The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) of the European Commission aims at promoting growth, jobs and competitiveness through targeted infrastructure investment, e.g. in transport, energy and digital services. The latter form part of the CEF Telecom package. Currently, there are open calls in the areas of eInvoicing, eTranslation, Europeana and Open Data Portal. A virtual Info Day was held on 12 September 2017, the below summary is based on the presentations of that Info Day.
How to submit a CEF proposal for Call 3 – 2017?
This info blog is based on the virtual Info Day held by INEA (Innovation & Networks Executive Agency) together with the European Commission on 12 September 2017. Deadline: 28 November 2017, 5 pm CET
Contract signature: approx. End August 2018
- What is different to former calls?
-Call text has a new structure as have the forms (A,B,C,D, see below in detail)
-New requirement (if you have already a CEF contract): How does your proposal differ from former ones?
-On the practical side: If you want to withdraw a proposal, or, before the deadline, change it and submit another, this is now easily possible.
- What makes a successful proposal?
READ: all docs, including work programme, call text in particular priorities and objectives and award criteria
REFLECT: Do you understand the broad context? Why should YOUR proposal be funded?
REMEMBER: Competitive call, use simple language and structure it according to the call.
- Application Forms
All proposal must be submitted via the TENtec system which will also be used during the project lifetime.
Form A: Overview info including milestones, activities, costs breakdown and admin. Info: Member State Approval: Each participant needs an approval from his/her member state/ A list is given here: https://ec.europa.eu/inea/sites/inea/files/cef_telecom-contact_points_agreement_of_applicants_2_0.pdf
Please take into consideration that this approval may take time.
Form A needs to be signed (electronically) by all partners.
The content of Form A will be part of the Grant Agreement.
Form A is embedded in the TENTec system.
Forms B to D will be uploaded WORD documents. It is useful to label them in clear text, e.g. Application Form B + name of proposal
Form B: Admin info about the financial & operational capacity (some exemptions, e.g. Ministries).
Form C: Compliance with EU law on public procurement: Links to the docs are given. If NO is ticked, then explanations must be given.
Form D: Technical info, the “heart” of the proposal: max. 30 pages. The order reflects the award criteria and addresses each part and sub-part!
Recommendations as to the content: Include 1-2 pages of business & financial plan. On the technical side, provide explanations and diagrams, IT solutions, impact of/on standards etc. On the operational side: HOW does the proposal support the objectives of the call and addresses the award criteria? Include risks assessment and timetable.
BUDGET: Give overview of costs by activity!
Explain subcontracting details in Form A.
Give more budget details in Form D so that evaluators have a clear picture what is planned and what are the associated costs.
NOTE: Costs are eligible as of date of (the last) submission! Of course, if you start at that point, it is at your own risk as you do not know whether you will be funded.
- Evaluation
3 objective criteria (plus sub-criteria as laid down in the call text) for all proposals:
RELEVANCE: How relevant is the proposal for CEF and DSIS? For the Call? For other strategies at EU and national level?
QUALITY & EFFICIENCY OF IMPLEMENTATION: mature and coherent approach; capacity of consortium
IMPACT & SUSTAINABILITY: facilitate wider deployment; how realistic is its survival, development and scale-up after end of the project.
- CEF Contact
Questions: INEA-CEF-Telecoms-Infoday@ec.europa.eu or twitter: #CEFTelecomDay @inea_eu
If you want to find out more about specific topics (e.g. eTranslation, Europeana) or need support in drafting a proposal contact us!
emfs.eu 