interreg Central Baltic Programme User Guide

interreg Central Baltic Programme

Product Information

Specifications

• Product Name: Electronic Monitoring System Jems
• Co-funded by the European Union
• Central Baltic Programme
• Release Date: 19.6.2023

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Calls for project proposals
3. Preparing to apply
4. Practical issues

Introduction
The electronic monitoring system Jems is a product co-funded by the European Union through the Central Baltic Programme. This guide provides detailed instructions for applying for a project using Jems.

Calls for Project Proposals
The guide outlines the process of applying for project proposals through the Central Baltic Programme. It provides information on the calls for proposals and the necessary steps to prepare for an application.

Preparing to Apply
Before applying for a project, it is recommended to use the project idea form template available on the Programme website. This template helps in documenting and structuring your project idea, determining its relevance to the program, and answering key questions related to project partnership, planned activities, foreseen results, and cross-border added value.

Consultations with the JS (Joint Secretariat) are strongly recommended to ensure a good fit between your project application and the program objectives. By consulting your project idea with the JS, you can receive important feedback and determine if your idea aligns with the program guidelines. Please note that late-stage consultations may not be possible during the busiest time for the JS staff. It is advisable to start planning a cross-border project with your partners well in advance, rather than at a late stage of a call.

Practical Issues

The Electronic Monitoring System Jems
The electronic monitoring system Jems is a key tool for project application and management. It is important to consider the following issues when filling in the application form:

• Ensure accurate and complete information is provided in the application form.
• Follow the guidelines provided in the guide for a successful application.

Support for Filling in the Application Form
Support is available to assist you in filling in the application form. Please refer to the resources provided by the Central Baltic Programme for guidance.

Submitting the Application
Once the application form is completed, it should be submitted according to the submission instructions provided by the Central Baltic Programme.

Product Usage Instructions

Part A: Project Identification
Part A of the application form focuses on project identification. It includes the following sections:

• A.1 Project Identification: Provide detailed information about your project, including its title, duration, and lead partner.
• A.2 Project Summary: Write a concise summary of your project within a maximum of 2000 characters.

Part B: Project Partners
Part B of the application form requires information about the project partners. Provide details about each partner, including their organization, contact information, and role in the project.

Part C: Project Description
Part C of the application form focuses on the project description. Provide a comprehensive description of your project, including its objectives, activities, expected results, and the cross-border added value it brings.

Part D: Project Budget
Part D of the application form deals with the project budget. It includes the following sections:

• D.1 Project Budget per Co-financing Source – Breakdown per Partner: Provide a detailed breakdown of the project budget per co-financing source for each partner.
• D.2 Project Budget – Overview per Partner / per Cost Category: Provide an overview of the project budget per partner and cost category.

Part E: Project Lump Sums
Part E of the application form focuses on project lump sums. Provide any relevant information regarding lump sums in this section.

Attachments
Refer to Annex 1 for target groups and their definitions. Attach any necessary documents or additional information required by the Central Baltic Programme.

FAQ

• Q: What is the purpose of the project idea form template?
• A: The project idea form template helps in documenting and structuring your project idea, determining its relevance to the program, and answering key questions related to project partnership, planned activities, foreseen results, and cross-border added value.
• Q: Why are consultations with the JS strongly recommended?
• A: Consultations with the JS provide important feedback and help ensure a good fit between your project application and the program objectives. It helps in determining if your project idea aligns with the program guidelines.
• Q: Is it possible to have a consultation at a late stage of the call?
• A: Late-stage consultations may not be possible during the busiest time for the JS staff. It is advisable to start planning a cross-border project with your partners well in advance, rather than at a late stage of a call.

Introduction

Welcome to Central Baltic Programme 2021 – 2027!
This guide will take you through the process of applying for funding from the Central Baltic Programme 2021 – 2027. It will explain the procedures of a call for funding, and how you should prepare for applying. It explains the practical steps that are needed from planning a project to submitting a project application. The guide also functions as step-by-step guidance on how to fill in the application form in the electronic monitoring system Jems. It should be used side by side with the Programme Manual. The Guide for applying for a project will be updated for each call.

Calls for project proposals
A call is a time when Jems is open for the applicants to prepare and submit an application for project funding. A call is preceded by different steps where the applicants interact with the Joint Secretariat (JS) such as applicant seminars and consultations on project ideas. In the first stage information and guidance on the thematic scope of the call and the programme requirements will be provided for the applicants. Possibilities for project idea consultations will be provided from announcing the call until the final two weeks before the deadline for application submission. Applications are to be filled in and submitted in Jems before the call deadline, which will be indicated separately for each call.

The third call is open for small projects only. It will open on the 25th of September and close on the 16th of October 2023. The deadline is at noon Eastern European Summer Time (noon in Finland (including Åland), Estonia, Latvia and 11:00 in Sweden.

Preparing to apply
When considering applying for funding from the Central Baltic program, the first thing to do is to get acquainted with the program intervention logic, i.e., to find out which joint cross-border challenges are targeted, what types of project activities are funded, and what concrete results are expected from the funded projects. To get a good understanding of these issues, read the Programme Manual carefully. The Programme Manual is the main document and reference point in which the program rules have been defined. You will find information on requirements from a project, forming a good partnership, partner relevance, different types of projects, and many other issues from the Programme Manual.

A project idea form template is available on the Programme website for documenting and structuring your project idea. Using the form also helps to determine the relevance of the project idea to the program. By filling it in you will be answering the key questions regarding the project partnership, planned activities, and foreseen results as well as the overall cross-border added value of your proposed project.

Consultations are strongly recommended. By consulting your project idea with the JS, you will find out whether the idea fits the program and get important feedback to ensure a good fit between the project application and the program objectives.

The applicants should fill in the project idea form and send it to the JS. The JS will do an initial assessment of the project idea and a consultation time will be agreed upon to give feedback and discuss the idea with the applicant(s). Depending on the circumstances and preferences, the consultation can be a physical or an online meeting. Telephone and email consultations are also possible. The applicant should consider the received JS feedback together with other project partners when planning for the next steps of the project preparation work. A consultation can be done more than once during the project preparation process, and it is also recommended to seek consultation again after the partnership has discussed and reacted to the initial JS feedback.

Please note that it may not be possible to have a consultation at a very late stage of the call, which is the busiest time for the JS staff. Remember that the planning of a good cross-border project together with your partners takes time, thus starting the planning at a late stage of a call is not recommended.

Practical issues

The electronic monitoring system Jems
For the 2021-2027 period, the Central Baltic program is using Jems for receiving applications as well as for the monitoring of the implementation of approved projects. Jems is a monitoring system developed by Interact for Interreg programs. It is a web-based application that is used with a web browser. The following browsers are supported (Table 1.)

Table 1. Supported browsers.

Access to Jems
Lead partners and project partners can register and sign in by following the link to Jems from the programme website www.centralbaltic.eu or by visiting directly at jems.centralbaltic.eu.

If you have not already registered, click the ‘Create account’ button, give the required information, and click ‘Register’. Once the registration is completed, you will receive an email with a confirmation link. After confirming you will be able to sign in to Jems.

Although both the lead applicant and other applicants can access and work with the application form, the lead applicant of the project should take the responsibility of creating the application in Jems and making sure that the application form is fully checked before submitting it. The lead applicant can also give user rights for other applicants to access read, modify, or manage the application form. This is done by going to ‘Project privileges’ on the left side menu. Write the username of the user that you want to give rights to and choose the kind of rights you want to give. Save changes. Please note that rights can be given only to registered Jem users. New users can be added by clicking ‘+’ and repeating the process.

Remember that your Jems user password is personal, and it must not be shared with other users. All applicants must register to Jems separately.

How to start a new project application
After signing in to Jems, the currently open calls will be visible. Two separate calls will be open, one for small projects and another one for regular projects. Make sure to choose the right call for your project. Please note that you cannot work on an application form you may have started in an earlier call. Each call is unique and a new application form for each call must be started. Important issues to consider when filling in the application form

The following issues must be considered when filling in the application form in Jems:

• This ‘Guide for applying for a project’ document contains the most comprehensive guidance for filling in the application form. Jems includes guidance texts as well, but this document should always be used as the main source of information on how to fill in the different fields and what to elaborate on when answering the questions in the application form.
• When the user enters a field in a page, the edit mode is activated and the ‘Save changes’ button appears on the bottom of the page. Changes made can be saved or discarded by using the ‘Discard changes’ button. If the user leaves the page without saving, the following warning message is displayed (Picture 1.).

Picture 1: ‘ Leave page’ -warning message.

• Text fields allow to addition a limited number of characters, which is indicated in this guidance, and the text boxes in Jems. Please note that the indicated number of characters includes spaces. Be precise: if it is possible to provide the requested information using fewer characters than allowed, it is recommended to do so.
• All fields of the application form should be filled in. There are pre-submission checks in place to automatically check this, but since they do not cover the whole application form, lead applicants must carefully check the fields also manually. If the information that does not apply to your project or organization is asked, write ‘Not applicable’ to the field in question.
• Do not copy similar/identical information to different fields of the application form. Such an application will be admissible (i.e., will pass the technical check), but will get lower scores during the assessment. You should focus on giving precise answers to the questions asked for each field.
• Start filling out the application form in due time. Please be aware that the pre-submission checks must be done before you can submit the application form in Jems. If the checks are done very near the time of the deadline, a longer time might be needed to complete the checks due to the heavier use of system resources at that time.
• Jems is not meant to be a project planning tool, therefore a good way to prepare for filling in the application form is to use this guide and prepare separate files that you can also more easily exchange and discuss with your partners, and from which you can copy-paste the content into the application form in Jems.
• Regarding the required signed annexes, scanned signed documents and electronic signatures are accepted by the program. Paper documents must not be delivered.

Support for filling in the application form
If open questions remain after reading this guidance, or questions come up while filling in the application form, you are advised to contact the JS. All questions related to the content of the application form must be directed to the JS project managers. Questions related to the technical functioning of Jems must be directed to the technical support email jems@centralbaltic.eu

Please note that the possibility to answer questions or solve technical issues quickly may be limited at times, especially close to the deadline of a call. You should not leave filling in the application form until the last days before the deadline. You should aim at filling in and submitting your application in good time, avoiding any problems due to the lack of time.

Submitting the application

Deadline
Jems will be open for filling in the application form during a specifically designated time. The opening time and the deadline for applying can be found in Chapter 2 of this guidance and the Central Baltic program website at www.centralbaltic.eu. On the specified opening and deadline dates, Jems will be opened at midnight and closed at noon Finnish time (EET). This means that you will be able to apply until exactly noon on the end date of the call.

Applicants are strongly advised to start filling in the application form in good time and to submit it as early as possible. Jems will automatically close at the deadline, and after that submitting an application is no longer possible. Applications cannot be submitted in any other form.

What to submit?

The application form
The application form must be filled in completely. Please note that an application form that is filled in but not submitted is considered a draft only and will not be assessed.

Mandatory attachments (Table 2)
Templates for some attachments are provided on the program website. Electronic signatures are accepted. The following mandatory attachments should be submitted together with the electronic application form:

Confirmation Letter:
The scanned original of this document must be submitted with all applications (small projects and regular projects). It must be signed by a person holding the right to sign documents on behalf of the lead applicant organization. Document verifying the right to sign on behalf of the lead applicant organization. The document must verify that the person who has signed the confirmation letter is authorized to do so on behalf of the organization. If the right to sign is delegated further to some other person in the organization, official proof of the possibility/right to delegate must be provided. Usually, the information about signatory rights is found in the statutes of the organization.

Partner Contribution Statement must be submitted by all applicant organizations (including the lead applicant) for all small project applications and for regular project applications in the 2nd step to confirm each partner’s financial contribution to the project. Partner Contribution Statement must be signed by the head of the department or the head of the whole organization. The person does not need to have the official right to sign documents on behalf of the organization.

Declaration of Financial Capacity to Undertake Project Activities must be submitted by NGOs and private (non-public equivalent) applicant organizations in project applications to confirm that applicants have the financial capacity required to implement a project. The declaration must be signed by the head of the department or the head of the whole organization. The person does not need to have the official right to sign documents on behalf of the organization. Supporting documentation for investments like permits and other detailed documentation related to an investment must be submitted for all projects with investments before the investment can be finally approved.

Yes, for NGOs and private organizations
---|---|---
Supporting documentation for investments| Yes, if investments are planned| Yes, if investments are planned

Table 2. Attachments needed from different partners

How to submit?

The application form and relevant obligatory attachments can be submitted through Jems only. Obligatory attachments, preferably in the form of .pdf documents, must be uploaded to Jems before submitting.

A pre-submission check for the application form must be made before the submission. To do that, click ‘Run pre-submission check’ on the Project overview page (Picture 2.). The system will perform several controls and will list any missing or inconsistent data and their location in your application form. Please note that the pre-submission check does not cover the application form fully, but manual checks are also needed.

Missing information must be added, or the existing information made consistent before the application can be submitted. The pre-submission check results are not updated automatically, so you must run the check again after making corrections. Note also that running the pre-submission check does not mean that the application must be submitted after that. You can use this check function at any point to check if all necessary fields in the application form are filled in.

Picture 2. Pre-submission check. (Not in use for first step regular project application form)

Once the checks are completed and no inconsistencies are found, the ‘Submit project application’ button becomes active. Click it in case you wish to apply for assessment. Please note that the application form can no longer be edited after submitting it. Note that all relevant information must be provided in the application form and only obligatory attachments will be considered during assessment. Any other additional attachments uploaded to Jems will not be used for assessment unless this has been separately agreed with the Joint Secretariat.

The Joint Secretariat uses a set of criteria to check that the project is technically admissible. The criteria are listed below, so before applying carefully check the following:

1. Obligatory attachments are attached to the application form.
2. The application form and its attachments are according to the program rules.
3. The application package is filled in in English.
4. All applicable sections of the application form are correctly filled in. There is no incorrect information, e.g., “to be added later”.
5. Information presented in the application form and attachments is consistent (e.g., co-financing amounts, partner names, etc.).
6. The Lead partner is an eligible organization.
7. All project partners are eligible organizations.
8. The project has a Lead partner and at least one project partner from different Member States.

If a project does not meet these criteria, complementary questions will be sent to the project with a short deadline for answers. If satisfactory answers are not received, the project will not move on to content assessment.

PRACTICAL GUIDANCE FOR FILLING IN THE APPLICATION FORM
Sign in to Jems to view the open calls for applications in the Dashboard view. Choose the call and click ‘Apply’ (Picture 11.).

Picture 11. Open calls view in Jems.
You will first be asked to create a new application (Picture 12.). This will be done by inserting the acronym of your project. An acronym is an abbreviation formed from the words or content of the project title. It will be used in project communication and will help to identify the project. It is recommended that the acronym will be kept quite short. The acronym:

• should be pronounceable and easy to remember
• should have a connection to the full title of the project (e.g., first letters of words) or be a word related to the project theme, or both
• may include recognisable words in English
• can include numbers
• should not be a confusing mix of capital and small letters
• should not be a web address

Once you have inserted the acronym, click ‘Create project application’. Please note that it is possible to modify the acronym later, if necessary.

Picture 12. Creating a new application.
You will be taken back to the Dashboard view, where your application will be visible. Click on your application to start filling it in. You will use the menu on the left-hand side to navigate through different parts of the application form (Picture 13.).

Picture 13. Jems menu

In many places, you will see a picture of a garbage bin (Picture 14.). By clicking it you can easily delete rows from your application if needed.

Picture 14. Deleting rows works the same way throughout the application form.

Part A Project identification

Project identification
The following data must be provided in the sub-section ‘Project identification’:

• Project ID: A project ID will be automatically generated by Jems.
• Project acronym (max. 25 characters): The acronym you created in the previous step is visible here and can be modified if necessary.
• Project title (max. 200 characters): Create and insert a short title reflecting the basic idea of the project. It should consist of real words in English. The recommended length is max. 60 characters including spaces.
• Project duration: Indicate the project duration in months. The actual start and end dates will be agreed upon in the contracting phase, should your project be selected for funding. The project reporting periods are six-month periods calculated from the start date of the project until the project end date. Depending on the duration, the last period may be shorter. The preparation time is not included in the project duration period.

Remember that the last month of the project will be a closure period when limited activities can be carried out and limited costs can be created. Please refer to the Programme Manual for more information on the closure period.

Program priority: Select the priority your project will be targeting.
Program objective: Select the program objective your project is targeting. Please note that only one program objective can be targeted by a project.

Project summary (max. 2000 characters)
Give a brief overview of the project. The information written here will be used to produce content for various platforms, such as the project webspace, booklets, etc. Make sure that the information provided in the project summary field is coherent, well-structured, catchy, and understandable for an external reader considering all the topics mentioned below:

• the common challenge of the program area you are jointly tackling in your project
• the project result and its contribution to the programme-level results
• the main outputs you will produce and those who will benefit from them
• the approach you plan to take and why a cross-border approach is needed for that
• what is new and original about the project

To confirm full coherence, it is advised to fill in the summary only after the whole application form is completed.

Part B Project partners
In this part, you will insert information on the project partners. Click’Add a new partner’ to start. It is recommended to start with the Lead Partner information. The procedure to add partners is repeated until all project partners have been added. Please note that there are different sections of partner information that you must fill in.

Section Identity

Partner identity

Partner role:

• Choose the partner role. The project can have a lead partner and other project partners. Only one partner can function as a lead partner.
• Abbreviated name of the organization (max. 15 characters): provide an abbreviation of the partner organization name (official or unofficial). Abbreviation, in this case, refers to a short title of the partner organization (for example UNESCO is an abbreviation of ‘United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’).
• Name of the organization in original language (max. 100 characters): insert the name of the partner organization in the national language (Finnish, Estonian, Latvian, or Swedish).
• Name of the organization in English (max. 100 characters): provide the official English name of the organization, or a translation of the partner’s name in English.
• Department/Unit/Division (max. 250 characters): indicate which department of the partner organization will be in charge of the implementation of the project. If not relevant, indicate N/A.

Legal and financial information

• Type of partner: choose the correct type from the dropdown menu.
• Legal status: choose the correct status from the dropdown menu.
• VAT number (or another identifier) (max. 50 characters): provide the VAT number of the organization. If the partner organization uses another identification number (registration number etc.), provide that number.

Is your organization entitled to recover VAT based on national legislation for the activities implemented in the project: choose ‘yes’ if your organization is entitled to recover VAT based on national legislation for the activities implemented in the project or choose ‘no’ if this is not the case. If VAT is partially recoverable, choose ‘partly’.
Once you have filled in the information, click ‘Create’ to add the partner to the partner list. Once a partner is created, sub-sections (Identity – Address – Contact – Motivation – Budget – Co-financing) will appear on the top of the partner page (Picture 15.). Follow through these sub-sections and fill in the requested information.

Picture 15. Sub-sections of the partner form.

Section Address

Partner address
Partner main address: Insert the address information of the partner, and the address of the partner’s webpage, if applicable. The different level regions (NUTS 2 and NUTS 3) which specify where the partner is located are chosen from dropdown menus.
Address of department/unit/division (if applicable): Insert the address information of the department/unit/division if it is different than the partner’s main address.

Section Contacts

Legal representative
Insert the title and name of the legal representative of the partner organization. The legal representative is the official representative of a partner organization, with right to sign documents.

Contact person
Provide the contact information of the project contact person. The day-to-day communication between the project and the program will be taken through the lead partner’s contact person. Contact persons of the other project partners will be responsible for the internal communication within the project partnership.

Section Motivation

Partner motivation and contribution (max. 2000 characters each)
Describe the organization’s thematic competencies and experiences that are relevant to the project. Avoid providing general information about the partner organization. Instead of naming all fields/most common fields of expertise and interest, introducing the history of organization, describing the size of the organization, and annual turnover, etc, and indicate the relevant and concrete know-how which will be used to implement project activities. Describe the main role (main activities and responsibilities) of the organization in the project. Focus on why the partner organization is optimal to fulfill the specific role and implement the specific tasks in the project.

Describe the partner’s relevant key competencies for this. Indicate the concrete know-how and tell what statutory mandate the partner has to implement the project and its results and confirm the durability and sustainability of results.

Describe the organization’s experience in participating in and/or managing EU co-financed projects or other international projects. Instead of providing a long list of projects the organization has participated in, mention the most relevant experience of the partner organization from the relevant field: thematic experience, experience in the management of and participation in international projects. Indicate if you are planning to bring in relevant expertise for the project to the partner organization (s).
Section Budget

Partner budget
In the budget part, you will fill in the budget of your project partners for different cost categories. The Central Baltic program is using Simplified Cost Options (SCOs), namely flat rates, unit costs, and lump sums, so parts of the budget will be automatically calculated accordingly. Please refer to the Programme Manual for more information on the SCOs.

Please note that in the budget and funding amount calculations, the sums are rounded down to two decimals.

Tick the two boxes on ‘Partner Budget Options’, as both Office and administration and Travel and accommodation flat rates are mandatory to use for all projects.

Please note that for most cost categories you might need to scroll right on the screen to be able to see and fill in all fields in Jems.

Staff costs
Insert one staff member per sub-cost category. Repeat the process for all staff members of the partner in question. The pre-defined unit costs (hourly rate) are 50 EUR for Sweden, 36 EUR for Finland and Åland, 24 EUR for Latvia and 29 EUR for Estonia. The Staff cost hourly rate for Sweden is 501 SEK and the cost will be reported in SEK. Then the conversion rate rules will be used as defined in the Programme Manual. Budgets are always made in EUR, wherefore the theoretical conversion rate of 10,0145 (valid when this guidance was finalized) is used in the application form to calculate a unit cost in EUR.

• Programme Unit Costs: Choose the unit cost from the drop-down menu according to the nationality of the partner.
• Staff function: Filled in automatically. Staff function must be indicated in the ‘Comment’ column.
• Comment: (max. 250 characters): Indicate staff function (for example ‘Project manager’ or ‘Communication expert’) and elaborate briefly and concretely on the main tasks and responsibilities the staff member will have in the project.
• Unit type: The unit type is the hourly rate for all staff costs.
• No. of units: Indicate the total number of hours of working time in the project for this staff member. Please remember that the maximum number of working hours per person per year is 1720.
• Price per unit: This is automatically set according to the chosen Programme Unit Cost.
• Periods: Divide the indicated total sum of staff member salary cost into periods. Each period equals one reporting period, and has a duration of six months, apart from the last period, which may be shorter depending on the total duration of the project. The total sum of staff costs for each staff member and the total sum for the project partner are calculated automatically. Please note that the maximum number of working hours per person per a six-month reporting period is 860. The maximum amounts per staff member per reporting period are: Sweden 43000€, Finland including Åland 30960€, Estonia 24940€ and Latvia 20640€.

Office and administration
This flat rate cost is automatically calculated as 15% of total partner staff costs.

Travel and accommodation
This flat rate cost is automatically calculated as 15% of total partner staff costs.

External expertise and services

Using real costs:

• Programme Unit Costs: Insert one cost per sub-cost category. Repeat the process to insert all planned costs. When using real costs for external services, choose N/A.
• Description (max. 250 characters): Describe the service you plan to purchase from an external service provider. Please note that project partners cannot function as external experts in the project they are participating in.
• Comments (max. 250 characters): Further comments can be added here, if necessary.
• Unit type: Describe the unit you are planning to purchase (for example web page design, feasibility study, training service)
• Number of units: Define the number of units.
• Price per unit: Indicate the price of the service.
• Periods: The total cost indicated must be divided into the six-month reporting periods as it is planned to be used by the project. An error message will appear if there is a gap between the total sum and the inserted periodical sums.

Using the Simplified Cost Option ‘Face-to-face events’

• Programme Unit Costs: If you have similar or recurring events, they can be combined into one sub-cost category. Otherwise, insert one event per sub-cost category. Repeat the process to insert all planned events. Choose the relevant option according to the country where the event will take place. The use of this unit cost is mandatory for certain events, please check the criteria from the Programme Manual.
• Description (max. 250 characters): Describe the event you plan to organize.
• Comments (max. 250 characters): If you are planning an event that lasts for more than one day, please indicate for how many days and for how many participants the event is planned (e.g., a kick-off seminar for 30 participants for two days).
• Unit type: Describe the unit you are planning to purchase (for example web page design, feasibility study, training service) For face-to-face events unit cost, the Unit type is automatically defined as per participant per day.
• Number of units: Define the number of units. Calculate the number of event participants x the number of days (e.g., a two-day seminar for 30 participants = 60 units).
• Price per unit: For face-to-face events unit cost, the price per unit is automatically inserted.
• Periods: The total cost indicated must be divided into the six-month reporting periods as it is planned to be used by the project. An error message will appear if there is a gap between the total sum and the inserted periodical sums.

Equipment

Please note that all planned equipment items must be listed under this cost category.

Using real costs:

• Programme Unit Costs: Choose N/A from the dropdown menu.
• Description (max. 250 characters): Describe the equipment item. Please note that mobile phones are covered under the Office and administration flat rate.
• Comments (max. 250 characters): Further comments can be added here, if necessary.
• Unit type: Define the unit type of the equipment.
• Number of units: Define the number of units.
• Price per unit: Insert the cost of the (one) equipment item.
• Periods: The total cost indicated must be divided into the six-month reporting periods as it is planned to be used by the project. An error message will appear if there is a gap between the total sum and the inserted periodical sums.

Using the Simplified Cost Option ‘Project management equipment’:

• Programme Unit Costs: Choose ‘Project management equipment unit cost’ from the dropdown menu. This SCO is mandatory to use in the project budget. Management equipment cannot be included as real costs. Equipment to manage the project is considered to include a laptop/computer/tablet (with accessories such as the basic software, mouse, keyboard, headset, docking station, and a screen(s)) and other office equipment, which are needed to successfully carry out the management of a project. Please note that mobile phones are covered under the Office and administration flat rate.‘Management equipment’ costs must be included in one sub-cost category (one row) for all staff members of the partner organization.
• Description (max. 250 characters): The description is automatically inserted.
• Comments (max. 250 characters): Further comments can be added here, if necessary.
• Unit type: The unit cost is connected to the working time of a person for the project. One unit is defined by the program as one hour of working time.
• Number of units: The number of units for a partner is the total number of planned working hours of partner staff members for the project.
• Price per unit: The price per unit is predefined as 0,23 EUR.
• Periods: The total cost (the number of working hours x the price per unit) indicated for the partner can be inserted into the first reporting period.

Section Co-financing

Co-financing
Please define the percentage of the ERDF co-financing of the partner. The maximum co-financing rate is 80% for all partners from all countries. Please note that the sums are automatically copied to this table from the partner budget, so you must define that first in the partner budget section. Remember that when you make changes to the budget, you must also change the co- financing sums accordingly. Please note that in-kind contributions are not allowed.

Origin of partner contribution
Define the source(s) of the partner’s financial contribution. Indicate the source of the contribution (which organization has granted the contributing funding to the partner organization). Indicate whether the contribution is public or private and insert the total sum of the contribution. In case you receive contributions from several sources, click ‘Add new contribution origin’ and repeat the process.

Part C Project description
This section provides information about the project content on a strategic level. Here project has to explain why the project is needed, how it links to the programme and other strategies, and why it should be implemented in cross- border cooperation. All these are extremely important factors when prioritizing projects that will be selected for funding. Please consider each question carefully and provide all relevant information in the input fields. Make sure the description is understandable, very concrete, and focused.

Project overall objective
The programme-specific objective you chose in section A.1 for your project will be visible here.

Project relevance and context

What are the common territorial challenge(s) within the scope of your chosen Programme Objective that will be tackled by the project?  (max. 2000 characters)
Please indicate what is the joint cross-border challenge that you and your partners will address in your project.

Provide a concrete and specific description of the identified cross-border challenges and opportunities that would be addressed by the project. These should be connected to the needs of the project target groups. Explain why your project would be necessary for the involved regions/countries in terms of common challenges and/or joint assets addressed. Explain also why working on the Central Baltic scale is optimal for achieving the project results.

Avoid a general description of challenges in the field the project is working in, and avoid especially providing a list of all challenges in the field or naming challenges that will not be tackled within the project. The defined cross-border challenges and opportunities will be the basis for setting the project objectives, and therefore a clear linkage between challenges and project objectives should be ensured.

Why is cross-border cooperation needed to achieve the project’s results?

Describe the approach the project takes. (max. 2000 characters)
Provide information on why cross-border cooperation is needed to achieve the project’s objectives and results, and why they cannot be efficiently reached by acting only on a national, regional, or local level. Describe the approach the project will take in addressing the common cross-border challenges and/or joint assets, e.g., describe the main project activities to achieve project results. Please describe the cross-border elements in your project approach. Explain how activities will be organized in the project (e.g., how they will be structured, what will be their sequence, what specific methods will be applied, etc.).

In addition, describe if, or to what extent, new or innovative solutions will be needed and developed and/or applied during the project, e.g., highlight if/to what extent and in what way the project solutions go beyond existing practice in the sector/program area/participating countries.

Please explain and/or describe what benefits the project partners, target groups, project area, and program area gain in taking a cross-border approach.

The program does not support pure networking projects (for more information about the cooperation see the Programme Manual). Therefore, the exchange of experience is not alone enough as a reason for cooperation. Project partners must devote attention to aligning their needs during the preparation phase to capture the real need for cross-border cooperation, establish a potential cooperation structure (how the joint work will be organized), and prove the benefits of cross-border cooperation.

Who will benefit from your project?

• In the first column of each row, please select one of the pre-defined target groups from the drop-down list. Do not just categorically choose most or all the target groups but focus on and choose only the most relevant ones.
• Under ‘Specification’ elaborate on the targeted group(s) in more detail and specify exactly who will benefit from your project (max. 2000 characters). Explain also what your approach is to reaching the main target groups.
• In case you do not find a relevant target group from the list, use ‘Other’ and describe it in the ‘Specification’ field. A list of the target groups with explanations is in Annex 1 of this guidance.
• Click ‘+’ to add more target groups if necessary.

Project work plan
To prepare a good and coherent work plan, the project intervention logic must be considered (Picture 16.). The project partners should closely consider the identified project challenge, the defined project-specific objectives, and the foreseen outputs when structuring activities into a work package and making the activity plan. Only those activities that are directly relevant and necessary to achieve project results and outputs should be included in the work plan.

Outputs and their contribution to the output indicator(s) are important factors and must be considered when defining the Work package. The Work package must have a unique contribution to the output indicator(s). The contribution towards an output indicator cannot be zero.

Picture 16. The project intervention logic

In this part, you will insert information on the work package of your project. Please note that small projects will have only one work package. Click’Add new work package’ to start. Please note that there are different sections of work package information that you must fill in.

Please note that project management activities will be described separately in section C.7, and they must not be included in the Work package.

Work package
Click ‘+ Add new work package’ to add a work package. Once a work package is created, sub-sections (Objectives – Activities – Outputs) will appear on the top of the partner page (Picture 17.). Follow through these sub-sections and fill in the requested information.

Picture 17. Sub-sections of the Work package.

Section Objectives

• Work package number: The number will be automatically created.
• Work package title (max. 100 characters): Insert a short title for the work package.

Your project objectives should be:

• realistic and achievable by the end of the project: It is acceptable that some effects may occur only after the project. These cases should be elaborated and well justified
• specifically (including who needs the project outputs delivered in this work package, and in which territory)
• measurable: indicate the change you are aiming for

Project-specific objective (max. 250 characters): Define one project-specific objective that will be achieved when all activities in this work package are implemented and outputs delivered. Communication objective and target audience (max. 500 characters): Think about the communication objective that will contribute to the achievement of the specific objective. Communication objectives aim at changes in a target audience’s behavior, knowledge, or beliefs.

Section Activities
Activities are different sets of actions or tasks that must be implemented to achieve project outputs or results. A project will be divided into several sets of tasks that must be completed to reach the deliverables. When defining the activity plan, make a structure for activities, deliverables, and outputs, ensuring their clear interlinkage. Plan communication measures closely considering the specific features of project target groups and the effect you want to achieve. Plan also the communication activities towards the wider public and stakeholders.

It is advised to group similar kinds of activities or activities connected to a specific project phase, showing the progress of the project. As an example, the project may have preparatory activities (for example mapping of the current situation, legislation overview, designing of implementation activities), practical implementation activities (for example recruiting the participants, procuring experts, organization of training seminars, dissemination), wrapping up activities (for example getting feedback, finetuning of created solutions based on the feedback, documentation). Remember that an activity can have several different deliverables that relate to the different tasks included in that activity. Depending on the project, reporting periods may also provide a good framework for activity planning.

The general idea is that activities would be grouped into project-specific logical entities, and not to be defined on too specific level. Limiting the number of activities will make implementation and reporting easier.  When planning the project and its activities, make sure that the budget is coherent with the work plan and activities. The work plan and the budget must be planned side by side so that a corresponding resource for the activities is in place.

List of activities:

1. Click ‘Add activity’ to add an activity to the work package. Provide a title for the activity (max. 200 characters) and indicate its start and end periods.
2. Describe the activity (max. 1000 characters) by which the project achieves the project-specific objective and related communication objective(s). Indicate which partner(s) is responsible for the activity.
3. Insert the title and start and end dates for the activity.

Deliverables :
Add deliverables to your activity by clicking ‘+’. Insert the deliverable title and description (max. 300 characters) and indicate the period when it will be delivered. A deliverable is a tangible or intangible object produced as a result of the activity that is intended to be delivered to a target group or a stakeholder. A deliverable could be a report, a document, a server upgrade, or any other building block of the project results. Repeat the procedure to add more activities if relevant.

Section Outputs
List the output(s) that will be delivered during the implementation of the work package. Output is the main achievement of a set of project activities.

Please note that all Work packages must have a unique contribution to the output indicator(s) of the Programme Objective, so plan the Work package structure accordingly.

List of outputs:

1. Click ‘Add output’ to add an output to your project.
2. Insert the output title (max. 200 characters) and choose the program output to which your project output contributes to. The measurement unit will be automatically added once the indicator is chosen.
3. Define a target value for the output and indicate in which period the output will be delivered. Describe the output (max. 500 characters).
4. Repeat the procedure to add more outputs if relevant.

Project results
Define one project’s main result. Choose the result indicator your result will contribute to. The measurement unit will be automatically added once the indicator is chosen. The baseline must be set either in the second step application or at the latest at the beginning of the project before the concrete project activities are started. In either case, the methodology and the time frame for setting it must be described already in the second step application.

Define a target value for the contribution and indicate in which period the result will be delivered. Describe the results (max. 500 characters). Explain their contribution to the program result indicator and explain also how the target value was calculated.

The baseline describes the situation before the project activities start. For example, you may know that there is a known amount of nutrient load from a source and you plan to reduce that in the project. This amount is the baseline, and the target value is the reduction you want to achieve with the project intervention. In some cases, the information needed for setting a clear quantitative baseline might not be available, and the project must then find the best available information and set the baseline as precisely as possible based on that information. The baseline can in some cases even be described qualitatively if quantitative data does not exist or cannot be reasonably acquired or applied to the scale of the project.

The project result is a change compared to the initial situation deriving from the use of project outputs by target groups and stakeholders (it could be formulated as a statement describing the improvement of a current state or condition). It should directly contribute to the achievement of the programme result indicator. (Picture 18.).

Picture 18. Coherence between results and indicators.

The results should be in proportion to the resources available for project partners and to the factors that they can influence with their work. Nonetheless, it should be something that lasts in the long run and thus will provide benefits also after the project is finished.

Project time plan
The project time plan will be automatically created based on the information from the work plan and results.

Project management
In addition to the thematic work done in your project, you will need time and resources for coordination and internal communication as well. Please describe how you plan to organize yourself to ensure that the project work runs smoothly. Pay special attention to internal communication within the partnership, as it is essential to project implementation. Get to know your partners well, focus on building trust, and make sure you have enough possibilities to discuss project-related things together. Please note that project management activities must not be included in the work packages of the work plan, but they must be described here.

How will you coordinate your project and which measures will you take to mitigate the risks and ensure the quality of your project?
Indicate who will be responsible for the coordination of your project. Tell me what kind of management structure you will set up, and how the internal communication in the project will be organized. Separate operational and steering functions, e.g., plan both project steering and project management groups. Ensure that personnel for project steering and project management groups differ (for more information on the responsibilities of the project steering groups see the Programme Manual). Plan enough cooperation to ensure joint implementation. Regular meetings, online or face-to-face, are recommended.

Describe the specific approaches and processes of risk and quality management and identify the partners responsible for those. If you plan to have any type of project evaluation, please describe its purpose and scope. Plan measures to identify and monitor any risks for successful project implementation and plan respective activities to mitigate them. (max. 2000 characters).

Long-term plans (max. 2000 characters each)
As a program, we want to support projects that have a long-lasting effect on the Central Baltic region and on the people who will benefit from them. Describe what you will do to ensure this.

Ownership
Please describe who will ensure the financial and institutional support for the outputs/deliverables developed by the project (e.g., tools) after the project has ended, and explain how these outputs/deliverables will be integrated into the work of the partner institutions.

Durability and sustainability
To have a lasting effect on the Central Baltic region and its population, outputs or deliverables should be used by relevant groups (project partners or others) also after the project’s lifetime. For example, new practices in urban transport need to be used by local authorities to have less CO2 emissions, and the whole population will benefit from this. Indicate how the project partners will ensure the durability and sustainability of project results and outputs.

Please describe how and by whom your outputs or deliverables will be used after the project ends. Describe the concrete measures (including institutional structures, financial resources, etc.) you will take during and after project implementation to ensure and/or strengthen the durability of the project outputs and results, including the possible continuation of activities, etc.

Transferability
Some outputs or deliverables that you will deliver could be adapted or further developed to be used by other target groups or in other regions. Indicate what you will do to make sure that relevant organizations are aware of your outputs/deliverables and can use them.

Part D Project budget

• Project budget per co-financing source – breakdown per partner This overview table will be automatically generated.
• Project budget – overview per partner / per cost category This overview table will be automatically generated.

Part E Project lump sums
The Central Baltic program uses a lump sum for preparation costs. This means that costs for project preparations such as joint meetings and used staff resources will be covered. The preparation cost lump sum of EUR 13 550 per project has been set by the program, and it will be paid to all projects that are selected for funding. This lump sum is a total sum, so the share of co- funding is already included in it.

• Please note that projects that have already received and used seed money funding from other sources for preparatory activities during the same period cannot cover the overlapping preparation costs from the Central Baltic program.
• Start by clicking ‘+Add’ to add the preparation lump sum
• Choose ‘Preparation Lump Sum’ from the ‘Programme lump sum menu. Please note that this lump sum is the only possible lump sum for project activities in the Central Baltic program.
• Choose ‘Preparation’ from the ‘Period’ menu.
• In ‘Split up’ choose ‘Yes’ if the preparation lump sum will be divided between the partners. Split the total lump sum amount between the partners as you have planned. In case you plan to allocate the lump sum to one partner only, choose ‘No’ and allocate the lump sum to that one partner.
• The total cost is automatically set at EUR 13 550.

Attachments
Please note that the assessment of the projects is done only based on the information provided in the actual application form in Jems and the mandatory attachments described in this chapter. Information provided in additional attachments will not be used for the assessment. Additional attachments can be included only in exceptional cases and upon agreement with the Joint Secretariat. Therefore, you must fill in the application form carefully and provide all requested information there.

Attachments can be added in ‘Application annexes’ by clicking ‘+ add new file’ at the bottom of the project overview page, which lets you browse through the files on your computer. Choose the right file and upload it. Repeat the process until all necessary attachment files have been uploaded. Partner- specific attachments should be uploaded to the folder of that specific partner. The folders are created automatically for each partner.

The mandatory attachments are:

• Confirmation Letter
• Document verifying who has a right to sign on behalf of the lead applicant organization
• Partner Contribution Statement
• Declaration of Financial Capacity to Undertake Project Activities
• Supporting documentation for investments

All attachments must be submitted in an electronic format. Although a large variety of file types are supported, .pdf files are preferred. The maximum file size is 50 Mb. For more information about mandatory attachments see chapter ‘Applying’ of this document.

Annex 1. Target groups and their definitions

organizations]
3| National public authority| Ministry, etc.| [number of organizations]
4| Sectoral agency| local or regional development agency, environmental agency, energy agency, employment agency, etc.| [number of organizations]
5| Infrastructure and (public) service provider| public transport, utility company (water supply, electricity supply, sewage, gas, waste collection, etc.), airport, port, railway, etc.| [number of organizations]
6| Interest groups including NGOs| an international organization, trade union, foundation, charity, voluntary association, club, etc.| [number of organizations]
7| Higher education and research organizations| university faculty, college, research institution, RTD facility, research cluster, etc.| [number of organizations]
8| Education/training center and school| primary, secondary, pre-school, vocational training, etc.| [number of organizations]
9| Enterprise, except SME|  | [number of enterprises]
10| TIME| micro, small, medium| [number of SME]
11| Business support organisation| chamber of commerce, chamber of trade and crafts, a business incubator or innovation center, business clusters, etc.| [number of organizations]
12| EGTC (European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation)| The EGTC is a European legal instrument designed to facilitate and promote cross-border, transnational, and interregional cooperation.| [number of organizations]
13| International organisation, EEIG| under national law, under international law (UN, HELCOM, etc.)| [number of organizations]
14| General public|  | [number of people]
15| Hospitals and medical centers|  | [number of organizations]
16| Other|  |

References

• Frontend
• Samuelsen Nätverk - se
• Home - Central Baltic

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