Project Funding
©Markus Spiske/ Unsplash
©Markus Spiske/ Unsplash
The application window for the 7th EUKI call for project ideas closed on 13 January. Thank you for the numerous submissions!
Updates on the next call for project ideas will be published on this website, in the EUKI newsletter and on our Social Media channels Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
Current Selection Procedure
The application window for the 7th EUKI call for project ideas is open from 25 November 2022 until 13 January 2023. Financing of between EUR 120,000 and EUR 1,000,000 may be provided for each project. If your project was provisionally selected by EUKI, you will be asked to submit a full project proposal in the beginning of June 2023. The first projects are scheduled for launch in November 2023.
Before applying, please carefully read the full Information on Financing for the 7th call for project ideas.
General Information on the Two-Stage Selection Procedure
As part of the annual selection procedure, organisations are selected that put forward promising ideas for climate action in Europe. The projects are selected in two rounds.
1st Stage | Preparing a project outline
For the first stage in the procedure, informative project outlines should be prepared in English, indicating the issue to be addressed, project goals and planned measures. These must be submitted by the deadline using only the online application tool (platform for project outlines) on the EUKI website. All project outlines received in full by the deadline will be evaluated. On the basis of the available budget and the selection criteria defined in the information on financing, applicants with promising project outlines will then be asked to develop and submit a full project proposal (see 2nd Stage). Starting on 25 November 2022, you find the instructions and guidelines for the 1st Stage Selection Procedure in the box on the top right. Before applying, please carefully read the full Information on Financing for the 7th call for project ideas.
2nd Stage | Preparing a project proposal
Organisations on the shortlist will then be asked in writing to submit a full project proposal (second stage in the procedure). This proposal must be submitted within approximately four to six weeks.
Information sessions on proposal development will be offered to the organisations selected. It is provisionally scheduled to take place in June 2023.
Incomplete project applications – including applications without English translations – can result in exclusion from the selection procedure and thus from any project funding.
Projects which are not selected for financing will be notified via email.
Please find templates and helpful documents for the second round of the selection procedure in the box to the bottom right.
Eligibility Criteria
Prospective implementers must have their official office in an EU Member State, EU candidate country or potential candidate country or be registered there. EUKI finances projects in EU Member States, some EU candidate countries as well as potential candidate countries from the Western Balkan states (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia).
Bilateral and multilateral consortia are equally sought; however, next to one implementer, the maximum number of implementing partners is four. In highly exceptional cases this limit might be lifted for large projects.
Implementers and implementing partners must be legal persons with their own legal capacity and non-profit entities. Implementers and implementing partners must belong to one of the following categories:
- Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)
- Universities, academic and educational institutions
- Regional and local authorities
- Non-profit enterprises
Please note that political foundations cannot be financed.
Target Countries
The EUKI target countries are located in Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe (Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece) including Baltic states (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia) and six Western Balkan states (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia).
The majority of an EUKI-project funding (>50%) must be allocated to implementers and partners in the target countries.
Projects must be in line with one or more of the objectives of EUKI and the topics stated above and relate to the “Fit For 55” package as well as the RePowerEU plan. Projects must be compatible with the climate- and energy-policy objectives and strategies of the project countries as well as the European Green Deal and European Climate Law and encourage the involvement and support of the project’s target groups.
Conceptual approaches
The following conceptual approaches can be pursued individually or in combination with each other:
- Climate change mitigation: direct or indirect contribution to strengthening climate action, greenhouse gas emission savings and aiming at the development of good climate-policy conditions.
- Capacity development: developing capacities through workshops, training courses, additional qualifications, organisational development, or temporary cross-border consultation missions at the individual, organisational and systemic level focusing on public, civil society and academic institutions and their needs, and on the business and education sectors.
- Creation of networks: establishing and strengthening sustainable bilateral and multilateral cooperation formats, promote networks and climate partnerships, e.g., between government institutions, municipalities, civil society, the academic community, and enterprises.
- Implementing policies and measures, developing strategies, and conducting feasibility studies: designing, implementing, or piloting climate-policy instruments, analysing potential greenhouse gas emission savings, devising practical solutions for the removal of barriers to the implementation of climate and energy strategies, or developing geographically specific methods.
- Awareness raising, education, media, dialogue formats, and dissemination measures: initiating and strengthening dialogue, participation, consultation, and stakeholder processes promoting knowledge-building and awareness-raising in relation to climate change and climate action.
Information for EUKI Implementing Organisations
Are you implementing an EUKI project? You find information about reports on the progress of your project, modification applications and public relations activities below.
Narrative Reports
Implementers are required to report to EUKI on the progress of project implementation every six months. The specific reporting dates are set forth in clause 4.5 of the subsidy or grant agreement.
The reporting template as provided and amended by EUKI must be used for all interim reports and the final report. The final report encompasses the current report period and a review of the entire implementation period.
The report including annexes must be sent to the respective project managers as an original copy and in electronic form.
Advance Payments and Financial Statements
Grant agreements (for implementers domiciled outside Germany): Based on the schedule of financial requirements the implementer requests payment of the expected amount of funds needed for three months at a time. After the first two advance payments, each further call for disbursement must be accompanied by an interim financial statement covering the penultimate payment period. For more information please see article 3 of your grant agreement.
The template as provided by GIZ in its current version is to be used for all financial statements and calls for disbursement. Each financial statement must include the current reporting period as well as the amount of own and/or third-party funding contributed.
The signed originals must be sent to giz office in Bonn (address is pre-printed on the covering note) and to the respective financial managers in electronic form.
Templates can be found here
Contract Amendments
Any modifications to the substance of the project design require a formal contract supplement. Approval for a contract supplement must be obtained from the EUKI team prior to preparation of the documents. Modifications to the substance include, for example:
- Exceeding budget categories/individual items by more than 20%
- Changes to the project term
- Top-ups / increases
- Amendments to project goals (outcome and outputs) and indicators
- Loss or replacement of implementing partners in the course of implementation
For a contract amendment to be processed, the following documents must be presented without exception:
- Reasons for need to make changes
- Revised project proposal and, if applicable, project schedule (annex 1)
- Revised budget
Changes to project proposal and budget must be highlighted in yellow.
Please send the documents to your respective sector-specific and financial project managers.
Public Relations
The EUKI communications team supports the projects financed by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI) in communicating their activities, achievements and results to the public. All project activities must comply with the corporate design guidelines.
Projects are encouraged to share products generated or milestones reached with the EUKI communications team. The EUKI Secretariat supports the dissemination of results, for instance via the website (news articles, publications, videos, community, etc.) and social network channels (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn).
EUKI Information on Public Relations
You can download the EUKI logo package in English or German.
Documents 2nd Stage
Project Proposal and Annexes
Template: EUKI Project Proposal
Template: Gantt Chart for Project Schedule [Annex A]
Template: Project Description [Annex D]
Commercial and Legal Information and Annexes
Template: Commercial and Legal Information (CLI)
Template: Budget [Annex E]
Template: Order Form for Registration of a Creditor [Annex F]
Template: CLI Annexes [Annex I, K, M, P]
Documents 3rd Stage (implementation)
Contracts and Annexes
Example for an EUKI Grant Agreement for Implementers from Outside Germany
Example for an “EUKI Zuschussvertrag” for Implementers from Germany
Template: Narrative Report [Annex 5]
Template: Final Narrative Report [Annex 5]
EUKI Information on Public Relations [Annex 6]