Funding Alert: Interreg Central Baltic Programme Welcomes Small Project Proposals

The Central Baltic Programme is seeking small project proposals that focus, as a priority but not only, on improving employment opportunities and enhancing public services.

This call is a valuable opportunity to address grassroots issues through collaborative efforts between at least two of the following countries: Finland (including Åland), Estonia, Latvia, and Sweden. Organisations are encouraged to apply for funding for cross-border cooperation aimed at these specific areas.

The programme particularly invites proposals under two Programme Objectives: improved employment opportunities on the labour market (Programme Objective 6) and improved public services and solutions for citizens (Programme Objective 7). In the employment field, the focus is on strengthening and improving job opportunities through joint efforts in the Central Baltic region, supporting less competitive groups in society to access work opportunities. For public services, the programme aims to fund projects that tackle administrative, regulatory, language, and cultural barriers, offering practical solutions, policy improvements, and new or enhanced public services, including digitalisation.

Small projects are designed to be limited in duration and budget, featuring simpler application and reporting processes. Eligible projects can last up to 18 months and have a maximum budget of 213,550 EUR. To fully understand the challenges, activities, and expected results, applicants are advised to read the Programme Manual carefully and check out specific rules for small projects. The call package, including the Applicant Guide and application documents, is published on the Central Baltic website.

The Call for Small Project Proposals is organised in a one-step application process. All project applications must be submitted in the Jems system between 10 October and 31 October 2024, by noon Eastern European Time. Decisions on the submitted proposals will be made by the Monitoring Committee in mid-February 2025.

In total, 2 MEUR has been reserved for this call for small project proposals. The programme looks forward to receiving cross-border project proposals that can make a significant impact in employment and public services.

For more information, please refer to the Central Baltic Programme website at www.centralbaltic.eu.

The Central Baltic Programme 2021-2027 is a EU cross-border cooperation programme. Its scope is to finance high quality projects with European Regional Development Funds in Finland (including Åland), Estonia, Latvia and Sweden, that aim at solving common challenges together and across borders. The programme budget for 2021-2027 is 152 million euros from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which can be applied for in the calls.