A1. Priority will be given to activities which fall within the categories indicated in the section IV. 2. Means of actions: “use of an original product brand”, “creation of sustainable and innovative touristic offers”, “use of a Cultural Routes Card with discounts and advantages provided to the card holders”, “The signposting of a certified Cultural Route in at least three countries of the Adriatic and Ionian, the Alpine, the Baltic Sea or the Danube region”.

Furthermore the activities proposed must be designed to “strengthen sustainable regional development in one or more of the four macro-regions (the Adriatic and Ionian, the Alpine, the Baltic Sea and the Danube region).” (pag.3 , section IV. 1. General objective).

The activities carried out in the framework of the grant-system must aim at supporting “local economies in an innovative and sustainable manner and contribute to the visibility of the four macro-regions.” (pag.3 , section IV. 1. General objective).

Activities which are not relevant to strengthen sustainable regional development, in one or more EU Macro-region will not be accepted. Activities which are designed as a singular action with no outreach, impact or sustainable will not be accepted. In particular, “Projects/actions providing financial support to third parties (re-granting schemes); Projects/actions concerning only or mainly individual scholarships for studies or training courses; Projects/actions supporting political parties.” (call for proposal, pag.5)  will not be considered. These three examples of activities which will not be accepted should not be considered as exhaustive; other activities, as for instance events/reunions might not be evaluated as relevant for strengthening sustainable regional development.

Activities will be evaluated according to general objectives, means of actions, implementation period, and target stakeholders.

I.e. the activity proposed should fall within the categories identified in the means of actions, it should be consistent with the objectives defined in the call for proposal, it should address the target groups identified in the call and be implemented within the areas belonging to the Macro-regions.

[answered the 4th of July 2018]

A2. Study visits are not included in the means of actions specified as possible projects in the call (see p.4, section IV. 2. Means of actions).

I.e. Study visits themselves do not constitute eligible project under the terms defined in the call. However, in the event of a study visit being required for the assessment in view of the implementation of the action proposed, which should be consistent with the means of actions described in section IV. 2. of the call, the study visit might be acceptable. The applicant should provide with explanations, grounding the need for a study visit.

[answered the 4th of July 2018]

A3. As specified in the call, “in order to be eligible for a grant, an applicant must:

• be a certified “Cultural Route of the Council of Europe” network, in one of the Member States of the Council of Europe;
• be the legally constituted body in charge of the certified “Cultural Route of the Council of Europe” (pag.7-8, section VI. 2. Eligibility Criteria).

I.e. All Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe are eligible to apply to the call.

The eligibility criteria defined for the applicants should however be considered in relation to the other criteria and requirements specified in the call and in particular to the fact that the objectives and possible means of actions have to refer to one/more EU Macro-region/s.

In this respect, “The grants will fund projects designed to strengthen sustainable regional development in one or more of the four macro-regions (the Adriatic and Ionian, the Alpine, the Baltic Sea and the Danube region). The activities carried out in the framework of the grant-system will support local economies in an innovative and sustainable manner and contribute to the visibility of the four macro-regions.” (pag.3 , section IV. 1. General objectives).

The geographical coverage is mentioned for each means of action outlined in the call (p.4, section IV. 2. Means of actions).

Furthermore, “Projects should target in particular the following key stakeholders, exclusively in the Adriatic and Ionian, the Alpine, the Baltic Sea or the Danube region” (pag.4 , section IV. 4. Target Stakeholders).

[answered the 4th of July 2018]

A4. As specified in the call, “in order to be eligible for a grant, an applicant must:

• be a certified “Cultural Route of the Council of Europe” network, in one of the Member States of the Council of Europe;
• be the legally constituted body in charge of the certified “Cultural Route of the Council of Europe” (pag.7-8, section VI. 2. Eligibility Criteria).

I.e. the applicant must be the network in charge of the Cultural Route. The applicant should be a legal personality in order to sign the grant agreement. If there is more than one organization in the network, the applicant must have the authority to represent the Cultural Route.

[answered the 4th of July 2018]

A5. As from the call, “Each Grantee shall […] be required to contribute to the project either by way of its own resources or by contribution from third parties. Co-financing may take the form of financial or human resources, in-kind contributions or income generated by the action or project. Staff costs should be considered as a contribution in-kind.” (pag.5, section VI. 5. Budgetary requirements).

Consistently, the application form, at pag.6, includes the section 11. related to co-funding. Under that section the applicant is asked to indicate how it intends to contribute to the project (either by way of its own resources or by contribution from third parties); co-financing may take the form of financial or human resources, in-kind contributions or income generated by the action or project.

I.e. Co-funding is required and must not be only nominal, but there is not a minimum or maximum value. Co-funding provided “in-kind” does not have to be quantified in the proposal, but adequate detail to determine its relevance should be provided.

The value of the co-funding proposed (whether it is monetary or “in-kind”) may be considered in the context of the evaluation as it may contribute to the feasibility of the proposal. Activities proposed should therefore be proportionate to the objectives sought and the total available funding.

If the activity funded by the Council of Europe grant forms part of a larger scale project, this is acceptable, but must be mentioned. Please note that in such a case, the exact amount of the funding from the Council of Europe must be allocated to the specific activity proposed via the current grant procedure. Remaining funds which are not spent on the activity must be returned.

The allocation of the funding should be transparent in the draft budget and in the reporting documents.

[answered the 4th of July 2018]

A6. The activities proposed should concern and take place in at least one of the EU Macro-regions. As from the grant in fact, “The grants will fund projects designed to strengthen sustainable regional development in one or more of the four macro-regions (the Adriatic and Ionian, the Alpine, the Baltic Sea and the Danube region). The activities carried out in the framework of the grant-system will support local economies in an innovative and sustainable manner and contribute to the visibility of the four macro-regions.” (pag.3 , section IV. 1. General objectives).

Due note the geographical coverage of reference mentioned for each means of action outlined in the call (p.4, section IV. 2. Means of actions).

In addition, “Projects should target in particular the following key stakeholders, exclusively in the Adriatic and Ionian, the Alpine, the Baltic Sea or the Danube region” (pag.4 , section IV. 4. Target Stakeholders).

I.e. the activity to be implemented in the section of the national administrative region not included in the EU Macro-regions’ would not be considered eligible.

[answered the 4th of July 2018]

A7. As indicated in the call for proposal, an applicant must “be a certified “Cultural Route of the Council of Europe network” and “be the legally constituted body in charge of the certified “Cultural Route of the Council of Europe” (pag.7-8, section VI. 2. Eligibility Criteria).

I.e. the applicant must be the network in charge of the given Cultural Route of the Council of Europe.

A single national member/group of members of the Cultural Route cannot apply independently. The application to the call for proposal has to be coordinated by the association/federation in charge of the Cultural Route as a whole. The application will only be eligible if it is submitted by the legally constituted network of the Cultural Routes.

[answered the 11 of July 2018]

A8. Conferences are not included in the means of actions indicated as possible projects to be submitted within the framework of the call (see p.4, section IV. 2. Means of actions), because they are not per-se a sustainable action, which can contribute to “strengthen sustainable regional development in one or more of the four macro-regions (the Adriatic and Ionian, the Alpine, the Baltic Sea and the Danube region).” (pag.3, section IV. 1. General objective) and to support “local economies in an innovative and sustainable manner” (pag.3, section IV. 1. General objective).

However, in the event of a conference being useful in view of the implementation of the action proposed, which should fall within the means of actions listed in section IV. 2. of the call, the conference might be acceptable: if it makes up just a part of the proposal and corresponds to a small amount of the financing requested through the submission of the project proposal.

The applicant should provide with explanations, grounding the need for a conference and justifying it in view of the action, which is submitted in order to be financed through the grant, namely one of the actions indicated here below:

- “the use of an original product brand […] produced by small and medium enterprises, local producers, craftsmen, artists linked to the certified Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe in the Adriatic and Ionian, the Alpine, the Baltic Sea and the Danube region”;

- “the creation of sustainable and innovative touristic offers, focusing on the specific needs of the local area, the cross border regions or the macro-regions, as well as including local economies and touristic stakeholders”;

- “the use of a Cultural Routes Card with discounts and advantages provided to the card holders […]developed in cooperation with cultural stakeholders […], economic stakeholders […] and tourism stakeholders”;

- “the signposting of a certified Cultural Route in at least three countries of the Adriatic and Ionian, the Alpine, the Baltic Sea or the Danube region” (p.4, section IV. 2. Means of actions).

The assessment of the usefulness of the conference in view of the action submitted (one of these above listed) should be checked against the requirements defined in the call and in particular the objectives  and the target stakeholders (p.3-5, section IV. 1. General objective, IV. 4. Target stakeholders).

Attention should be devoted to specific reporting requirements w.r.t. financial reporting regarding conferences (please refer to pag.6, section IV. 9. Reporting requirements).

I.e. Conferences themselves do not constitute eligible project within the scope of the call, but they might be accepted within the framework of a proposal corresponding to the means of actions indicated in the call.

[answered the 31st of July 2018]

A9. Studies are not included in the means of actions specified as possible projects in the call (see p.4, section IV. 2. Means of actions).

I.e. Studies themselves do not constitute eligible project under the terms defined in the call. However, in the event of a study being required in view of the implementation of the action proposed, which should fall within the means of actions listed in section IV. 2. of the call, the study might be acceptable.

The applicant should provide with explanations, grounding the need for a study and justifying it in view of the action, which is submitted in order to be financed through the grant, namely one of the actions indicated here below:

- “the use of an original product brand […] produced by small and medium enterprises, local producers, craftsmen, artists linked to the certified Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe in the Adriatic and Ionian, the Alpine, the Baltic Sea and the Danube region”;

- “the creation of sustainable and innovative touristic offers, focusing on the specific needs of the local area, the cross border regions or the macro-regions, as well as including local economies and touristic stakeholders”;

- “the use of a Cultural Routes Card with discounts and advantages provided to the card holders […]developed in cooperation with cultural stakeholders […], economic stakeholders […] and tourism stakeholders”;

- “the signposting of a certified Cultural Route in at least three countries of the Adriatic and Ionian, the Alpine, the Baltic Sea or the Danube region” (p.4, section IV. 2. Means of actions).

I.e. Studies themselves do not constitute eligible project within the scope of the call, but they might be accepted within the framework of a proposal corresponding to the means of actions indicated in the call.

[answered the 31st of July 2018]

A10. The extension of a Cultural Route does is not listed among the possible means of action (p.4, section IV. 2. Means of actions) under the terms defined by the call for proposals – Routes4U grant for exemplary actions.

I.e. The extension of Cultural Routes therefore does not fall within the scope of the call, as such, it does not represent an eligible project, hence it does not represent an eligible cost.

[answered the 31st of July 2018]

A11. As indicated in the call “Subject to availability of funds and extension of the Project initial duration, the Council of Europe reserves the right not to award all available funds, and/or to redistribute the available funds in a different manner depending on the project proposals received and on the outcome of the call for proposals” (p.3, section III. Budget available).

I.e. The Council of Europe retrains the right to decide whether to launch another call for proposals, depending on the remaining availability of funds after this call.

[answered the 31^st of July 2018]

A.12 It is possible to add an annex with additional information, however the annex cannot replace the application form itself, neither be considered as the main reference document for the evaluation from the committee: The application form must be filled-out in its entirety and in the clearest way, for providing all the relevant information, which the selection committee members will evaluate, in order to assess the proposals.

I.e. Only the information included in the application form itself constitute the basis for the assessment and evaluation of the proposals; all important data should be entered there and not in annexes.

[Answered the 6^th of September 2018]

A13. Yes, it is possible by using the digital signature, including also the stamp of the Cultural Route and saving the document as a PDF.

[Answered the 10^th of September 2018]

A14. Yes, the manager can sign the application as representative of the Cultural Route and delegate of its President. In this respect it is necessary to include in the application form (in the Signature section at pag.7), in the box “Title or position of the Signatory in the applicant organization”, the following information: “On behalf of the President of [Cultural Route], [Mr/Ms]”

[Answered the 11^st of September 2018]