ESF4KSC is a free-of-charge support to industry, RTOs, universities, MODs and armed forces. This process aims at selecting projects that would benefit with free-of-charge advisory services in order to maximise their chance to be eligible and obtain funding when applying to the European Social Fund (ESF), one of the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF). EDA has issued to Ministries of Defence (MoDs) a “Request for Projects” to collect projects enhancing Key Skills and Competencies for Defence (KSC).
Industry, Research-and-Technology Organisations, Universities, entities of the MOD/Armed Forces, as well as other holders of potential projects supporting KSC, can address their MoD to receive the relevant documentation in view of submitting KSC-related projects to their MoD for further submission to the EDA. Once received KSC-related project proposals through the MoD (by the deadline September 18, 2017), EDA will then select some to benefit free-of-charge from high-level advisory services on ESF requirements and to fully develop the application folder, by eventually applying in response to ESF Calls for Proposals.
Since 2014 EDA assists various defence stakeholders to access to EU funding and has been successfully supporting selected pilot dual-use R&T projects applying to the main ESIF, the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), thereby paving the way to the acknowledgement that ESIF may fund defence projects [see European Defence Action Plan, COM(2016) 950, 30/11/2016].
Based on past and ongoing EDA’s studies, now EDA addresses its support to access EU funding both to skills in defence industry/RTOs and procurement competencies in MoDs/Armed Forces.
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