Any organisation wishing to take part in European Solidarity Corps Volunteering or Traineeships and Jobs projects must have a certification called the Quality Label. This includes signing up to the European Solidarity Corps Charter.
The Quality Label is designed to ensure consistently high standards in Solidarity Corps activities and to help organisations find partners. It is your organisation's gateway to the European Solidarity Corps.
All organisations involved in a Volunteering project (applicant and all partners) should have a Quality Label, as well as Traineeships and Jobs organisation applicants. It must be in place before you apply for funding. Informal groups of young people cannot apply for this certification as they are not eligible to be applicants for volunteering projects.
Once you have the Quality Label, you can access the Placement Administration and Support System (PASS), where you can search for participants or attract young people to your projects by promoting your opportunities.
If your organisation already has a valid accreditation for the European Voluntary Service (EVS) or Erasmus+ Volunteering, then you have automatic access to PASS. Furthermore, you do not need to apply for the Quality Label unless project activities at your organisation start after 31 December 2020. Please see below for further details under ‘Extension to valid accreditations after 31 December 2021’.
Your organisation can apply for different scopes and roles of Quality Label, depending on the activities you would like to carry out, as well as for a combination of several Quality Labels:
- Volunteering – supporting and/or host role
- Traineeships
- Jobs
The roles of each organisation in a Solidarity Corps project are highlighted in the charter, which can be found in the Quality Label application form. It also states the main principles and quality standards of the Solidarity Corps and it is the basis for the certification.
The ESC52 application form is now closed for UK organisations.
If your organisation has an accreditation for the European Voluntary Service (EVS) or Erasmus+ Volunteering but will take part in European Solidarity Corps activities (that start at your organisation after 31 December 2020), you should contact the UK NA to make an application for the Quality Label. Please see below for further details under ‘Extension to valid accreditations after 31 December 2021’.
Organisations already holding a Quality Label may make a request to the UK NA to add or remove locations or increase or decrease the number of participants by contacting the ESC Team at eusolidaritycorps@ecorys.com.
Extensions to valid accreditations after 31 December 2020
Valid Quality Label and Erasmus+ Volunteering accreditations issued under the previous programme (2014-2020) that were due to expire on 31 December 2020 have been granted an extension of one year by the European Commission. This means that any valid accreditations will now cover volunteering or traineeships and jobs activities taking place in 2021. Therefore:
- Beneficiaries (applicant organisations) of Erasmus+ or European Solidarity Corps volunteering and Traineeships and Jobs projects/partnerships holding an existing Quality Label or Erasmus+ volunteering accreditation can finish projects which have been awarded funding under the current programmes (Corps: 2018-2020 and Erasmus+: 2014-2020), even if project activities or mobilities are undertaken beyond December 2021.
- Partner organisations can use their current accreditation to take part in activities or mobilities funded under the current programme up to 31 December 2021. However, partner organisations undertaking project activities after 2021 will need to apply for the Quality Label prior to those activities taking place. Please contact the UK NA for advice and support.
- Organisations without an existing Quality Label or Erasmus+ volunteering or European Voluntary Service (EVS) accreditation must apply for a Quality Label before taking part in any activities under the European Solidarity Corps volunteering and traineeships and jobs projects, please contact the UK NA for advice and support. Costs associated with project activities with unaccredited organisations are ineligible, which will affect your final grant amount.
Additional resources
Check out our additional resources on the Quality Label and share them with partner organisations:
- Read our Quality Label quide (242 KB)
- Download our Quality Label brochure (1,023 KB)
- Watch the module on the Quality Label available on ‘Ready, Set, Make the Change!’, a European Solidarity Corps free online course on the HOP platform.