CIVINET informs Scottish local authorities on EU funding opportunities
The CIVINET UK and Ireland recently held an event for Scottish local authorities, giving them information on funding opportunities and being involved in EU projects.
The CIVINET UK and Ireland held its first training workshop on EU funding for sustainable transport professionals on 21 January in Edinburgh (United Kingdom). Hosted by Transport Scotland at the offices of the Scottish Government, the half-day event was tailored for the needs of Scottish local authorities, and provided an overview of EU funding schemes in relation to sustainable transport and the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 funding programme. The event saw 24 attendees from a number of Scottish local authorities as well as the Scottish Government.
Daniela Rosca, Head of the European Commission’s Clean Transport and Sustainable Urban Mobility Unit, presented the EC’s urban mobility policies and options for financing. Stephen Alexander, the UK’s Legal and Financial National Contact for Horizon 2020, explained how to put together a quality proposal for EU-funded projects, with information on how projects are structured and evaluated.
Participants also worked in facilitated sessions to weigh up the pros and cons of involvement in EU funding bids and projects, and to discuss how to best coordinate proposals for EU projects. The main advantages that were highlighted were, first and foremost, the ability to access extra funding, but also to build partnerships, trial sustainable transport measures, and share knowledge and experience.
The event received positive comments from participants, who were interested to see just how many opportunities to access funding exist. They also mentioned that it was useful to get updates on the application process for a European Regional Development Fund that is specifically targeted for Scotland.
CIVINET UK and Ireland aims to repeat this training in other areas of the British Isles, with adaptations made for specific conditions in different countries. As an added benefit to members, written guidance on accessing EU funding was produced and circulated to all members and shared with other CIVINETs. The presentations from the event are available under Downloads on the CIVINET’s page on civitas.eu.
