Newcomers

Every year the administration examines the level of newcomers in the applications submitted . Participating institutions and organizations are considered “newcomers” if they have not participated in any application within the individual program during the past three years, i .e . the period 2018-2021 .

For the three programs Nordplus Junior, Nordplus Adult and Nordplus Horizontal, the level of newcomers varies between 51% and 68%, which is a rather low difference between the different sub-programs .

In 2021 the level of newcomers for the five programs is:

• Nordplus Adult 51% • Nordplus Higher Education 20% • Nordplus Horizontal 68% • Nordplus Junior 55% • Nordplus Nordic Languages 62%

The level of newcomers in all the sub-programs, except in Higher Education due to the special nature of the program, was high so it is positive to see that many organizations saw an opportunity to apply for Nordplus funding! This is a good sign .

In 2020 the level of newcomers varied between 38-66% which was an unusually high fluctuation . In 2019 the level of newcomers varied between 53-63%; in 2018 the level of newcomers was between 60-70%, which was quite high; in 2017 it varied between 48-68% .

In Nordplus Higher Education, activities take place in permanent networks of HEinstitutions forming a steady framework for new student and teacher exchanges and spreading project initiatives over years . This, and the fact that a very large percentage of the HE-institutions in the countries are involved in Nordplus networks, leads to another approach to newcomers . For example, a network is defined as new if it as a network has not applied during the last three years . This means that the participating institutions individually are not necessarily new in the programs .

However, a big majority of the networks that applied in 2021 are those who uses Nordplus strategically and the program is essential for their Nordic/Baltic cooperation . These networks have been active in Nordplus for a long time and their past performance is also very good .

By applying also in 2021, the networks imply that they have concrete plans of collaboration after the pandemic and seems to be optimistic about restarting the mobility of students and teachers as well as the joint projects . .