European Development Agency
On training seminars, the AGORA expert group was giving lectures to partners cities while on peer learning seminars the knowledge was improved through sharing experiences on urban regeneration processes among partner cities from the same thematic cluster and the AGORA expert group. As a part of the capacity building programme 3 peer to peer learning sessions were organised. The 1st one was organised on the 11.10.2021 on the topic of the 2nd thematic cluster: UNUSED/ UNDERUSED AREAS (buildings).
In order to avoid physical meetings, the third training seminar was organized online on 9.7.2021 and it took approximately 2 hours. The 3rd training round focused on focused on methodology transfer for the co-design activities, preparing them for the development of the AGORA regeneration agendas and finally, piloting. The first section consisted of the presentation in the main topics of the seminar, while the ending part served as an update between partners on State of the art of the State of Play Workshops. The seminar concluded with an open discussion, questions, and suggestions by AGORA partners.
For people with autism, learning to interact with first responders (police officers, firefighters, and medical emergency/ambulance workers) is critical, such as understanding autism and preparedness to respond effectively and safely to situations involving individuals on the spectrum is to first respondents.
Evidence shows first responders lack autism awareness although they are 7 times more likely to come in contact with an individual with ASD than the average person.
ALERRT’s aim is to provide first responders in Europe with knowledge and understanding about ASD and the skills necessary to recognize, interact, and appropriately treat individuals with ASD in cases of emergency. This will be done through special training delivered by VET trainers, also available on an e-learning platform.
Next to that, a safety kit will be designed for people with ASD and their caregivers, serving as a prevention tool providing first responders with sufficient information needed to recognize their specific situation and adapt their intervention to meet their emergency needs.
The project has started on the 1st of October 2020 and will be accomplished by the end of September 2022.
Our project partners are:
On September 1, 2020, EEA and Norway Grants supported by Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway opened a call for “Unlocking Youth Potential”. As the Grants contribute to a more socially and economically equal Europe, the current Call targets NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) individuals. Aware that COVID-19 pandemic further limits access to the labour market for vulnerable citizens, the Grants finance finding new, transnational solutions for youth unemployment.
Key questions
When? Application window spans from September 1, 2020 until January 5, 2021.
Who? Target groups include 25-29 years old NEET individuals living in small towns, suburbs, or in rural areas; NEET young mothers; and 25-29 years old long-term unemployed individuals.
How much? Funding per project has to be minimum 1 million euro and maximum 2 million euro; total funding allocated for this Call is 11.5 million euro.
Where is the funding going?
This Call has three focus areas; each project can adress issues within one focus area alone.
1. Innovation and exploration – projects developing innovative, experimental solutions addressing youth unemployment;
2. Transfer of know-how and good practice – projects transferring know-how and good practice on youth employment initiatives across European countries;
3. Analysis and research – projects supporting transnational research networks that share ideas, theories, practices, and experiences on how to evaluate and perform impact studies of initiatives aiming to address youth employment in the eligible countries.
Who does what?
Who can unlock youth potential?
Eligible project partners that are entities, public or private, commercial or non-commercial, and non-governmental organisations, established as legal persons. Also, EEA Grants distinguish between entities coming from Beneficiary States (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia), Eligible Beneficiary Partners (Ireland, Italy, and Spain) and Expertise Partners (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden, the Donor States, and international organisations). Also, the composition of the project partnership must respect additional rules:
How can the funding be spent?
The latest the eligible expenses can extend is April 30, 2024. Every project consortium must provide co-financing, potentially an advance payment as well. Non-governmental organisations can entirely cover the co-financing share by means of voluntary work. Eligible expenditures include:
Which are the expected results?
For further guidance, there are devoted sections on the EEA Grants tackling Frequently Asked Questions and project basic procedures.
3D-Help, a project led by EuDA aimed at providing adult people with education in the technology of 3D-Printing, has received a remarkable evaluation from the Czech National Agency. Motivated by the EU’s identification of this development as one of the most important emerging technologies as well creation of many new jobs and opportunities where digital literacy is required, projects’ partners worked on making EU adults competent in 3D-Printing.
Four different organizations joined us in the project: SC Ludor Engineering SRL in Romania, Macdac Engineering Consultancy Bureau Ltd in Malta, Social Innovation Fund in Lithuania, and Strojarska Technička Škola Fausta Vrančića in Croatia. Each of them was responsible for one of six project outputs defined in the beginning. As a lead partner, EuDA handled two of them.
With the finalization of the project, we have successfully executed the following outputs:
The content of the project and its outputs have been greatly appreciated by the Czech National Agency.
The feedback prepared by the Agency noted that 3D-Help was the first Erasmus+ Strategic Partnership for Adult Education project to address 3D Printing in the Czech Republic. It highlighted the international dimension of the project and recognized its benefits, such as strengthening partners’ network of strategic partners in industry and creating new connections to help them engage in international research collaboration. The project’s activities and outputs were valued for creating a space for gaining new contacts, experience, knowledge, information, trends, and skills.
The NA acknowledged the project’s success in aligning with the plan defined at the beginning and appreciated EuDA’s effective management, proper monitoring of the project budget, and time organization. The project’s impact on the target groups has been very positively evaluated – through its outputs, we achieved to get the participants acquainted with 3DP technologies, raise awareness of the potential of 3D Printing and motivate the disadvantaged groups to learn about 3DP and ICT tools in general.
Find more about the project here.
How to save energy tomorrow by acting today? The question countless cities and municipalities ask. This is the same issue EUCF seeks to solve.
New help for old problems
EUCF is set up under the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme for Research and Innovation of the European Union. It facilitates the transformation of energy and climate strategies into implementable investment concepts.
EUCF offers financial and technical assistance for sustainable energy practices to cities, municipalities, and their groupings from the European Union and the United Kingdom. The ultimate objective of EUCF is to help initiate energy investment projects across European municipalities.
Financing the change
EUCF provides tailored, rapid, and simplified financial support for developing investment concepts. EUCF funds:
The grant amounts to EUR 60.000 as lump sum, no co-financing required. Additional funding can be drawn from:
ABC of EUCF
There are three regional calls for application: 1. Central and Eastern Europe, 2. Nordic countries & Western Europe, 3. Southern Europe. Applying is a two-step process: eligibility check and full application.
The eligibility check is a five-item questionnaire which launches the application form in the EUCF website user zone. The application form must include: information on the applicant, description of the investment concept, respectively investment project.
Successful applications move onto the Grant Agreement phase where the beneficiaries receive 70% of the grant. Remaining 30% is awarded after the validation of the investment concept. The unsuccessful applications are redirected to the EUCF Helpdesk for feedback in view of potential reapplication.
The EUCF offers a toolbox to further assist the beneficiaries:
Firstly, after obtaining the grant, for the upcoming twelve months, the EUCF provides support for development of the investment concept in the beneficiaries’ national language. Secondly, there is a two-year monitoring period when the investment concept is implemented, supervised, and documented via two simple monitoring forms submitted to EUCF.
The current EUCF Calls for Proposals are: