FAQ

Last update 12/10/2011

For questions concerning the content of the Calls, please send an e-mail to content@espon.eu, for questions related to administrative issues and application procedures please send an e-mail to procedures@espon.eu.

PRIORITY 3 - Dissemination: What should be described in Chapter IV of the Application Form Part B on Dissemination and reflected in the Application Form Part A (Work package Dissemination)?

You should indicate how you would disseminate your project results. Information on how ESPON project results can be disseminated can be found in the Programme Manual. More information on the different stakeholders that are being addressed within the ESPON 2013 Programme as well as relevant activities/events to consider is described in the Operational Programme (II.4.4).

In addition, the Programme includes substantial dissemination activities at Programme level which all projects should make use of and support. It is important that the project’s dissemination activities ensure consistency and avoid overlaps with and repetition of respective activities organised at Programme level. The project team shall refer to the objectives of Priority 4 of the ESPON 2013 Programme “Capitalisation, ownership and participation: Capacity building, dialogue and networking” when considering dissemination activities and closely coordinate these with the ESPON Coordination Unit.

Private applicants - Is it a problem for a Swiss private body to be lead partner? Does he have the same conditions as if he was from a EU country?

A Swiss private body can be Lead Partner and he has the same conditions.

Subcontracting limit for crisis and resilience project - priority 1. What would be the limit of subcontracting for this specific project?

As mentioned in the Programme Manual chapter 8, “There are no fixed rates or ceilings established by the programme for budgeting and reporting external expertise and service costs. Normal market rates must be taken into consideration”. However, please note that the external expertise budget must comply with the public procurement rules applicable to the project partner, national and EU public procurement rules.

Sub-contracting. Sub chapter 8.4.4 of the Programme Manual refers to the need to apply public procurement rules in case of sub-contracting by public bodies. Could you please clarify whether there is any requirement for sub-contracting by a project partner which is a private body?

Sound financial management needs to be ensured at all level regardless the legal status of the institution. Therefore the public procurement procedure needs to be applied by each project partner. In case the contracted amount is below the European and national threshold and in order to fulfil sound financial management, at least 3 offers need to be requested before contracting the respective expert.

Is "an independent foundation at the balance sheet of the Office of the President" eligible for participating in the project under Priority 3?

In order to be eligible you need to have the following legal status: 1) public body; 2) body governed by public law or 3) private body.

ESPON Atlas on European Territorial Structures and Dynamics (2012-2014). According to the project specification the topics of the Atlas maps are pre-defined by indicators resulting from the ESPON Priority 1 and 2 Projects. The specification, under v) 1), also states that some additional new maps can be produced. We would like to include a topic related to mountain areas. To what extent we could develop an indicator?

The topic of the ESPON Atlas is pre-defined: "ESPON Atlas on European Territorial Structures and Dynamics". We advise to fully consider the policy context at European level related to territorial development issues that is addressed under section iii) of the project specification.

The large majority of the maps to be included in the Atlas should come from ESPON P1 and P2 projects. As stated under section v) there is some flexibility to include new maps if considered relevant. However, the aim is always to complement/complete ESPON data and information.

The topic related to mountain areas is relevant in the European policy context but should be considered in the ESPON Atlas with the same relevance as other specific types of territories mentioned in the Lisbon Treaty: urban/metropolitan regions; rural regions; sparsely populated regions; regions in industrial transition; cross-border regions; islands and coastal regions.

In the framework of the ESPON Programme the regional typologies mentioned above should mainly be used for analytical purposes and not so much to create maps. In practical terms this means that for the various topics to be addressed in the Atlas, if relevant, development trends in specific types of territories should be identified. This type of observation is expected to be included in the map interpretation and accompanied with graphs or diagrams if necessary.

Priority 1: Economic crisis - Question on data requirements for Baltic countries. One of our partners is suggesting to analyse the issue of resilience for all three countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), only at national level, since there are no regional or local administrative structures in these countries with capacity to respond to the challenges created by the crisis. Would this be sufficient for ESPON? Alternatively, or perhaps additionally, it would be possible to do an impact assessment for Estonia on NUTS 3 level, but not for Latvia and Lithuania, for lack of harmonized data in the latter two countries. Would this satisfy the call requirements?

We suppose you are mainly asked about the case studies. If so, the aim is, as mentioned in the project specification "to have a deeper insight" on the crises. In practical terms this means that we need more than data at national level to cover this requirement.

Moreover, in relation to the case studies and to the data issue in general, we advice you to take into consideration the following issues when drafting your proposal:

• The project asks for a flexible but realistic approach in relation to data issues. This fact should be reflected in the proposal and be applied both in relation to the main analysis, as well as the case studies.
• The selection of case studies should be based on matrix which distinguishes regions hit by the crises or not and being resilient or not. Therefore, the idea is not simply to select a certain group of regions in Europe but make a selection based on the matrix. Besides that there are already a couple of regions identified in the project specification to be considered in the case studies selection.

What are the restrictions for multiple proposals application? For example, is it possible for a Partner to participate in different TPG’s proposals thus applying to more than one project under different ESPON Priorities or different themes in the same Call?

There are no restrictions for an institution to be involved in several proposals even for the same theme, considering that only one project will be selected under each theme.

Is there any limit regarding the budget for a SME to be involved in the call?

For the maximum available budget for the projects included in the call please check point viii of the respective Project Specifications. The ESPON Programme finances 100% of the eligible expenditure (for all partners) of the projects of all priorities through a reimbursement mechanism.

Is the participation at the Info Day reimbursed by ESPON?

The participation at the ESPON Info Day is free of charge. However, it is up to the institution who is interested in the call to cover travel and accommodation costs for its participants. In case the proposal submitted wins, the costs incurred in relation to the info day can be declared for reimbursement towards the programme.

Is it possible to have two partners from the same member state in a TPG?

It is possible to have two or more partners from the same Member State as long as you consider the requirement that a partnership needs to be set-up including participants of at least three ESPON Member states.

Is an applicant obliged to be registered at the ESPON Partner Café in order to submit Proposals for Applied Research Projects?

There is no requirement to be subscribed in the ESPON Partner Café or any other network in order to submit a proposal.

ESPON projects are generally conducted in a partnership of several bodies from at least three EU Member and Partner States. In case you need support to set up a TPG, the ESPON Partner Café and ESPON Partner Café LinkedIn Group might be useful. The opportunity for potential partners to be included in this overview compiled by ESPON should help in the process of finding partners for setting up this partnership.

If you are interested in participating in the ESPON Partner Café and to fill in the “Partner Information Form” please visit this LINK on the ESPON website.

In the document "Specification, ESPON Targeted Analysis Based on User Demand 2013/2/21" was mentioned below "3.5.9 Budgetary details" the following: The ESPON 2013 programme will be able to financially support the analytical part of the collaboration, but not the coordination of the actors themselves.

Does that mean the work of the Lead Partner (management, communication, implementation and coordination of activities) is not financially supported or is the word “actors” referring to the stakeholders and their coordination task?

The mentioned sentence is concerning the stakeholders. Regarding the project team eligible cost for the project implementation might incur under the work packages Activities, Dissemination and Coordination and under the budget lines staff, administration, travel and accommodation, equipment, External expertise and services.

In the case that the Lead Partner is getting funded I am wondering if there is a max. rate for administrative work.

The administration costs have to comply with two thresholds. The total administration costs cannot exceed the 25 % of the staff costs. At the same time the indirect part of the administration cost (overheads calculated on a flat rate basis) cannot exceed the 20% of the direct costs of the project (direct costs are staff, travel, equipment, external expertise and the direct part of the administration costs). These thresholds are to be applied at overall project level and for all partners.

According to the Programme Manual page 109 the purchase of IT equipment should remain exceptional. Is it possible to claim these costs?

The cost is eligible according to the rules mentioned in chapter 8 under point 8.4.1 – equipment. Cost must be reported by depreciating the cost of the equipment, by applying national accounting regulations. The amount for equipment has to reflect the actual use of these items in the context of the project. If it is not exclusively used for project purposes, only a share of the depreciation quota can be allocated to the project.