FOURTH CALL FOR MODULAR PROJECTS

Deadline: Dec 15, 2020  
CALL EXPIRED

Introduction

The Interreg MED programme is one of the instruments for the implementation of the EU cohesion policy. With this policy the EU pursues harmonious development across the Union by strengthening its economic, social and territorial cohesion.

In coherence with the available budget and the large geographical coverage, the Interreg MED programme aims to strengthen transnational and regional intervention strategies in fields of Mediterranean importance where transnational cooperation can contribute to improve regional and territorial practices. Hence, the Interreg MED programme pays specific attention to the coherence, complementarity and transfer and capitalisation of experiences and practices with ERDF regional and national programmes that can feed transnational actions and benefit from their results. For 2014-2020 programming period, capitalisation of experience, between actors, territories and programmes is considered as a major goal for the Interreg MED programme.

Approach and objective

Taking into consideration the above-mentioned Interreg MED programme objectives as well as the programme life-cycle, it is important to establish a conducive environment towards the new programming period 2021-2027 priorities. Within this framework, capitalisation requirements become all the more crucial to generate territorial dynamics impacting local, regional and/or national policies.

The objective of the current restricted call is to build upon concrete 2014-2020 Interreg MED projects’ achievements and further capitalise on completed projects’ outputs, bridging with the next programming period requirements, in line with the new EU growth strategy: the European Green Deal.

The call explicitly focuses on “capitalisation” – a fundamental and “key cooperation principle” of the Interreg MED Programme “Strategic Framework”. Within this call, the capitalisation principle entails a very precise content, composed of 'transfer' and 'mainstreaming'. These fundamental principles represent the identity of the Interreg MED Programme and are coherent with the promotion of development, of good governance and supported by the European Union Cohesion Policy 1.

Modus operandi: Transferring and mainstreaming projects

The tools for delivering the objective of the call are the concrete and finalised deliverables/outputs of 2014-2020 Interreg MED completed projects with significant transfer and mainstreaming potential in terms of impact on local, regional and/or national policies. Within this context, only two types of projects shall be considered, as follows:

✓ Transferring project focusing on effective transfer of developed tools/methodologies. This type of projects must underpin a “transfer process” of a technical tool or methodology from one organisation to another with the aim to improve day-to-day practices and/or facilitating processes undertaken mainly at technical, operational and/or administrative level. Partners that participated to the completed project and developed the selected output territories.

A specific type of transferring projects targeted to IPA territories, focusing on effective transferring of developed tools/methodologies is also foreseen. The main difference of those projects would be that the “receivers” of those projects would be exclusively partners from IPA territories.

✓ Mainstreaming project focusing on mainstreaming activities of achieved results into local, regional and/or national policies. This type of projects must underpin a “mainstreaming process” of a technical tool or methodology from one organisation into a public institution (competent service) actively involved in drafting and implementing public policies, with the aim to improve them. Partners that participated to the completed project shall contribute to integrate and apply the selected output(s) into the corresponding local, regional and/or national policy in the same or in new MED territories, including IPA countries.

For both types of projects, the starting point should be a concrete and finalised deliverable/output of a 2014-2020 Interreg MED completed project previously identified by the Programme in the framework of the current call (see the list below). This deliverable/output, selected for the transferring or mainstreaming process, should be a fully operational and functional tool/methodology, which can support decision-making and policy related mechanisms to facilitate territorial uptake and ownership. Relevance of the finalised deliverable/output with territorial needs is key, for triggering a transfer process or a territorial policy change (mainstreaming). The choice of the deliverable/output to be transferred or capitalised is therefore essential to secure success and smooth project delivery considering the limited timeframe (end of the 2014-2020 programming period).

Selection criteria of the deliverables/outputs eligible to be capitalised

Within this call aiming to channel capitalisation and concrete territorial impact, selection criteria should be considered at two levels:

1) at project level: the main selection criterion for a 2014-2020 Interreg MED completed modular project to be eligible under this restricted call, is not just to have concluded with work plan activities, but to have gone through the full reporting exercise, including final reports and deliverables validation and submission, at the time of approval of the call’s documents by the Programme Committee

2) at deliverable/output level: the main selection criteria for a deliverable/output to be eligible for further capitalisation under this restricted call, are the following:

2.1) the deliverable/output shows “significant transferability potential” featured by the following conditions:

(a) the deliverable/output has been tested during the 2014-2020 Interreg MED completed project lifetime;

(b) the deliverable/output is functional and ready-to-use, endowed with a guide or a manual or a training scheme or training tool, displaying transferring requirements in terms of data typology and data collection process, skills and overall resource requirements, maintenance and update, including technical information of the deliverable/output itself.

(c) the deliverable/output is replicable and can be easily transposed in different MED territories. ‘Transfer plans’ or ‘capitalisation plans’, describing transferability and/or capitalisation methodologies or processes with pre- identified target groups and/or end-users, are considered important elements strengthening the replicability feature of the deliverable/output and therefore its capacity to improve territorial practices, processes, decision-making mechanisms and even policies.

(d) the deliverable/output can contribute to the 2014-2020 Interreg MED programme output and result indicator(s) with concrete, clear and quantified target values;

2.2) the deliverable/output can establish a clear link with the EU Green Deal and respective policy tackled, reaching out to the new EU growth strategy.

List of selected deliverables/outputs to be capitalised

This restricted call targets the energy component of the EU Green Deal and therefore is addressed to completed and closed projects of the following 2014-2020 Interreg MED programme Specific Objectives (S.O.):

❖ S.O. 2.1 “To raise capacity for better management of energy in public buildings at transnational level” and

❖ S.O. 2.2 “To increase the share of renewable local energy sources in energy mix strategies and plans in specific MED territories”.

Applying the above-mentioned selection criteria into the 2014-2020 Interreg MED programme S.O. 2.1 and S.O. 2.2 we obtain the following list of deliverables/outputs per completed project to be further transferred or mainstreamed (project-acronyms’ alphabetic order per 2014-2020 Interreg MED S.O.):

❖ S.O. 2.1 “To raise capacity for better management of energy in public buildings at transnational level”

✓ CESBA MED – CESBA MED Assessment system
✓ EduFootprint – Environmental Footprint Calculator and mobile App ✓ ENERJ – Guidelines for Joint Actions for Energy Efficiency

✓ IMPULSE – Financial scheme evaluation tool for gradual building energy renovation and planning, including the decision-making support tool PLUG-IN KPIs-processor for automated hierarchy of public buildings

✓ PrioritEE – Prioritee Toolbox, including the Decision Support Tool
✓ STEPPING – MED EPC Guidelines and the related Energy Performance Contract (EPC) simulation tool
✓ SISMA – SISMA Subsidy Evaluation Tool (SET)

❖ S.O. 2.2 “To increase the share of renewable local energy sources in energy mix strategies and plans in specific MED territories”

✓ COMPOSE – COMPOSE model (sustainable energy planning tool-box)

✓ ForBioEnergy – Action plan for a new regulatory framework concerning biomass use in protected areas and the related Decision Support System (DSS) for energy production

✓ Local4Green – International Handbook on Green Local Fiscal Policy
✓ PRISMI – PRISMI Tool - a decision-making tool simulating scenario in favor of local RES

Activities and Work Packages

In compliance with the focus of the call and with time related restrictions, a simplified work plan is foreseen allowing for straightforward project implementation. Apart from the “preparation costs” related work package, each project application should foresee only one work package in line with the selected type of project: for the “transferring project” only the work package “transferring” should be foreseen and duly completed in the application form, while for the “mainstreaming project” only the work package “mainstreaming” should be foreseen and duly completed in the application form.

The activities to be considered within the chosen type of project and corresponding work package are presented below.

For “transferring projects”, the following activities should be considered: 

✓ Coordinating the work package: within the simplified implementation context, this activity implies full project coordination and management by the Lead Partner, including partnership coordination and the necessary reporting exercise.

✓ Exchanging information: within the simplified implementation context, this activity implies the communication of the project. The following activities should be foreseen:

- general communication activities to comply with communication and publicity purposes of a 2014-2020 Interreg MED cooperation project (please refer to the programme factsheet Designing your communication strategy - chapter General recommendations for Modular projects). Compulsory communication deliverables such as the project poster and website should be foreseen.

- communication activities strictly linked and necessary for the transferring process (please refer to chapter Specific recommendations for MODULE 3 PROJECTS of the above-mentioned factsheet), e.g. technical workshops/events, dissemination activities.

- communication with and participation to events organized by the

Programme and the horizontal projects

Transferring tested processes, techniques, models, tools, methods and/or services:

this is the main activity to be implemented for the “transferring process”. Therefore, it should be very well planned, with realistic time-schedule and reachable scope.

Based on the “significant transferability potential” of the deliverable/output chosen, the following actions can be undertaken (non-exhaustive list of actions):

• evaluation of the institutional/administrative and territorial needs of the “receiver” territory;
• subsequent adjustment of the deliverable/output to match specific contexts of the “receiver” territory;
• address, mobilise and motivate key stakeholders to promote the transferring process in the “receiver” territory;
• training on the tool/methodology, guiding and supporting the “receiver” territory partners to effectively deal and adopt the deliverable/output in their own practices and methodological work.
• the effective take up of the transferred deliverable/output by the competent service of the “receiver” territory, upon relevant documentation.

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