The seed money application procedure consists of two steps. First, applicants have to obtain support from the relevant PAC/HAC, who will assess the strategic relevance of the planned main project. The second step is the submission of the application to the MA/JS after the applicant has been pre‐
selected by the PAC/HAC.
J.8.1 Pre‐selection of applications by PACs/HACs
As the seed money funding aims at supporting development of strategic projects contributing to the implementation of the Action Plan for the EUSBSR, the strategic relevance assessment of the main project idea is undertaken by the responsible PACs/HACs.
By a given deadline, defined in the announcement note of the call and announced on the Programme’s website, the draft seed money application including the planned main project idea have to be presented to the responsible PAC/HAC. The PAC/HAC carries out an assessment of the relevance of the main project idea and its potential to contribute to the
objectives of the respective policy area/horizontal action of the EU Strategy for Baltic Sea Region.
The pre‐selection by PACs/HACs is based on the following general criteria:
The draft application demonstrates potential for a high macro‐regional impact;
The draft application contributes to fulfilling the objectives, indicators and targets of the EUSBSR;
The draft application is related to the implementation of one or more actions of the policy area/horizontal action concerned;
The draft application has a clear transnational dimension;
The draft application demonstrates added value to already implemented activities/initiatives in the region.
In addition to these general criteria, PAC/HAC may set additional pre‐selection criteria reflecting specific needs and targets of the policy area/horizontal action in question (e.g. need for potential flagship projects in a specific thematic field etc.).
The PACs/HACs will document the project pre‐selection process and involve the policy areas’/horizontal actions’ steering groups or equivalent bodies (if available).
The pre‐selection results will be communicated to applicants and the MA/JS.
Only a limited number of draft seed money applications may be pre‐selected (e.g., maximum 5 draft applications can be recommended per policy area/horizontal action). The limitation will be set in the call announcement note. Together with a list of pre‐selected draft applications, the PACs/HACs also present a prioritisation list to the MA/JS.
The contact details of PACs and HACs are available here http://www.balticsea‐
region‐strategy.eu/contacts.
J.8.2 Submission of applications to the Managing Authority/Joint Secretariat
All applicants whose draft applications have been pre‐selected will receive access to the online application system (BAMOS).
The applicants will fill in and submit an application via the online system. In addition, the signed application and the partner declarations for all partners
participating in the project (including lead partner) have to be sent to MA/JS.
The templates and supporting documents will be available on the website of the Programme before the call for proposals is opened.
The call deadlines will be specified in the call announcements and will be announced on the Programme’s website.
J.8.3 Support to generation and development of the seed money application
The MA/JS organises various events and offers consultations (via e‐mail, phone and face‐to‐face meetings in its premises in Rostock and Riga) to facilitate the generation of seed money project applications and to support the applicants in the seed project development process.
J.9 Assessment of applications
All submitted applications undergo a standard assessment procedure composed of:
Admissibility check ‐ checking whether the applications fulfil the formal admissibility criteria
Quality assessment ‐ evaluation of the content of the application according to the quality assessment criteria.
The admissibility check will be performed according to the following criteria:
No Admissibility criteria – seed money applications 1 Digital application form submitted via the online
system before the deadline
2 Digital application form submitted in English
3 Application is complete
4 Minimum requirements regarding transnational
approach met
5 Legal status of the project partners incl. the lead applicant in line with the Programme requirements
6 Geographical eligibility of lead applicant in line with the Programme requirements
7 All partner declarations submitted and correct
If a proposal does not fulfil the admissibility criteria, the applicant will be informed about the deficiencies by email. The applicant may clarify the open
points and, e.g., send missing documents. Only applications that have passed
1. The application is in line with the thematic focus of the given call (if applicable).
2. The proposal demonstrates additional value to already accomplished/running projects value.
Is the application in line with the thematic focus of the given call as specified in the announcement note of the call?
Is the proposal’s added value to already accomplished or running projects sufficiently demonstrated?
II. Coherence of the application and quality of approach 3. There is coherence between the
planned main project objectives,
4. Quality of the proposed seed money project work plan
Are objectives and planned activities of the main project clearly described and logically inter‐
related?
Can the estimated outcomes of the main project be achieved through the proposed approach?
Is the work plan clearly described and realistic and leads to the pre‐defined outputs?
Is the seed money project clearly a preparatory stage for the described main project?
III. Partnership
5. The seed money partnership has sufficient potential to develop the planned main project.
6. The involvement of the partners is in line with transnational approach required by the Programme and partners have clear roles in the seed money project.
Is the composition of the partnership appropriate to carry out the planned activities and to deliver the expected outputs (develop the planned main project)?
Does the project justify the need for transnational cooperation and are the roles of all project partners clearly described?
IV. Budget
7. The project budget meets the financial requirements of the Programme.
Is the planned budget in line with the financial requirements of the Programme?
The outcome of the quality assessment will be presented to the Monitoring Committee.
J.10 Approval of applications
The Monitoring Committee makes the selection of seed money applications to be funded based on the quality assessment.
The Monitoring Committee may set certain requirements which should be addressed by the lead partner during the contracting process or together with the final report if not otherwise specified.
The Monitoring Committee has three options when it comes to the approval of projects:
To approve the application;
To approve the application with certain requirements, or
To reject the application.
After the approval of the Monitoring Committee the contracting phase starts.
The contracting procedure is described in chapter E (Contracting of approved applications) of the Manual.
J.11 Project implementation