EU funds are used to finance projects that contribute the developmental goals of the Republic of Croatia, and the European Union as a whole.
All areas that can be financed by EU funds are defined by programme documents called operational programs. They encompass e.g.: agriculture, employment, education, culture, good governance, science, research and development, investing in entrepreneurship, health, information and communication technologies, transport, environment, energy and infrastructure and other projects.
Operational programs
If your project idea does not fit in any of the areas within (operational) programmes, you will not be able to finance it through EU funds, regardless of how good it is!
If you want to turn your idea into an EU co-financed project, you will first have to find a call for proposals that supports the goals of your project.
TendersIt is important to stress that companies and projects which generate income, that is, which are not non-profitable, can expect lower rates of co-financing. The idea behind EU funds is that projects create benefit for the wider community, not only for the applicant.
Regular activities of an organisation are usually not financed, the project must create added value or a new type of service, and there must be clear results which the project aims to achieve.
Website www.strukturnifondovi.hr allows you to search through currently open calls for proposals enabling you to find the one suitable for your area of interest and check whether your project is suitable for financing. By using various filters, you can search by area, type of applicant, type of call, as well as other categories.
Ways to apply for funding are prescribed by tender documents which are published within each call for proposals. The most important document are Guidelines for applicants, which contain all information necessary to apply for funding: activities which are being financed, potential applicants, deadlines and other conditions.
Except open calls for proposals, this website allows you to search through published closed calls, as well as calls that are only announced, which can be used for timely preparation of project proposals.
If, among open and announced calls, there aren’t any that are suitable for your project, make sure you also consult the Indicative annual plan for calls, where you can find all planned calls for the current year.
After making sure you have found the suitable call, make sure you study the tender documents, as well as all attached forms, and prepare the project proposal according to the instructions set in the above-mentioned forms.
Describe your project in a short, concise and clear manner, as well as goals you aim to achieve by it. Bear in mind the project's ultimate goal and specific goals that must be achieved before reaching the final one. Define why your project is important and why it should be co-financed. Your standpoint should be supported by clearly indicated expected project results, aimed at solving concrete problems that arise during the project implementation. The more detailed the description and higher the number of potential problem solutions, the more important the project is.
Furthermore, the tender documents should at times define project partners and groups which the project targets. The clearer your business and financial model is, the greater the chance of accepting your project proposal. Knowing whom your project will directly and indirectly affect and to what extent, is of great importance at each given moment during the project implementation, in order to ensure that attention is payed to each of those groups and that the approach has been modified accordingly.
Keep in mind that the price schedule, or the entire financial construction of the project, is one of the most important components of tender documents, with all its cost categories and investment types.
Transparency and completeness of the tender documents are key prerequisites for participating in the evaluation process. The complete tender documents must be delivered exclusively to the competent body within the indicated deadline. Before delivering, make sure you have examined the tender documents in detail, because it will not be taken into consideration if it is not complete or is unsigned.
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