Project summary

The European Commission's study on the need for financial instruments in the Danube Region (2011) showed that project idea holders suffer from a lack of funding to initiate the implementation of complex projects with a strategic impact to build partnerships in a transnational environment. "Facilitating project preparation" was identified as a key need for project promoters.

TAF-DRP was established in 2013 as the first pilot initiative under the EUSDR's Danube Implementation Facility. The success of the initiative (2014 - 2015, two calls) led to its extension until 2016 and the organization of a third call. TAF-DRP experts support selected beneficiaries in various project preparation tasks. The pilot instrument was completed in 2016. The aim of TAF-DRP was therefore to support the preparation and development of projects in a transnational, macro-regional environment in order to increase the absorption of EU funds in the Danube region. The target groups of the TAF-DRP are the groups defined in the Action Plan of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region, which cover all thematic priorities of the strategy. Organizations with great needs and new ideas, but with limited experience in developing transnational projects. In practice, however, many organizations applying for TAF-DRP support were already engaged in EU or other international projects.

START was established in 2014 as a pilot initiative for seed capital under the EUSDR's Danube Implementation Facility. Two calls for project proposals were carried out. The continuation takes place under the Seed Money Facility of the Danube Transnational Program.  Seed Money means that beneficiaries receive early pre-financing to cover project costs from the outset. This helps small organizations with limited resources in particular to get their projects off the ground. The pilot instrument was closed in 2016. The start-up financing facility supported the preparation and development of transnational projects in the Danube region and the implementation of specific small-scale projects with a transnational impact. The target groups were project promoters with little experience and limited access to funding in partnerships of two to five organizations.

The development and submission of international (EU-funded) projects is generally not an easy task. In addition, the focus of the main activities for the respective project partners is primarily on the implementation and further development of the actual (research) activities and not on finding or administering funding. For this reason, the Danube Region Strategy has set up the Danube Strategic Project Fund under the leadership of Priority Area 10 - Institutional Capacity and Cooperation. The DSPF is a small-scale fund that enables inexperienced, innovative project beneficiaries to gain experience with EU-programs. Such funding programs are characterized by a stronger service orientation on the part of the program management than other EU-programs. The prerequisite for participation was project sponsorship and implementation within the Danube region and the networking of several project partners. In addition to knowledge exchange and knowledge transfer (in the area of EU project management), the aim was also to initiate and develop projects and processes that may subsequently be eligible for funding in other EU funding programs. The aim of the fund was to support the preparation and/or implementation of strategic projects in the Danube region (up to EUR 100,000 per project). The initiative ran from September 2017 - August 2019 and it was planned to finance approx. 12 projects with a funding amount of EUR 70,000 - 100,000. EuroVienna was responsible for the operational implementation of the initiative.

Results and impact

TAF-DRP experts supported the selected beneficiaries in various project preparation tasks, such as

• Defining the project partnership, scope (logframe) and budget;
• Finding sources of funding for the implementation phase of the project;
• Clarification of legal or technical issues;
• Preparing and submitting an application for (usually EU) funding.

START:

• Approx. 500 applications received per call;
• 24 projects supported per call;
• Approx. 100 organizations received support, about 55% NGOs and 23% universities or research institutions;
• All priority areas of the EUSDR are addressed by the selected projects;
• Partners from all countries of the Danube region involved in the implementation of the selected projects;
• Project results: 50 workshops, 15 events/conferences, 20 project concepts, 20 project budget plans;
• START has co-financed 48 projects in the Danube region with a funding amount of EUR 10,000 to EUR 40,000 per project. More than 200 partner organizations from 14 different countries worked closely together to find solutions and strategies for common challenges. START Danube Region Project Fund was a pilot initiative of Priority Area 10 (PAC10) of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (EUSDR).

DSPF: Due to the small size of the program and the available resources, a close connection between the program management and the respective projects could be established. Especially those project partnerships that did not have sufficient experience with EU funding programs were able to gain valuable knowledge for future submissions.

The projects covered the following topics:

• Traffic and transportation;
• Hazardous waste;
• Air purity;
• Culture;
• Education;
• Disaster prevention;
• ICT;
• Competitiveness and entrepreneurship;
• Circular economy.