News – New funds from Europe

Details of the funding package to replace the European Unions Culture 2000 programme have been released early in an attempt to catch up with the fact that the timetable [for EU culture funding] is now running behind. Culture 2000 has closed and while the new scheme, Culture 2007, will not be open for applications until later this year or early next year, details have been made available to enable cultural organisations to begin planning their bids. The fund, designed to encourage co-operation by cultural organisations across Europe and to promote a European identity, has been in preparation for three years. The scheme will run until 2013 and will have a total budget of ¬400m.
The primary focus for funding will be year-long projects with a total budget of ¬100,000400,000 which have the support of at least three organisations from three different European countries. The fund can provide up to 50% of the total budget for projects. When the fund is officially launched, there will be three funding strands: support for cultural actions, support for European cultural networks and support for activities maximising the impact of projects in the field of European cultural co-operation. Projects may involve one or several artforms.

The EU has announced that it hopes to open the scheme for applications this autumn although it has acknowledged that this may be delayed until early in 2007. It is likely that the call for applications will be announced with a very short timescale before the deadline& e.g. there may be a call in September/October 2006 with a deadline in November/December. EUCLID is the body providing advice and support to potential UK applicants to the scheme.

w: http://www.euclid.info