggests that applicants will likely need to form consortia.

Funding Type: The primary financial mechanism is a grant, specifically an "ERASMUS Lump Sum Grant" (ERASMUS-LS).

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity emphasizes "transnational cooperation projects," which strongly suggests that a consortium of multiple applicants is required. The aim is to develop, implement, and test activities across different countries, which necessitates collaboration between organizations from various nations.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is likely focused on EU member states and countries associated with the Erasmus+ Programme. The text mentions "European policy experimentations" and the "European dimension," indicating a focus on European countries. However, the exact geographic scope would be detailed in the call document.

Target Sector: The program targets the education sector, with a particular focus on digital education, digital ethics in AI, digital basic skills, micro-credentials, STEM education in schools, basic skills in schools and vocational training, vocational training qualifications, adult learning, and adult empowerment.

Mentioned Countries: No specific countries are mentioned in the provided text. However, the focus on "European policy experimentations" and the Erasmus+ Programme implies that the relevant region is the European Union and associated countries participating in the Erasmus+ program.

Project Stage: The expected maturity of the project is likely at the "development," "validation," and "demonstration" stages. The program aims to support projects that are "developing, implementing and testing" activities, suggesting that the projects should be beyond the initial "idea" or "research" phases and ready for practical application and evaluation.

Funding Amount: The funding range varies depending on the specific topic. The budget overview lists the following amounts for different topics:
ERASMUS-EDU-2026-POL-EXP-T01-DIGITAL-CONTENT: €2,000,000
ERASMUS-EDU-2026-POL-EXP-T02-DIGITAL-ETHICSAI: €6,000,000
ERASMUS-EDU-2026-POL-EXP-T03-DIGITAL-BS: €5,000,000
ERASMUS-EDU-2026-POL-EXP-T04-MICRO-CRED: €3,000,000
ERASMUS-EDU-2026-POL-EXP-T05-SCHOOL-STEM: €6,000,000
ERASMUS-EDU-2026-POL-EXP-T06-SCHOOL-BS: €9,000,000
ERASMUS-EDU-2026-POL-EXP-T07-VET-BS: €5,000,000
ERASMUS-EDU-2026-POL-EXP-T08-VET-QUALIFICATIONS: €8,000,000
ERASMUS-EDU-2026-POL-EXP-T09-ADULT-PS: €5,000,000
ERASMUS-EDU-2026-POL-EXP-T10-ADULT-EMPOWER: €5,000,000
Thus, the funding ranges from €2M to €9M, depending on the topic.

Application Type: The application type is an "open call," as indicated by the "Call for proposals" designation. The deadline model is "single-stage," meaning that applicants submit a complete proposal by the deadline.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money in the form of lump sum grants.

Application Stages: The application process appears to be single-stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not mentioned in the provided text.

Co-funding Requirement: The provided text does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required. This information would likely be detailed in the call document.

Summary:

This opportunity is a call for proposals under the Erasmus+ Programme, specifically targeting "European policy experimentations" in the education sector. The call aims to fund transnational cooperation projects that develop, implement, and test innovative approaches to address policy priorities in education across different European countries. The projects should focus on themes such as digital education content, digital ethics in AI, digital basic skills, micro-credentials, STEM education, vocational training, adult learning, and adult empowerment.

Eligible applicants are expected to form consortia and submit proposals for lump sum grants ranging from €2 million to €9 million, depending on the specific topic. The projects should be at the development, validation, or demonstration stage, ready for practical implementation and evaluation. The application process is single-stage, with a deadline of April 8, 2026. The call document provides further details on eligibility criteria, evaluation processes, and the indicative timeline for the evaluation and grant agreement. This initiative seeks to foster mutual learning, support evidence-based policy, and promote strategic leadership and methodological soundness in addressing educational challenges at the European level.