Open seed money call for proposals targeting transport and skilled labour force -

Date de clôture : 30 janv. 2017  
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In order to facilitate the development process of projects aiming for funding under the Interreg South Baltic Programme 2014-2020, the Monitoring Committee decided to launch the 2nd targeted Seed Money Facility (the Facility). The Facility enables the preparation of project concepts which can be financed by the Interreg South Baltic Programme 2014-2020, provided that the respective project applications are submitted to and approved by the Monitoring Committee. By offering the Seed

Money Facility to potential South Baltic partnerships, the development of high quality projects for regular calls for proposals is expected. At the same time, the Facility can serve as an incentive for potential beneficiaries to convince local decision makers to develop a project idea, as the respective costs will be co-financed from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

2. SET-UP OF THE SEED MONEY PROJECT

2.1. Thematic focus

The 2nd targeted facility offers support to proposals, which are looking to develop projects addressing

specific challenges of the Interreg South Baltic Programme 2014 – 2020. Therefore all proposals shall

look to develop projects which contribute to one of the listed specific objectives:

 SO 3.1 Improve the quality and environmental sustainability of transport services in the South

Baltic area;

 SO 4.1 Increase the share of skilled labour force working in blue and green economy sectors of the South Baltic area through joint cross-border actions;

More information about the Interreg South Baltic Programme 2014-2020 can be found at:

https://southbaltic.eu

2.2. Output and indicative activities

The seed money project may contain all activities (e.g. desk research, meetings, workshops, etc.) necessary to prepare a project proposal that will contribute to the above mentioned objectives of the Interreg South Baltic Programme 2014 – 2020. The planned activities have to be compiled in one work package only (see the template of the seed money Application Form).

Each of the approved seed money projects has to deliver one output. This can be either:

a) a “project concept paper” which shall include:

 A report on the state of play in the field addressed, including an overview of

complementary projects that were/are being implemented;

 A plan for the future project (containing: proposed contribution to the Programme output indicators listed under selected specific objective; a work plan, describing anticipated activities and outputs of the main project as well as explaining how the partners intend to tackle the identified challenge/topic through joint actions; a composition of the potential project partnership; an indicative budget plan).

or

Interreg South Baltic Programme 2014-2020 | European Regional Development Fund | www.southbaltic.eu

b) an “application“ of the main project submitted within the 4th or 5th call for proposals (the template of application for the regular call will be published at the opening of the call on the Programme website https://southbaltic.eu/call-for-proposals);

or

c) a “follow-up report” in case the partnership decides not to submit an application under the South Baltic Programme. The document shall include information on the knowledge gained during the implementation of the seed money project (e.g. further development of the concept, investigation of alternative funding sources, integration of the concept in another South Baltic application, etc.). The format of the “follow-up report” is decided by the partnership (no obligatory template is required).

2.3. Partnership

The project must be implemented by a consortium consisting of at least two partners from two

different countries. Each project partner must have a budget and must co-finance the project activities.

For practical reasons related to the project implementation it is recommended that the seed money

partnerships do not consist of too many partners (up to 4-5 PP).

In principle, to become a lead partner, an organisation has to be located (decisive is the legal address of the organisation) in the South Baltic Programme eligible area. In exceptional cases, where explicitly justified by the project’s character, organisations of national or regional level that are located outside the eligible area, but have a branch office in the eligible area (e.g. Marshal Office of Warmia-Mazury), may also become lead partners. In such cases it is strongly recommended that the JS is contacted in advance to confirm eligibility. The national/regional authorities which have territorial jurisdiction over a Programme region (independent from the existence of a branch office) also can become lead partners.

In such case, the general requirement for the organisations outside the eligible area shall be applied, i.e. their participation has to be explicitly justified by the project’s character and the relevant Programme Member State (Programme region) will take over the financial responsibilities related to the participation in the project.

The consortium should follow the lead partner principle. The lead partner takes the overall responsibility for project implementation. It signs the application form and – in case of approval – the subsidy contract with the Managing Authority. In order to act as a lead partner in the South Baltic Programme project an organisation must have a legal personality and fall into one of the categories:

 national, regional and local authorities;

 bodies governed by public law (as defined in Art 2(1) of Directive 2014/24/EU of the European

Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 on public procurement and repealing

Directive 2004/18/EC (OJ L 94, 28.3.2014). This means body fulfilling all three conditions:

- established under public or private law for the specific purpose of meeting needs in the

general interest, not having an industrial or commercial character, and

- having legal personality, and

- financed, for the most part, by the State, regional or local authorities, or other bodies governed by public law; or subject to management supervision by those bodies; or having an administrative, managerial or supervisory board, more than half of whose members are appointed by the State, regional or local authorities, or by other bodies governed by public law.

 

Interreg South Baltic Programme 2014-2020 | European Regional Development Fund | www.southbaltic.eu

 associations of one or several regional or local authorities;

 associations of one or several bodies governed by public law;

 European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) (as defined in the Regulation (EC) No

1082/2006 as amended by Regulation (EU) No 1302/2013).

In principle, to become a project partner, an organisation has to be located (what is decisive is the legal address of the organisation) in the eligible area of the South Baltic Programme. Only in exceptional cases theorganisations from outside eligible area can act as regular project partners (geographical eligibility of project partners is limited to the EU) and directly benefit from ERDF funding. Their participation needs to be explicitly justified by the project’s character (i.e. they bring competence that is not possible to be found among institutions located in the eligible area) and the relevant Programme Member State (Programme region) has to take over the financial responsibilities in accordance with Art. 27 (3) of the Regulation (EU) 1299/2013.

In order to act as a project partner in a South Baltic project an institution must have a legal personality and fall into one of the following categories:

 national, regional and local authorities;

 bodies governed by public law (as defined in Art 2(1) of Directive 2014/24/EU);

 other entities established under public or private law operating for the specific purpose of

meeting needs in the general interest, not having an industrial or commercial character1;

 associations of one or several regional or local authorities;

 associations of one or several bodies governed by public law;

 European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) (as defined in the Regulation (EC) No

1082/2006 as amended by Regulation (EU) No 1302/2013).

 SME associations and clusters;

 chambers of commerce, trade unions and NGOs.

The following entities may not be financed by the Programme:

 profit-oriented companies of strictly industrial or commercial character, not operating for the purpose of meeting needs in general interest.

Bodies listed above can act as lead partner or project partner only if their financial and organisational capacities allow that. These will be assessed on a case by case basis during the quality assessment of applications. Therefore, such organisations, especially NGOs, should be able, on short notice, to

1 This group may also cover private entities which have been authorised by law or a public body to operate for the specific purpose of meeting needs in the general interest: Such entities must prove their public service mission by sending a legally binding document confirming that the entity operates for the specific purpose of meeting needs in general interest.

Examples of the documents can be:

 Statutes;

 the entity may be authorized to operate for the specific purpose of meeting needs in general interest by law. In such case, the entity should indicate the appropriate regulation.

 Alternatively, the authorisation may be granted to the entity by a body governed by public law. Then, the entity should present a document which confirms such delegation. If the presented documents are not sufficient, additional documents may be required to justify such authorisation.

 

Interreg South Baltic Programme 2014-2020 | European Regional Development Fund | www.southbaltic.eu

present and provide the JS with three year’s balance sheets and employment records in order to prove their ability to cover for potential irregularities during project implementation.

Furthermore, in order to proof common implementation of the project partners have to sign

partnership agreement.

2.4. Duration and eligibility of costs

The seed money funding is granted to approved partnerships for a period of 4 months

(implementation phase is dependent on the call for proposals to which the project would like to

submit its application form).

The project costs are eligible if paid within the timeline indicated in the table below (between the first day of the first month indicated in the given phase, and the last day of the last month indicated in the phase):

 For the projects aiming at 4th call the eligibility of costs will start from 1 March (on condition

that the project will be approved by the MC) and last until 31 August 2017 (date of payment

for a cost is decisive).

Important: Please be aware that the seed money projects targeting 4th call will have to be

implemented during March and April 2017 only on the basis of MC decision taken in mid

March, and without having a signed subsidy contract. This option is recommended for projects

that have a relatively advanced project concept and can implement activities without having

subsidy contract signed at the beginning of the project. Before choosing this option it is

necessary to discuss and clarify this issue with all partners, because practice shows that some

institutions will not be able to implement activities without having the subsidy contract signed.

 For the projects aiming at 5th call the eligibility of costs will start from 1 August 2017 until 31

January 2018 (date of payment for a cost is decisive).

 

Targeted call  --  Contracting phase  --  Implementation phase  --  Closure phase

4th call  -- April 2017 -- March – June 2017 -- July-August 2017

5th call  -- April 2017 --  August – November 2017 -- December 2017 - January 2018

 

Only three budget lines shall be applicable:

 Staff

 Travel and accommodation

 External expertise (e.g. FLC costs, feasibility studies, market analyses, costs for workshops and

meetings, etc.). Remark: costs for the preparation of the Application Form of the main

project cannot exceed EUR 1 500.00 net.

Budget lines: administration and investments/equipment, and thus costs connected with those

types of activities, are not eligible under the Seed Money Facility.

 

2.5. Size of the subsidy and co-financing rates

The total budget of a seed money project shall not exceed EUR 40 000 in total (EUR 30 000 – 34 000

ERDF, dependent on the co-financing rate, i.e. 75 or 85%). NB: Depending on the location, the South

Baltic Programme provides different ERDF co-financing rates for organisations participating in projects:

 partners from Poland, Lithuania and Germany can receive up to 85% of ERDF co-financing,

 partners from Denmark and Sweden and EU Member States other than Programme Member

States can receive up to 75% of ERDF co-financing.

The organisations implementing the seed money projects are expected to complement their grants

with own contributions. These contributions must not come from other EU sources.

2.6. Seed money projects vs. preparation costs of the main project

Due to the risk of double financing, ideas developed under the seed money facility are not eligible to

claim preparation costs within the projects submitted within regular calls for proposals under

Interreg South Baltic 2014-2020.

2.7 Seed money projects vs. projects rejected with first call for proposals under the

programme

Projects rejected by the Monitoring Committee within the first and second calls for proposals of the

Interreg South Baltic Programme, held on 02.11-18.12.2015 and 09.05-17.06.2016, are not entitled to

apply for the seed money funds, if they plan to use the seed money facility to amend the rejected

application in line with the recommendations given by the Monitoring Committee.

3. APPLICATION PROCEDURE AND SUBMISSION DEADLINE

The lead applicant for the seed money project is responsible for submitting the application on behalf

of the project consortium. The documents necessary for the application can be found in the

Application Pack which is available on the Programme website https://southbaltic.eu/seed-money.

Programme documents will not be altered during the call for proposals and project assessment.

The Application Pack consists of:

 Terms of Reference for seed money projects,

 Application Form with all required attachments (incl. Project Partner Declarations),

 a template of the “project concept paper”.

Applications have to be completed in English, the official and working language of the Programme.

Applications submitted in another language will not be considered.

The following documents have to be submitted electronically (scans) to seed-money@southbaltic.eu:

 Application Form in Excel format;

 scanned Project Partner Declarations of all partners, including the lead partner;

 scanned confirmation page of the Application Form with the lead partner’s signature and

stamp (if applicable).

 

Interreg South Baltic Programme 2014-2020 | European Regional Development Fund | www.southbaltic.eu

Documents must be submitted until 30 January 2017, 4.00 p.m. CET at the latest. Applications

delivered after the deadline will not be considered.

4. PROJECT SELECTION

The decision on the selection and approval of seed money project proposals is taken by the

Monitoring Committee of the Interreg South Baltic Programme 2014-2020. It is based on the results of

the formal and eligibility assessment and the quality assessment, which is carried through by the Joint

Secretariat (JS).

The following criteria will be used during the evaluation of the submitted proposals:

 formal and eligibility assessment:

- The Application Form delivered to the correct location by the set deadline;

- All obligatory annexes are submitted (i.e. Project Partner Declarations);

- The Application Form and Project Partner Declarations are signed by the authorised

signatories;

- The Application Form is delivered in the correct format;

- The Application Form and all annexes are compiled in English;

- The Application Form is correctly filled in (no error messages are displayed);

- Administrative and formal data in the Application Form and annexes is consistent.

- The project fulfils the minimum requirements for partnership (at least 2 eligible partners

from 2 Programme Member States);

- The lead partner is an eligible organisation;

- All project partners are eligible organisations;

- Co-financing is secured, in line with the Programme thresholds and project Application

Form.

 quality assessment:

- compliance of the future main project to one of the specific objectives of the Interreg

South Baltic Programme 2014 – 2020;

- the extent to which the seed money project work plan leads to outputs that are in line with

the Seed Money Facility requirements (joint activities, meetings with potential partners

etc.);

- cost-efficiency of the budget against planned activities (value for money).

The Monitoring Committee’s decision on the approval of the submitted seed money projects

proposals is expected in mid March 2017.

5. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION

5.1. Contracting process

After the project is approved by the Monitoring Committee, the lead partner is obliged to sign the

Subsidy Contract in order to receive subsidy from the ERDF (please, bear in mind restriction described

in point 2.4 for projects aiming at 4th call). The JS is responsible for contacting the project as soon as

the requirements necessary to sign a contract are met.

 

Interreg South Baltic Programme 2014-2020 | European Regional Development Fund | www.southbaltic.eu

The Subsidy Contract is signed between the Polish Ministry of Economic Development (acting as the

Managing Authority for the Programme) and the lead partner of the approved seed money project. It

confirms the final allocation of EU grants to the project and forms a legal and financial framework for

the implementation of the project activities. In particular, the contract sets down the mutual liabilities

and rights of the contracting parties with regards to payment of grants, monitoring and reporting,

recovery of funds, control and audit system of the project.

It is important that the lead partner becomes familiar with the issues regulated by the Subsidy Contract

before the application is submitted. The standard template of the contract is available at the

Programme website: https://southbaltic.eu/subsidy-contract-template. Please mind that the subsidy

contract for the seed money project might be slightly modified.

5.2. Rules of implementation

After signing the Subsidy Contract, all project partners must sign Partnership Agreements

(https://southbaltic.eu/partnership-agreement-template; please mind that the template may be slightly

modified by the time of project contracting) and organise a First Level Controller (in case of decentralised

FLC systems) in compliance with the Programme provisions (General Principles on FLC and Programme

Manual chapter VI. 8.1., https://southbaltic.eu/first-level-control). Unless specified otherwise in this

Terms of Reference, all seed money projects are obliged to follow the rules of the Interreg South Baltic

Programme 2014 – 2020 as specified in the Programme Manual.

Nevertheless, due to the specificity of seed money projects (i.e. limited budget, duration and purpose),

some deviations to the rules specified in the Programme Manual are applicable:

 The obligation for each project to contribute to at least one Programme output indicator

(Chapter III.3, p.51) does not apply to seed money facility projects. The only main output

required to be delivered is the “project concept paper” or ‘’application’’, or ‘’follow up report’’.

 The project does not have to introduce publicity measures related to the communication of

results or the monitoring of the project’s impact. It is also exempted from delivering a success

story and the task to participate in Programme events (Chapter VI.5).

 The obligation to perform a mid-term project evaluation does not apply (Chapter VI.7).

 The cumulative budget reallocation between budget lines (Chapter VI p. 6.1), to be treated as

a deviation is increased to 25% of the current total eligible budget of the seed money project.

Reallocation beyond 25% requires consent of the Joint Secretariat. The rules for reallocation

between partners stay as stated in the Programme Manual.

 In case of any changes to the delivery of planned project activities the Joint Secretariat should

be notified as soon as possible in written form (Chapter VI.6).

5.3. Reporting process

Seed money projects are requested to submit only one report (Final Progress Report) after the

implementation of the project is finalised. Along with the report, each project partnership is obliged to

deliver the above described “project concept paper” or “application” or “follow-up report”, which will

serve as the main output of the project. The projects have up to two months to fulfil this obligation

(see also section 2.4.).

A detailed description of the reporting requirements is included in the Chapter VI.7 of the Programme Manual. In case the project encounters any difficulties in the implementation phase, it should contact the Joint Secretariat as soon as possible.

Interreg South Baltic Programme 2014-2020 | European Regional Development Fund | www.southbaltic.eu

 

6. TIMEFRAME OF THE SEED MONEY FACILITY

Timeframe for the Seed Money Facility 

 

Announcement of the call for seed money projects 10 January 2017

 

Deadline for the submission of proposals 30 January 2017

 

Assessment of the submitted proposals February 2017

 

Decision of the Monitoring Committee mid March 2017

 

Conclusion of the Subsidy Contracts mid March – 30 April 2017

 

Implementation of the seed money projects

01 March – 30 June 2017 OR

01 August – 30 November 2017

 

Final report to be delivered to the JS 31 August 2017 OR 31 January 2018

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