European (EU) funding 2014 to 2020

Priority areas and funding streams available in Hampshire under the current 7-year EU funding cycle

The current 7-year European funding cycle started in 2014.

Project partners

Most EU funding streams require projects to involve partners from other eligible countries (all EU Member States are eligible countries). Finding partners is not as difficult as it may at first seem and HCC has various resources at its disposal to support this work, including the SELP (Southern England Local Partners) Brussels Office and the AER (Assembly of European Regions) network.

Project applications need to have a lead partner. This organisation is responsible for ‘managing’ the other partners, making sure they are doing what they should be doing in relation to the project and collating the financial information for claims. This is a time-consuming role, but can be beneficial as the lead partner often has the final say on what activities/ outcomes are included in the application.

Existing projects and partnerships

There are databases available for most EU funding streams which list projects that are already under development and offer opportunities to get involved in existing partnerships and project ideas.

Funding

Most EU funding requires a certain percentage of match-funding to be provided. Few if any programmes offer 100% funding of project costs. This money can often be in the way of officer time, but sometimes has to be actual cash. Project costs usually have to be paid up front, with the money being claimed back from the EU at a later date.

There is no capital funding available through European funding programmes. Projects are usually around sharing best practice and knowledge, developing new policies or undertaking research into the viability of a further project.

Reporting and auditing

Reporting and auditing processes differ from one funding stream to another, but generally rules and procedures can be quite strict and time consuming, so it is important to be sure that you have the capacity to deal with this. Documentation relating to EU funding generally has to be retained for 7 years after the project has closed.

Priority areas and funding streams