Brussels time
The Interreg Northern Periphery and Arctic (NPA) Programme provides funding for regions to work together with a focus on promoting sustainable development in remote and sparsely populated communities.
This call aims to develop project ideas in a more specific and focused direction, to examine the need for the project outputs among end users and stakeholders and to build up transnational partnerships.
In order to support the development of high-quality applications, the Monitoring Committee of Interreg NPA would like to encourage project applicants to submit their preparatory project ideas, to explore potential partnership and investigate match funding sources for main project application calls. The experience from previous years has shown that preparatory projects are an important tool for development of strong and well-balanced project partnership.
The purpose of preparatory projects is to develop project ideas in a more specific and focused direction, to examine the need for the project outputs among end users and stakeholders and to build up transnational partnerships.
Both, experienced and inexperienced project partners are encouraged to apply and use the preparatory projects for establishing new connections and discussing the project ideas.
Preparatory projects applicants are expected to address their chosen specific objective with actions such as:
The projects will ideally conclude with the presentation of a main project application addressing the forthcoming calls for main projects.
The Monitoring Committee is looking to fund projects in the following Priorities:
PRIORITY 1: Strengthening the innovation capacity for resilient and attractive NPA communities
1.1 - Developing and enhancing research and innovation capacities and the uptake of advanced technologies
1.2 - Reaping the benefits of digitisation for citizens, companies, research organisations and public authorities
1.3 - Enhancing sustainable growth and competitiveness of SMEs and job creation in SMEs
PRIORITY 2: Strengthening the capacity for climate change adaptation, and resource sufficiency in NPA communities
2.1 - Promoting energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions
2.2 - Promoting climate change adaptation and disaster risk prevention, resilience, taking into account eco-system-based approaches
2.3 - Promoting the transition to a circular and resource efficient economy
All projects are expected to make a special effort to include end-users in their project proposals. In all activities that are approved by the Interreg NPA programme, there should be an integration of the horizontal criteria and the activities should strive for sustainable development, with gender equality, non-discrimination and accessibility and inclusion of underrepresented groups, including indigenous peoples and other culturally and linguistically distinct groups originating from the NPA area.
Interreg NPA is funding two types of preparatory projects:
The support to the beneficiaries will be handled as a lump sum based on a draft budget. In case of approval, the draft budget will be converted to a lump sum budget in Jems. The NPA eligibility rules and intervention rates outlined in the Programme Manual apply.
Preparatory projects involve at least 2 programme partner countries, at least one of which from an EU Member States. Partnerships are recommended to include at least 2 of the 3 geographical zones of the programme area: Finland-Sweden-Norway; Ireland; Faroe Islands-Greenland-Iceland.
Lead Partners must be public organisations based in the NPA Programme area (unless they have a national remit that covers the Programme area). Project partners can be either public or private. Project partners are expected to be located inside the NPA area and can be either be public or private organisations.
Note: Applicants from Non-Member states are strongly advised to check if there are any national restrictions to budget levels, for example by checking national information websites, or by contacting their Regional Contact Point.
Brussels time
