Winning an Erasmus+ grant feels like the finish line. Then the kick-off call ends and the real work starts: several partners, a dozen activities, a budget that has to match what you promised, and a final report that is judged on evidence rather than good intentions.
Most coordinators handle this with a shared spreadsheet, a long email thread and a folder nobody keeps tidy. That works for the first two months. This guide shows how to run an Erasmus+ project in Notion instead: what to track, how to structure it, and how to set it up yourself in an afternoon. If you would rather skip the setup, there is a ready-made option near the end.
📋 Key Takeaways
- Funded projects lose control when tasks, budget and evidence are not tied back to the activities in the application
- There are eight things worth tracking, and every one of them should link to an activity
- Notion fits well thanks to linked databases, several views and partner access, but it is not an accounting system
- You can build the structure yourself in five steps, or start from a ready-made workspace from €145
Why funded projects lose control after approval
Projects rarely fail because the idea was weak. They lose control because the application and the day-to-day work drift apart. Three patterns show up again and again:
- Tasks without an owner. The application describes activities, but nobody turned them into tasks with a name, a date and a partner responsible. Work waits until someone notices.
- A plan that drifts from the application. The application is a promise. Activities, outputs and costs should stay traceable to it. In a lump sum project such as KA210, the grant depends on the activities and results you delivered, so drift is not only untidy, it is a financial risk.
- No evidence when the report is due. Photos, attendance lists, meeting notes and published outputs are easy to collect as you go and painful to find a year later. Our guides to the final report and reporting templates show how much weight assessors put on proof.
For the general principles of coordination, such as partner roles, internal deadlines and financial records, see our post on Erasmus+ project management tips for coordinators. This guide is the practical setup that puts those principles into one place.
What an Erasmus+ project actually needs to track
A generic project template has tasks and maybe a timeline. An Erasmus+ project needs a little more, because everything has to connect back to the application. These are the eight things worth tracking:
| What to track | What to record | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Partners | Organisation, country, role, contact person | Everyone knows who does what |
| Activities | Description, lead partner, start and end dates, and for KA210 the grant amount attached | The core of your promise to the National Agency |
| Tasks | Owner, due date, status, linked activity | Turns the plan into daily work |
| Outputs | What you promised, status, where the file lives | Proof of delivery for the final report |
| Budget items | Cost, partner, linked activity | Keeps spending tied to what you can justify. See our budget rules and lump sum guide |
| Meetings | Date, decisions, actions | A record of how the partnership works |
| Dissemination | What you shared, where, when | Covers your dissemination obligations |
| Key dates | Reports, deadlines, events | Nothing is missed |
The useful part is the links between them. Every task belongs to an activity, every output to an activity, and every cost to something you can justify.
Why Notion fits, and where it does not
Notion is a good fit for Erasmus+ projects for a few specific reasons:
- Linked databases. You can connect activities to tasks, outputs and costs, which is exactly the structure above.
- Several views of the same data. The same list of tasks can be a table, a board or a timeline (Gantt) view.
- Partner access. You can invite partners to the pages they need. Guest access is per page, and the number of guests depends on your Notion plan.
- Easy to start. Notion has a free plan, so you can try the structure before committing to anything. Check Notion’s pricing page for current limits.
It also has limits you should know about:
- It is not an accounting system. Keep your official financial records and supporting documents where your organisation normally keeps them. Notion tracks the plan and the evidence, not your accounts.
- It needs structure from day one. An empty Notion page invites a messy workspace. The setup matters more than the tool.
- Partners need to use it. If some partners prefer Excel, agree early that Notion is the single place for tasks and deadlines.
How the workspace fits together
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Workspace structure: activities sit at the centre.
Activities sit at the centre. Each activity has a lead partner, and it breaks down into tasks, produces outputs and carries the costs you can justify. Meetings, dissemination and key dates sit alongside and link back to the project.
Set it up yourself in five steps
You can build a working version of this in an afternoon. If you still need to draw up the timeline first, our free Gantt Chart Maker is a good starting point.
Create the project page
Add the basics as properties: acronym, Key Action, start and end dates, and the grant amount. This page becomes the home of the workspace.
Add a Partners database
One row per organisation, with country, role and a contact person.
Add an Activities database
One row per activity from your application, with the lead partner, start and end dates and, for KA210, its grant amount. For KA220, add the work package each activity belongs to.
Add Tasks and link them to activities
Give every task an owner and a due date. Show the same database as a board for daily work and as a timeline for the Gantt view.
Add Outputs and Budget items, then the extras
Link each output and cost to an activity, and add an attachment field to outputs so the evidence is stored next to the deliverable. Finish with simple databases for meetings, the dissemination log and key dates.
Timeline view of the tasks database in a sample Erasmus+ workspace.
Two habits keep it useful. Link everything to an activity from the start, because links are much harder to add later. And agree with partners that updates happen in Notion, not by email.
What a finished workspace looks like
Here is the result of the five steps above, shown with sample data from a fictional KA210 youth project. The Plan page shows the same activities as a table and as a Gantt timeline, with tasks, outputs and budget items linked to each one.
Illustration with sample data from a fictional project. A real workspace is built from the approved application.
Or skip the setup: the Erasmus+ Project Workspace
If you would rather start with a finished structure, we built everything above into a ready-to-use Notion workspace and set it up from your approved application. Your partners, activities, tasks, outputs and budget are already in place. You get your own copy in your Notion account and a short walkthrough call for you and your partners.
The price is fixed and depends on your Key Action:
KA1 Mobility Projects
€145
Delivered within 3 working days
KA210 Small-Scale Partnerships
€195
Delivered within 5 working days
KA220 Cooperation Partnerships
€245
Delivered within 7 working days
Notion subscription costs, if any, are not included.
Want the Structure Already Built?
The Erasmus+ Project Workspace gives you linked databases for partners, activities, tasks, outputs and budget, filled in from your approved application and ready to share with your partners.
Fixed price · Delivered within 3 to 7 working days
Frequently asked questions
– Is Notion free for an Erasmus+ project?
Notion has a free plan, which is enough to try the structure with a small team. Limits on members, guests and storage depend on the plan, so check Notion’s pricing page before you invite every partner.
– Do all partners need a Notion account?
Partners who need to update tasks or upload files need a free Notion account. You can invite them as guests to the pages they work on, and the number of guests allowed depends on your plan.
– Is it safe for project data?
Notion publishes a data processing agreement and standard contractual clauses for GDPR. Check them against your organisation’s own rules before you decide. As a general habit, keep sensitive personal data about participants out of any shared workspace and store only what the project needs.
– Does this work for KA1, KA210 and KA220?
Yes. The structure is the same and the emphasis changes. KA210 centres on activities and their lump sum amounts, KA220 on work packages and deliverables, and KA1 on mobility activities and participants.
Start with the structure
Whether you build it yourself or start from a ready-made workspace, the aim is the same: one place where every activity has an owner, every cost has a reason and every output has its evidence. That is what makes the final report straightforward.
GrowthProjects.eu is an independent consultancy and is not affiliated with Notion, the European Commission, EACEA, or any National Agency. Notion plan features and limits change, so check Notion’s current pricing and terms.