One of the key priorities for the Cypriot government today is to restore economic stability and lead the country to a path of sustainable economic growth, and EU funding is acknowledged as an effective source of support to this end. Cypriot stakeholders have participated in high numbers in EU competitive programmes in the 2007-2013 period. According to a report published by the Commission last August, Cyprus ranked as first in Europe in for the number of eligible applications under Horizon 2020 per capita, for example. However, the country placed 23rd in a rank of success rate, at 12%, just below the average European success rate of 16%. These figures show that there is high eagerness on part of the Cypriot institutions towards EU competitive programmes, as well as a strong interest on part of the government. On the other hand, the capacity needed to successfully participate in and implement EU-funded projects is lower than expectations.
In order to reverse this situation, the European Commission has first of all launched a new Information Portal for Funding Programmes under the Directorate General for European Programmes, Coordination and Development (DG EPCD) of the Republic of Cyprus, specifically addressing Cypriot organisations. This online portal offers user-friendly tools to search for EU competitive programmes and open calls for proposals, as well as the opportunity to view profiles of organisations that may potentially be interested in partnering up for a new project.
As a second step, the Commission has launched a bid for tenders to deliver training sessions to Cypriot institutions to increase their participation in EU competitive programmes and become more effective and efficient in the management of EU-funded projects.
The offer submitted by Europa Media has been accepted and we are happy to launch our first training session in Nicosia, Cyprus on 23-24 November!
Our trainers Gábor, Gabriella and Krisztina will deliver eight training sessions in the upcoming 16 months, adopting Europa Media’s well-known hands-on approach to increase Cypriot participants’ understanding of the EU funding system and competitive programmes, proposal development skills and administrative requirements, project management principles and rules, including financial issues.
Overall, a learning-by-doing approach will be followed, allowing participants to be active learners and interact with the trainers and with each other. Also, practical workshops will help them better understand the rules and guidelines provided in the presentations. Additional learning material will be handed out, to integrate the knowledge acquired during the day and be used as a reference document.
We look forward to going to Nicosia next week and delivering our first training session on developing proposals and managing projects under the EU competitive programmes!
