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GENERAL INTRODUCTION
The purpose of our
guide is to provide an overview that brings
together information scattered across websites of
different Commission Directorate Generals. If you
use our guide to identify possible programmes of
interest and then go to the website addresses
indicated, you will find more detail about the
programmes and calls for tender, although how much
varies from one DG to the next. Examples of the
types of projects funded are available in websites
of some of the DGs.
The European Commission is certainly Europe’s
largest donor. It is estimated that 1 billion Euro
(out of a total budget of about 100 billion Euro)
is available for NGO projects, and even that is
the tip of the iceberg. A lot has been done over
the last decade by NGO’s themselves with the
support of the European Parliament to enlarge a
budget focused more on economic policies to
practically every area of activity generated by
citizens associations. The issue is therefore, not
an absence of programmes or funds. They cover a
very wide range of action. Practically any project
which has a genuinely European dimension and can
be linked to EU policies should find a
corresponding fund. The issue lies more in having
a good strategy to access the EU budget.
If you and your organization take the necessary
time to adopt a strategic overview and assess the
ground rules in order to avoid the pitfalls in
contract compliance and financial management,
there is absolutely no reason why you should
continue to loose out on the opportunities offered
by European projects. That is why, in this opening
chapter, we have included tips to make European
funding much easier.
Successful fundraising begins with being able to
access accurate information on what is required.
This must then be followed by determination to see
it through. You will also need to assess the pros
and cons of EU funding.
On the one hand, the negative aspects hinge around
the very rigid and bureaucratic systems
surrounding this exercise. Particularly for small
NGOs there is need to take stock of the
disadvantages:
• The financial requirements are too high.
Fortunately, there has been some relaxation on the
requirement for a guarantee and organisations do
not always need to provide one. However, for those
instances when it is still required, finding a
guarantee for the project in a climate where
banks, even social economy and mutual banks close
to the sector, require assets or full cash backup
may prove impossible.
• The application procedures are too heavy. A
typical response to a call for proposals, the
writing up of the application, producing the
budget in a special format, obtaining letters of
commitments from co-funders, and meeting all the
formal requirements such as declarations from
banks and auditors, is about one month’s work. It
is necessary to block off one full day simply to
put together all the documents in the right way in
the sealed envelopes, before the deadline. It is
necessary to invest heavily in making the
application because it may be rejected on purely
formal grounds: the statutes were in the wrong
language; the accounts were missing, and so on.
• A predetermined and over-rigid approach can
stifle creativity. Often applications stand or
fall on fitting in to pre-existing objectives,
reflecting programmes already adopted by the
Institutions, rather than on their chances of
pushing at the boundaries of policies. Moreover,
variations allowed in the budget or changes in the
timescale are very restrictive, making it
difficult for NGOs to experiment with a different
ways of doing things in the course of a project.
On the other hand,
working with EU funds can be rewarding. Although
filling in application forms is a burden, it is
also a good exercise in strategic planning. Not
only does it enhance an organization's financial
management capacity, but it also obliges NGOs to
look for partners, thus widening their networks to
other countries and other types of organizations.
Very often too EU funds can be used to experiment
with new schemes – e.g. for urban regeneration,
creating huge knowledge sharing European networks
and breaking out of the mould of more traditional
sources of funding by national governments or
local authorities. Also, the experience gained
from working with EU funds makes it easier to work
with other funding bodies.
The European Union is one of the major actors in
international co-operation and development
assistance. In total, the European Community and
the Member States provide more than 50% of total
world Official Development Assistance (ODA) and
more than two thirds of grant aid. The Commission
itself accounts for 10% of world ODA. Management
of external aid is at present handled by four
Directorate-Generals (DGs) of the European
Commission. These are:
1) Europe Aid Co-operation Office
2) DG for External Relations
3) DG for Development
4) European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO).
The procedure of managing the external aid given
by the European Union has recently been under
review. The “External Assistance Reform”, which is
geared towards more efficiency, more
responsiveness to problems in the developing
countries and to a more effective use of funds,
encompassed a time span of four years (2000-2004).
The reform, now in place, gives more autonomy and
responsibility to the European Commission
delegations in developing countries. As a result,
many funds and budget lines will be managed in a
decentralized manner directly involving the EU
delegations in the respective countries. Please
consult the following link for more information
and for the latest update on the reform process:
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/europeaid/reports/reform_def_en.pdf
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