NEMO Webinar | Cross-border cooperation: EU funding insights & Creative Europe spotlight

Hello and welcome everyone to NEMO's first webinar in 2026 on a topic that remains relevant. Cross-border cooperation, EU funding insights and Creative Europe spotlight is the topic of today's webinar. We have two facilitators, great colleagues from ours, Margarita Sani, based in Italy, a project officer at NEMO with many years of experience managing large-scale EU projects. And she's also the author of the toolkit cross-border cooperation for museums. And Lea Stöver, head of the Creative Europe Desk Kultur in Bonn, Germany, who helps cultural organizations understand the EU funding jungle. My name is Mira. I work for NEMO, the Network of European Museum Organizations. This webinar is one of NEMO's offers. It's for free for the museum community in Europe and beyond. And NEMO has much more offers, capacity building programs, such as mentoring scheme for educators, hands-on trainings, workshops, study visits. And if you're interested in becoming a member of this supportive network, then please get in touch. At the end of this 1-hour webinar, we'll have a Q&A session, so please use the chat function to write your questions. We are now looking forward to hearing more about practical strategies for museums to access Creative Europe support, updated program developments, and complete opportunities for museums to collaborate across borders. Welcome, Margarita and Lea. The floor is yours. Thank you very much, Mira. And I am the first one to go. So, as Mira said, I've been working in European projects for many years. At the beginning of 2000, the organization I was working for, the Institute of Cultural Heritage in the region of Emilia-Romagna, started being involved in European projects, and after a quick participation in a project as a partner, we started leading projects, and I started writing applications and managing the projects that were funded. Um, okay. Uh, today I will walk you through very quickly, uh, first of all, um, into the background to these, um, possibilities for, um, cultural heritage organizations to be funded by EU funds, and it all started here, um, in 1992 with the uh, Maastricht Treaty, circulation of people, circulation of artworks, and and goods. And uh, in the Maastricht Treaty, there's a mention also to cultural heritage and how Europe should, um, make sure that it is safeguarded and enhanced. Um, cultural heritage is also defined by the European Commission, and I'm not going to go through this uh, definition, which is very wide, but uh, the most important thing to underline is that, um, it is the European, uh, member states that are responsible for cultural heritage, as well as they're responsible for education. Um, so, what the EU can do is, uh, simply support, uh, with measures that that help preventing, preserving, and promoting uh, cultural heritage. Um, and how does it do it? It does it, uh, with with funds that are organized into a multi-annual financial framework, which is renewed and uh, rediscussed, renegotiated every 7 years. So, right now, we are at the end of the multi-annual uh, financial framework 2021-2026. So, it's going to to end soon. The EU funds are divided up, let's say, into indirect funds that come to us as member states and the citizens through our national or local authorities, for instance, the European Social Fund, which funds training initiatives, the Cohesion Fund, and so on. And and through direct funds. And this is what we're concentrating on this morning. So, and especially on the grants, which are these financial supports that come to projects that present themselves in in replying, responding to a calls that are regularly sent out by by the EU. So, there are calls for proposals that make it possible for partnerships, for consortia to present their their project ideas. One thing I always mention when talking about European funds is that Europe does not fund projects, but finances its policies through projects, which means that the European Union has its own priorities, its policies, and selects for funding the projects that are aligned with these priorities and and policies. So, in other words, they are Europe is pursuing its own objectives through also the the the ideas of member states and of consortia that submit submit proposals for funding. How do So, it's it's extremely important to know what these policies are, what these priorities European level are. So, this is one of the starting points. And where do we find them? We find them, of course, you can, you know, Google them and you can browse and just there are many, many European documents that one should be familiar with, starting with the very, very high level, of course, EU Commission priorities. For instance, we now have the the ones relating to the referring to the period 2024-20 29. There are, of course, in the field of culture, the the European work plan for culture with priorities normally covering 3 years. Right now, we have this work plan, which will soon expire, but you see, you know, they're very clearly detailed. And and then also because we are approaching, as I was saying, a new funding period and so a new new programs, and new possibilities for funding. We have this very new overarching policy document, which is the culture compass for Europe. I'm not going into this because, you know, it takes You should go and look for these documents and become familiar. What I find very useful is this funding guide, the culture EU funding guide, which again, it's soon going to expire because it covers the the financial programming and funding period 2021-2027. But, I'm sure that they will release a new one, and it's very interesting and important because it does not only refer to the possibility for cultural projects to be funded through the typical or traditional EU funding programs for culture, to which we will refer in a moment, but it looks at all the different directorates in the EU and different programs that fund cultural projects and and it also provides examples case studies and so it's it's very I think it it's very important to have a look at publications such as this one to become familiar with the opportunities. So going straight into the toolkit which I wrote for Nemo in in 2020. So again it's a bit dated to be honest but because it's also a methodological say toolkit it still has its value and so this is a starting point for anyone that starts with European projects for the first time. This is the front cover you can download it free of course from the Nemo website. This is the table of contents and we will go into detail into the second section getting started. But all the other sections are equally relevant. They also include comments and insights from grant holders of EU funding from also from the evaluators because your project is going to be funded is going to be assessed evaluated by experts that the EU involves and so there are also the opinions of evaluators of what a good project application should contain and so on. So please have a look download it and and and and and make good use of it. So [snorts] very very first step is an organizational check. So if you are willing if you've never done it and you're willing to embark on a European adventure let's say pre first of all have a look at the at your own organization. It's mission, it's vision, also the the the staff you have, the international relations that you or maybe your funding body, say if you are a local museum, maybe your municipality has with other international bodies or organization and so on. So, have a quick look. Can you allocate money to to buy some external services for consultation? Is your staff trained? Do you have enough staff and and so on. Second and very important step is to build a network or make sure that you are in a network because this is the place where ideas develop, where, you know, these projects that we are referring to, they are cooperation projects. So, you need partners or you need to be in a partnership. So, it's either you going and look for partners or someone looking for you as a partner. So, it's uh, it's very important to be in a network. And how do you enter into a network? Sometimes, I mean, this is a long-term process. Uh, it takes years, uh, but you can start small by attending international conferences and workshops, travel to another country and visit peer organizations, participate in study visits or staff exchanges, but also I one of the very effective, in my opinion, way of being starting being involved in initiatives at international level, EU funded projects, is to be a small partner, minor partner or an associate partner in an EU funded project because that really gives you an idea of what it is all about. And then you might have an idea that you think would be really worth funding. And you have to, first of all, think if this idea is in line with your organization's mission and and objectives because otherwise it's really a waste of time and also money if you embark on a project that it is totally foreign to what your organization does. EU funded projects are very can be very heavy going. They can be very ambitious. They take up a lot of time of staff. And so if it is something that really does not align with your own organization's objectives, it's it's a wasted opportunity. It should stem from needs from a needs analysis of the context. We will come to it in a second. It should also resonate with the interests and priorities of peer organizations in other countries because you have to work and to operate in a consortium. Of course, it has to be in line with the priorities of the funding program. Very very important to read and analyze the calls and the EU funding calls. It has to has is has to have an international value because one of the questions to you will be why is this relevant for Europe? Why is this What is the European added value? Why is this project not funded at regional national level? Why does it need to be funded at European level? Now, so we we come to funds. So now you have this idea bright idea and you're looking for funds. And where do you look for funds? There is a very useful webpage which is the entry point also to the funding opportunities at European level which is the EU funding and tenders portal. You find the call they opened calls for proposals, the ones that are currently open. You also find the results of previous projects, which are also interesting to to look at and to consult because you can see what's already been funded. There's also a functionality which is the partner search. So, if you are building a consortium and you're looking for partners, this is also a possibility, although I would recommend to do this along with a more, say, direct partner search. Something which is quite recent that you can also download from from Google Play Store is this this app. It's called EU Funding and Me, which is pretty much includes the same information that is on the EU Funding and Tender portal. But, it's in in a different, say, way of consultation. The planning phase, first of all, yes, have a look at the context from which your project starts because you you have to give evidence that this is something that is relevant, that is going to benefit say, stakeholders. So, who are your stakeholders, your target group, who can be your partners? And again, very important at this point to have a network to consult and to to draw partners from. Starting also with with a planning and detailing of project activities, what their outputs would be, tentative risk management plan, and building of a work plan. The analysis of the context is important. The objectives should be, as you probably know, smart, so specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely. And the um analysis of the context is important because it sets the backdrop against which the project idea can gain strength and relevance. And here it's also where you give evidence of the innovative uh content of the project. Um If you are at this stage, and for instance you are the project uh coordinator, you will be the lead partner in your project, it's also a good idea to draft uh a one-page concept note to disseminate, to send around, uh uh and to share with the ones that you think uh would be your possible uh partners. So, very very I mean this this is something that is uh in the toolkit, so I'm not going through this, but it should be uh a quick uh concise um abstract of what you are intending to do. Um and and also um the the details of the contact person in your organization that will take care of this project, and the deadline for potential partners to adhere to this idea of yours. Uh the toolkit is also leading you through the drafting of the project plan, which um should be um quite detailed. Uh but the the the the the application form also uh forces you to be detailed because it asks you to um uh describe the activities, to describe for each activity the output, the timeline, the the milestones, and also to visualize this uh through a Gantt chart, which is a a a chart of uh of say uh describing, you know, the the um the way in which the uh project is going to play out um uh along the timeline. Um It also asks you to break down the work into smaller components called work packages. So, activities and tasks, which can also be assigned to different partners. They also have to be costed. And these work packages normally include, but again, the application form will guide you through this. Project management, development, these are just ideas. But in some cases, they they call asks you to to provide a specific specific work packages. Some of them are compulsory. The project management is one. The quality and evaluation plan can be another one. The dissemination can be a third one and so on. Now, you we until now we have encountered many many terms that you might not be familiar with. So, the EU jargon is something else to get acquainted with. And in this case, the toolkit can help you because there is a glossary at the end of it. So, once you've done all this, it's time to write your application. And the toolkit gives you just a few ideas or requirements of how your proposal should be in terms of language and also leading thread, let's say. So, the proposal should be coherent, clearly written. It should be simple, explicit, evidence-based, rigorous in the planning. They what you write should align with the budget that you propose, should be realistic and and so on. Just before I close and and give the floor to Lia, a mention to the main programs that fund culture. And again, I underline they're not the only ones. So, the EU culture funding guide provides you with a list of other of other programs that might to you sound more far away from culture but can fund cultural projects. So here normally one refers to Horizon Europe which is the program for innovation and research and um of course it covers many fields all fields among which also cultural creativity and inclusive society. These are very big projects that are funded through Horizon Europe normally led by universities so it is not impossible for museums for instance to to be partners in these projects also for research institutions but normally you know if if you go for it I mean you couldn't go for a Horizon Europe project for the first time because they are millionaire projects from say 1 million upwards. So normally also because they are focused on innovation and research they are managed by university but it's possible to be a partner and also more recently Horizon Europe projects can fund smaller projects through cascading grants and and this is very important for smaller organizations and smaller museums. Erasmus Plus is the EU program dedicated to education training youth and sports and it covers not only Erasmus Plus exchanges at university or higher education level but also cooperation projects and exchanges in the adult education sector. So for instance I personally wrote and and coordinated several projects that were funded by it was not called Erasmus Plus at the time it was called the lifelong learning program um focusing on museum education, intercultural dialogue, and so on. So, this is also something that you should keep in mind. I thought I would just mention some of very of the very recent or current uh projects um funded by Erasmus Plus uh next museum EU stimulating digitization of small and medium-sized museums through the enhancement of digital curator so of a of a professional profile in museums focused on the digital technologies, the inclusion project uh again uh focused on uh developing um cultural experiences for people with disabilities, museum plus staff uh staff training through mobility. So, this is something that indeed uh the Erasmus program allows to to um have mobility activities funded. So, digitalization uh inclusion, accessibility, education, and training, and international collaborations are the the key uh themes in museum projects uh funded through the Erasmus Plus uh program. For me, this is a very good starting point uh if you are new to EU funding because you can start small, there is this mobility uh component, and also this learning component through mobility. Um and having said this, uh also uh Erasmus Plus um is now funded these smaller cooperation projects and mobilities are funded at national level. So, this is again something that can be come can come in handy because they're funded by national agencies. So, in your country, you can look up uh where your national agency is and and consult them because of course they speak your own language and it would be easier to, uh, to relate to them. Um, and because I also mentioned the Creative Europe program among the ones that fund cultural heritage and cultural museum programs, I will now hand over to Lea to walk you through the Creative Europe program. Okay. Perfect. Thank you, Margarita, and um, also good morning from my side. I'm Lea Stöver from the Creative Europe Desk in Germany. Um, so I'm speaking now from, um, from Bonn in Germany. Um, um, I had some internet connection problems earlier. It all went fine the last 20 minutes. Just in case I'm getting a bit of struggles here, I will switch off my video. So just I'm just announcing it so that you're not surprised in case, um, I disappear, but I will continue speaking. Okay. [snorts] Saying so, I will do now what Margarita already announced. I will give you a bit of a deep dive into Creative Europe, which is the, um, [snorts] only program which is exclusively exclusive exclusively dedicated to the cultural and creative sectors. But as Margarita has already said, I can, um, definitely recommend you to of course have a look at Creative Europe, but also the other funding programs such as Erasmus Plus for example, um, and of course the toolkit, uh, which, uh, Margarita just, um, presented. But now let's speak about Creative Europe. Um, I guess some of you already heard about it. This is just a, uh, a quick overview here. So Creative Europe actually, um, uh, is divided into, um, three different, um, strands: media, culture, and cross-sector. Um, we are today speaking about the cultural strand, um, because I'm an expert for that and you are all coming from the museum or, um, heritage sector and the cultural strand, um, um, and this sectors are part of the culture strand. We always say culture is everything from architecture to to circus art. Just a quick word on media. This is the funding for the audio visual sector and within the cross sector we have some funding for journalism projects and also projects which are between media and culture. >> [snorts] >> But let's let's have a look at what actually Creative Europe wants to achieve. The program and the EU built this program in order to support the cultural and artistic creation in Europe to promote European content but also to strengthen innovation and mobility and especially in this Creative Europe program from 2021 to 2027 inclusion gender equality and diversity highlighted by the European Union and in general also the program wants to develop competitiveness within the culture and creative sectors. As I'm speaking today as a Creative Europe desk from Germany, I also want to let you know that we are not only in Germany. So there is a community of Creative Europe desks actually in 41 countries. You see us here in the middle because the Creative Europe desks are in each country. We are here to inform the culture and creative sectors about the funding of opportunities to also help applicants in applying and also in very generally speaking in finding out if Creative Europe is is a good funding opportunity for you. And as you see here we are a bit in the middle between the EU level and then the culture and creative sectors in Europe. So the EU and saying this I mean the European Commission and then also the executive agency which is let's say the the operational part or the operational um level of the European Commission. They are actually managing and also developing the program. So, if ever you get a Creative Europe funding, you will be in touch with the Executive Agency. If ever you apply for a Creative Europe project, you can get in touch with your Creative Europe Desk in your country. >> [snorts] >> Um and that's the good news. So, it's not only us in Germany, but there are, as I said, in 41 countries in Europe, we have Creative Europe Desk. I will later show you a map um of the 41 countries. >> [snorts] >> Um Okay. Yeah, that's just a quick info about us. So, if you are from Germany, feel free to get in touch with us. You can if you're not from Germany, you can also get in touch with us and I will also help you to find your Creative Europe Desk. So, of course, we're also happy to help everyone from Europe. Um Yeah. But now let's speak about funding. So, Creative Europe Culture actually has a couple of funding schemes, but today we will speak of two and I will present the European Cooperation projects and then also Culture Moves Europe because those funding schemes are, from my experience, the ones which are the most open and most accessible for people who are maybe starting with EU funding or maybe not only who maybe did a first project and now want to start a second one. So, let's [snorts] talk about European Cooperation projects. What are they about? So, we always say it really Cooperation projects are what they say. They are about cooperation. So, [snorts] you should be um either you yourself in your organization or you are already part of a European group. You should be looking for a shared idea or you are identifying a challenge which you not only have in one country but maybe in several countries. And starting a European cooperation projects means that you want to find European answers to your challenge, to the problem you identified. And then you can think of a project which is about, for example, producing, cooperating, experimenting, creating, innovating, learning. You can even add more to that list. So, the important thing is that it's really about cooperating, meaning doing things together in Europe. And you should you should have the vision to really create a positive impact for the European cultural and creative sector. And of course, that can be only for a part of that European culture and creative sector. So, of course, you can do a project which is dedicated to the museum sector, but also, for example, to the visual arts, to to dance, to theater. So, the program is very open to all parts of the cultural and creative sector. Um, yeah, if you, let's say you are already part of such a group, you're coming up with different ideas, you can have a look at those categories. Um, you see here, um, we have three different categories, small, middle scale and big scale cooperation projects. Speaking about, um, content and, um, let's say the general rules of the funding, it's the same for all three categories. It's just a difference of size. Um, you see here, uh, for small scale cooperation projects, you need at least three organizations from three different countries and the funding is, um, 80% of the eligible costs or maximum 200 200,000 euros. And it goes then up to a 1 million euro for a mid scale cooperation projects or 2 million euro for a big scale cooperation projects. And you also, of course, need more partners. Um what is important um when we speak about partners is um that they need to come from an an eligible country. And here again, we speak of the 41 countries which I just mentioned earlier. Um of course, the 27 EU member states are part of Creative Europe, but you see here also a list of more countries. Uh so, in total, it's 41 countries. Uh most of them coming from uh neighboring countries to the EU, from Southeast um Europe, for example, but also, for example, Georgia and Armenia, and also Tunisia are part of the Creative Europe um countries. So, if you are coming from one of those countries and you're based in one organization, you can also apply for a for a cooperation project. Um speaking of that, um I always said um I always spoke about organizations um what is very important to know is that them for a cooperation project, you can only apply as a legal person. For example, an association, a company, or a public institution. It doesn't matter what sort of uh legal person you are. Um so, it can be profit, it can be non-profit, it can be public, it can be uh private. This doesn't matter. It's important that it is a legal person. So, saying this, it means that, for example, single artists or um single cultural professionals cannot apply. But don't worry, I have a second funding opportunity uh for for this group um at the end of my presentation. Um yeah, speaking of funding, it always means there is a timeline. Um at the moment, um we don't know yet the exact dates of the next call for cooperation projects, so this timeline is um needs to be confirmed by the European Commission, but this is what we expect. Um we expect a next call in February 2027 with a deadline approximately in May 2027. >> [snorts] >> Um then normally you wait 6 months until you know if you're funded or not. And then you should wait another three uh maybe even four months until you can um really start your project. So actually this is a very good moment now to think about a European cooperation project because now you have much time until the next deadline. And it's it's not uh it's not uncommon that you need uh six or eight or nine months until you really can apply for cooperation projects because you need to do uh what Margarita just explained to you. Um you need you need to find an idea, you need to find your partners, you need to come up with a joint idea, you need to build your application. So all this takes time. So if you after today or maybe you already [clears throat] came with that idea of applying for European cooperation projects, I would say this is now a very good moment to start thinking about an application. Um yeah, and I will now highlight two more um two two more things about European cooperation projects. First is the two objectives um which are which your project needs to address. So you only need to address one of this or you can only can address one of this. Um and the first one is about transnational creation and circulation. So you can choose this objective if your project is mostly about um co co-creating with European partners. For example, you are co-producing, you're maybe coming up with um one or several exhibitions you want to um uh you want to produce during the project duration or you're for it can also be about training of um for example staff. Um so it's really about um creation but also circulation of of works. And the second objective is about innovation, and this is about enhancing the capacity of um the the the sector you're working in. So, um you can choose that objective if your project is about nurturing new talents, if you want to innovate, if you And innovation here really comes as in a broad sense. It's not just about technological innovation. It can also be social or cultural innovation. So, it rather about let's say developing um the cultural and creative sector when we speak about innovation here. >> [snorts] >> Um Yeah, and then one second important thing is the overarching priorities. Um and this is also something very important which the EU introduced a couple of years ago saying that all projects which are funded under Creative Europe need to address those overarching priorities. So, each project, um no matter from which cultural sector coming, no matter which topic it chooses, uh no matter which target or audience group, you always need to think about those priorities which you see here on the slide, which is digital transition, greening, inclusion and gender equality, and international relations. So, your project always needs to address um all four of them. Of course, some of them, I would say, normally projects are very strong about two, and about the the other two, um it's maybe a bit more superficial. That's completely fine, but you need to think about all four of them when you apply for a cooperation project. Well, and to give you a bit of a d- idea what a cooperation project could look like, I would like to quickly present you two funded projects. The first one is Metamorphosis of Workwear. It's a small-scale cooperation project. I think [snorts] it's just about to come to an end right now and it's it's coordinated by a museum in Germany museum on Indus industrial heritage and I think they're in Dresden or Leipzig or in Saxony um and the idea is they are partnering they are together here with a museum from Poland and also from Bulgaria and what they have in common or what what let's say their starting point is that they are all coming from cities which are influenced highly or were influenced highly by industries and they want to rethink the industry the history of of the industry and also develop the the development of their cities by looking at the work wear of of the last centuries. So what they did is a couple of trainings they worked together with artists and created new work wears so that was the metamorphosis and they used those exhibition to tell the history of industry and labor. Um and the second example is called preserving the past and securing the future a sustainable approach to cultural and remembrance heritage and I think I why I really like to present you this project because it's shows that it's a project from cultural from from from the heritage sector but it really brings together two let's say big topics. First of all it's a project which works with remembrance spaces traditional from traditionally from from World War II. So they invite institutions and staffs from different um um remembrance um places um to trade about sustainability. Um and that's what I said, they bring together, I would say, two big topics, which first is the heritage sector, but then they really want to think about sustainability in the sector. And speaking about sustainability, they really mean the three different layers of sustainability, so the social, the economic, and the ecological. And they offer trainings um um and um moments of co-creation and um uh also um uh workshops on communication strategy for those um uh for those staff members in those places. So, as you see, you can really let say become creative about who you want to be part of your project and what the project is about. Um and I think that's the beauty of Creative Europe, as I always say, that it is really open to different parts of the cultural sector and also to very different topics. Um yeah, and that's that's it about the uh cooperation projects. And as I promised, I will also present a second um funding opportunity, which is called Culture Moves Europe, >> [snorts] >> um which is also funded by Creative Europe and implemented by the Goethe-Institut, um the Goethe-Institut based in Brussels. And this program um is mainly about funding individual artists and cultural professionals and to give them the chance to um travel uh in Europe, uh to build new connections, and to start uh new projects. And it's uh Culture Moves Europe um has two uh sorry, four different objectives. And if you want to apply for Culture Moves Europe funding, you at least need to address one of those. You see them here on the slide. Uh they are to explore, to create, to learn, and to connect. So, you need to at least choose one of those and demonstrate that your project idea really addresses us addresses it addresses it it. And um yeah, then there are two options for you. First is the individual mobility action and I think that's maybe the more interesting one for you because this is about really giving individuals the chance to travel throughout Europe and to build new connections and to start a project. So, as you see here on the slide, you can either travel as an individual or you can even um travel with a group um up of up to five people and you have can have um you can travel up to 60 day as an individual or up to 21 days as a group. Um and I think what is really nice about that funding that um it's it tries really to be not so bureaucratic when applying and when also building this partnership. Because you also need a European partner for that funding, but um again that's quite easy I would say. Your European partner can be for example another museum, but it can be also another single artist in one of the Creative Europe countries. And from your partner from your European partner, you only need a confirmation letter. It can be an email saying um hey I invite this person or that group of five people to our um to our venue to our place in order to uh implement the the the joint project. [clears throat] So, I would say that's very easy and that can be if you are at the moment really at the start of building uh your European partnership, your European network, that could be a great idea to start with. Um but you have to wait a little more because the next call um will be published in autumn this year. We don't know yet when exactly, but I expect it for maybe October or November. Um so all the information I gave you still need to be confirmed. Um and then the also very nice about the this funding is that you can apply every month. So let's say the first the call opens in October, then you can apply for end of October, but also end of November and end of December. So there are there's not only one deadline, but there's a couple of them. Let's say maybe until April or May next year. Um yeah, so that's um the individual individual mobility action. And then there is also a second strand um in Culture Moves Europe, which is the residency action. And this is um might be um interesting for you if you were coming from an organization and you want to invite artists or cultural professionals, cultural practitioners. So that let's say that's a bit the the the the um the second side of the coin. So one is when you want to travel by yourself and the other is when you want to invite other people. And then this is the residency action. Here you can invite up to five people also for a different um length up to 180 days even. And same again here, the next call is to be accept expected um again at the end of this year. And then also this information needs to be confirmed. So everything I put here uh on funding, the details, they that might be adjusted um in the next call. So if you're interested in that, um please um follow um Culture Moves Europe. Um they have like a very nice communication work. Um they are on all social um medias. Uh they're very strong on LinkedIn, but also Instagram. And um yeah, of course you can also get in touch with me or with one of my colleagues. As I said, we are based in Germany, so our main um our main task is to help German cultural organizations and cultural professionals. But of course, if you're from another country and you need some help or some direction for your Creative Europe Desk, then feel free to get also in touch with me. Yeah, and that's it from my side and now I'm happy to to answer some of the questions which I I expect are in the chat now. Yeah, first of all, thank you very much, Margarita and Lea, for this clear and actionable insights. I really hope this webinar supports all of you in taking your first steps towards a European collaboration. And we have time for for a few questions. If you don't think about questions now and they come later or um whatever, yeah, you can always get in touch with Lea and Margarita later. And also this video will be made available in a few days on Nemo's YouTube channel. Um maybe we start with one question I was curious about because we were also talking about this. Lea, if we look at the growing role of AI and we haven't mentioned that today, um how far is it already reflected within the EU funding programs? And also this big question, can AI help write applications? Yeah, well, I think yes. It's it's definitely a yes. I I would say if I if I write an application now, I would let me help from AI because I think what an AI really can do well is working on text, helping you with with text writing, text understanding text. What I would say what I would not say is that it can replace you because of course you need to come up with your project ID. You are still have all the ideas in your head and the AI needs this information from you. What do you want to do? Who are your partners? What are your objectives? Everything Margarita and I also spoke about. So, it cannot replace you, but I think it can help you writing a good or a very good application. Um, but of course for that you really need to take some time to of course develop your project and then also to let you help with AI in a very specific way because you cannot just simply write an a prompt and write me a nice Creative Europe project application. I think we all know that this is not how AI works. Um, so I think that would be my answer to the question of how AI can help you in an application writing. And when we speak about the programs, for I can only speak for Creative Europe, it is already at the reflected a little bit. Um, as I said, there is this overarching priority which all projects needs to address and one of them is digital transition. And when you read the details, then this is also about AI and the question of how your project can contribute using AI. So, I I don't know the the the the wording by heart. It's just it's not my words. Um, but how AI can also help the cultural and creative sectors to develop and to work with it. So, you can if your project already works with AI or one of your partners or maybe even your you want to come up with an idea of how to better use AI in the cultural creative in the cultural and creative sectors, I think this is very much welcomed by the program. Um, yeah, well, I think that's what I can say from my side. Yeah. Thank you. So, I see a lot of questions popping up. A lot of smaller ones also. I think we just pick out two or three more and then I think everyone has to get in touch with someone to get a clearer picture of all this. One is do you have tips for finding partners to cooperate with in the other countries? Margarita, maybe this one. Yeah, shall I go [clears throat] for that? Yeah. Well, this this is a a key question, isn't it? Because uh I mean, so much of the success of a project really depends on on the and also of the fund the funding, you know, the part there is a question in the in the application form you have to provide evidence that this is a good partnership. This is a good consortium that the partners complement each other with their expertise and so on. So, there is not just one answer. There are of course, as I was mentioning, there are these mechanisms for finding partners, the partner search. If you look closer into the EU funding and tender portal, you will see also organized by call the the the the function partner search. Okay. To me, it always goes down to having a network and having actually um worked or cooperated with other organizations over some time. Um it it might take year, but you know, you really need to to look for organizations that you share something with that might be complementary with what you do, but nevertheless also organizations that you trust to some extent. In my experience, I normally had like core group of partners, not always involving the same, but organizations that I trusted and then sometimes I I went out to look for additional or new organizations. That worked sometimes it worked and sometimes it was not so successful. But um I think that there is not just one mechanism. You really have to reach out to to organizations and and try to start a dialogue and see how compatible you are also. But nevertheless there are these these functionalities for searching. And as Lea was saying, we have a bit of time now before the next period starts. So it's a good moment to start looking for partners. I think someone asked a basic question, but I think it's also quite relevant. Does the European cooperation project funding also include budget to staff people? Yes. Yeah. Simple yes, but this is important of course. And I think also if you have an idea and maybe Lea more, could you give some examples of the applications that were not accepted and the reasons why? Is there Do you have experience in that? Yeah, I think there it's always very individual because projects are so different. I think what maybe is is something which happens often is that you can really see that there is a very nice idea. Let's say they have a good starting point, but then project didn't think it through. And you can see it in in in the application. Meaning that for example, they don't they they come up with a very nice idea. Maybe they they even do a nice needs analysis. But then you can see if they they are about to describe what actually should happen during during the project like Margarita say and describe you need to come up with work package with activities. You really need to give detailed information of how you plan the project. And then sometimes projects or those write the the the application, you can see that they they they come up with like, okay, it could be like this or like that. And maybe we do this and but let's see. So you can really feel that they didn't think it through and I think that's very important for an application. I would say generally and especially for the EU that the EU really demands to to come up with a very detailed and very yeah, well-made project structure. So you really need to know what happens in year one, year two, year three and year four if you have a four-year project. So I would say that's maybe a mistake which which many do. And apart from that I'm not I'm not sure. Margarita, do you do you have an idea something to add? Well, why projects are rejected. You know, sometimes, I mean, writing a project application takes a lot of time. And so some people say you know, then if you're really disappointed if you're not funded. But it's also a problem of how much money is available on that call. So sometimes, you know, the threshold for being funded is very high and there's a lot of competition. So it's not only about the value of the project. It's also about you know, the competitors or how many competitors plus the individuality of the evaluators. That's why I think it's very important when you write an application to be very clear, to really put yourself in the shoes of those who will be reading this application because they might not be a specialist in your field, in your area. So you know, the content really has to come across very effectively. So, but inevitably, there will be a subjective element, uh you know, inevitably, the subjectivity of those who read and evaluate your application. But you should not consider it as a failure if you don't get the fund because again, sometimes you read the the the ratios, I don't know, Lea, if you can help with this, the percentage of funded projects against the number of submitted applications. >> [snorts] >> Yeah, it is it's different every year because of different reason budget mostly. I think the last round um So, we had a deadline 2 weeks ago. We don't know the results yet, but the year before, so 2025, I think the funding the the success rate was between something between 7 and 10%, which um yeah. >> You know, you know. Okay, so I mean this don't get discouraged, you know, but so it's very competitive. So, it's not only that you have done something wrong, it's also that there is a lot of competition. And with AI, even more so, as I hear that, you know, more more application are submitted simply because some people think that it's easier to write them. And as Lea was saying, you shouldn't do that. >> [laughter] >> I mean you you as an evaluator, you spot the the applications that are written by AI alone, not only as an assistant to improve clarity, to improve coherence of the application, and so on, so. Yeah. Yeah, thank you very much. It just shows it's a very complex uh thing to write an application. And yeah, I really hope that today's session um helped you a bit to understand more of the procedure and where to start. This is always the first thing. So, please get in touch with our great facilitators from today or with us. And yeah, wishing you a great day. Thank you very much, Margarita and Lea. And for the rest of you, good luck with your future EU applications. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Bye-bye.