Erasmus+ mobility consortia, explained

The Programme Guide’s definition is compact: a mobility consortium is a group of organisations from the same country running mobility under a joint Erasmus Plan, coordinated by one organisation — the coordinator — which must hold an Erasmus accreditation.

In practice it’s the format built for school networks, local authorities, teacher training centres, diocesan and regional education bodies: one organisation does the paperwork once, and a whole territory travels.

Why coordinate a consortium

• One accreditation serves everyone. Members don’t need their own — they get access to annual funding through yours.
• Scale without repetition. Instead of fifteen small organisations each managing (or failing to manage) applications, one office builds the routine: one Erasmus Plan, one annual grant request, one reporting flow.
• Better group logistics. A concrete example from course rules: a single sending organisation may enrol at most 3 participants in a given course session — a consortium may enrol 10. Whole-team training weeks become possible.

The rules that shape the format

• Same country, all of it. Every member must be from the coordinator’s country. (The travel is international; the membership is national.)
• Coordinator applies, members don’t. The coordinator applies for the accreditation describing the consortium’s purpose and intended composition — an exact member list is not required at application stage, but substantial changes later require a new application.
• One role per field. You apply either as an individual organisation or as a consortium coordinator in a given field — not both.
• The added-value test. The application is scored on whether the consortium brings clear added value to its members. “We know each other” is not added value; shared needs, pooled capacity and a common development goal are.

Coordinator responsibilities, honestly

The Guide’s management criteria apply to the whole consortium for a coordinator: task distribution, resources, continuity and integrating results — across every member. Budget real coordination hours. The consortia that thrive treat coordination as a service to members (finding quality courses, handling logistics, consolidating reporting), not as forwarding emails.

Frequent questions

Do consortium members need their own accreditation?

No — only the coordinator must hold the Erasmus accreditation. That's the point: one accredited coordinator opens annual mobility funding to every member organisation.

Can members be from different countries?

No. All member organisations must be from the same EU Member State or third country associated to the Programme as the coordinator. The mobility itself is transnational; the consortium is national.

Can the coordinator's own staff travel too?

Yes. Consortium coordinators can organise their own activities like any accredited organisation, in addition to providing opportunities to their members.

How many of our consortium's people can attend the same course session?

Up to 10 participants from the same mobility consortium can take part in a given course session — versus 3 from a single sending organisation. It's one of the practical advantages of the consortium format.