EU Funding for Project Managers

What is it about?

The course offers an overview of the various current EU funding programmes from 2025 and beyond  and a practical approach towards selecting amongst them, accessing and managing EU funding.

Who is it for?

Anyone who is new to the workings of the EU institutions, their policies and programmes and who is considering  applying for funding to support the implementation of their activities and achievement of their objectives. Representatives of any organisation, especially Project Managers, be it private company, public organisation, or NGO, active in the economic, educational, cultural, social or environmental sector would benefit from attending this course. Senior and middle management representatives are best placed to be able to reap the benefits of this course.

Why Should You Attend?

The current EU funds are gaining speed, with most of the programmes being now launched. In recent years, the EU has gone all out to create better support instruments, aiming at simpler and more coherent application processes and implementation conditions. The various programmes have been rehashed, streamlined, integrated with a view to ensuring most synergy, effectiveness and efficiency in the use of EU funds.  Nevertheless training is still needed to help navigate the complexities.

Many EU territorial cooperation and cohesion programmes have been launched, some operating at a European, others at a macro-regional and national level. Some are focused on certain themes (e.g. research, innovation, education & training, arts and creative economy, environment and resource efficiency), new instruments and schemes have been created with a specific focus on SMEs, others have been left with a wider scope, and grants are being complemented by an increasing number of loan financing instruments.

Understanding all these new programmes and how the various changes translate for potential beneficiaries is of utmost importance to ensure a successful use of EU funds. How are these programmes to be pursued and applied for to ensure the highest chance of success?  How are projects to be implemented in practice to ensure that no approved EU funding will be lost?

Areas Covered in the Seminar:

Session 1: Overview of the EU, its policies, main implementation mechanisms and grants principles

• The European Union, its Treaties, Institutions and Budget
• EU policies and their implementation mechanisms
• From policies to programmes and further down to projects
• EU financial assistance rationale and current trends
• Fundamental principles of EU grants
• Shifting from grants to loans, guarantees and equity
• The typology of EU funding programmes - centralised, decentralised, territorial, etc.
• Case studies of successful projects

Session 2: Overview of the main EU funding programmes 2014-2020Centralised thematic programmes

• • Research and Innovation Funding  )
  • COSME (enhancing competitiveness of SMEs and enterprises)
  • Erasmus+ (education, training, youth and sport)
  • Creative Europe (culture and creative industry support)
  • LIFE (environment and climate)
  • Connecting Europe Facility (energy, transport and digital infrastructures)
• Territorial cooperation programmes
  • INTERREG EUROPE (territorial cooperation across Europe)
  • INTERREG MED (territorial cooperation in the Mediterranean area)
  • ENPI CBC MED (Mediterranean Sea Basin Neighbourhood Programme)
• Structural and Investment Funds
  • ERDF
  • ESF

Session 3: How to effectively devise an EU funding project proposal

• The project planning process

• Mapping organisational objectives against EU funding programmes
• Developing project ideas aligned with the available funding programmes.
• Proposals evaluation criteria and clarification of its interpretation
• Partnership identification or development
• Project management, IPR management, communication, dissemination and exploitation principles
• Administrative requirements and process
• Group work on development of project proposal structure

• Developing a project proposal - structure and content

Session 4: How to manage EU funded projects

• Project Life cycle – contracting, implementation, reporting, auditing
• Administrative, technical and financial obligations
• Technical and financial management principles
• Achieving the project objectives, communicating and exploiting results
• Reporting on activities, deliverables and costs
• Audit trail development and preservation
• Group discussion on EU funded projects implementation challenges and best practices

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