Frequently Asked Questions

No, it is not possible to select more than one Priority and more than 1 Specific Objective in a project application. If your idea is a good fit under two priorities, then try to focus it and find the prevailing elements that are in line with one or the other priority.  

Currently, the two application forms are the same, except for the option to activate the lump sum for small-scale projects after approval.  

In general, partners contribute 35% (or 50% for Norwegian partners) of their project budget with own costs such as salary of staff. Partner organisations can also use external contributions to fund their participation. More information in the Programme funding.

In general, partners contribute 35% (or 50% for Norwegian partners) of their project budget with own costs such as salary of staff.  

In some partner countries, it is possible to apply to receive national or regional match funding to complement the grant received by the programme. Each country has different procedures, for this reason we advise contacting the Regional Contact Point for more detailed information. 

There are two mandatory templates that must be submitted with the project application form: the Lead Partner statement, to be filled in and signed by the Lead Partner. And the Partner Statement, to be completed and signed by each partner organisation. In both cases, the signatory must have the legal authority (e.g. Director, Head of Unit, etc.) to commit on behalf of the organisation.
Partners are recommended to check the call dedicated page of the programme website to become aware of any specific requirements.

Both templates are available in the Download Centre.

Statements from Associated partners are not mandatory, only optional.

Applicants are always welcome to contact the programme staff at the Joint Secretariat and the Regional Contact Points for advice.
In general, the Joint Secretariat hosts online consultations (e.g. project clinics) during the call opening, where questions about the project idea, application process, call, Programme, etc. can be addressed. Please check the call dedicated page on the programme website where this information will be published.

No. It is not expected that a project has a WP Management and a WP Communication.

The project-specific work that the project is planning to carry out should be divided in 3 Work Packages (WP). Each WP should reflect one project specific objective and should represent a milestone, or a major developmental step in the project lifecycle, necessary to achieve the overall project objective.

Communication objectives and activities are part of each work package and should be described therein.

The Management work can be described in the dedicated Application Form section, C.7 Project Management.

No, it is not mandatory that there is a deliverable for each activity. The same applies for the Outputs, it is not necessary that each work package delivers an output.

More on Project Outputs here.

No, this indicator must be included only once in the application form and count all partners and associated partners participating in the project.

Read more: https://npa-pm.scrollhelp.site/ProgrammeManual/6-1-output-indicator-definitions

The Monitoring Committee (MC) is responsible for the selection of project applications. Each programme partner country is represented on the committee and decisions are made by consensus. The committee also includes permanent observers. In addition, the European Commission is participating in an advisory capacity.

Projects are usually expected to start on the first day of the month within 2 or 3 months from the date of the Monitoring Committee (MC) decision.
For preparatory projects, this is period is usually shorter and they should start on the first day of the month after the MC decision date. More information in the Project start-up section.

Yes, all project partners shall have signed a Partnership Agreement before the Grant Letter can be issued. There is a Partnership agreement template available at this link, which can be amended by the partnership upon need.

Yes, but only the EU Publicity requirements, not the Interreg NPA requirements.

In order to facilitate the fulfilment of the EU publicity requirements, the programme prepared the project logo and other templates which can be used by the projects. All files can be downloaded from the Download centre.

When looking for project partners in the NPA regions it is a good idea to contact Regional Contact Points, who can help you find the right organisations in their regions.
Another option is to look for previously funded project. To do so, you may check out our Map of Results and project impact database , where you can filter NPA funded projects based on the participating regions or selected themes.

The database http://Keep.eu is also a useful source of information including all Interreg funded projects.

Yes, private organisations such e.g. SMEs and foundations are eligible project partners in the Interreg NPA programme and can receive the same grant rate as any other partner.

No. Invoicing between partners is not allowed, and this applies to Associated partners as well .
Associated partners are linked to project partners and directly involved in the project´s implementation. Generally costs connected to Associated partners are their travel costs for participating at a project event. These costs are included in the budget of the partner they are affiliated with. External experts, consultants and service providers should be included in the External expertise cost category.

Yes, Associated partners can be located outside the programme area, yet their participation must clearly contribute to the project.

Each Associated partner must be assigned to a project partner who should have budget for the Associated partners costs, thus avoiding costs outside the NPA area. Associated partner costs usually consist in travels to participate to project meetings or other small costs. Please note it is never allowed to invoice between partners, this also applies to Associated partners.

The requirement for Preparatory project partnerships is to involve partners from at least 2 programme partner countries, at least one of which from an EU Member State. In addition, the partnership are recommended to include at least 2 of the 3 zones of the programme area: Finland-Sweden-Norway; Ireland; Faroe Islands-Greenland-Iceland.

See the Partnership requirements and recommendations.

Canadian organisations can only participate as Associated Partners. 

UK organisations can only participate as Associated Partners. 

The role of Lead Partner can only be held by a public organisation. The Lead Partner is based in the NPA Programme area, unless they have a national remit that covers the Programme area.  

Read more about Lead partners and eligibility of partners in the Programme Manual

https://npa-pm.scrollhelp.site/ProgrammeManual/2-2-partnership  

Yes, organisations run by one person and in which there is no legal distinction between the owner and the business entity are eligible for funding. They are therefore subject to the same eligibility rules and audit requirements as any other partner. If these requirements cannot be met, or the audit trail cannot be provided – then the costs of such project partners can not be eligible.

Main projects have an average budget of 1 500 000 EUR, while Preparatory projects can have a budget up to 50 000 EUR (for a 6-month duration) or 100 000 EUR (for a 12-month duration). Projects funded under the Priority 3 (Preparatory projects for capacity building) and Clustering projects have a budget up to 200 000 EUR.
The total budget is the sum of the grant (i.e. NPA co-financing), the partner contribution (i.e. co-financing or match funding), and any other external contributions (also listed in the co-financing or match-funding). More information in the Project budget.

The amount of funding a partner receives from the Interreg NPA programme depends on its country of origin. Organisations from the NPA regions in Finland, Sweden, Ireland, Iceland, Faroe Islands and Greenland receive a grant up to 65% of the total partner budget. Organisations from Norway receive a grant up to 50% of the total partner budget. This is regardless the legal status of the partner, public or private.
Partners from Non EU countries are encouraged to get in touch with their Regional Contact Point to check on available funding, and appropriate partner budget sizes. Please note that Iceland allows a maximum amount of funding per project.

More information in the Programme funding.

Yes, private organisations are eligible project partners and may contribute to the project budget with their own, or external, resources.

In-kind expenditure , i.e. costs that have been paid for in the form of goods and services rather than cash, is not allowed in Interreg NPA projects.

It is not possible to select this option at the application stage.

This Simplified Cost Option will be available on a case-by-case basis. Project applicants apply based on a draft budget detailing all cost categories. If requested and approved, this SCO can be activated by the programme administration during the pre-contracting stage.  

 Yes, as long as the programme eligibility rules for staff costs are met.

Travel costs to destinations outside the programme area as well as local costs such as meals, accommodation and local transport are considered eligible if they are outlined and approved in the project application.

If such costs were not foreseen in the project application, the project will need to send a written request about the specific meeting/activity outside the programme area and only if a written approval is received by the Secretariat will the costs be considered eligible.

Eligible expenditure for each cost categories is described in the Eligibility of expenditure.

In general, depreciation costs of computers or laptops are eligible in the Equipment cost category. Office and administration, sometimes called overhead, is handled as mandatory a 15% flat rate of the eligible direct staff costs.
An indicative list of ineligible expenditure is available here.

It is possible to make minor budget adjustments during the pre-contracting phase, in agreement with the Desk Officer. These are changes with no or only a minor impact on project spending patterns, the work plan, and the nature and quantity of project outputs and results.

No, the Interreg NPA programme will reimburse project costs only after approval of the project report. Project partners should make sure to be able to advance the first year of project costs. 

Read more about project reporting and payments in the Programme Manual. https://npa-pm.scrollhelp.site/ProgrammeManual/4-4-reporting  

In the 1st Partner Report each expenditure item should be documented, but there is no requirement at programme level on the possibility of aggregating different components of one expenditure item into a zipped file.

We recommend to discuss the matter with your controller to know the level of detail expected. 

There is no requirement at programme level on this matter. We recommend discussing the matter with your controller to know the level of detail expected.  

No, it is no longer needed to complete timesheets when documenting staff costs. Read more here about Staff costs audit trail.

It is not recommended to frequently, or systematically, change the percentage of working time on a project. The partner should rather try to find a representative (e.g. an average) percentage that can be applied over the entire project duration.

In general, the staff cost for each person should be reported in the List of Expenditure according to the latest signed task assignment letter even if the actual percentage varies slightly due to workload fluctuations in each task area.

It is only when major changes happen in the organization that a new task assignment letter should be issued. It is the organisation’s controller who verifies these changes, therefore it up to each controller to decide/accept the updated task assignment letters.

Costs related to parental leave and any other type of leave are viewed as eligible, if according to the normal practice in the country concerned. This includes organisation-specific provisions detailed in someone’s employment contract, beyond the minimum provisions at national level.  

Costs related to leave that are covered by other sources e.g other public organisations, are not eligible. 

No. If the option of a flat rate is chosen, this must be applied at partner level for the entire duration of the project.

Yes, at least in case of the 1st period partner report.

Controllers may check expenditure in subsequent partner reports on a sample basis, based on the risk level assessed by the controller.

No, the flat rate does not require documenting that the expenditure has been incurred and paid, or that the flat rate corresponds to real costs. 

There are different systems in place in different countries. Check in the Programme Manual 4.3 Control system to verify if your country uses a centralised or decentralised system.

In case of centralised systems, it is the Managing Authority who assigns the controller to the project in Jems. This will appear in the Project Privileges section, in the partner team section.  In case of decentralised systems then the national controllers for these countries will appoint a controller for each project. These national controllers will send this information to the Managing Authority who assigns each controller to the respective project in Jems. 

Contact details for each country’s national controller(s) will be available on the NPA 2021-2027 website.  

Preparatory projects must meet the minimum EU publicity requirements: use a combined programme-project logo, minimum information published on the website of each partner organisation, and display an A3 paper, or electronic poster, with essential project information. Please follow the instructions in the Communication chapter in the Programme Manual.

All projects must use the combined programme-project logo on all materials.

In justified cases when projects need to brand their work and outputs, it is possible to design an own brand/decorative element in addition to the mandatory logo.  Please read the Programme Manual and contact the Programme Communication Manager (email) for a consultation. 

You can use different designs.

While it is mandatory to have a poster that contains all the elements outlined in the Manual (based on the regulations) and that is in line with the requirements about the use of the programme-project logo, it is not mandatory to use the template(s) that we provide. 

Communication is an essential part of the project, there should be sufficient resources assigned to coordinate and execute the communication tasks across the partnership.
It is recommended that a Communication Manager is involved from the drafting of the project application and that it stays on during implementation. All partners play a role in project communication activities. Project partners are well positioned to communicate the results and benefits of transnational cooperation to the citizens and stakeholders. For this reason, a good communication team across the partnership is advisable.
Check out the Communication section for drafting the application, and for project implementation in the Programme Manual.

Please check the website Reporting section for an overview of the Partner and Project reporting steps and requirements. Guidance to complete the reports and templates are available in the Download centre of this Programme Manual.

Please be patient, it will still take a while.  

Once you have submitted your partner report, the controller will verify it, contact you in case clarifications are needed and then certify the expenditure declared.  Once all partners’ will have had their costs certified for a set period, the Lead Partner can include them in the Project Report and submit it to the Secretariat. From the project report submission date, the programme has 80 days to assess the project report and transfer the grant to the Lead Partner. It will be the Lead Partner who distributes the grant shares to the partners. 

Jems modules to assess project reports and make payments have become available late into 2023, so payments will start in early 2024.

Project reports describe the progress of work during a specific 6-month period. If work on a deliverable started in period 1, then it is useful to describe the work carried out in that period, even if the deliverable is only going to be finalised in period 3.

No, it is only possible to submit one report for each reporting period. 

The Programme has prepared guidelines to help partners to identify, follow, and report on horizontal principles throughout the whole project.

At their kick-off meeting, all partners are asked to present the Step 1 document outlining the best practices towards sustainability, inclusion and equality used in their organisations. After a discussion in the partnership, the project team selects three best practices for each horizontal principle and writes them in the Step 2 document together with the target audience that should hear about the project success. The Lead Partner attaches the Step 1 documents from all the partners in the Attachment section in the 1st period Project Report and at the same time uploads the Step 2 document to the Shared folder in JEMS (follow the instructions in the Jems User Manual). The LP will update the Step 2 document at the 3rd and 6th period Project Reports to inform about the progress made towards the pre-selected horizontal principles.

The Lead Partners of all approved projects were informed how to report on Horizontal principles in April 2024. The Programme suggested that the projects that were already running at the time, will include the horizontal principles and discuss Step 1 and Step 2 documents at their first project meeting after April 2024. The projects are then expected to upload the Step 1 and Step 2 documents in their next partner report, that being the 2nd or 3rd project report. This exception is relevant for 1st and 2nd Call approved projects.

The projects approved in the 3rd Call and onwards are expected to follow the instructions and include Step 1 and Step 2 documents already in their 1st report. For any questions about horizontal principles, please contact Lucia Brhlikova or Kalle Pakalen at the Joint Secretariat.

Projects are still expected to fill in the Horizontal principles section in the project report in Jems after each period. The Step 1 and Step 2 documents are supplementing the information provided in the reporting section in JEMS, not replacing it. 

In JEMS, the project is expected to describe its contribution to each horizontal principle ideally with concrete examples, and these might come from the brainstorming exercise that took place at the kick-off meeting when discussing Step 1 and Step 2 documents. 

The Step 1 and Step 2 documents are meant to open the discussion about what concrete steps the projects can take to become more sustainable, inclusive, and gender-balanced during their implementation. Taking inspiration from inside of the partner organisations and challenging the project to follow up pre-selected best practices or principles will bring the horizontal principles higher on the project's own agenda. 

There are different systems in place in different countries. Check in the Programme Manual 4.3 Control system to verify if your country uses a centralised or decentralised system.

In case of centralised systems, it is the Managing Authority who assigns the controller to the project in Jems. This will appear in the Project Privileges section, in the partner team section.  In case of decentralised systems then the national controllers for these countries will appoint a controller for each project. These national controllers will send this information to the Managing Authority who assigns each controller to the respective project in Jems. 

Contact details for each country’s national controller(s) ar available on the website.  

Yes, at least in case of the 1st period partner report.

Controllers may check expenditure in subsequent partner reports on a sample basis, based on the risk level assessed by the controller.

Yes. Controllers should use the guidance in the programme guidance and their professional judgement to establish the partner risk profile and select the expenditure sample accordingly. 

No, the flat rate does not require documenting that the expenditure has been incurred and paid, or that the flat rate corresponds to real costs. 

The programme recommends that Lead Partner organisations are checked on-the-spot once in the project lifetime, unless the controller considers that it is not necessary seen from a risk perspective and he/she has the needed information even without carrying out the on-the-spot check.  

On-the-spot check should be carried out when the project is at an advanced implementation stage. Any on-the-spot checks beyond those of LPs shall be based on a risk assessment from the result of the first 100% administrative verification or on the basis of other verifications/audits.

A partner cannot appeal a controller’s certificate, however the payment decision issued by the Managing Authority containing the certificate in question can be appealed to the Administrative Court in Umeå, Sweden.  

Yes, but this should be possible for any organisation, not just for the project partners.