Course description

The course provides an understanding of the most important funding opportunities and mechanisms offered by the EU to support projects of CSOs. In particular it focuses on supporting projects of CSOs from Western Balkans and Turkey and on all the necessary steps to carry out in order to apply for Grants under the EU Calls for proposals system.

The course is designed for beginners in EU-funded projects and the calls for proposals system and does not require a preliminary knowledge of the subject. It focuses on the main EU institutions involved in External Aid, on the EU programming and funding modalities, on the call for proposals system and the preparation of the application form and the budget.

Main Objective

By the end of this course, participants will become familiar with EU programming and funding modalities and be able to apply for Grants.

 Expected Outcome

At the end of the course participants will:

• improve understanding of the role and functioning of the main EU Institutions, and in particular of the European Commission with its Directorates General (DGs) and the EU Delegations
• be able  to identify the relevant information/requirements in the main legal texts and documents and their relevance in applying for EU funds,
• gain knowledge of the preliminary steps and rules to follow in applying for EU grants,
• enhance skills in preparing project proposals.

Course Modules

Lesson 1 The EU Institutions

This first module will give you a broad idea of the most important EU Institutions involved in external aid and the definition of the role of main DGs and EU Delegations in dealing with policy making and programmes implementation.

Lesson 2 Funding & Programming    

The focus of this module is on the financial framework under which the European Commission and EU Delegations work to deliver aid to partner countries. More specifically you will better understand the EC programming phase of the project cycle with the identification of specific programmes to be financed and you will know how to align your actions to the objectives established by these programmes and consequently to get funding.

Lesson 3 The Calls for Proposals system    

In this module you will get useful information on how CSOs from Western Balkans and Turkey can look for and apply in the calls for proposals launched by the different DGs of the European Commission, in particular DG Enlargement and DG EuropeAid, to get contributions, the so-called Grants, for the execution of their projects.

Lesson 4 Applying to a call for proposals

In the last module you will briefly look into the documents to be submitted to the EC to apply for a Grant. i.e. the application form, the budget and the logical framework.

Course Requirements

This is online course, thus you only need a computer with an internet connection and a web-browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome). All the course materials are provided in the course modules. You are not required to purchase any additional materials, resources, or books.

Additional Features

This is an on-line self-learning course and it is in English. You are free to follow the lessons at any time, but you are requested to complete the course within its global duration of 15 days.

An entry test is proposed a the beginning of the course and repeated at the end to check the your improvements after following the course.

Each lesson is composed by a slide presentation and audio lesson (with the possibility to read the speech reported in the notes), one or more explanatory files (pdf files) on the subjects treated in the lesson and a test.

You will be requested to participate to the forum proposed during the course.

At the end of the course you will receive a punto.sud attendance certificate.

The course is free of charge.

Target Audience

This course is designed for staff CSOs from Western Balkans and Turkey interested in working in EU-funded projects who wish to get greater information on how the EU funding system works and how to align their organisations’ missions to EU objectives and priorities.

Application Procedure

To attend this course, you should first Register to the ENV.net e-learning platform (click here) and then choose the course that you wish to attend from the course catalogue. You will receive an email of confirmation of the registration to the course that however will be accessible from the 1st day of the course period.

Further inquiries about the course may be sent to: env.net-helpdesk@puntosud.org