GRANT European programme

Call for Proposals

The Call for Proposal 44/G/ENT/PPA/12/6460, Cooperation projects to create transnational tourism products based on cultural and industrial heritage was published in the framework of the GRANT European Programme.

The objective of this GRANT European Programme call for proposals is to complement regional and national policies by supporting transnational cooperation and joint initiatives aiming at designing innovative transnational products in the fields of cultural and/or industrial tourism, with a view to:

• Contributing to differentiate the European tourism offer by capitalising on and giving value to the shared cultural heritage;
• Contributing to economic regeneration and job creation in declining (post) industrial regions through interregional and transnational cooperation projects in the field of tourism

Hence the priorities of this GRANT call for proposal are to:

• develop attractive and sustainable European cultural and/or industrial tourism products;
• support transnational cultural or industrial themes and products which help to foster a greater sense of European identity;
• better exploit cultural and industrial heritage from a touristic point of view;
• promote tourism in regions in crisis or in conversion, in order to boost employment and growth in these regions;
• facilitate exchanges of good practices and permanent discussion forums among public decision makers, in the fields of cultural and industrial tourism;
• facilitate and stimulate public-private partnerships and the integration of enterprises of the cultural tourism sector into regional development strategies;
• improve the quality of the European tourism offer by a strengthened cross-border cooperation;
• strengthen the management skills of public or private bodies in charge of developing thematic tourism products;

The target groups for this GRANT call of proposal are cultural tourism enterprises.

The eligible participants within this GRANT call for proposal must be consortia of legal entities established in one of the 27 EU Member States. At least 2 partners of the consortium must be organisations falling under one of the following categories:

• National public governmental Authorities – i.e. Ministries - in charge of tourism, culture, regional development, spatial planning, or any other area that is strictly related to the object of the proposal (evidence to be provided);
• Regional public governmental Authorities in charge of tourism, regional development, spatial planning or any other area that is strictly related to the object of the proposal (evidence to be provided);
• networks /associations of the above said national or regional governmental Authorities;
• public or semi-public bodies acting on behalf of the regional or national public governmental
• Authorities in charge of tourism, regional development, spatial planning, culture or any other area that is strictly related to the object of the proposal (The delegation of powers must be proved by the relevant public governmental authority).

The eligible actions that can be founded within this GRANT call for proposal are all actions considered useful to the call purpose by applicants, given that they help achieving the following aims:
• Differentiation of the tourism offer thanks to the creation of new tourism products linked to cultural and industrial heritage;
• Creation of a "critical mass" of destinations, attractions, sites and tourism-related services, providing ground for attractive European cultural and industrial tourism related offers;
• Development and strengthening of skills in managing cultural and industrial tourism products;
• Increased awareness of the potential offered by the development of innovative tourism products for the development of regions facing economic decline or reconversion of industrial activities;
• Contribution to the growth of employment in the tourism sector in regions facing economic decline or reconversion;
• Valorisation of the European cultural and industrial heritage thanks to tourism development strategies;
• Development of networks and discussion platforms of public decision-makers and the private sector, in the fields of cultural and industrial tourism.
As an example: identification of a common theme related to the European cultural or industrial heritage; mapping of attractions/sites/destinations and tourism and cultural services that could be linked to the identified theme; identification of additional partners, key stakeholders and sponsors; analysis of the "carrying capacities" along the identified transnational product, networking, awareness raising, etc. (the list is not exhaustive and only serves as an example).

The total budget allocated to the co-financing of projects under this GRANT call for proposals is estimated at 700.000 €. Financial contribution from the European Union cannot exceed 75 % of the total eligible costs. The maximum grant per project will be 175. 000 €.

The Deadline for submission of applications in the framework of this GRANT call for proposal is 28 September 2012.
Further information on the current Call for Proposals of the GRANT is available at the following Internet address: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/newsroom/cf/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=6034