Partnerships for Cooperation - Cooperation Partnerships in the field of Youth submitted by European NGOs 2026

The ERASMUS+ Cooperation Partnerships in Youth 2026 call focuses on enhancing the work and practices of European NGOs by promoting transnational collaboration. Only European NGOs are eligible to apply, and they must have been legally established for at least two years, with structures in at least nine EU Member States or associated countries. The funding mechanism is through ERASMUS Lump Sum Grants, with amounts of €120,000, €250,000, or €400,000 available, depending on project scope.

A mandatory consortium of at least three organizations from different EU Member States or associated countries is required for application. The call aims to improve youth engagement, empowerment, and participation, with emphasis on social inclusion, democratic engagement, and digital competence among youth. The total call budget is €2,000,000, and applicants must secure additional co-funding beyond the grant amount.

Projects should target development, validation, and demonstration stages, focusing on established organizations rather than early-stage initiatives. Applications must be submitted by March 5, 2026, and the selection process is single-stage, evaluating criteria like relevance, project design, partnership quality, and impact potential. The application process and evaluation timeline span from March to July 2026, with anticipated grant agreements in December 2026.

The program encourages projects addressing specific youth sector priorities, contributing to the development and sharing of best practices, and fostering European values and principles. Comprehensive guidelines, templates, and support resources are accessible through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal to assist applicants throughout the process.

The Partnerships for Cooperation Cooperation Partnerships in the field of Youth submitted by European NGOs 2026 call, under the Erasmus+ Programme, aims to enhance the quality of work, activities, and practices within participating organizations and institutions. It seeks to involve new actors from diverse sectors, build the capacity of organizations for transnational and cross-sector collaboration, address common priorities in education, training, youth, and sport, and enable transformative changes at individual, organizational, and sectoral levels, leading to improvements and innovative approaches.

The call, identified as ERASMUS-YOUTH-2026-PCOOP-ENGO, falls under the ERASMUS-LS ERASMUS Lump Sum Grants action type, utilizing the ERASMUS Lump Sum Grant [ERASMUS-AG-LS] Model Grant Agreement. It follows a single-stage deadline model.

The planned opening date for submissions is 4 December 2025, with a deadline of 5 March 2026, at 17:00 Brussels time.

The scope of the Cooperation Partnerships includes: increasing quality in the work, activities and practices of organisations and institutions involved, opening up to new actors, not naturally included within one sector; building capacity of organisations to work transnationally and across sectors; addressing common needs and priorities in the fields of education, training, youth and sport; enabling transformation and change (at individual, organisational or sectoral level), leading to improvements and new approaches, in proportion to the context of each organisation.

Admissibility conditions require adherence to the ERASMUS+ Programme guide 2026, with a page limit of 70 pages for Part B, the Technical Description of the Application Form. Eligible countries are also defined in the ERASMUS+ Programme guide 2026. Only European NGOs, fulfilling the ENGO definition in the ERASMUS+ Programme guide 2026 Part D Glossary of terms, can apply, submitting their applications to the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Financial and operational capacity and exclusion criteria are detailed in the ERASMUS+ Programme guide 2026.

The submission and evaluation processes, award criteria, scoring, and thresholds are all described in the ERASMUS+ Programme guide 2026. The indicative timeline includes publication of the call on 28 November 2025, a submission deadline of 5 March 2026, an evaluation period from March to July 2026, information to applicants in August 2026, and grant agreement signature in December 2026. The legal and financial setup of the grants is not applicable (n/a).

Key documents include the ERASMUS+ Programme guide 2026, standard application form (ERASMUS LSI), Calculator (ERASMUS LS ENGO), ERASMUS Programme Guide, ERASMUS MGA, Lump Sum MGA, 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 Annotated Model Grant Agreement, Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual, Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions, and Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement.

The total budget for the ERASMUS-YOUTH-2026-PCOOP-ENGO ERASMUS-LS ERASMUS Lump Sum Grants is 2,000,000 EUR for the year 2026. This is a single-stage grant.

There are partner search announcements available. LEARs, Account Administrators, and users with public profiles can publish partner requests.

The submission system will open on the date stated in the topic header.

For assistance, applicants can contact EACEA-YOUTH@ec.europa.eu. The deadline for queries is 26 February 2026 (eob). Additional resources include the Funding & Tenders Portal FAQ, the IT Helpdesk, and the Online Manual for the Funding & Tenders Portal.

In summary, this Erasmus+ call focuses on fostering cooperation partnerships in the youth sector, specifically targeting European NGOs. It aims to improve the quality and impact of youth organizations through transnational collaboration, capacity building, and addressing key priorities in education, training, and youth development. The call provides lump sum grants and has a structured timeline for application, evaluation, and project implementation, with detailed guidelines and support resources available to applicants.

Eligible Applicant Types: European NGOs are the only eligible applicant type for this opportunity. The applicants must fulfill the requirements of the definition of ENGO as set in the ERASMUS+ Programme guide 2026 – Part D – Glossary of terms.

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically an ERASMUS Lump Sum Grant (ERASMUS-LS).

Consortium Requirement: While not explicitly stated, the call is for "Partnerships for Cooperation," suggesting that a consortium of multiple applicants is expected or at least encouraged. The partner search announcements further support this.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility is focused on European NGOs.

Target Sector: The program targets the fields of education, training, youth, and sport.

Mentioned Countries: The call is specifically for European NGOs, implying a focus on Europe.

Project Stage: The provided text does not explicitly define the project stage. However, the emphasis on cooperation, capacity building, and addressing common needs suggests projects that are at least in the development or validation stage, rather than purely at the idea or research stage.

Funding Amount: The total budget for the topic ERASMUS-YOUTH-2026-PCOOP-ENGO is EUR 2,000,000. The indicative number of grants is not specified.

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process.

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

Application Stages: The application process is single-stage.

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

Co-funding Requirement: The provided text does not explicitly state whether co-funding is required.

Summary:

This is a call for proposals under the ERASMUS+ Programme, specifically targeting "Partnerships for Cooperation" in the field of youth, submitted by European NGOs in 2026. The call, titled ERASMUS-YOUTH-2026-PCOOP-ENGO, aims to increase the quality of work, activities, and practices of organizations involved in education, training, youth, and sport. It focuses on building capacity for transnational and cross-sectoral collaboration, addressing common needs and priorities, and enabling transformation and change. Only European NGOs, as defined in the ERASMUS+ Programme guide 2026, are eligible to apply. The funding mechanism is an ERASMUS Lump Sum Grant. The call has a single-stage submission process, with a deadline of March 5, 2026. The total budget for this topic is EUR 2,000,000. The evaluation will take place between March and July 2026, with information to applicants in August 2026 and grant agreement signature in December 2026. The technical description of the application form (Part B) has a page limit of 70 pages. Applicants can find application form templates, guidance, and additional documents on the Funding & Tenders Portal.