Unlocking EU Funding for Language Industry Associations
The EUATC is proud to launch the EUATC Erasmus+ How-To Guide, co-created in collaboration with its national association member in the UK, the Association of Translation Companies (ATC).
The practical guide is designed to help the EUATC, its national member associations, and their language service company members across Europe to access funding for projects that support an industry and its people during a profound period of transformation. The guide marks the first milestone in the EUATC’s new drive to explore new streams of EU project funding for impactful, cross-border projects that benefit the whole language services sector.
“This guide is a fantastic resource for the EUATC and its national associations to start leveraging the power of EU funding to resolve some of the pressing challenges around skills development, our race towards net zero, and the rapid proliferation of AI technology within our professional space,” says EUATC President Marta Aragão from the EUATC’s Portuguese national association member APET. “It provides an accessible entry point for the development of topical projects within the EUATC’s European network, not just for collaborative projects within the EUATC but also between its national associations and their regional networks.”
Why This Matters Now
The language services industry is undergoing a critical shift driven by AI, and impacted by global economic, environmental and geopolitical crises, and no single company or national association can tackle the resulting skills, innovation, and sustainability challenges alone.
Erasmus+, the EU’s flagship programme for education and training, is not just for youth mobility and universities but equally open to trade associations and companies looking to upskill their people and resolve pressing challenges around digitalisation, upskilling, and green transition. Erasmus+ priorities of digital transformation, workforce development and environmental sustainability align clearly with the priorities of the language services ecosystem. EU-funded projects offer a structured, well-supported route to delivering training, research and innovation that would otherwise be out of reach for individual organisations.
What’s Inside the Guide
The EUATC Erasmus+ How-To Guide walks you through the entire Erasmus+ journey: understanding the programme and choosing the right funding stream, getting your organisation registered, finding partners across the EUATC network, building a strong project idea, and writing a competitive application. It also includes checklists, timelines, common mistakes to avoid, FAQs, and a glossary.
The guide is written for national associations and language service companies considering Erasmus+ for the first time, while also serving as a clean reference for more experienced applicants, and a companion visual summary distils the essential steps. No prior EU funding experience is needed as the guide’s recommended entry point, Small-Scale Partnerships, was created precisely for organisations seeking project funding for the first time.
How to Get Your Copy
The Erasmus+ How-To Guide is available exclusively through the EUATC’s national member associations.
Contact your national association to request your copy, find out how to get involved with collaborative projects across the industry, and propose topics that would make a difference to you.. If you are not yet a member of your country’s EUATC member association, joining your national association is the gateway to the guide and to the EUATC’s growing network of project partners across Europe. Not sure what your national association is? The full list is available on the EUATC Member Directory.
What’s Next for the EUATC?
The next stage of the journey for the EUATC is the drafting of proposals for topical projects to seek Erasmus+ funding for in 2027, led by the EUATC’s Board and in collaboration with national associations and project partners across the EUATC network (including the UK which is re-joining the Erasmus+ programme in 2027).
“This is the start of a really meaningful journey for the EUATC and its national associations, one where we actively develop solutions to the challenges that language service companies face today. But it is also hugely meaningful at the association level, as the first step towards strategic, long-term development in how language industry associations can grow and support their communities,” explains the EUATC’s General Secretary Raisa McNab.
The EUATC Erasmus+ How-To Guide was co-produced by the EUATC and the ATC and authored by Sherelene Farnican, an International Business student at the Häme University of Applied Sciences (HAMK) in Finland, as part of her internship with the ATC and EUATC. Sherelene and her colleague Lasanthi Liyana Gamage mapped out funding instruments and pathways to develop project funding as a long-term mechanism to support the EUATC’s and its national associations’ growth and ability to better support a language services ecosystem in transformation.
