European calls for proposals are the most important work base for those involved in europlanning. Let’s find out how to search and find the right ones
Looking for the right European calls for proposals: the “control questions”
The Guide gives space to various useful tools for dealing with European calls for proposals, but it has not yet directly answered a very common question: how to look for them and how to find them?
The tools offered by the European Commission and national and regional authorities have evolved and make it easier and more straightforward to search for calls than was the case in the last programming period.
Before proceeding further, we need to address a basic question, already addressed in other articles in the Guide: what European calls for proposals to look for?
European funds and programs are divided into several “families,” described in detail here e here . Each “family” pursues different goals and lends itself to projects of different types and scope.
Here we talked about some of the criteria that define the feasibility of a call for under-equipped organizations. Here we talked about the path from ideas to the call for proposals (and vice versa) and here we listed some “infrequent questions” that are useful in thinking well about a project.
We add that the type of notice to be addressed can be identified, in general, through some simple “control questions.”
- Do I want (and can I) carry out an innovative project that can add value to what is being done in Europe on a certain topic? Do I want to and can I involve, or get involved with, partners from other European countries? If the answer is yes, participation in the community programs. In case you want to carry out an action with a European scope, but fear the complexity of community programs, you can turn for advice and support to appropriate services at the regional, national and local levels (e.g., the Europe Direct , Erasmus+ agencies , Creative Europe desks , etc.).
- Do I want to (and can I) implement a project that can address a priority problem in a non-European country, particularly in developing and transition countries? Or: Is my project able to create good links and synergies with a cross-border area or the macro-region of which my area is a part? In this case, reference should be made (respectively) to the projects of external cooperation or of territorial cooperation .
- Can my project respond to an issue that is highly felt in my area (regional or local), or is it related to land management itself, educational, social, or local economic development aspects? The scope of reference is the Programs Regionals , Nationals or for rural development . The project should preferably have an impact on the area it addresses, but measures financed in this program category also provide forms of assistance that do not require complex project design.
In all other cases, it is necessary to consider: whether one’s project idea may indeed represent a topic of interest to a funding body using EU funds; whether there are indeed prerequisites for adapting it to the formal criteria and more demanding ways of managing European projects; or whether it may be preferable to use more informal and less “institutional” forms of funding (e.g., private funds and bodies or fundraising activities).
The search for European calls in community and external cooperation programs
European calls for proposals related to EU programs can be accessed through the dedicated platform, Funding & Tenders. , by selecting the desired parameters in the filters on the left: “Grants,” “Forthcoming / Open,” and the program you wish to explore.
The Europlanning Guide provides quick access to European calls for proposals through the “calls” links in the appropriate prospectus and individual tabs contained in the dedicated section .
Consulting the Work Programs of the various EU programs allows you to know the European calls that will be launched in the reporting period (which can be annual or multi-year) and work in advance so that you are prepared when they are published.
The Work Schedules can be found in the “ How to Participate / Reference Documents ” of the Funding & Tenders portal (by selecting the reference program on the left); or, again, on the Guide via the “Docs” links in the appropriate prospectus or of the tabs in the dedicated section .
The same system can be used for external cooperation calls, particularly under the Global Europe program. However, they also use parallel and more specific systems, called Webgate e PROSPECT . The system for participating in humanitarian aid projects is still more specific and requires special registration.
Searching for European calls for proposals for Structural Funds and territorial cooperation programs.
Since there is no centralized management, but several managing authorities with regional, national or territorial jurisdiction, calls for proposals financed by Structural Funds cannot be found on one reference site. However, there are some interesting new features:
- Many national and regional Managing Authorities have improved the way they present open calls and opportunities under ERDF and ESF+;
- The OpenCoesione portal brings together a growing amount of useful links and information for program participation in the various regions and thematic areas. In particular, a “opportunities” section collects links for accessing the calls managed by the different Managing Authorities;
- Appropriate links for accessing the calls are also available on the Europlanning Guide, in a special summary table contained on the first page of the section and in the individual tabs on the programs regional , national e rural .
It is possible to use the same system for territorial cooperation calls: the same structure is adopted by the OpenCoesione portal (which integrates in the “opportunities” section territorial cooperation programs managed by Italian authorities) and from the Guide to Europlanning (which proposes a common summary table and individual tabs, both with dedicated bandi links).
In the sections devoted to Structural Funds and territorial cooperation, the sheets of the Europlanning Guide make it possible to identify with some level of detail the areas in which regional planning provides for forms of support and interventions, with the corresponding financial allocations.
