04.03.2021
REACT-EU ERDF funding applied for at the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region and presentations at the press conference
REACT-EU funding supports regions to repair the damage caused by the COVID-19 crisis. At the same time, the funds will lay the groundwork for a green, digital and resilient recovery of the economy. For funding, two new priority axes have been added to the Structural Funds programme "Sustainable growth and jobs 2014-2020", priority axes 8 (REACT-EU ERDF) and 9 (REACT-EU ESF).
The Regional Council of Ostrobothnia will only fund projects under specific objectives 12.1 and 12.2 of priority axis 8 of the REACT-EU programme amendment in this call for applications. (REACT-EU programme amendment, 25 February 2021), which support the implementation of the Northern Ostrobothnia Action Plan 2021-2022 in the region (Northern Ostrobothnia Action Plan 2021-2022).
REACT-EU ERDF specific objectives for priority axis 8:
ET 12.1 Strengthening SMEs, in particular from the perspective of digitalisation and the green economy
ET 12.2. Development of research and innovation activities, especially from the point of view of promoting digitalisation and achieving the goal of carbon neutrality in society
The following themes will be highlighted in the application round:
- Development projects and operating environments supporting companies' business and growth (company-specific projects are financed by the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment)
- Fast-acting projects affecting the business recovery of companies (company-specific projects are financed by the ELY Centre)
- Actions supporting the green transition and in line with the Northern Ostrobothnia Climate Roadmap (Climate Road Map of Northern Ostrobothnia 2021-2030), in particular on the following themes:
- Smart bio- and circular economy serves as the basis for climate work
- Energy production and use is sustainable, efficient and low-emission
- Cooperation and cross-sectoral operating models create vitality and business opportunities
- Promoting digitalisation
The application round is open from 5 March to 19 April 2021. The aid for an individual project (ERDF and State funding) does not exceed 80% of the total costs. For investment projects in the administrative branch of the Ministry of Education and Culture, the maximum share of support funding is 70%. The project must be completed by 30 June 2023.
The granting of additional REACT-EU appropriations is conditional on the Parliament approving REACT-EU funding for the 2021 amending budget and the Government deciding on the allocation of funds to the regions. The projects will be funded as part of the European Union’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Applicants may be research and training organisations, business development organisations, publicly owned technology and competence centres, municipalities and other public entities and associations. The Regional Council of Northern Ostrobothnia does not finance the business development of individual companies.
ERDF applications must be submitted to the Authority by 19 April 2021 via EURA2014 (www.eura2014.fi).
If the application's financing plan includes external funding (other than the main applicant's/part-executors' own funding), the application must be accompanied by a decision or agreement on the external funding in question. In joint projects, the letters of intent for project cooperation between the lead applicant and the co-implementers must be attached. If VAT costs are included in the project costs, the applicant must attach to the application a tax authority or other similar statement on the VAT procedure of the main applicant and the co-executors in the project in question.
The application will only be initiated after it has been submitted to the funding authority in the EURA 2014 system. Since the Katso identification service has ended, it is no longer possible to log in to the EURA 2014 system using Katso IDs. The Katso service has been replaced by strong authentication and Suomi.fi authorisation services (Help for the user of EURA 2014 applicant's services). The verification of identification and credentials is carried out technically under two different services. Signing in to the EURA 2014 system requires a personal strong identifier, i.e. a personal bank ID, mobile certificate or certificate card. Project applicants and project implementers can choose their preferred method of identification from the above methods.
Applications received will be processed after the application period has expired. Project applications are processed by the Funding Group of the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region, the Secretariat of the regional Cooperation Group (MYRS) and, if necessary, the regional Cooperation Group (MYR).
Applications will be evaluated on the basis of the approval of the Structural Funds programme the general and specific objective-specific selection criteria; in accordance with. For REACT-EU, the selection criteria per specific objective are mentioned in the programme amendment (REACT-EU programme amendment, 25 February 2021). The projects selected for funding must support the objectives of the programme.
The project evaluation work carried out by the Authority takes approximately two months. We aim to make official funding decisions for projects in the application round ending on 19 April 2021 during June-August 2021.
More information on applying for funding can be found at: https://www.pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi or contact persons of the Regional Assembly of Oulu Region.
Tiina Rajala, Development Director, tel. +358 40 685 4033
Heikki Ojala, Development Manager, tel. +358 50 433 3951
Aki Lappalainen, Development Specialist, tel. +358 40 502 1851
Heikki Laukkanen, Development Specialist, tel. +358 50 918 0035
Development Specialist Katarina Timisjärvi, tel. +358 40 685 4025
or by e-mail
(The e-mail address of the Regional Regional Assembly is in the form firstname.lastname@pohjois-pohjanmaa.fi)
4.3.2021 information session on REACT-EU
Presentations at the event:
Tiina Rajala,
Heikki Ojala,
Riitta Ilola,
Anne Pulkkanen
