COVID-19 Measures

In light of the exceptional circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Erasmus+ programme is implementing a series of measures for the duration of the exceptional period.

These changes will impact all active projects starting from call year 2017.

Beneficiaries will be allowed to also organise their activities virtually. Where relevant, a blended activity approach is encouraged. A blended mobility has a period of virtual activity which is to be combined with a physical activity abroad, all applying specific rules and budget calculation. All other mobilities, which take place as before in a physical location, must be indicated as physical mobilities. By default all mobilities recorded in Mobility Tool+ before Release 6.3 (September 2020) are marked as physical mobilities and can be changed. 

The current page explains the basics of virtual and blended mobilities in KA1 and KA3, except for KA107, which is explained separately in the page MT+ KA107 Budget transfer. 


  • Relevant for call year 2017 and forward.
  • For KA1 and KA3, except for KA107 - Higher education student and staff mobility between programme and partner countries.
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Virtual Mobilities

What is a Virtual Mobility

A virtual mobility is an activity that takes place exclusively online, without the physical presence of the participant. It is indicated in Mobility Tool+ as a Virtual Mobility and recorded similarly to a physical mobility, but without the costs that would normally apply to a physical mobility.

If a virtual mobility is to be combined with a physical mobility it should be recorded as a blended mobility. 

By virtual activity is meant an online activity taking place in the home country. The virtual activities where the student is physically present in the destination country must be registered as physical. For in-country virtual activities, please use the participant's home town.

All virtual mobilities are automatically flagged as force majeure and the flag cannot be manually removed. 


Virtual Mobility Specifics for KA1 and KA3

Duration

  • The minimum duration that can be recorded in Mobility Tool+  is of 1 day.
  • There are no maximum duration constraints.
    Exception - Youth activities: the maximum duration is the one applicable to physical mobilities as defined in the Programme Guide.

Grants

  • Any duration-related budget items are not applicable to the virtual activities, therefore no funding is received for such items, except for Youth projects.
  • It is possible to request the following grants:
    1. Linguistic Preparation Grant
    2. Exceptional Costs
    3. Organisational Support: 100% of the Organisational Support grant is allocated per participant at project level.
      Exception - Youth projects: 35% of the organisational support grant is allocated per mobility and per day for the entire duration of the virtual activity, for eligible activities.

Participant Reports

The usual business rules are applicable to participant reports in the case of virtual mobilities. For the applicable key actions and activities, the first participant report request is submitted automatically on the end date of the virtual mobility, and reminders are submitted accordingly.


Example

The following image shows the basic changes that occur when a mobility is updated from physical to virtual:

  1. All grant calculations that previously applied to the physical duration are reset to zero.
  2. The Force Majeure field is checked and the Force Majeure Field Explanations are required.

Example of a Virtual mobility

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Blended Mobilities

What is a Blended Mobility

A blended mobility combines both virtual and physical activities. It is indicated in Mobility Tool+ as a Blended mobility and it includes duration and budget details for both the virtual activity and the physical activity.

Blended mobilities are not flagged as Force Majeure by default.

Blended Mobility Specifics for KA1 and KA3

Duration and Timing

  • The virtual and physical activities can be carried out in any order but cannot overlap.
  • There can be a time gap between the two activities.
  • The blended mobility total duration is the sum of the virtual mobility duration and the physical mobility duration. 
  • There are no constraints on the minimum or maximum duration of the blended mobility.
    Exception - Youth projects: the minimum and maximum limits of the blended duration are the same as those applicable to physical mobilities as defined in the Programme Guide. 
  • For the physical part of the blended mobility, the same rules apply as defined before Release 6.3 for physical mobilities.
  • There are no limitations regarding the virtual activity duration.
    Exception - Y    outh projects:
    1. The virtual duration must be adjusted so that the maximum allowed duration of the blended mobility is not exceeded. Otherwise, the blended mobility should be flagged as Force Majeure.
    2. If the maximum duration of the blended mobility is reached and the physical duration is too short, the blended mobility should be flagged as Force Majeure.

Grant

  • For the physical part of the blended mobility, the same rules apply as defined before Release 6.3 for only-physical mobilities.

  • All grant calculations for the blended mobility are based purely on the physical activity of the blended mobility.
    Exception - Youth projects (eligible activities):

    1. For the entire physical activity duration, 100% of the organisational support is allocated per mobility and per day.

    2. For the entire virtual activity duration, 35% of the organisational support grant is also allocated per mobility and per day.

Participant Reports

The first participant report request is submitted automatically on the end date of the physical activity, and subsequent reminders are submitted according to the usual business rules  applicable to participant reports for physical mobilities.


Example

The following image shows the basic changes that occur when a mobility is updated from physical to blended:

  1. For the blended mobility, the virtual activity start and end dates must also be indicated. No changes occur yet at budget level.
  2. Once all dates are correctly indicated, the grant is also updated based on the physical activity duration.

    Example of a Blended mobility


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