Deadline: 28 July 2016
The European Commission is seeking proposals from eligible entities for a program entitled “Improving SME access to public procurement” with an aim to contribute to improving SMEs participation in tenders, especially across borders, through actions of intermediate organisations supporting SME’s participations in public procurement.
The Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME), acting under the powers delegated by the European Commission, manages this call for proposals.
Focus Activities
- Exchange of information on procurement between Member States;
- Training and advisory services to;
- Organising matchmaking events;
- Coaching/mentoring on bidding in other Member States;
- Organising business-to-procurers events;
- Coaching/mentoring on joint bids;
- Mentoring activities between large companies and SMEs, etc.
Funding Information
- The total budget earmarked for the co-financing of projects is estimated at EUR 800 000.
- It is estimated that proposals requesting a contribution from the EU of EUR 250.000 would allow the objectives of this call for proposals to be addressed appropriately.
- The maximum duration of projects is 18 months.
Expected Outcomes
- Intermediate organisations offering more and better support to SMEs in public procurement, especially cross-border procurement
- Better informed and prepared SMEs to participate in public procurement;
- More SMEs participating in public procurement, especially cross-border procurement;
- Materials presenting the specificities of the public procurement legislation in the different Member
- States;
- Better informed procurers on the specificities of SMEs and on the technologies available in the market;
- SME-formed consortia to participate in calls for tender.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants must be legal entities forming a consortium.
- The entities participating in the consortia must be organisations having a core activity in business support and/or the promotion of SME participation in public procurement. This may include:
- Chambers of commerce and industry or similar bodies;
- Business support organisations, start-up centres and incubators;
- Business associations and business support networks;
- Public and private entities offering business support services;
- Public authorities active in supporting SME participation in public procurement.
- Affiliated entities, i.e. legal entities having a legal or capital link with applicants, who are neither limited to the action nor established for the sole purpose of its implementation, shall take part in the action as applicants in order to declare eligible costs.
- Only applications from legal entities established in the following countries are eligible:
- EU Member States;
- Countries participating in the COSME programme pursuant to Article 6 of the COSME Regulation8
- This call aims at selecting consortia composed of minimum 3 legal entities from 3 Member States and countries participating in the COSME programme under Article 6 of the COSME Regulation
How to Apply
Interested applicants can submit their applications electronically via given website.
Eligible Countries
- EU Member States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
- Countries participating in the COSME programme: Montenegro, Turkey, Serbia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Moldova, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein.
For more information, please visit Improving SME access to Public Procurement.