Call for Proposals: CBSS Project Support Facility 2024

Deadline: 31-Mar-24

The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) Project Support Facility is calling for proposals that focus on strengthening resilience, safety, collaboration, and trust in the Baltic Sea Region (BSR).

Specifically, the call invites innovative projects that foster understanding, cooperation, and mutual trust building for more resilient societies. Submitted project proposals should relate to one of the CBSS’ three long-term priorities, including specific thematic areas.

The purpose of the CBSS Project Support Facility (PSF) is to facilitate the preparation and implementation of regional cooperation projects by providing seed money and co-financing of external projects.

Priority Areas    

• “Safe and Secure Region”: aims to enhance the safety and security across the Baltic Sea region. Key elements include enhancing civil security and protection systems within the Baltic Sea region countries, emphasizing cross-border cooperation – for example to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change.
  • Thematic area: Civil Security
    • Implementation of the whole-of-society approach – a model where vital societal functions are handled together by authorities, civil society organisations, businesses and citizens to strengthen resilience and safety of the BSR. Projects may include initiatives beyond traditional disaster risk reduction approaches, developing wider and more inclusive partnerships across sectors and levels, involving local communities, empowering citizens to act, building future skills and competences and fostering common societal security culture.
  • Thematic area: Child protection, justice and assistance
    • Initiatives that develop, enhance and implement national and regional professional networks promoting multidisciplinary interventions and interagency collaboration concerning protection, justice, and recovery for child victims of violence. Projects may examine the role of professional networks in developing a competent and committed workforce, evidence-based practice, and a harmonised approach to multidisciplinary service delivery, drawing on  international law and guidance, including the Barnahus Quality standards.  Projects should aim at identifying transferable success factors, critical organisational elements and promising practice for national networks while facilitating exchange within and between networks in at least 3 eligible countries in the Baltic Sea region.
  • Thematic area: Anti-trafficking
    • Under this theme, the call seeks to support seed initiatives and projects against Trafficking in Human Beings (THB) in the Baltic Sea Region, with the objective of reducing human trafficking risks among migrants in the region.  Proposed projects should preferably involve partners and stakeholders with a documented experience in working with the target group directly. Within the thematic area of THB, the call will give priority to projects targeting newly arrived migrants, assuming a gender-specific approach or addressing demand as a driver behind THB for all forms of exploitation.
• “Regional identity”: aims to explore current and future-oriented identity building endeavours in the region, in particular involving young people, culture and education for fostering societal resilience and transregional collaboration. Applicants are invited to explore how culture, including cultural heritage, can contribute to the development of new regional identity narratives, as for instance ecocultural identity providing common ground for the safe, secure, and sustainable Baltic Sea Region. Project proposals should clearly demonstrate what actions and deliberation mechanisms on the future of the BSR are planned, including how young people are incorporated in this dialogue as prospective region builders.
• “Sustainable and Prosperous Region”: aims to mainstream climate change mitigation and transformational collaboration on energy transitions in the maritime transport sector. The call also encourages project proposals that support the local coastal communities in developing sustainable tourism services while promoting and preserving the cultural heritage and biodiversity values.

Funding Information

• Project proposals must have secured a minimum of 10% co-funding.
• PSF funding will range between 10,000 and 65,000 Euro.
• The PSF does not provide grants to individuals and does not provide funding for scholarships or tuition assistance for undergraduate or postgraduate studies.
• Tax liabilities arising from the payment from the PSF are the responsibility of the recipients.
• A project that is already initiated or has been implemented when an application is submitted cannot be granted funds.

Eligible Projects

• Projects financed from the CBSS PSF shall fulfill the following criteria:
  • Bring added value for the BSR and to at least one of the CBSS long-term priority areas.
  • Bring added value to and visibility for macro-regional cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region.
  • Engage multiple actors and strive to increase coherence in cooperation among the CBSS Member States.
  • Have outcomes of a sustainable character.
  • Ensure that the results of the project are disseminated to relevant stakeholders in the Baltic Sea Region.
  • Where applicable, have the potential to become a basis for a network, partnership or cooperation model that would become viable beyond the duration of the project life itself.
  • Projects must involve partners from at least three different CBSS Member States, including the lead partner (LP).
  • In exceptional circumstances for projects below the funding amount of 25,000 Euro, which are considered good practice models, projects with only two participating CBSS Member States but with three partners might be eligible. In this case, the Director General must present the exceptional circumstances to the CSO for decision-making.

Who can apply?

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• National, regional and local public authorities.
• Non-profit and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
• The Lead Partner must be registered in one of the CBSS Member States. The Lead Partner shall have the authority to contract external services as part of the proposed project.
• Partners may also include legal entities in any of the CBSS Observer States.
• Applying entities must demonstrate having the necessary financial and managerial capacities to carry out the project from initiation to the end. They will need to confirm that, if the project is selected, other sources of funds are secured in order to implement the project as described.
• Only legal entities are eligible for funding. The PSF does not provide grants to individuals and does not provide funding for scholarships or tuition assistance for undergraduate or postgraduate studies.
• Organizations with at least two years of activity.
• In exceptional cases public or private enterprises, especially in the social or environmental spheres, can be eligible for funding. In this case, the Director General must present the exceptional circumstances to the CSO for the decision.

For more information, visit CBSS.