GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form. 1 st call for proposals 02 November 18 December 2015

Transcription

1 GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form 1 st call for proposals 02 November 18 December 2015 INTERREG SOUTH BALTIC PROGRAMME Please note: this document is valid ONLY for the 1 st call for proposals for Interreg South Baltic Programme (which was opened between 2 November and 18 December The JS reserves a right to amend document for the further calls).

2 GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form 2 CONTENT 1. General information Introduction Application package Technical information on the application form Filling in the application form Part Confirmation page Part Project summary Part Work packages Part Project indicators Part Activities timetable Part Budget Parts Lead partner (LP), Project partner2 (PP2) Project partner 15 (PP15) Associated partners Annexes to the application form Annex 1 - Project partner declaration Annex 2 - Letter of commitment Annex 3 - Letter of dedication and support from the EUSBSR policy area coordinator/ horizontal action coordinator Other documents/ Attachments Finalising the application form Submission of the application... 43

3 GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form 3 1. General information 1.1. Introduction The following guidelines have been developed to support applicants in filling in and submitting the application form for the 1 st call for proposals of the Interreg South Baltic Programme The document presents advice and hints on filling in the application form, as well as gives some technical advice on how to cope with it. Comprehensive background information on formal and quality features for projects applying for the South Baltic Programme is not the subject of this document. However, the document provides some cross-references to other relevant Programme documents that contain in-depth information. It is, therefore, recommended that project applicants familiarise themselves with the following documents before completion and submission of the applications: The announcement of the 1st call for proposals of the Interreg South Baltic Programme , containing information on i.e. available funding in the individual thematic specific objective and specific features of the call; The Programme Manual of the Interreg South Baltic Programme , providing in-depth information on project s preparation, eligibility, assessment, selection and implementation procedures; The Cooperation Programme of the Interreg South Baltic Programme with background information i.e. on the socio-economic situation and resulting opportunities and challenges in the Programme area; The Subsidy Contract template of the South Baltic Programme, giving a concrete picture of the obligations of the lead partner after the approval of the project. These documents are available on the South Baltic Programme website Please note that the guidelines refer only to the procedures and documents for the 1 st call for proposals of the South Baltic Programme The instructions might not be applicable for the next calls, as the requirements and documents can be amended. In case of any further questions or problems concerning the process of filling in the application form and general issues related to your application, please do not hesitate to contact the project team of the South Baltic Programme Joint Secretariat (JS): Dominika Butkiewicz: Jakub Fedorowicz: Igor Kaniecki: Iuliia Kauk: Robert Mazurkiewicz: , Dominika.Butkiewicz@southbaltic.eu , Jakub.Fedorowicz@southbaltic.eu , Igor.Kaniecki@southbaltic.eu , Iuliia.Kauk@southbaltic.eu , Robert.Mazurkiewicz@southbaltic.eu Małgorzata Skolmowska: , Małgorzata.Skolmowska@southbaltic.eu Edmunds Snikeris: , Edmunds.Snikeris@southbaltic.eu

4 GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form 4 Joint Secretariat Interreg South Baltic Programme Al. Grunwaldzka 186 (GARNIZON) Gdańsk Poland Phone/fax: General southbaltic@southbaltic.eu Website: Application package A complete application package for co-financing within the Interreg South Baltic Programme includes the following documents: 1. Electronic versions of: Application form (excel file), consisting of the following parts: Confirmation page, Project summary, Work packages, Project indicators, Timetable, Budget, information on project partnership (LP/ PPs worksheets), Annex 1 Project partner declaration, Annex 2 Letter of commitment, Annex 3 Letter of dedication and support from EUSBSR policy area or horizontal action coordinator ; readable scan of lead partner confirmation page (signed and stamped); readable scans of Project partner declarations for all project partners (signed and stamped); readable scans of Letters of commitments for all associated partners (signed and stamped); readable scans of Letters of dedication and support from EUSBSR policy area or horizontal action coordinator (if applicable); scans of other attachments (if applicable); 2. A paper version of lead partner confirmation page (part of the excel version of the application form) dully signed and stamped. Paper version of the confirmation page can be sent and delivered after the deadline for the call for proposals. Please note that scans of the Project partner declarations and Letters of commitment are accepted at the application stage. In the case of approval, the originals will have to be submitted to the JS later i.e. during the contracting process. It is, therefore, recommended that the LP collects all original documents already during the preparation of the application. The JS may ask further documents after submitting the application (before approval of the project), if it is required by the specific character of the project (i.e. charter of partner organisations clarifying their legal status; building permits, feasibility studies, environmental impact assessments in case of investments etc., see South

5 GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form 5 Baltic Programme Manual Chapter IV, Section 3 Budget lines, subsection 6 Infrastructure and works for further information). It is crucial to complete the application form accurately and provide all required documents in the defined format. Furthermore, it is highly recommended to familiarize with the assessment criteria in order to meet requirements (see Chapter V, Section 4 Assessment of applications (administrative and eligibility criteria as well as quality assessment criteria) of the Programme Manual for further information). 2. Technical information on the application form The application form (AF) was designed for Microsoft Office version 2007 (or later) and operational system Windows, therefore it is strongly recommended to use this type of software when filling in the AF file in order to ensure its smooth functioning. Filling in AF by the lead partner (LP) only If the AF is distributed by the LP to different partners as information on each partner has to be filled in, it can happen that different versions of Windows and Microsoft Office can be used by different partners. As a result, the Excel file can be destroyed, and that is why it is strongly recommended for the LP to collect data on Partners not via original AF, but in the other form. It is recommended that the AF is filled in only by the LP and only on one computer, using one version of Windows and Microsoft Office throughout the process. Opening the file It is advised to close down the Excel programme and all Excel files before opening the AF file. Filling in the form The document contains four types of fields: 1. marked in light blue ( ) protected fields describing the information required (usually include titles or further descriptions of questions) from the LP. Fields are protected and thus cannot be modified; 2. marked in green ( ) automatically filled in fields. Those fields are protected and thus cannot be modified (usually include information from other fields, calculations, JS comments, etc.); 3. white fields input fields that have to be filled in by the LP. Please note that all input fields have to be filled in. If a given table or input field is not relevant to the project idea, the note not relevant / n/a should be inserted; 4. grey fields intermediate fields, should not be modified. Please note that there is only a limited amount of space available in each field. The maximum number of characters that can be inserted in a given input field is indicated in the respective field of the AF. i.e. Important! The document does not contain macros, thus there is no need to enable/disable any.

6 GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form 6 Scrolling When filling in the fields with high character limits, it is advised to scroll the page by using buttons of the MS Excel scrollbar ( and ) on the right side of the screen instead of using a mouse wheel. Text formatting The formatting of text is not sustained after inserting more than 1024 characters, therefore in input fields with higher character limits it is not possible to have a formatted text (i.e. to have a list with each new list element starting in a new row). This is acknowledged and accepted by JS. Please note: number of characters in some white fields is restricted (it is not possible to type in more characters than a predefined by the JS amount). The number of characters allowed for cells becomes visible when clicking on the respective cell (data validation input message, see example below- maximum allowed number of characters - 500). Copy-pasting from other documents It is not recommended to copy-paste data from other documents. If you have to copy-paste, please paste the data always to the formula bar as is shown on the picture below. paste here Comments Comments to some of the tables or input fields are provided on their right side. They provide short guidance to the applicant on the input fields or automatic calculations. Page Breaks For all parts of the AF to be visible in the print out, it is recommended to enable the option Page break Preview under the menu item View before printing with Final Save. This allows to check and to adjust the page breaks.

7 GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form 7 Saving of the AF The AF is not designed in a way that it automatically saved when closing the file. When closing the file, the applicant is asked if he/she wants to close the workbook and save all the changes. The applicant should select yes. If no is selected, changes will not be saved. Therefore, if it is planned to use the AF for showing to other persons after its finalisation, it is strongly recommended that the properties of the file are changed to read-only. To do this: close the AF excel file; right-click on the file icon in Windows and select Properties from the context menu; on the tab General select read-only. If the file with read-only property is open, the user will be informed that changes will not be saved when closing the AF. If you choose cancel you will return to editing the file and can save a copy of the AF under a different name. 3. Filling in the application form The following chapter provides section-by-section and step-by-step advice on how to fill in the AF. Each part of the AF is described separately Part Confirmation page Project title Project acronym Project total budget 0,00 ERDF amount requested 0,00 LP name in English LP name in national language Number of project partners Number of associated partners Priority axis Specific objective

8 GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form 8 Date of registration of the application (filled in by JS) Application number (filled in by JS) Application version (date DD.MM.YYYY.) Priority theme code Codes by dimension (filled in by JS) Economic activity code Information in this table (the confirmation page of the AF) is transferred from other parts of the AF or/ and is completed by the JS: Project title and Project acronym will be filled automatically from Project summary part, tables 1.1/ 1.2 respectively; Project total budget will be filled automatically from Budget part of the AF; ERDF amount requested will be filled automatically from Budget part of the AF; LP name in English and LP name in national language will be filled automatically from LP s worksheet of the AF; Number of project partners and Number of associated partners fields are filled in automatically from Project summary ; Priority axis and Specific objective fields will be filled automatically from the part Project summary, Tables 1.3 and 1.4 respectively; remaining fields will be filled in by the JS staff upon receiving the application. Declaration of the lead partner 1. DECLARATIONS OF THE LEAD PARTNER 1.1. Declaration of sustaining project results I hereby declare that the project results specified in the application will be sustained at least five years from the date of the final payment for the project Declaration of the authenticity of the information provided in the application I hereby declare that the information provided in this application and in the attached documents is true and correct to the best of my knowledge Declaration of the authorisation of personal data processing I have been informed that the Minister responsible for Regional Development, with its registered office at 2/4 Wspólna str., Warsaw, Poland, is the personal data administrator. My personal data are to be processed with respect to the implementation of the Interreg V-A Poland-Denmark-Germany-Lithuania-Sweden (South Baltic) Programme. I am entitled to gain the access to the entrusted personal data and to amend it. Entrusting of personal data is voluntary, however is a prerequisite for applying within the Programme.

9 GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form 9 By signing the AF, the LP confirms to their best knowledge the validity of the sentences provided in declarations The LP also confirms that the project partnership is ready to implement the project, and that the project is compliant with the relevant national and EU legislation. 2. SIGNATURE OF THE LEAD PARTNER First name/ Last name Position held Date (YYYY-MM-DD) and place of signing the document The signature of authorised person(s) of the lead partner and official stamp of the lead partner (if available) The name of person(s) signing the AF should be provided, including his/ her position in the organisation. The person(s) should be authorised to sign documents on behalf of the LP. The scanned version of the confirmation page of the AF (signed and stamped with the LP institution s seal, if exists) has to be sent to the JS with the AF. The paper version of the confirmation page can be sent and delivered to the JS after the deadline for the call for proposals. Please pay special attention to the required format of the date (YYYY-MM-DD) Part Project summary 1. BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROJECT 1.1. Project title (max. 100 characters) text 1.2. Abbreviated project name (acronym) text The title of the project should be short (recommended length is not more than 100 characters with spaces), easy to understand and it should clearly describe the nature of the project. The acronym of the project title should consist of letters or few words and should be easily spelled and remembered. To save number of characters it is advised to use project s acronym when filling in the AF. Furthermore, the acronym should be usable for information and promotion purposes Priority axis 1.4. Specific objective The applicant has to indicate only specific objective of the South Baltic Programme to which project idea is relevant. Relevant priority axis will appear automatically. Please note: the application can be assigned to one priority axis and one specific objective only. To select the relevant priority axis, please use the drop down list where all five priority axes are indicated. After selection of the priority axis, the relevant specific objectives will be displayed automatically in the drop down list.

10 GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form 10 List of priority axes and specific objectives as well as their detailed description can be found in Chapter II Detailed description of priority axes of the Programme Manual Short project summary - background, rationale, aims, content and results (max characters) In this table, basic information of the project should be provided. The applicant should shortly outline the background (origin of the project), project idea (rationale), aims, content, project s main results and their crossborder relevance. Please make sure that the description is comprehensive and gives the right picture of the project List of partners Number Partner's name in English Country NUTS 3 Region 1 lead partner List of associated partners Number AP's name in English Country 1 2 These tables will be filled automatically from the respective project partners / associated partners worksheets of the AF Project timetable (project implementation) Planned date of project start Planned date of project completion YYYY-MM-DD YYYY-MM-DD Project duration (in months) 0 The indicative dates of start and completion of the project s activities should be defined in the given format (YYYY-MM-DD). The first month of the project is the month in which project will start its activities and incur costs. The last month of the project is the month when the last thematic activity of the project and the last project cost is planned to take place. Thus, the planned dates of project start and project completion constitute project implementation phase when the delivery of all main outputs and achievement of the project s specific objectives. Expected total duration of project activities in months will be then calculated automatically. The South Baltic Programme recommends that the regular projects last between 24 and 36 months ( envisaged duration of small scale projects is up to 24 months, for more information see Chapter III Specific features of the South Baltic Programme projects of the Programme Manual). The planned date of the project start cannot be earlier than the next day after the day of registration of the AF in the JS. The latest possible starting date is three months after the Monitoring Committee meeting at which the project was approved. In case of approval of the project by the South Baltic Programme Monitoring Committee, the LP will be asked to specify the exact dates of project start and completion during the clarification process before signing the Subsidy Contract.

11 GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form Project budget Total budget by partner ERDF co-financing Own contribution Total budget per partner EUR % Lead partner 0,00 0,00 0,00 0 Project partner 2 0,00 0,00 0,00 0 Project partner 3 0,00 0,00 0,00 0 Project partner 4 0,00 0,00 0,00 0 Project partner 5 0,00 0,00 0,00 0 This table will be filled in automatically from Budget part of the AF Location of activities outside eligible area Outside eligible area What activities will take text place outside Programme eligible area and where will they be located? Please justify their relevance to project objectives (max characters) In table 1.10 Location of activities outside eligible area, you are first asked to select if it is relevant for this application using the drop down menu ( yes / no ). If the answer is no, please insert in the white field not applicable / n/a. If the answer is yes ), activities and their implementation location outside the Programme s eligible area should be described in qualitative terms. Please justify their relevance to the project objectives (why these activities are needed). For more information see Chapter III, Section 2.4 Geographic location of the project activities of the Programme Manual Project eligible budget spent outside the eligible area Total eligible budget 0,00 no out of which to be spent outside the Programme eligible area 0,00 In table 1.11, project eligible budget to be spent outside the Programme eligible area should be indicated. The first row Project eligible budget is filled automatically from the Budget part of the AF. In the next row amount of the part of the total eligible budget to be spent outside the Programme eligible area has to be filled in by the LP Seed money Has this application received seed money from the South Baltic Programme or another seed money instrument? no

12 GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form 12 If yes, please provide the name(s) of the project(s), and Programme if other than South Baltic (max. 500 characters). text In table 1.12 please indicate if the project has received seed money from the South Baltic Programme or another seed money instrument. Since a seed money scheme is designed in order for a project concept to be further developed into an application to the South Baltic Programme , no preparation costs (work package 0) can be granted for projects received seed money at earlier stages. For more information please see Chapter V Project preparation, application and selection, section 6 Costs incurred during the project preparation, application and selection of the Programme Manual Experience of the lead partner and other partners Have the project partners during last 10 years benefited from any of the European Union assistance funds? (If yes, please fill in the fields below with the three examples of the EU co-financed projects, preferably the lead partner's experience in running projects in ETC programmes or other EU funded programmes). Partner Partner's responsibility Project name Programme name yes Project start date MM.YYYY Project end date MM.YYYY Project overall costs Table 1.13 requires information about the project partners previous experience with the EU assistance funds (should the option yes is selected). Three examples of the EU co-financed projects implemented within the last 10 years and the most relevant to the Programme and the project subject shall be provided here. In case more than three project partners have experience from any of the EU assistance funds, priority should be given to the LP s experience. Information provided in this table should depict that the partnership, and preferably the LP, has experience in implementing EU-funded projects, preferably from ERDF within cross-border or transnational programmes. Each example shall indicate the previous programme and project names, its duration and value. It shall also specify the individual partner, who implemented the project, and its tasks within the previous project that are mostly relevant to the application (i.e. LP, partner responsible for dissemination, leader of a certain component/ work package, partner responsible for coordinating other partner s activities in the region, etc.). Only finalised projects should be described here. Ongoing projects that are relevant or complementary for the project proposal should be described in section 4.1 Additional Information of the AF instead. 0,00 2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT 2.1. Description of initial situation / challenge or opportunity - why is the project necessary? (max characters)

13 GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form 13 The purpose of this table is to provide reasoning why there is a need to implementing the project. Existing challenge(s), problem(s) or areas for improvement and development (opportunity/ies) that the project addresses should be described here. Subject addressed should be relevant to the South Baltic area. It can be done, for example, by describing how the present circumstances negatively affect the situation in the participating regions, or by outlining future negative effects if the project is not implemented. Description of the initial situation should be supported by verifiable data (statistics, reference to previous projects addressing the subject), and how the new project follows up, etc Project objective, main outputs and results Programme specific objective text Project specific objective and its contribution to the Programme specific objective (max characters) Project results (max characters) In table 2.2 objectives and expected results of the project should be indicated. Field Programme specific objective is automatically filled in from the table 1.1 (General information of the project). Project specific objective describes a desirable future situation to be achieved after the implementation of the project. Please bear in mind that the description of project specific objective should also contain contribution to the relevant specific objective of the Programme. In the field Project results please explain what will be the immediate effects after the implementation of the project. The description of results should concentrate on why expected results are necessary and why they are the best means to achieve project objectives Short description of the methodology - how will the project objectives be achieved? (max characters) In table 2.3 basic information on the project methodology should be provided. You should outline how the proposed activities contribute to achieving the project results and objectives, how the overall work plan is structured (e.g. describe links between work packages). You should demonstrate why the chosen activities are the most effective and efficient ones to support the achievement of results and objectives. You should also describe how the results indicated in table 2.2 are contributing to the change in the initial situation described in table 2.1, namely how they are related to the defined objectives. Please also briefly explain partners setup (composition of the partnership) in order to justify its relevance/ capacity for solving described problems Added value of the cross-border approach (max characters) Description of the cross-border approach shall explain how the outputs and results of the project implementation will influence the socio-economic development and integration of the whole South Baltic area. The cross-border approach may also be described by explaining how the inhabitants of relevant Programme regions may benefit from its results. Most important is to justify why the cross-border approach is necessary to achieve project results, what is the added value of cross-border cooperation and why the problems/challenges of the project (described in table 2.1) cannot be addressed without cross-border cooperation. You should also indicate whether the project will create a possibility of further development of the cross-border cooperation (cross-border networks).

14 GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form 14 For further information and examples of added value of a cross-border approach, please check Chapter III, Section 6 Cooperation in South Baltic: Cross-border approach, innovativeness and additional character of projects of the Programme Manual Durability of project results and transferability of outputs (max characters) Please describe how the durability of the project results and transferability of project outputs will be secured. You are expected to ensure the project results stay in public domain for at least five years after the project closure. The following questions shall be answered: Who will own the produced outputs and results? How will the project outputs and results be maintained after the project is finalised? Who will be responsible for the maintenance, continuation or development of the activities initiated by the project implementation? What financial mechanism is foreseen to maintain project results? How the project impact will be sustained after the finalisation of the project? Thus, concrete measures foreseen during and after project implementation to ensure durability of the project results and transferability of the project outputs should be described here (i.e. who will implement the strategies prepared, maintain the established cooperation tools or be responsible for carrying out investments intended?). How will this be ensured organisationally and financed? In what way outputs can be transferred and used by other parties not involved in the project (multiplication effect) - for further information, please see Chapter III, Section 4 Durability and impact of the Programme Manual). If relevant, responsibilities and/or ownership of results and outputs should be addressed Cross-border criteria for the project Joint development - in what way an initial project idea was shaped into a project proposal (max. 500 characters) text Joint implementation - in what way active collaboration between the different participating institutions is ensured (max. 500 characters) text Joint staffing - in what way responsibilities are divided among project partners (max. 500 characters) text Joint financing - in what way partners are expected to contribute financially to the project budget (max. 500 characters) text Taking into account the cross-border nature of the Programme, the cross-border aspects have to be reflected in every project funded by the Programme. Therefore, the projects have to ensure all four following ways of cross-border cooperation between project partners: joint development; joint implementation; joint staffing; joint financing.

15 GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form 15 For further information on the criteria, please see Chapter III, Section 6 Cooperation in South Baltic: Crossborder approach, innovativeness and additional character of projects of the Programme Manual. 3. COMPLIANCE WITH THE EUROPEAN UNION POLICIES 3.1. Strategic documents National/ regional/ other strategies (max characters) Relevant national/ regional development strategies or plans as well as any other important strategic documents of the EU, Baltic Sea, national, regional, or local level (including sector policies) should be indicated in this field. The compliance of the project s objectives with them should be justified by referring to relevant parts of these documents. It should be possible to relate the planned activities to a development strategy by various aspects and at various levels, i.e. the social and economic meaning of the project or the impact of the project on regional development (increase of regional competitiveness, improvement of investment attractiveness of the region, impact on human resources, contribution to cultural heritage, etc.). Connections to the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region should not be indicated here, but in the separate section (see below) Is the project connected with the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region (EUSBSR) and its Action Plan? no To which policy area/ horizontal action of the EUSBSR is the project connected? Please indicate if your project is related to the EUSBSR by choosing yes/no from the drop down list. Such links might refer to policy areas, horizontal actions, strategic actions, cooperative actions and/or flagship contained in the EUSBSR Action Plan. Please note that projects are encouraged to create connections to the EUSBSR and its Action Plan where appropriate. A connection to the EUSBSR can be especially beneficial for projects that have a local or regional origin but also a strategic potential in a cross-border perspective. The link to the EUSBSR can create new opportunities, for example for dissemination, political lobbying and follow-up activities. Further background information on the EUSBSR as well as links between the South Baltic Programme and its projects to the strategy can be found in the Programme Manual: General information about the relation between the South Baltic Programme and the EUSBSR is provided under Chapter I, Section 3 Relationship of the South Baltic Programme to the EUSBSR of the Programme Manual. More specific information about possible concrete connections of projects implemented within the South Baltic Programme to the EUSBSR as well as possible benefits for projects from a connection to its implementation can be found in the Chapter III Specific features of the South Baltic Programme projects, Section 7.1 Relations of the South Baltic projects to the EUSBSR and its Action Plan of the Programme Manual.

16 GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form 16 More detailed information on the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region can be found here: You are welcome to contact the JS in case you have any further questions regarding possible connections of your project to the EUSBSR. Box please choose the policy area of the EUSBSR that is most relevant for your project from the drop down list. In case your project is a flagship of the EUSBSR or a part of such (see below) the policy area of the flagship should be indicated here Does the project contribute to a flagship(s)? no Please indicate if your project is a flagship or part of a flagship of the EUSBSR by choosing yes / no from the drop down list. Please note that in case you indicated yes, you are obliged to deliver a Letter of dedication and support from the EUSBSR policy area/ horizontal action coordinator together with the AF. It should confirm the status of your proposal as flagship or part of a flagship of the EUSBSR. List of the flagships is a part of the EUSBSR Action Plan, which is available as download on the following website: How the project's objectives, activities and outputs contribute to the EUSBSR in the specific policy area / horizontal action (max characters) Please describe how the project s activities and related outputs will foster the connection to the EUSBSR process (i.e. regular working meeting with the EUSBSR policy area coordinator, joint dissemination events with the policy area coordinator etc.). It should be kept in mind that the South Baltic Programme encourages a pro-active connection to the EUSBSR process for projects with a strategic potential, which can give concrete benefits for both the implementation of the EUSBSR and the realisation of the project. Please note also that the information given here should include the support that the policy area coordinator has indicated in the Letter of dedication and support from the EUSBSR policy area/ horizontal action coordinator, if such has been obtained Further information on connections to the EUSBSR (max characters) It should be explained in more detail in which way the project contributes to the EUSBSR and its Action Plan. The information given here may refer to the policy areas, horizontal actions, strategic actions, cooperative actions and/or flagship(s) contained in the EUSBSR Action Plan. Please note: information given here should comply with the justification of support by the policy area/ horizontal action coordinator given in the Letter of dedication and support from the EUSBSR policy area/ horizontal action coordinator, if such has been obtained.

17 GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form Sustainable development The project has an impact on sustainable development Description (max. 500 characters) text When filling in table 3.2, please mark, by using a drop down list, option that describes your project s relation to the issues of sustainable development (environmental protection requirements, resource efficiency, climate change mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity, disaster resilience, and risk prevention) the best. Choose either positive or neutral impact, and provide a justification to the chosen option in the description field. Please note that projects having negative impact on the natural environment are not allowed in the South Baltic Programme. If according to the national requirements it is necessary to provide an Environmental impact assessment of the project, the main conclusions of the mentioned document should be provided in the description field. In this case, the above mentioned document may be requested by the JS in course of project assessment. However, at the application stage it is not required. Investments financed with the EU funds should comply with the regulations or laws of the EU and the member state in the area of environmental protection. They should also comply with the Council Directive 90/313/EEC as of 7 June 1990 on the freedom of access to information on the environment Equal opportunities and non-discrimination The project has an impact on equal opportunities and non-discrimination 3.4. Equality between men and women The project has an impact on equality between men and women Description (max. 500 characters) Description (max. 500 characters) text text When filling in tables 3.3 and 3.4 please mark, by using a drop down list, option that describes your project s relation to the issues of equal opportunities the best and provide a justification to the chosen option in the description field. The project s impact on equal opportunities policy, non-discrimination and equality between men and women is mostly related to the target groups and project participants. According to the EU Regulations, the equal opportunities policy mostly refers to men and women equal access to the labour market and equal treatment at work. However, in the wider definition the policy attempts to ensure equal access to the labour market and use of the public infrastructure for disabled people State aid Depending on their nature some of the project activities may fall under the state aid rules. Activity is regarded as state aid relevant if all the below criteria are met. Please consider individual project activities and confirm if any of them meet the following criteria:

18 GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form Does any of the project activities result in a product/ service being offered to the market? no If yes, please list the activity(ies) and the work package(s) they belong to: 2. Does any of the project activities results in an economic advantage to the partner/project (a benefit) which would not have been obtained without support from the Programme? no If yes, please list the activity(ies) and the work package(s) they belong to: 3. Does any of the project activities result in distortion effect on competition and trade within the EU? no If yes, please list the activity(ies) and the work package(s) they belong to: In the table 3.5 please assess if any of the project activities can be regarded as state aid relevant by answering three questions below (please select yes / no from the drop down list). Should the answer be yes, please list the activities and work packages they (activities) belong to): Does any of the project activities result in a product/service being offered to the market? Does any of the project activities result in an economic advantage to the partner/project (a benefit) which would not have been obtained without support from the Programme? Does any of the project activities result in distortion effect on competition and trade within the EU? Please remember that the activity is regarded as a state aid relevant only if all three criteria (questions) are met. Please note also that state aid refers to activities and not a project partner as a whole and the state aid assessment refers to particular activities as well. A project can consist of activities, part of which fall under state aid and those, to which state aid is not applicable. In case state aid is detected, ERDF co-financing rate might be decreased. In general state aid will be granted under De minimis scheme. In particular cases other schemes can be used such as the block exemption regulation or other exemptions. For more information on what state aid is, procedure that is used to determine if state aid is present in the project, assessment of the state aid by the Programme, please see Chapter IV General rules on eligibility of costs and budget structure, Section 8 State aid of the Programme Manual. Project activities will be checked against state aid during the assessment process. Projects where state aid relevant activities are detected will be required to provide additional information on activities in question during the clarification process. Economic activity is defined as offering goods or services on a given market. The main assessment question applicants have to answer is whether the project partner concerned carries out activities in the project that can reasonably be assumed to be of economic nature. For example, research organisations and infrastructures (including public universities and private research institutes) can carry out both economic and non-economic activities in the context of an ETC project. As long as the costs and revenues of non-economic activities are separated from those of economic activities, the non-economic activities fall outside the scope of State aid. Non-economic activities of research organisations include their primary activities such as public education and independent research and development (R&D) (see below). Economic activities of research organisations include, for example, contract research or renting out laboratory facilities for a fee.

19 GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form 19 If the project partner carries out non-economic activities in the ETC project, there is no state aid for this partner. Please find non-exhaustive list of non-economic activities, namely: activities related to state prerogatives and public safety such as police, armed forces, air and maritime traffic control, anti-pollution surveillance as well as most welfare services such as education and longterm care; public funding of general infrastructure such as public roads, bridges or canals which are made available for public use without any charge and not for commercial exploitation. This would include leisure facilities such as cycle paths, nature trails and associated signage, equipment and information, promenades, piers and picnic places to be used without charge; primary activities of research organisations and research infrastructures, in particular: independent R&D for more knowledge and better understanding, including collaborative R&D and wide dissemination of research results on a non-exclusive and non-discriminatory basis (e.g. through publications or open access databases); education for more and better skilled human resources, public education organised within the national educational system, predominantly or entirely funded by the state and supervised by the state; other performance of public duty: development of strategies, plans and tools by public authorities to help them in their normal tasks or raise their pool of knowledge. This includes also cooperation between public bodies to achieve these goals. 4. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (max characters) Any other information which is considered as important for the project and its implementation shall be added in this field. Please use it to provide additional information necessary for you project, not mentioned in other fields. For example, in case of unbalanced budget between the partners or lack of partners allegedly important for successful achievement of project objectives can be explained here Relation to other international and/or national/regional projects (ongoing or completed) dealing with the topic in the South Baltic Region (max characters) In case there are any ongoing/ completed projects, which you came along and which are relevant for your project proposal, please describe the linkages/ complementarities to these operations and provide a source of further information about them (e.g. webpage). Number of pages of other attachments / documents Title of the 1st document Title of the 2nd document Title of the 3rd document Title of the 4th document Title of the 5th document You have the possibility to attach other documents/ attachments that can help to describe your project proposals in a better way (i.e. maps indicating the location of partners and pilot actions, charts of the management structure etc.). If you do so, number of pages of such attachments should be defined using a drop

20 GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form 20 down list. Please note that the maximum number of pages of all additional attachments is 5. If you do not attach any additional documents, please indicate n/a. In case you have indicated additional documents, please provide titles of the documents Part Work packages Project activities must be logically organised into Work Packages (WPs), and hence build a project structure. Work Packages are tools for structuring the project s content of activities similar in character and purpose. Please note that it is not the location, the type of expenditure or the chronology of the activities within the project that determine their belonging to a certain work package. As a general rule, the project usually consists of: Work package 0 PREPARATION ; Work package 1 MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION ; Work package 2 COMMUNICATION AND DISSEMINATION ; at least one, but maximum of four content-related work packages. The scope and titles of the WP 3 to 6 is defined by the project with reference to its specific subject and composition. Detailed description of work packages is provided below. Work package 0 Preparation Work Package 0 is mainly used to describe development of the project idea, established partnership, as well as the structure of the potential project application. Programme offers lump sums for the project preparation costs (no proof in form of financial documents is needed), on condition that the project is approved. The proof of the delivery of the activities covered by the lump sum is a submitted and approved project application. The lump sum is the only way to cover preparation costs; real costs cannot be presented and claimed for the reimbursement in the work package 0. The Total eligible costs of work package 0 is filled automatically and depends on the project type (total budget) and possible use of the seed money grant before the submission. There are three possible values: total eligible costs of EUR for a regular project; total eligible costs of EUR for a small scale project (the total budget shall not exceed EUR ); total eligible costs of 0 EUR for projects granted with seed money at an earlier stage. For more information on regular and small-scale projects in the South Baltic Programme please see Chapter III, Section 1 Project phases and project types of the Programme Manual. WORK PACKAGE 0 Name of the work package PREPARATION Total eligible costs [EUR] 0,00 Summary description of activities carried out and contribution of each partner (max characters)

21 GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form 21 In the field Summary description of activities carried out and contribution of each partner, please describe the activities related to preparation of the project. They might include i.e. meetings with the project partners, participation in the information activities organized by the JS and Contact Points, or the preparation of the AF by an external expert or the staff. Please indicate the division of the lump sum between the PPs. The lead partner will receive the lump sum during the first reporting period should the project be approved; the LP is responsible to pay the project partners in line with the cost distribution agreed in the AF. For more information on preparation costs please see Chapter V, section Costs incurred during the project preparation, application and selection of the Programme Manual. Name of the work package WORK PACKAGE 1 MANAGEMENT AND COORDINATION The following part of the work package description remains the same for work packages 1-6, namely: Total eligible costs [EUR] 0,00 Coordinating partner no yes Total eligible costs (EUR) will be filled automatically from the Budget part of the AF; Coordinating partner please select from a drop down list (drop down list is created on the base of information provided in the PP s worksheets). LP PP2 Partners involvement Please select PPs involved in each work packages by using drop down list (options yes / no ). Partner s names will appear automatically from the respective PP s worksheets. Describe how the management on the strategic and operational level will be carried out in the project, specifically: - structure, responsibilities and procedures for the day-to-day management and co-ordination; - communication within the partnership; - reporting and evaluation procedures; - risk and quality management (max characters). In the text field please provide information requested in the description of an item (please note: maximum amount of characters is 3000). Please describe activities within the work package Activity 1.1 Activity name Activities in the work package 1 should be described by indicating the name of the activity (please note: maximum number of characters is 50), and in a separate field description of activity and quantity (i.e. 4 Steering Committee meetings, 2 kick-off conferences, 1 workshop on project development etc.). Please payattention to the maximum amount of characters allowed.

22 GUIDELINES on filling in and submitting the application form 22 The maximum number of activities under each work package is 10 (exceptions 6 activities in WP1, 9 activities in WP2). Please note that activities do not mean single meetings, trips, seminars, but rather logical groupings of actions necessary for implementation of the project objective (for example: one activity study visits in participating regions, instead of treating each study visit as a separate activity). Please note: activity name has to be short and clearly reflect activity nature (activity name will be automatically transferred to the Timetable part of the AF, thus it has to be concise). Please note that there are no key deliverables in the work package 1. WORK PACKAGE 2 Name of the work package COMMUNICATION AND DISSEMINATION Total eligible costs [EUR] 0,00 Coordinating partner The above part of the work package 2 is filled in similarly way as described for the WP1. Work Package 2 outlines the project s communication strategy. Project specific objective Communication objectives What can communications do to reach a specific project objective? Target groups text text text Approach How and by what means will the target groups be approached? Prefilled from project summary Communication objectives (up to three) defined by the applicants should be directly linked to the project specific objective. Communication objectives should be supported by the communication activities. When filling in column Target groups, applicants should describe the target group of a certain communication objective (including their relevance for the project specific objectives). In the Approach column please explain how the identified target groups will be approached (which dissemination activities will be used, i.e. workshops, seminars etc.) as well as the benefits for the target groups of being involved in a certain communication activity. WP2 distinguishes between project and Programme related communication activities. Please note that Programme related communication activities are obligatory; the list of them is pre-defined by the Programme. Project related communication activities Activity 2.1 Activity name Please describe activities within the work package