„Timișoara European Capital of Culture 2023” - initiatives approved

Published: Tuesday, 4 Jan 2022

A number of 23 bilateral initiatives were approved in this call.

Their total value is 8.753.430,28 lei.

The list can be consulted here.

A number of 33 bilateral initiatives were submitted on the open platform for this call.

Their total value is aprox. 2,8 mil.euro, exceeding the initial allocation of 2 mil.euro.

The list can be consulted here.

The total budget is 2 mil euro, financing rate - 100%.

Submission deadline: 20 December 2021, 16:00 hours the latest (Romanian time) - CALL CLOSED.

Applications under this call shall be submitted via platforme: t2023.eeagrants.ro .  

This call will finance the organisation of events, workshops, conferences, seminars, campaigns, festivals, artistic productions, exhibitions, fairs, aiming at the sharing and transfer of knowledge, technology, experience and best practice.

All these events should be connected with Timișoara European Capital of Culture 2023 and in partnership with similar entities from Norway.

Any public or private entity, as well as non-governmental organisations, established as a legal person either in Norway or Romania are considered eligible promoters and partners.

The applicants can submit questions at: eeagrants.bilateral@mfe.gov.ro.

According to the Joint Committee for the Bilateral Fund’s decision, only bilateral initiatives in partnership with entities from Norway are eligible under the Open call for bilateral initiatives Timisoara European Capital of Culture 2023. The open call document has been modified through Corrigendum no. 1 of 26.04.2021, in accordance with the JCBF’s Decision.

The text of the call and the support documents can be found at the following links (Corrigendum no. 1/26.04.2021).

The instructions on how to upload the applications are available in the Call text and on the platforme t2023.eeagrants.ro

@Illustration made by Dushky for Heritage of Timisoara 

Initiatives must include activities carried out in partnership with one or more partners from Norway. It is mandatory that the initiatives, through the proposed activities, are bilateral in nature and involve entities from Norway throughout the implementation period. E.g. The mere participation of an expert in a conference does not entail the bilateral character of the initiative.

No. The budget can be managed entirely by the promoter or partially by the partner.

The partnership agreement is mandatory only if the partner manages part of the budget. If the budget is managed entirely by the Promoter, only a letter of intent is required which clearly shows the activities in which the partner is involved and how it will do it.

Identifying a partner is the task of the applicant / promoter.

You may access the following links to identify a potential partner:

  • database with Norway partners involved in projects (Previous programming period)
  • Next Link 1 Link 2 Link 3with projects funded under the Culture Programme (EEA and Norway Grants 2009-2014 / 2014-2021)

According to the provisions of the Call text, art. 7.2.c, salary costs for "project management" are not eligible. All types of eligible / excluded expenses are mentioned in the text of the call, sections 7.2 and 7.3.

Fees for experts / artists who provide a service necessary for the implementation of activities related to the bilateral initiative are eligible (e.g. an expert who makes a presentation at a conference, an artist who performs in a festival, etc.).

The fees of the experts involved in carrying out the activities / obtaining results within the bilateral initiative, must correspond to the usual remuneration policy of the expert’s entity and can be established on an hourly basis based on a collaboration / services contract (in accordance with the legal requirements applicable to the respective entity) between the parties and paid on the basis of an activity report / time sheet.

The submitted documents can be signed in handwriting (scanned document) or using digital signature, by the legal representative or by the authorized person (in this case it is necessary to present the power of attorney).

Given the type of eligible activities (section 4 of the call text) as well as the type of expenses considered eligible (section 7.2 of the call text), the purchase of equipment is not eligible. Equipment rental costs may be eligible if the equipment is used strictly for the purpose of organizing an event.

The funding rate is 100% of the amount of eligible expenditure. Depending on the type of applicant, the National Focal Point will grant a pre-financing / advance of up to 70% for private entities and up to 100% for public institutions. The promoter has the obligation to allocate the necessary funds for the suitable financial implementation of the initiative.

Initiatives can be submitted until December 20, 2021. After this date, the initiatives will enter the evaluation process under the Joint Committee for the Bilateral Funds (composed of representatives of the National Focal Point and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania and the three donor states: NO, IS, LI). The final ranking approved by the JCBF will be published on the website www.eeagrants.ro. Applicants will be notified regarding the outcome of the evaluation and the start of the process of signing the financing contracts beginning with the 2nd quarter, 2022.

The financing contracts are signed between the National Focal Point for the EEA and Norway Grants in Romania (General Directorate Non-Reimbursable European Financial Mechanisms and Instruments within the Ministry of European Investments and Projects) and the Promoters of bilateral initiatives. When signing the contract, the updated Declaration of Eligibility and GDPR will be requested.

The implementation of the initiatives can start after the signing of the financing contracts for the development of activities for the preparation / organization of the events, if they are foreseen in the initiatives. The main activities / events will take place (mandatory) between January 1, 2023 - December 31, 2023 (the period in which Timisoara will hold the title of "European Capital of Culture").