A Project's Story: Behind Every Erasmus+ and ESC Journey 💙

Ever wondered what happens before and after those amazing Erasmus+ 🌟 or European Solidarity Corps 🇪🇺volunteering opportunities you see online? Here’s the full story, told from the perspective of project coordinators who turn ideas into real opportunities for young people across Europe! 🌍

Last updated: October 2026.

🧩 Project Planning: From Idea to Vision 💡

Every great project begins with a question: What problem do we want to solve? 🤔

Organisations start by conducting a Problem Analysis, identifying issues in their communities, institutions, or environments.

Then comes the Target Analysis 🎯, defining what we want to change and why.

Once the idea is clear, we move on to the application form 📝 (usually 40-60 pages!) detailing:

✅ Project goals and objectives

✅ Activity plan & timeline

✅ Budget and partnerships

✅ Evaluation & dissemination plans

This first step alone takes about 3 months of careful planning and teamwork. 💪

⏳ The Waiting Phase: Patience, Hope & Coffee ☕

After submission, National Agencies across Europe review all proposals.

This evaluation period usually lasts 3-6 months.

It’s a time filled with hope, excitement, and dozens of refreshing the email inbox! 📬

🗂️ Results & Selection: The Big Reveal! 🎉

When the results are published, each funded project appears on the official list, with project code, title, organisation name and budget. 💶

If selected, the journey continues; if not, it’s back to the drawing board, because every failure brings new lessons. 💪

🖋️ Signing the Grant Agreement: Making It Official

Once approved, the Grant Agreement is signed between the coordinating organisation and the programme authority.

This moment marks the official birth of the project! 🎉

🚀 Project Kick-Off: From Paper to People 🌍

While participants often think a project only lasts during their activity, coordinators actually manage 3 to 24 months of work!

The “activity” you join, a youth exchange, training course or volunteering mobility, is just one chapter in a long story that includes:

📋 Planning

🎒 Preparation

💬 Implementation

🧠 Evaluation

📢 Dissemination

🧳 Preparation Stage: Details, Details, Details! ✈️

As soon as the project begins, the real logistics start rolling:

🏠 Accommodation

🛫 Travel arrangements

🛂 Visa & insurance

👩‍🏫 Trainers & mentors

📦 Materials

🧍‍♀️ Participant selection

This stage can take around 3 months depending on the scale of the activity.

🌟 The Activity: The Heart of the Project 💬

Finally, the moment you see on social media, the project itself! 🙌

Youth exchanges, ESC volunteering, or training courses come to life.

By this point, nearly a year of background work has already happened.

It’s where cultures meet, friendships grow, and real change begins. 🌍💙

🧭 Evaluation: Learning Never Ends 📊

Every project phase is carefully evaluated, sometimes by internal teams, sometimes by external experts.

Feedback from participants plays a huge role in improving future projects.

Evaluation isn’t about judgment, it’s about growth. 🌱

🕊️ Closure & Dissemination: Sharing the Impact 💬

At the end, the results are shared with partners, communities, and future beneficiaries.

This ensures that others can learn from the outcomes and replicate good practices.

Every project ends, but its impact continues, inspiring the next generation of changemakers across Europe. 🇪🇺✨

💬 Being a coordinator means months of planning, responsibility, and heart. But seeing participants grow, connect, and return home inspired makes every effort worthwhile. 💙

Writer: youthworker_eu on Instagram

How can you find your own Erasmus+ or ESC project?

Youth Works Hub has a Match page that finds projects suited to you: it asks 8 questions and shows the results as a swipeable deck of cards. Using Match requires creating an account on the site; signing up with Google is available but not required. Our guide on how to find Erasmus+ and ESC projects shows where the offers are published.

👉 Erasmus+ projects: youthworkshub.org/?tab=erasmus-projects

👉 ESC projects: youthworkshub.org/?tab=esc-projects