Calls for projects multiply

A large number of EU funding programmes have recently announced Calls for projects.  The UK Government has published funding calls for a number of priorities in the mainstream Structural and Investment Funds.  These can be found on https://www.gov.uk/european-structural-investment-funds and most of these Calls close at the end of May.

The North West Europe INTERREG Programme  First Call opened on 7 April 2015 and will close on Monday 18 May 2015.  This is for Stage One applications only.  The First Monitoring Committee is scheduled for 9-10 July 2015 and successful projects must submit the Stage Two applications by either 31 December 2015 or 30 June 2016.   The date of the Monitoring Committee is provisional and depends on the Cooperation Programme being approved by the European Commission.  Further details of the Programme are on the North West Europe INTERREG website.

The provisional dates for the Ireland-Northern Ireland-Western Scotland INTERREG VA Programme were announced at a seminar in Inverness last week.  These are:-

Priority 1.2 (SMEs) – July 2015; Priority 2b (Water Supply) – August 2015; Priority  3 (Transport) – August 2015;  Priority 4 (Health) – September 2015; Priority 2.2 (Habitats and species) – November 2015; Priority 2.1 (Marine) – November 2015.

These dates still have to be confirmed by the Programme Monitoring Committee.  It should be noted that these Calls all apply to Stage 1 applications.  The Intervention Rate for this Programme is up to 70%.

URBACT III has opened a Call for Proposals for Action Planning Networks.  This Call closes on 16 June 2015.  The main objective of Action Planning Networks is to increase the capacity of European Cities to manage sustainable urban policies and more especially to strengthen their ability to design integrated strategies for sustainable urban development.  By taking part in an Action Planning Network, cities exchange and share experiences, problems and solutions, generating new ideas to address challenges related to sustainable urban development.   For further details contact the URBACT III website.   The website also has a Partner Market Place  where potential applicants can look for partners and exchange ideas.

Jon Jordan from European Policy Solutions has said, “After a long wait Structural and Investment Fund Programmes have started to organise Calls.  At a time when UK public sector finances are under pressure, the grants can offer a great stimulus for public and private organisations. The grants can help these organisations in pursuit of many policy priorities.  It is important that organisations put in well thought out applications that assist both the applicant achieve their targets as well as helping the funding Programme in its outputs and targets.   European Policy Solutions has a wealth of experience and can help you develop quality applications.