Funding Advice Bureau SYFAB guide to... European funding South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau doesn’t give detailed advice and information about funding from the European Union. This guide has basic information on EU funding programmes and where to go for more information and advice. There are a wide range of European Union funding programmes open to the voluntary and community sector. EU Structural Funds are delivered to each member state to deliver activities that improve economic growth and employment in each country. Other funding programmes are delivered Europe-wide and will often require you to work in partnership with organisations in other European countries. Information about EU funding programmes is often very difficult to read and understand, and many programmes are aimed primarily at really large organisations. European Structural Funds Background Information European Structural Funds have been the main way in which the European Union has tried to encourage greater economic and social cohesion and uniformity of living standards across its member states. The 2007-13 European Structural Funds programme is delivered through three objectives: • A Convergence Objective (which replaces the old Objective 1), to support the economic convergence of regions with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) below 75% of the EU average. • A Competitiveness and Employment Objective (which replaces the old Objectives 2 and 3), to improve competitiveness and increase employment in other regions. As areas previously given Objective 1 status, South Yorkshire and Merseyside will receive phasing-in Competitiveness funding which will work out at about one third of the amount for the full Convergence regions. • A Cooperation Objective, to finance cross-border and trans-national cooperation projects. At least 75% of all European Structural Funding for 2007-13 has to be spent on achieving the ‘Lisbon Agenda’, which is a strategy for EU spending. This means spending will mainly be on achieving sustainable economic growth and more and better jobs. The money available is divided between ‘structural policy financial instruments’ that are called ‘Structural Funds’. The two of interest to the voluntary and community sector are: • European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) – This aims to reduce socio-economic imbalances between areas of Europe, through economic regeneration, and local development. It is administered regionally; by Yorkshire Forward in Yorkshire and the Humber. • European Social Fund (ESF) – This aims to put people into employment by developing skills and training opportunities, and promoting social inclusion and entrepreneurship. It is administered nationally and delivered through several ‘co-financing organisations’; mainly the Department for Work and Pensions and the Learning and Skills Council. This funding is delivered mainly through big contracts with large service providers in the private, statutory and voluntary sectors. There are sometimes sub-contracting opportunities for specific local provision through those main providers. More information: Yorkshire Forward Website: www.yorkshire-forward.com ESF (UK) Website: www.esf.gov.uk ESF Community Grants Replacing the Global Grants programme, ESF Community Grants offers funding of up to £12,000 for voluntary and community organisations who provide learning opportunities that help unemployed people aged 18+ move closer towards a job or training. This is one of the ways in which EU funding attempts to reach smaller organisations as well as the large providers. In South Yorkshire, this programme is delivered by Humber Learning Consortium. Website: www.hlc-vol.org/how-can-we-help/commgrants Other European Funding Aside from the Structural Funds, the European Union runs a large number of funding programmes in particular areas of work. All EU funding aims to increase communication and joint working across different countries within the EU, so virtually all EU funding programmes will require applicants to work in partnership with organisations in other member states. Also, grants will only pay for up to 50% of the costs of a project or activity so you will need match funding. Although the grant programmes cover a very diverse range of activity, there are some general principles that apply in each case. Grants are not awarded on a case-by-case basis. Instead, they are subject to annual programming. Before 31 March each year, those Departments of the Commission that manage grant programmes publish their annual work programme on their websites (see below). The work programme fixes the broad outlines of the grants that they expect to make over the year (area of activity, targets, timetable, available budget, award conditions, etc). By consulting these work programmes you can identify the fields that are likely to be relevant to you in advance. This is important, as calls for applications are often made at short notice. Throughout the year, the Commission’s Departments publish calls for proposals on their websites; the calls for proposals invite candidates to present, within a given deadline, a proposal for action that corresponds to the targets pursued and fulfils the required conditions. These calls for proposals may also be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The starting point for finding out about the many European grant programmes and calls for applications is the European Commission website which has an index of grant programmes divided into policy categories. Website: http://ec.europa.eu/grants/ index_en.htm Other sources of information Culture Funding Euclid is the UK body that provides information about EU funding programmes in the culture sector. It provides information through the culture.info website which covers EU funds and some other funding for culture. Website: www.culture.info Europe Direct Centres 16 centres have been established across the UK that offer access to up-to-date information on EU legal matters, policy developments and funding programmes. Each centre also provides free phone access to a Europe Direct phone line. The centres are mainly in libraries, local authority buildings or chambers of commerce. You can visit them personally, or contact them by phone or email. For South Yorkshire groups, the closest centre is at Leeds Central Library. Contact: Europe Direct Leeds Tel: 0113 247 8282 email: europedirect@leeds.gov.uk Website: http://europedirectleeds.org.uk South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau The Workstation 15 Paternoster Row Sheffield S1 2BX Tel: 0114 249 4343 Email: enquiries@syfab.org.uk Website: www.syfab.org.uk We can provide this information in other formats on request. Please get in touch to discuss your needs. Our information is produced for local community and voluntary groups. No permission is needed for limited reproduction if SYFAB is acknowledged. Large scale reproduction or inclusion in publications for sale must have written permission from SYFAB. SYFAB welcomes your comments and criticism. You can talk to any member of staff, or contact us by post, phone, fax or email. Registered Charity No: 1061118 Reg. Company No: 3030641 © SYFAB 2003 All rights reserved. Version 1