ABOUT EU PROJECT ACTIVITIES

Finland acquired the membership in European Union in 1995. Simultaneously Finland became fully eligible for the EU project funding, though already before Finland's EU membership many Finnish organizations had been involved in the international non-Framework programs of EU. EU project means a project that is defined by its goals, duration, organiser, and funding structure and in which (partial) funding is applied from the EU structural fund, non-Framework funding or the budgeted assets of Directorates-General in EU Commission. EU project funding can be obtained for activities such as research, R&D, investments, human resources development, training, development and dissemination of social innovations, environmental projects and projects that promote the development of information society.

There are hundreds of sources for EU project funding, when all funding programs and their sub-programs are counted in. Opportunities for EU project funding change constantly. New programs and calls for tender open up almost weekly as respectively, old ones are closed. Practically every program has its own approach: goals, target groups, application deadlines, application forms, project types, bases for granting the subsidy etc.

Finnish organizations have learned to use the EU project funding sources reasonably well in their own development actions. Still there is a lot of room to improve in utilizing both the structural funds administered in Finland and the non-Framework funding administered by the European Commission, both in the public and especially in the private sector. The rising role of the third sector has been discussed for long but there are many potential project implementers that clash with the lack of resources and knowledge already in the project preparation phase. Characteristic of the whole EU project activity is that even many of the central actors lack a structured and holistic insight of the nature and scale of EU project activities. Far too often EU project funding is considered as a separate channel of funding, although it should be understood as a means for strategic development that offers opportunities for the development of the organisation's own processes, stakeholders and the society's structures.

Hanketaito Oy on yksityinen yritys, jonka palveluihin kuuluu asiakkaiden työtehtävien hoitamista edistävä koulutus, konsultointi ja valmennus. Olemme erikoistuneet EU-hanketoimintaan liittyvien asiantuntijapalveluiden tuottamiseen.

Hanketaito Oy
Eerikinkatu 2 A 12, 20100 Turku,
E-Mail: hanketaito@hanketaito.fi
http://www.hanketaito.fi