How to … Access EU funding

More than £34bn of European Union money is available to UK public sector organisations every year, yet much of it goes unclaimed: for instance, in 2001, 30% of the EU’s largest pot – the structural funds – was unallocated.

Many projects miss out on money because they don’t understand how to claim, says Bill Blakemore, European development director for BT Government and consultant editor of a new book on applying for EU money. “Securing EU funding is notoriously complex with a labyrinth of processes,” he says.

There are 10 steps to successful bidding, Blakemore says.

Good preparation is essential. Before identifying which scheme would be a potential source of money, partnerships and relationships should be set up that can be brought into action when the call for bids is announced: the time between the announcement of a new scheme and the first round of bidding deadlines may be only a few months – not nearly time to forge the strong relationships needed for a successful bid. “With many of the schemes you do have to put together a consortium,” says Blakemore, “and in many cases an international consortium.” The European Commission likes to promote pan-European community spirit, and Blakemore says this can work to bidders’ advantages if they choose their countries carefully. “It’s worth exploring the more exotic parts of the EU,” he says. “If you had a project that addressed fostering links with a more remote community, that might help to give a sense of value to your bid.” However, he warns: “Carefully assess your partners’ levels of willingness and commitment. Their input may be needed for a long time. Do they share your values? Are they economically robust enough?”

Get information about schemes that you might be able to apply to as early as possible. In some areas, such as research and development, new calls for proposals are published as often as every six months, but in other areas funds change very little from year to year. The structural funds programme, for instance, which accounts for a third of the EU’s funding budget and is the main programme affecting the UK, was set out in 2000 and runs until 2006, and will change very little within that time. The European Commission has two email schemes through which it sends out information about funding, one on its main website and one on its UK website. Organisations can register their areas of interest so they only receive relevant information.

Set up a system for producing good proposals. Maintain databases of experts and partners and have easily accessible up-to-date financial information.

Preparation should also include monitoring EU policy developments to tailor your application to current policy. Make sure you understand the relevant buzzwords so you can use them in your application to show it fits with EU aims.

Find out if the funding you are looking at requires supplementary funding from other sources and secure that extra funding in good time.

When you have found a scheme that appears to be relevant to you, check the criteria very carefully to make sure you can offer what is needed. The criteria are usually applied very strictly and there is no point wasting time on a scheme that isn’t going to apply to your organisation.

Make sure the funding will support your core activities or strategies, rather than being an end in itself.

When putting together your proposal, be as thorough as possible but when specific forms or applications must be used, supply only the information requested. Stress your previous experience and expertise and demonstrate the experience of your key personalities, such as your project leader. Tailor CVs to the specific application.

Be very careful with formalities and respect deadlines: being just a few minutes late can mean you are excluded.

Talk to the the commission. It is often happy to evaluate pre-proposals, but be discreet: contact should be in writing so other applicants can share the information.