Call For Social Economy Enterprises To Receive Financial Support For Purchasing Capacity Building Services To Support Green Transition

The SKIFT project offers a grant opportunity to Social Economy Enterprises (SEEs) classified as Micro and Small Enterprises within the EU, aimed at supporting their green transition through the purchase of capacity-building services. The grant, with a maximum of 6,700 EUR per applicant, is part of a total funding pool of 484,200 EUR. The application process is a single-stage submission model that is currently open, with a deadline of June 29, 2025, at 12:00 Brussels time.

Eligible applicants must have participated in the Phase 1 advisory and coaching activities of the SKIFT project and must be located in EU Member States, EEA countries, or countries associated with the COSME part of the Single Market Programme. Eligible applications can be submitted in English, Danish, Italian, or Polish, and each organization may submit only one application.

The objective of the grant is to enhance the resilience, innovation capacity, competitiveness, and sustainability of SEEs, enabling them to implement new business models that contribute to the green transition. Organizations applying must not be bankrupt, comply with social security and tax obligations, and demonstrate commitment to the project’s social impact.

Evaluation criteria will focus on the relevance, quality, and anticipated impact of the proposed capacity-building activities, with a minimum selection score of 24 points required. The payment structure includes 30% as pre-financing upon agreement signing, with the remainder disbursed after submission of detailed reports and evidence of service completion.

The overarching aim is to foster environmentally sustainable practices within the social economy sector, promoting expert services access and meaningful contributions to societal objectives.

The SKIFT project is offering a Call For Social Economy Enterprises To Receive Financial Support For Purchasing Capacity Building Services To Support Green Transition. The opening date was 29 November 2024, and the deadline is 29 June 2025 at 12:00 Brussels time. The call is a single-stage submission model and is currently open for submission. The call will remain open as long as funding is available. The total funding available is 484,200.00 EUR. The project acronym is SKI.F.T., and the full name of the EU funded project is Skills for transition – increasing the impact of small social economy enterprises. The grant agreement number is 101126777. The topic is SMP-COSME-2022-SEE-01 - Greening SMEs in the proximity and social economy ecosystem through transnational co-operation.

Applicants must submit their application in English or other languages admitted by the call (Danish, Italian, Polish) by completing the form available at the provided link. Each applicant can submit only one application.

This call provides direct financial support to Social Economy Enterprises (SEEs) to purchase additional capacity-building services to finalize and start implementing their new business models. The aim is to strengthen the resilience, innovation capacity, competitiveness, and sustainability of small and micro cooperative and social economy enterprises (SEEs) with a social mission or impact across Europe, enabling them to embrace green transition. Applicants can request financial support of up to 6,700 EUR. Applications must be submitted by a single applicant.

Eligibility criteria are as follows:

1) Be a Social Economy Enterprise, as defined by the European Commission: A social economy enterprise is an operator in the social economy whose main objective is to have a social impact rather than make a profit for their owners or shareholders. It operates by providing goods and services for the market in an entrepreneurial and innovative fashion and uses its profits primarily to achieve social objectives. It is managed in an open and responsible manner and, in particular, involves employees, consumers and stakeholders affected by its commercial activities. The Commission uses the term 'social economy enterprise' to cover the following types of business: Those for who the social or societal objective of the common good is the reason for the commercial activity, often in the form of a high level of social innovation; Those whose profits are mainly reinvested to achieve this social objective; Those where the method of organisation or the ownership system that reflects the enterprise's mission, using democratic or participatory principles or focusing on social justice.

2) Be a Micro and Small Enterprise as defined by the EU, will be considered as such if coherent with the Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC and the SME user guide.

3) Be established/registered (legal office) in one of the following countries: EU Member State; EEA countries and countries associated to the COSME part of the Single Market Programme or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature.

4) Be compliant with the following situations: Is not bankrupt or being wound up, is not having affairs administered by the courts, has not entered into an arrangement with creditors, has not suspended business activities, is not the subject of proceedings concerning those matters or is not in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations. Is in compliance with its obligation relating to the payment of social security contributions and the payment of taxes, in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which it is established. Is not subject to a conflict of interest in connection with the grant. Applicants to the current call must confirm in their application form that they meet all eligibility criteria. It is mandatory for applicants to the call which underwent any changes in their legal status since being selected in the call to communicate these changes.

5) Apply as an individual organisation (i.e. consortia are not eligible to apply).

6) Include in their application at least 1 and up to 3 registered service providers in the SKIFT Registry of providers for the social economy.

7) Not have a conflict of interest with the project partners.

8) Not have a conflict of interest with any of the service providers included in the application. The applicant and the providers must be autonomous to one another.

9) Be one of the social economy enterprises that has taken part in the advisory and coaching activities to support green transition (Phase 1). This call is restricted to Social Economy enterprises’ applicants that have taken part in the advisory and coaching activities to support the green transition (Phase 1 Call for advisory and coaching ).

Proposals will be evaluated based on administrative eligibility and scores on relevance, quality, and impact. SEs will be awarded based on their ranking order up to the availability of funds, within the limits of the available call budget.

Applications will be deemed ineligible if: Submitted after the deadline; With no or incomplete attachments; Not submitted by an eligible applicant; Completed in languages other than English or languages admitted by the call (English, Danish, Italian and Polish); Not submitted for an eligible activity.

Evaluation criteria are:

1. Relevance (15 points): a) How relevant is the proposed capacity building activities to the objectives/themes of the project and call? b) Is there a real commitment and motivation of the applicant organisation towards the green transition of the business model? c) willingness to engage in collective capacity-building at local/regional and European level.

2. Quality (15 points): a) To what extent are the training needs clearly identified and linked to the areas of intervention selected and the proposed capacity building plan and expected results? b) How clear, coherent with the plan and realistic the activities proposed for financing c) Is the amount of the financial support requested consistent with the activity proposed?

3. Impact (10 points): a) To what extent is the capacity building plan likely to have a tangible impact on the applicant organisation’s green transition process? b) Are indicators SMART and realistic?

The minimum score to be considered for selection is 24 points. Only full points will be awarded, no half points. In case of ex-aequo, priority will be given to applications that have the higher score under the criterion “Impact”, then “Relevance” and “Quality”, in this order. The SKI.F.T. project seeks gender balance.

The payment of the financial support will be done directly to the applicant as follows: 30% of the total project budget as pre-financing at the signature of the agreement and the remaining amount of financial support will be released upon presentation and approval of reporting and supporting documents, as a reimbursement for already received and paid services. The final instalment will be done at the end of the project. The final instalment will be released at the presentation to the funding entity of the following documents for all services purchased: Invoice and proof of payment of the service purchased. Certificate of completion issued and signed by the provider. Short report on the service undertaken (including detailed programme of the capacity building activities) according to the reporting template (see Annex V). The funding entity will release the payment in EUR within 30 days from the validation of the final reporting.

The awarded social economy enterprises will receive financial support for purchasing capacity building services to support green transition from registered providers in the SKIFT Project Registry of providers for the social economy. At the conclusion of the consultancy the awarded applicant will have to elaborate a financial and narrative report. The capacity building services purchased will be responding to the needs and actions identified during the advisory and coaching, phase 1 of the SKIFT project.

In summary, this opportunity is a call for Social Economy Enterprises (SEEs) that have already participated in the advisory and coaching activities of the SKIFT project's Phase 1, which focused on supporting green transition. The grant provides financial support of up to 6,700 EUR to enable these SEEs to purchase capacity-building services from registered providers in the SKIFT Registry. These services should help them finalize and implement new business models that embrace green transition, ultimately strengthening their resilience, innovation, competitiveness, and sustainability. The application process involves submitting a proposal in English, Danish, Italian, or Polish, detailing the proposed capacity-building activities and their expected impact. The proposals will be evaluated based on relevance, quality, and impact, with a minimum score of 24 points required for selection. The funding will be disbursed in two installments: an initial 30% pre-financing and the remaining amount upon submission and approval of reporting and supporting documents. The overall goal is to support the green transition of small and micro cooperative and social economy enterprises across Europe.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant type is Social Economy Enterprises (SEEs) that are also Micro and Small Enterprises as defined by the EU. These enterprises must have participated in the advisory and coaching activities to support the green transition (Phase 1 Call for advisory and coaching).

Funding Type: The funding type is a grant, specifically direct financial support to enable SEEs to purchase additional capacity-building services.

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity requires a single applicant. Consortia are not eligible.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU Member States, EEA countries, and countries associated with the COSME part of the Single Market Programme, or countries in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement where the agreement enters into force before grant signature.

Target Sector: The target sector is the social economy with a focus on green transition, resilience, innovation capacity, competitiveness, and sustainability of small and micro cooperative and social economy enterprises.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity explicitly mentions EU Member States and EEA countries. It also refers to countries associated to the COSME part of the Single Market Programme or countries which are in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement and where the agreement enters into force before grant signature. Specific countries are not named, but the regions of EU and EEA are relevant. Denmark, Italy, and Poland are mentioned as countries whose languages, in addition to English, are accepted for application submissions.

Project Stage: The project stage is aimed at finalising and starting the implementation of new business models, implying a stage of development and validation.

Funding Amount: The funding amount is up to 6,700 EUR per applicant. The total funding available for the call is 484,200 EUR.

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: Beneficiaries will receive money to purchase capacity-building services.

Application Stages: The application process involves an eligibility check and an evaluation phase based on relevance, quality, and impact. Thus, there are at least two stages.

Success Rates: The success rate cannot be determined from the provided information. However, the text mentions a reserve list, suggesting that the number of good quality and eligible applications may exceed the available funding.

Co-funding Requirement: Co-funding is not explicitly mentioned as a requirement. The grant covers the cost of capacity-building services.

Summary:

This opportunity, under the SKI.F.T. project, offers financial support to Social Economy Enterprises (SEEs) that are also classified as Micro and Small Enterprises within the EU. The goal is to bolster their green transition efforts by enabling them to purchase capacity-building services. To be eligible, enterprises must have already participated in the advisory and coaching activities of the SKI.F.T. project's Phase 1. The funding, up to 6,700 EUR per enterprise, is intended to help these organizations finalize and implement new, greener business models. The call is open to enterprises located in EU Member States, EEA countries, and countries associated with the COSME part of the Single Market Programme, or countries in ongoing negotiations for an association agreement where the agreement enters into force before grant signature.

The application process involves submitting a proposal in English, Danish, Italian, or Polish, detailing the planned capacity-building activities and their expected impact on the enterprise's green transition. The evaluation criteria include the relevance of the activities to the project's objectives, the quality and clarity of the proposed plan, and the potential impact on the enterprise's sustainability. The payment structure involves an initial pre-financing of 30%, with the remaining amount disbursed upon the presentation and approval of reporting and supporting documents, including invoices, proof of payment, a certificate of completion, and a short report on the services undertaken. The SKI.F.T. project seeks gender balance, encouraging applicants to promote equal opportunities between men and women. The deadline for applications is June 29, 2025. This call provides a targeted financial boost to SEEs, enabling them to access expert services and accelerate their transition towards environmentally sustainable business practices.