What is Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE)?

Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE) projects support international cooperation between higher education institutions and related organisations to promote reforms and innovate teaching and learning.
They are implemented by Consortium of institutions from EU members countries, Programme countries and eligible third countries not associated to the Programme, with activities and results designed to benefit higher education institutions and systems in these partner countries.

Explore CBHE through the WILLIAM project:

Consortium structure

For Region 3 (South Mediterranean), two CBHE project types are available, each with its own minimum consortium requirements.

 National Projects:

• At least two Programme countries (EU Member State or Third Countries associated with the programme), and each of these countries must include at least one higher education institution (HEI).

•  One Third Countries non Associated to the Programme with at least two HEIs from that country.

 Please note that the total number of organisations from the non-associated country must be equal to or higher than the total number of organisations from the Programme countries 

Multi-country projects

• At least two Programme countries, and each must include at least one HEI.

• At least two eligible third countries not associated to the Programme.

Please note that for this minimum, each partner country must contribute at least two HEIs 

These countries may come from the same region (regional project) or from different regions (cross-regional project).

As in national projects, the number of organisations from third countries not associated to the Programme must be equal to or higher than the number of organisations from Programme countries.

CBHE Strands – Three Types of Projects

CBHE is organised into three strands. You can think of a “strand” as a type of CBHE project with a specific focus and level of intervention.

Reginal priorities(Region 3: South-Mediterranean countries)

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Read more about the EU’s strategic priorities in our region under the Pact for the Mediterranean and the Economic and Investment Plan (EIP)

Useful links:

• The 2025 Israeli projects under CBHE and other CBHE projects.
• CBHE on the 2026 Programme Guide.
• EACEA contact details for CBHE calls: EACEA-EPLUS-CBHE@ec.europa.eu.