Mainstreaming and upscaling of successful results as well as synergies with ongoing or pipeline support in the area under bilateral support programmes are also elements of this Strand. Structural Reform projects will address the needs of eligible third countries not associated to the Programme to reform and modernise their systems by supporting sustainable, systemic and structural improvement and innovation at the level of the higher education sector. They should involve the competent National Authorities (notably Ministries of Education) of third countries not associated to the Programme as well as HEIs, research institutions and other relevant authorities/bodies and stakeholders.

Overarching Priorities under Strand 3

Given the nature of this Strand, which aims at supporting structural reforms in the third countries not associated to the Programme, the project must address the needs of higher education in the country(ies) concerned.

Strand 3 and Global Gateway priorities

Projects under Strand 3 in the following regions must be aligned with the Global Gateway priorities. This requirement is essential and will be carefully evaluated as part of the Relevance award criterion:

• 5a (Asia)
• 6 (Central Asia)
• 7a (Middle East)
• 8a (Pacific)
• 9 (Sub-Saharan Africa)
• 10 (Latin America)
• 11 (Caribbean)

The priorities relevant to respective countries are available here: https://international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu/policies/global-gateway/erasmus-global-gateway-priorities_en

Applicants submitting proposals under the above-mentioned Regions should try and discern and propose academic capacity building aspects that well align with the Global Gateway flasgships and projects for the country/region concerned. Since these projects refer to a Global Gateway relevant priority, applicants should select, in Part A of the application form, the ‘Global Gateway’ fixed keyword in the relevant field, alongside any other fixed keyword options relevant to their proposal. In addition, each applicant will need to identify in Part A of the application form also one of the overarching priorities, which are defined by the European Commission and reflected in the Programme Guide.

For the rest of the Regions under Strand 3, namely Regions 1, 2, and 3, proposals can address either structural and higher education policy reform priorities they deem necessary or can also address any Global Gateway priority applicable in the country(ies) concerned.

This action is expected to contribute to the following priorities (more details on the application of the following priorities within the scope of the call, please consult pages 312-313 of the Programme Guide):

• Green Deal
• Digital transformation
• Integration of migrants
• Governance, peace, security and human development
• Sustainable growth and jobs

CBHE projects can be implemented as:

• national projects, i.e. projects involving institutions from only one eligible third country not associated to the Programme;
• multi-country (regional) projects within one single eligible region;
• multi-country projects involving more than one region (cross-regional). Cross-regional projects must address priority areas relevant for of all Regions involved, demonstrate their relevance for each Region and justify this by a detailed analysis of common needs and objectives.

For more information about the proposed activities under the three Strands, we advise you to consult the Programme Guide for 2024, pages 314-316.

• The indicative 2025 CBHE budget of Strand 3 per Region (in EURO) and the indicative number of projects to be funded are defined below.
• Note that there is a flexibility of transferring budgets between the Strands.