On 17 April, the third call of the EU grant programme Interreg North Sea Region (NSR) will open. Partnerships consisting of knowledge institutions, companies, government organisations and (representatives of) residents/users can apply for subsidies to test solutions or instruments for cross-border challenges within the North Sea region.

Who can apply for Interreg North Sea Region (NSR)?

Only governments and non-profit organisations can be lead partners within an Interreg NSR project. However, companies and other types of organisations can participate as project partners in the so-called quadruple helix model, where public and private parties work together with knowledge institutions in a consortium. To be eligible for Interreg funding, a consortium must include at least three different partners from three different member states.

What projects are eligible for Interreg NSR?

Public-private partnerships in the North Sea region can receive funding for testing solutions to the challenges within the various priorities. Projects must choose one priority to which the projects contributes.  Within priorities 1-3, pilot projects can be carried out to test solutions and tools. This is not the case for priority 4, here the focus is on developing policy instruments.

Priorities

The four programme priorities and associated specific objectives are:

• Robust and smart economies in the North Sea region:
  • Development and strengthening of research and innovation capacities and adoption of advanced technologies;
  • Development of skills for smart specialisation, industrial transition and entrepreneurship;
• A green transition in the North Sea region:
  • Promoting energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions;
  • Promoting renewable energy;
  • Developing smart energy systems, networks and storage outside the Trans-European Energy Network (TEN-E);
  • Promoting the transition to a circular and resource-efficient economy;
  • Promoting sustainable multimodal urban mobility, as part of the transition to a carbon-free economy;
• A climate-resilient North Sea region:
  • Promoting climate change adaptation and disaster prevention, resilience, taking into account ecosystem-based approaches;
  • Enhancing the protection and conservation of nature, biodiversity and green infrastructure, including in urban areas, and reducing pollution;
  • Other work to support better ‘governance’ (focused on cooperation);
• Improved ‘governance’ in the North Sea region:
  • Other work to support better ‘governance’ (focused on cooperation).

In addition to the above themes and objectives, the programme has three spotlight themes to which projects can be linked. These are:

• Digitisation
• Connection between rural areas and cities
• Strengths and challenges in the North Sea region

Type of projects

You can get funding for both small-scale projects and regular projects. The differences between these two types of projects are explained below:

Grant percentage and available budget

You can get a grant contribution of up to 60% of the eligible costs. Due to the high interest in priority 2 of the programme (green transition), in which climate and mobility projects can be implemented, the budget of this priority has been oversubscribed. Whether there is any budget left in subsequent calls within this priority depends on how many projects will be awarded in call 2 under this priority. As a result, applicants stand a better chance if their project is submitted under one of the other three priorities. Priorities 1 and 4 in particular still have more than enough budget. Below are the budgets of the different priorities assuming that all proposals submitted in call 2 are approved. The exact budgets will only be known after the outcome of call 2 is published.

Applying for Interreg NSR

The third call of the Interreg NSR programme will open on 17 April and is accompanied by a deadline of 30 June. Selected project proposals will be announced in November 2023. Applying for a grant for Interreg North Sea Region has a two-step procedure. First, an expression of interest is submitted, a short proposal outlining the project.  After a positive assessment of this expression of interest, the applicant will be invited to submit a full proposal. Parties that submitted an expression of interest in the previous call can also submit one full proposal during the upcoming call.

Below are the opening dates and deadlines for upcoming calls:

• Call 3: 17 April 2023 – 30 June 2023
• Call 4: October 2023 – January 2024
• Call 5: May/September 2024 – December 2024

Project partners wanted

Hezelburcht attended the ‘Get Ready’ event of the Interreg North Sea Region programme on Wednesday 8 February in Husum, Germany ahead of the programme’s third call. During this event, project ideas were presented and interested parties could meet. Meanwhile, a list of project ideas has been posted on the programme’s website. A number of projects are still looking for project partners to join. A list of project ideas has been posted on the programme’s website. A number of projects is still searching for suitable partners to join.

Do you need advice or support?

Are you planning to test solutions or tools with different partners from the North Sea region and want to make use of funding from the Interreg NSR programme? Then get in touch with us. Our specialists can support you with finding partners or writing a project proposal.

Get in touch
Or call us directly: 088 495 20 00