Welcome
Preparatory visits under the Erasmus+ programme are defined as: Visits to the country of the receiving organisation prior to the start of mobility activities to prepare and ensure high quality of those activities. Examples include tasks to facilitate administrative arrangements and build trust and understanding between organisations involved. Source: Erasmus+ Programme Guide 2024 (Version 1, 28.11.23), Glossary of terms Preparatory visits under the European Solidarity Corps programme are defined as: Planning visit to the host country prior to the start of a volunteering activity. The purpose of the visit is to prepare and ensure high quality of those activities, build trust, understanding and a solid partnership between organisations and participants involved. Source: 2024 European Solidarity Corps Guide, Glossary of terms In beneficiary projects, information regarding preparatory visits, where applicable, can be provided. Depending on the action type of the project, preparatory visits can be added from the Preparatory visits section, Activities section and/or Mobility activities section of the project in Beneficiary module.
This page explains how to add and manage Preparatory visits in KA121, KA122, KA182 and ESC51 projects, using a KA122-ADU, call 2021 project as an example. Each preparatory visit must be recorded in the project separately, and will have its own ID. Only associated persons with edit rights on the project are able to perform these actions while the project is in status Project ongoing.
Information Fields may vary depending on the action type of you project. Please read the onscreen information carefully to complete the relevant fields.
The illustrations in the provided Wiki pages are for consultation purpose only and may not always reflect the latest implementation.
Steps
1. Click on "Preparatory visits" in the Content menu
Click on Preparatory visits in the Content menu. In this screen you will see the list of preparatory visits, as you add them to the project. Initially, the list is empty. See the page List functionality in projects for additional information on the list functionalities, such as Search, Filters and the Bulk Actions.
2. Click on the "Create" button
Click on the Create button at the top of the list.
3. Fill in the Preparatory Visit details and click "Save"
The Preparatory Visit details screen opens. Please read the onscreen information carefully before you fill in the details.
All mandatory fields are marked with a red asterisk (*), displaying the text Value missing under the field, and must be all filled in, to be able to save the preparatory visit. It is not possible to save draft records.
The Save button will only become active once all mandatory fields are correctly filled in.
The fields to fill in depend on the action type and call year of the project. The form content will adapt based on the information you provide.
Take note of the following:
- The preparatory visit ID is assigned automatically and incrementally, and it cannot be changed.
- The Number of persons must be filled in. The minimum and maximum number of people allowed is displayed below the field.
- KA121 and KA122, Call 2023, projects: After you provide the Number of persons, the fields First name, Last name and Email for each of these persons display. Fill in accordingly with the required personal data.
- The Unit cost field is read-only, containing the defined rate for each participant to the preparatory visit.
- The Total grant amount is calculated automatically, based on the Unit cost and the Number of persons involved in the visit. This amount cannot be changed manually, except in cases of force majeure.
- The Linked activity type drop-down list, if available, contains the activity types the preparatory visit can be associated to.
- For ESC51 projects, the Activity drop-down list contains the activities added to the project to choose from.
- The Start Date and End Date of the visit must be within the project duration (including the start and end dates), which are indicated on a blue timeline. Use the date pickers to select the applicable dates.
- Select the Sending Organisation and the Receiving Organisation using the Select button displayed below each of the fields. A pop-up with the organisations in your project opens, where you can select the relevant organisation. If an organisation is not available for selection, it must be added to the project first, from the Participating organisations section in your project.
- The Receiving Country and Receiving City are filled in automatically, based on the selected Receiving Organisation, but they can be changed, if required. Select the receiving country from the drop-down list, and manually enter the receiving city in the appropriate field.
- Under What was the purpose of the preparatory visit?, use the drop-down list to select the applicable option.
- If you select Other from the drop-down list, you must fill in the additional field, Please explain the purpose of the preparatory visit.
Once all the mandatory fields have been correctly filled in, click on the Save button at the bottom of the screen, to save the preparatory visit.
3.1. "Force majeure" flag
Force majeure is:
An unforeseeable exceptional situation or event beyond the participant's control and not attributable to error or negligence on their part.
Source: Erasmus+/European Solidarity Corps programme guides 2024, Glossary
Force majeure situations can arise anywhere and at any time, and include factors such as sudden disease, accidents, death, earthquakes and other causes.
In a project, check the Force majeure flag to indicate that a project activity (i.e. mobility activity, group activity, participations, events, transnational project meetings, etc.) is considered as a case of force majeure.
When you check this flag (tick box), certain fields and grants for the activity may be affected and must be checked and/or updated.
In addition, you must fill in the additional Force majeure explanations field, describing the facts that prove the activity should be accepted as a case of force majeure.
If you check the Force majeure flag, the limitations on the number of persons are removed and the Total grant field becomes editable. No Force majeure explanations must be provided.
3.2. ESC51 Specifics
3.2.1. Activity field in Call 2024
Preparatory visits in ESC51, Call 2024, projects must be linked to a specific activity. Therefore, in the preparatory visit details in ESC51 projects, the Activity field is displayed and must be filled.
This field contains a drop-down list with all Activities already added in the project. If none are yet available, you must first add the project activities, as explained on page Activities in ESC51 projects.
3.2.2. "Virtual" flag
Tick the Virtual flag, to indicate that the preparatory visit took place exclusively online, without the physical presence of the participant(s). Therefore, the Total grant for the visit will be set to 0 EUR.
3.3. KA121, KA122 Specifics
3.3.1. "Learners took part in the preparatory visit" flag
The flag Learners took part in the preparatory visit, where applicable, is displayed if the selected purpose of the visit can contain learners. Tick the flag if learners took part in the visit, as applicable for your project.
3.3.2. "Request inclusion support" flag (Call 2023 only)
In KA121 and KA122, call 2023 projects, it is possible to Request inclusion support for participants to the preparatory visit.
The Request inclusion support (1) flag is displayed at the bottom of the screen. Once ticked, the field Inclusion support for participants (preparatory visits) (2) becomes available and must be filled in. The field Inclusion support for participants: description and justification (3) will display and must also be filled in.
4. Preparatory visit added to the project
Once saved, a success message is displayed, and you will be redirected to the Preparatory Visits screen, where the newly-added visit is now displayed in the list. Once items are added to the list, the following icons become available under the Actions column:
- Delete - click on this icon in line with the item you wish to delete, and follow the onscreen instructions.
- View - click on this icon to open the details of the selected item in read-only mode. All fields are greyed out and you will not be able to change any details.
- Edit - open the details of the selected item in edit mode. Make the desired changes, then click on the Save button at the bottom of the screen to save the updated information.
Expected Outcome
Preparatory visits have been added to the project, and the related costs are reflected in the Budget tab of your project.
For details on the budget, see:
Related Articles
Overview
Content Tools
Apps
